Map of Ancient Egypt during the Second intermediate period.
The Seventeenth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XVII, alternatively 17th Dynasty or Dynasty 17) was a dynasty of pharaohs that ruled in Upper Egypt during the late Second Intermediate Period, approximately from 1580 to 1550 BC. Its mainly Theban rulers are contemporary with the Hyksos of the Fifteenth Dynasty and succeed the Sixteenth Dynasty, which was also based in Thebes. The chronology of the 17th dynasty is very uncertain and the king lists provide little help.[1]
In March 2012, French archeologists examining a limestone door in the Precinct of Amun-Re at Karnak discovered hieroglyphs with the name Senakhtenre, the first evidence of this king dating to his lifetime.[2]
The last two kings of the dynasty opposed the Hyksos rule over Egypt and initiated a war that would rid Egypt of the Hyksos kings and began a period of unified rule, the New Kingdom of Egypt.[1]
Some mainstream scholars have suggested that the Seventeenth dynasty of Egypt had Nubian ancestry due to the expanded presence of Nubians in Egypt during that time period and the craniofacial evidence from X-ray examination of Seqenenre Tao who displayed strong affinities with contemporary Nubians. Donald Redford explicitly argues that Egyptians "entered into the service of the king of Kush" between seventeenth and sixteenth centuries BC, citing historical texts along with archaeological evidence that showed an increased Nubian presence from the third Cataract on the Nile as far north as Deir Rifeh. Redford summarises that a shared "community of interest" existed which coincided with the influx of Nubian pottery and weapons in Upper Egypt.[4][5][6] There is no conclusive evidence that the founder of the dynasty, Rahotep, was of Nubian origin however and the dynasty is recognized as a native Egyptian dynasty by many scholars.[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]
The political situation in the Second Intermediate Period of Egypt (c. 1650 – c. 1550 BC)
The War of Liberation Against Hyksos
While under the Hyksos rule, the kings of the 17th dynasty revived the cult of Osiris, they rebuilt temples, and they established military control over the religious site, Abdju. This was the beginning of their campaign for reunification.[20]
The first wave of attacks launched toward the southern flank was led by King Seqenenre Tao, who was killed in the battle. His son, Kamose, succeeded him as the leader. After securing the southern flank, Kamose took to the North to fight more of the Hyksos. Despite little sustained opposition, he failed to take more land in the north and died suddenly after just 2 years at the throne. He left no sons behind to succeed him and his brother, Ahmose I, came to power at 10 years old.[20]
Kamose's second stela which records his victory against the Hyksos (Luxor Museum).
The nationalists in the North had weakened the Hyksos and could no longer muster a counter-attack. In 1559 BC, led by an old enough to fight Ahmose I, they conquered the city of Memphis. Then, with naval support, conquered Hutwaret. They then followed the Hyksos to Sharuhen, a major center of Hyksos power, and laid siege to it for 3 years. After intimidating the surrounding areas, they had won the war.[20] Being in the middle, the people of Thebes and Upper Egypt were had less influence and were politically "independent". They maintained mostly peaceful relationships with the Nubians and Hyksos, restoring unity to Upper and Lower Egypt.[1] Beginning The New Kingdom of Egypt.[20]
Comparison of regnal lists
This dynasty does not appear often on surviving Egyptian king lists, however five kings are recorded on the Karnak King List, dated to the reign of Thutmose III. Three kings are also listed in the kings scene of TT2, dated to the reign of Ramesses II. More names may have originally appeared in the missing sections.
The dynasty likely appeared on the Turin King List but the section containing the dynasty is heavily fragmented and very little survives. There were originally sixteen kings named after the Sixteenth Dynasty, but it is unknown if all of these kings were indeed part of the seventeenth dynasty, and one of the two first kings may have been Senebkay, who may have been part of a completely different dynasty.
↑ F. J. Yurco. "'Were the ancient Egyptians black or white?'". Biblical Archaeology Review. (Vol 15, no. 5, 1989): 35–37.
↑ Redford, Donald Bruce (2006). From slave to pharaoh: the black experience of ancient Egypt. Johns Hopkins University Press. pp.35–37. ISBN978-0-8018-8544-0. OCLC843428071.
↑ "A new dynasty emerged in Thebes out of a local branch of the Thirteenth Dynasty. It was founded by Rahotep, who took Wahankh as his Horus name."Grimal, Nicolas (1994). A History of Ancient Egypt. Wiley-Blackwell (July 19, 1994). p.187.
↑ "In between the Hyksos kingdom, in the Delta and Middle Egypt, and the Kingdom of Kush, south of the 1st cataract, was squeezed the only “true” Egyptian dynasty, the 17th in Thebes."Van de Mieroop, Marc (2021). A History of Ancient Egypt. Wiley-Blackwell. p.136.
↑ "The conflict came to a head in a confrontation between the Hyksos and the native Theban rulers (Dynasty 17)"David, Rosalie (2007). Handbook to Life in Ancient Egypt Revised. Oxford University Press. p.33.
↑ "In the south, Nubians entered Egypt to serve under the Theban rulers of the Seventeenth Dynasty (1640–1550 B.C.E.), who would rise up to restore a united land."Bunson, Margaret (2002). Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt (Facts on File Library of World History). Facts on File. p.383.
↑ "SEVENTEENTH DYNASTY. An upper Egyptian Succession (c.1665-1509) of local rulers in the Theban area."Redford, Donald (200). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt: 003. Oxford Univ Pr. p.273.
↑ "(Fifteenth Dynasty) in the eastern Delta was perceived to be a foreign occupation by the Egyptian Seventeenth Dynasty that ruled in Thebes"Noll, K.L. (2002). Canaan and Israel in Antiquity: An Introduction. Sheffield Academic Press. p.123.
↑ "The revolution by the Egyptian native Seven- teenth Dynasty against the Hyksos resulted in a subsequent campaign"Dumper, Michael (2006). Cities of the Middle East and North Africa: A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO (2006). p.105.
↑ "until they were eventually dispelled by a rival , native dynasty from Thebes Tubb, Jonathan N. (1999). Canaanites (Volume 2) (Peoples of the Past). University of Oklahoma Press. p.62.
↑ "and the Second lntermediate Period saw an Egyptian dynasty ruling from Thebes, while the Palestinian Hyksos ruled the north"Tyldesley, Joyce (2007). Egypt: How a Lost Civilisation Was Rediscovered. BBC Books. p.14.
↑ "while an indigenous Seventeenth Dynasty ( ca. 1650–1552 BCE ) ruled over Thebes ."Modrzejewski, Joseph Meleze (1995). Jews of Egypt from Rameses II to Emperor Hadrian. T&T Clark. p.7.
↑ "but there was also a native 17th dynasty ( ca 1640 - ca1540 ) in Thebes"Castleden, Rodney (1995). The Concise Encyclopedia of World History. Parragon Book Service. p.191.
↑ K. S. B. Ryholt, Adam Bülow-Jacobse, The political situation in Egypt during the second intermediate period, c. 1800-1550 B.C., pp 168, 170, 171, 179, 204, 400
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