Kim Ryholt
Encyclopedia
Kim S B Ryholt is a Danish
Egyptologist
, who works at the Carsten Niebuhr Institute of Near Eastern Studies at the University of Copenhagen
.
One of his most significant but also controversial publications is a 1997 book titled The Political Situation in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period c. 1800-1550 B.C. by Museum Tuscalanum Press. (ISBN 87-7289-421-0) Aidan Dodson, a prominent English Egyptologist, calls Ryholt's book "fundamental" for an understanding of the Second Intermediate Period in his Bi Or LVII, January-April 2000, p. 48 Review of Ryholt's aforementioned 463-page book because it reviews the political history of this period and contains an updated—and more accurate—reconstruction of the Turin Canon since the 1959 publication of Alan Gardiner
's Royal Canon of Egypt. It also contains an extensive catalogue of all the known monuments, inscriptions and seals for the kings of this period.
Ryholt's study makes note of numerous recent archaeological finds including the discovery of a new Hyksos
king named Sakir-Har
, the find of a door jamb at Gebel Antef in the mid-1990s which establishes that Sekhemre Shedtawy Sobekemsaf II
was the father of the 17th Dynasty Theban kings Antef VI
and Antef VII
as well as a fresh discussion of Ahmose's Unwetterstele document. It also strongly argues that the Sixteenth dynasty of Egypt
was made up of poorly attested Theban kings such as Nebiriau I
, Nebiriau II
, Seuserenre Bebiankh
and Sekhemre Shedwaset who are documented in the last surviving page of the Turin Canon rather than minor Hyksos vassal kings in Lower Egypt
, as is generally believed. Among the most significant discussions is Ryholt's evidence that Sekhemre Khutawy
rather than Ugaf
was the first king of Egypt's 13th Dynasty
(see Appendix A of his book) and a discussion of the foreign origins of the Semitic 13th Dynasty king named Khendjer
--whose reign lasted a minimum of 4 years and 3 months based on dated workmen's control notes found on stone blocks from his unfinished pyramid complex. (Ryholt: p. 193) Khendjer's name, which means 'boar', is a foreign Semitic name that suggests he was the first recognised foreign (i.e. of non-Egyptian origin) Pharaoh of Egypt.
However, some of Ryholt's conclusions are based on limited evidence which can be interpreted in many different ways. His chapter on the 14th Dynasty
has now been demonstrated to be erroneous in assuming that the 14th Dynasty was contemporary with the 13th Dynasty from the latter's founding around 1800 BC until its collapse in c. 1650/1648 BC. The evidence from the strata levels of Ryholt's cited 14th Dynasty seals as recounted in a BASOR (315) 1999, pp. 47–73 book review by Daphna Ben Tor and James/Susan Allen conclusively establish that the 14th Dynasty was only contemporary with the 13th Dynasty in the last half century of the latter's existence. Critically, Manfred Bietak
has dated the inscriptions and monuments of Nehesy at Tell el-Dab'a in the Delta
—the first known Dynasty 14 king—to Stratum F or B/3 of the Bronze Age
at around 1700 BC—corresponding to the late 13th Dynasty. Ryholt's proposal that king Sheshi, A'amu and Yakbim were also rulers of the 14th Dynasty is discredited by Ben Tor's study of the known strata levels of their seals which show that they date to the second half of the Hyksos 15th Dynasty and are not contemporary with the 13th dynasty. Sheshi, Yakbim and A'amu are more likely to be Hyksos vassal kings in the Delta. Therefore, not all of Ryholt's conclusions have been accepted by Egyptologists.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
Egyptologist
Egyptology
Egyptology is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious practices in the AD 4th century. A practitioner of the discipline is an “Egyptologist”...
, who works at the Carsten Niebuhr Institute of Near Eastern Studies at the University of Copenhagen
University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen is the oldest and largest university and research institution in Denmark. Founded in 1479, it has more than 37,000 students, the majority of whom are female , and more than 7,000 employees. The university has several campuses located in and around Copenhagen, with the...
.
One of his most significant but also controversial publications is a 1997 book titled The Political Situation in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period c. 1800-1550 B.C. by Museum Tuscalanum Press. (ISBN 87-7289-421-0) Aidan Dodson, a prominent English Egyptologist, calls Ryholt's book "fundamental" for an understanding of the Second Intermediate Period in his Bi Or LVII, January-April 2000, p. 48 Review of Ryholt's aforementioned 463-page book because it reviews the political history of this period and contains an updated—and more accurate—reconstruction of the Turin Canon since the 1959 publication of Alan Gardiner
Alan Gