Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt | |||||||||||||||
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1803 BC–1649 BC | |||||||||||||||
Capital | Itjtawy (c. 1803 BC – c. 1677 BC) Thebes (c. 1677 BC – c. 1648 BC) | ||||||||||||||
Common languages | Egyptian language | ||||||||||||||
Religion | ancient Egyptian religion | ||||||||||||||
Government | Absolute monarchy | ||||||||||||||
Historical era | Bronze Age | ||||||||||||||
• Established | 1803 BC | ||||||||||||||
• Disestablished | 1649 BC | ||||||||||||||
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Periods and dynasties of ancient Egypt |
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All years are BC |
The Thirteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty XIII) is often combined with Dynasties XI, XII and XIV under the group title Middle Kingdom . Some writers separate it from these dynasties and join it to Dynasties XIV through XVII as part of the Second Intermediate Period. Dynasty XIII lasted from approximately 1803 BC until approximately 1649 BC, i.e. for 154 years. [1]
According to Kim S. B. Ryholt, the 13th Dynasty was a continuation through a female line of the preceding 12th Dynasty, with its first pharaoh, Sobekhotep I, a son of queen regnant Sobekneferu and her husband Amenemhat and not a son of Amenemhat IV, as often stated. [1] Amenemhat IV in reality died childless. Kim Ryholt proposes that the demarcation between the two dynasties reflects the rise of the independent 14th Dynasty in the eastern Delta, an event which, he proposes, occurred during Sobekneferu's reign. [1] As direct heirs to the kings of the 12th Dynasty, pharaohs of the 13th Dynasty reigned from Memphis over Middle and Upper Egypt, all the way to the second cataract to the south. The power of the 13th Dynasty waned progressively over its 150 years of existence and it finally came to an end with the conquest of Memphis by the Hyksos rulers of the 15th Dynasty, c. 1650 BC. [1]
In later texts, this dynasty is usually described as an era of chaos and disorder. However, the period may have been more peaceful than was once thought since the central government in Itj-tawy near the Faiyum was sustained during most of the dynasty and the country remained relatively stable. The period was undoubtedly characterized by decline, with a large number of kings with short reigns and only a few attestations. The true chronology of this dynasty is difficult to determine as there are few monuments dating from the period. Many of the kings' names are only known from odd fragmentary inscriptions or from scarabs. [ citation needed ] The names and order in the table are based on Dodson and Hilton and Ryholt. [1] [2]
Name of pharaoh | Image | Dates | Burial | Consort(s) | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep I | 1803–1800 BC | The dominant hypothesis is that Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep was the founder of the dynasty, [3] [4] in older studies Wegaf | |||
Sonbef | 1800–1796 BC | Perhaps a son of Amenemhat IV and brother of Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep. [3] | |||
Nerikare | 1796 BC | ||||
Sekhemkare Amenemhat V | 1796–1793 BC | ||||
Ameny Qemau | 1795–1792 BC | Pyramid of Ameny Qemau | |||
Hotepibre Qemau Siharnedjheritef [5] | 1792–1790 BC | Perhaps identical with King Sehotepibre in the Turin Canon | |||
Iufni | 1790–1788 BC | Known only from the Turin canon | |||
Seankhibre Ameny-Intef-Amenemhat VI | 1788–1785 BC | ||||
Semenkare Nebnuni | 1785–1783 BC or 1739 BC | ||||
Sehetepibre Sewesekhtawy | 1783–1781 BC | ||||
Sewadjkare I | 1781 BCE | Known only from the Turin canon | |||
Nedjemibre | 7 months, 1780 BC or 1736 BC | Known only from the Turin canon | |||
Khaankhre Sobekhotep II | 1780–1777 BC | ||||
Renseneb Amenemhat | 1777 BC | ||||
Awybre Hor | 1777–1775 BC | Buried in Dahshur near the pyramid of Amenemhet III | Nubhetepti (?) | ||
Sekhemrekhutawy Khabaw | 1775–1772 BC | Possibly a son of Hor Awybre. | |||
Djedkheperew | 1772–1770 BC | Possibly a brother of Sekhemrekhutawy Khabaw. | |||
Sebkay | Possibly two kings, Seb and his son Kay | ||||
Sedjefakare Kay-Amenemhat VII | 5 to 7 years or 3 years, 1769–1766 BC | ||||
Khutawyre Wegaf | Around 1767 BC | ||||
Userkare Khendjer | Minimum 4 years and 3 months c. 1765 BC | Pyramid of Khendjer, South Saqqara [6] | Seneb[henas?] | May also have borne the name Nimaatre. | |
Smenkhkare Imyremeshaw | Reigned less than 10 years, starting 1759 BC or 1711 BC. | Aya (Iy)? | |||
Sehetepkare Intef | Less than 10 years | Aya (Iy)? | |||
Seth Meribre | Reign ended 1749 BCE | ||||
Sekhemresewadjtawy Sobekhotep III | 1755–1751 BC | Senebhenas [7] Neni [7] | |||
Khasekhemre Neferhotep I | 1751–1740 BC | Perhaps buried at Abydos: S 9 | Senebsen [7] | ||
Menwadjre Sihathor | 1739 BC | Ephemeral coregent with his brother Neferhotep I | |||
Khaneferre Sobekhotep IV | 1740–1730 BC | Perhaps buried at Abydos: S 10 | Tjan [7] | Brother of Neferhotep I and Sihathor | |
Merhotepre Sobekhotep V | c. 1730 BC | Nubkhaes ? [7] | |||
Khahotepre Sobekhotep VI | Around 1725 BC | ||||
Wahibre Ibiau | 1725–1714 BC or 1712–1701 BC | ||||
Merneferre Ay | 23 years, 8 months and 18 days, 1701–1677 BC or 1714–1691 BC | Built a pyramid whose location is unknown, maybe near Memphis. [8] | Inni ? | Reigned 23 years, the longest reign of the dynasty. Last king to be attested in both Lower and Upper Egypt. | |
Following these kings, the remaining rulers of the 13th Dynasty are only attested by finds from Upper Egypt. This may indicate the abandonment of the old capital Itjtawy in favor of Thebes. [9] Daphna Ben Tor believes that this event was triggered by the invasion of the eastern Delta and the Memphite region by Canaanite rulers. For some authors, this marks the end of the Middle Kingdom and the beginning of the Second Intermediate Period. [9] This analysis is rejected by Ryholt and Baker however, who note that the stele of Seheqenre Sankhptahi, reigning toward the end of the dynasty, strongly suggests that he reigned over Memphis. The stele is of unknown provenance. [3] [4]
Image | Pharaoh | Comments |
---|---|---|
Merhotepre Ini | Also known as Ini I | |
Sankhenre Sewadjtu | ||
Mersekhemre Ined | Possibly the same as Neferhotep II | |
Sewadjkare Hori | Also known as Hori II | |
Merkawre Sobekhotep VII | ||
Eight kings, names lost | ||
Merkheperre | ||
Merkare | Known only from the Turin canon | |
One lost king | ||
Sewadjare Mentuhotep V | ||
[...]mosre | ||
Ibi [...]maatre | ||
Hor [...] [...]webenre | ||
Se[...]kare | ||
Seheqenre Sankhptahi | Represented on a stele offering to Ptah | |
[...]re | ||
Se[...]enre | Possibly the Turin canon’s preservation of the prenomen Sewahenre. | |
The chronological position of a number of attested rulers could not be conclusively determined due to a lack of evidence:
Image | Pharaoh | Comments |
---|---|---|
Mershepsesre Ini II | According to von Beckerath, successor of Sewadjare Mentuhotep V and predecessor of Merkheperre | |
Mersekhemre Neferhotep II | Possibly the same as Mersekhemre Ined | |
Sewahenre Senebmiu | According to von Beckerath, successor of Se[...]kare | |
Sekhanenre ...re | ||
Sobekhotep IX |
Ryholt posits a ruler named "Sobkhotep I Sekhemre Khutawy" as the first king of this dynasty. This is now the dominant hypothesis in Egyptology [4] and Sobekhotep Sekhemre Khutawy is referred to as Sobekhotep I in this article. Ryholt thus credits Sekhemre Khutawy Sobkhotep I with a reign of 3 to 4 years c. 1800 BC and proposes that Khaankhre Sobekhotep II reigned c. 20 years later in 1780 BC. [3] Dodson and Hilton similarly believe that Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep predated Khaankhre Sobekhotep. [10]
After allowing discipline at the southern forts to deteriorate, the government eventually withdrew its garrisons and, not long afterward, the forts were reoccupied by the rising Nubian state of Kush. In the north, Lower Egypt was overrun by the Hyksos, a Semitic people from across the Sinai. An independent line of kings created Dynasty XIV that arose in the western Delta during later Dynasty XIII. According to Manetho, into this unstable mix came invaders from the east called the Hyksos who seized Egypt "without striking a blow; and having overpowered the rulers of the land, they then burned our cities ruthlessly, razed to the ground the temples of gods..." Their regime, called Dynasty XV, was claimed to have replaced Dynasties XIII and XIV in most of the country.
However, recent archaeological finds at Edfu could indicate that the Hyksos 15th dynasty was already in existence at least by the mid-13th dynasty reign of king Sobekhotep IV. In a recently published paper in Egypt and the Levant, [11] Nadine Moeller, Gregory Marouard and N. Ayers discuss the discovery of an important early 12th dynasty Middle Kingdom administrative building in the eastern Tell Edfu area of Upper Egypt which was in continual use into the early Second Intermediate Period until the 17th dynasty, when its remains were sealed up by a large silo court. Fieldwork by Egyptologists in 2010 and 2011 into the remains of the former 12th dynasty building which was also used in the 13th dynasty led to the discovery of a large adjoining hall which proved to contain 41 sealings showing the cartouche of the Hyksos ruler Khyan together with 9 sealings naming the 13th dynasty king Sobekhotep IV. [12] The preserved contexts of these seals shows that Sobekhotep IV and Khyan were most likely contemporaries of one another. This could mean that the 13th dynasty did not control all of Egypt when Sobekhotep IV acceded to power, and that there was a significant overlap between the 13th and 15th dynasties since Sobekhotep IV was only a mid-13th dynasty ruler; although one of its most powerful kings. Therefore, Manetho's statement that the Hyksos 15th dynasty violently replaced the 13th dynasty could be a piece of later Egyptian propaganda. Rather, the 13th dynasty's authority must have been collapsing throughout Egypt in its final decades and the Hyksos state in the Delta region simply took over Memphis and ended the 13th dynasty's kingdom. However, this analysis and the conclusions drawn from it are rejected by Egyptologist Robert Porter, who argues that Khyan ruled much later than Sobekhotep IV (a gap of c. 100 years exists between the two in conventional chronologies) and that the seals of a pharaoh were used long after his death. Thus the seals of Sobekhotep IV might not indicate that he was a contemporary of Khyan. [13]
Merneferre Ay was the last Egyptian ruler of the 13th Dynasty who is attested by objects in both Lower and Upper Egypt. [14] Henceforth, his successors, from Merhotepre Ini on, are only attested in Upper Egypt. [15]
Sobekneferu or Neferusobek was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the last ruler of the Twelfth Dynasty of the Middle Kingdom. She ascended to the throne following the death of Amenemhat IV, possibly her brother or husband, though their relationship is unproven. Instead, she asserted legitimacy through her father Amenemhat III. Her reign lasted 3 years, 10 months, and 24 days, according to the Turin King List.
Djedhotepre Dedumose I was an Egyptian pharaoh of the Second Intermediate Period. According to egyptologists Kim Ryholt, Darrell Baker, Aidan Dodson and Dyan Hilton, he was a king of the 16th Dynasty. Alternatively, Jürgen von Beckerath, Thomas Schneider and Detlef Franke see him as a king of the 13th Dynasty.
Meruserre Yaqub-Har was a pharaoh of Egypt during the 17th or 16th century BCE. As he reigned during Egypt's fragmented Second Intermediate Period, it is difficult to date his reign precisely, and even the dynasty to which he belonged is uncertain.
The Sixteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt was a dynasty of pharaohs that ruled the Theban region in Upper Egypt for 70 years.
Hor Awibre was an Egyptian pharaoh of the early 13th Dynasty in the late Middle Kingdom.
Khasekhemre Neferhotep I was an Egyptian pharaoh of the mid Thirteenth Dynasty ruling in the second half of the 18th century BC during a time referred to as the late Middle Kingdom or early Second Intermediate Period, depending on the scholar. One of the best attested rulers of the 13th Dynasty, Neferhotep I reigned for 11 years.
Khutawyre Wegaf was a pharaoh of the early Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt in the late Middle Kingdom/Second Intermediate Period. He is known from several sources, including a stele and statues. In the Turin King List he is the first ruler of this dynasty with a reign of 2 regnal years.
Khaneferre Sobekhotep IV was one of the more powerful Egyptian kings of the 13th Dynasty, who reigned at least eight years. His brothers, Neferhotep I and Sihathor, were his predecessors on the throne, the latter having only ruled as coregent for a few months.
Sedjefakare Kay Amenemhat VII was an Egyptian pharaoh of the early 13th Dynasty in the late Middle Kingdom.
Sekhemre Khutawy Amenemhat Sobekhotep was an Egyptian pharaoh of the early 13th Dynasty.
Khaankhre Sobekhotep I was a pharaoh of the Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period.
Sekhemrekhutawy is an Ancient Egyptian name meaning "Mighty Re, he who protects the Two Lands". Sekhemrekhutawy was the name of three Egyptian pharaohs during the Second Intermediate period:
Nubkheperre Intef was an Egyptian king of the Seventeenth Dynasty of Egypt at Thebes during the Second Intermediate Period, when Egypt was divided by rival dynasties including the Hyksos in Lower Egypt.
Sekhemre Wadjkhaw Sobekemsaf I was a pharaoh of Egypt during the 17th Dynasty in the Second Intermediate Period.
Seuserenre Khyan (also Khayan or Khian was a Hyksos king of the Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt, ruling over Lower Egypt in the second half of the 17th century BCE. His royal name Seuserenre translates as "The one whom Re has caused to be strong." Khyan bears the titles of an Egyptian king, but also the title ruler of the foreign land. The later title is the typical designation of the Hyksos rulers.
Maaibre Sheshi was a ruler of areas of Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period. The dynasty, chronological position, duration and extent of his reign are uncertain and subject to ongoing debate. The difficulty of identification is mirrored by problems in determining events from the end of the Middle Kingdom to the arrival of the Hyksos in Egypt. Nonetheless, Sheshi is, in terms of the number of artifacts attributed to him, the best-attested king of the period spanning the end of the Middle Kingdom and the Second Intermediate period; roughly from c. 1800 BC until 1550 BC. Hundreds of scaraboid seals bearing his name have been found throughout the Levant, Egypt, Nubia, and as far away as Carthage, where some were still in use 1,500 years after his death.
Sekhemre Seusertawy Sobekhotep VIII was possibly the third king of the 16th Dynasty of Egypt reigning over the Theban region in Upper Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period. Alternatively, he may be a ruler of the 13th or 17th Dynasty. If he was a king of the 16th Dynasty, Sobekhotep VIII would be credited 16 years of reign by the Turin canon, starting c. 1650 BC, at the time of the Hyksos invasion of Egypt.
Sekhemre Sankhtawy Neferhotep III Iykhernofret was the third or fourth ruler of the Theban 16th Dynasty, reigning after Sobekhotep VIII according to Egyptologists Kim Ryholt and Darrell Baker. He is assigned a reign of 1 year in the Turin Canon and is known primarily by a single stela from Thebes. In an older study, Jürgen von Beckerath dated Neferhotep III to the end of the 13th Dynasty.
Sekhemre Sementawy Djehuty was a minor king reigning over parts of Upper Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period.
Sekhemkare Amenemhat Senebef was an Egyptian pharaoh of the early 13th Dynasty, often considered as the final part of the late Middle Kingdom or early Second Intermediate Period.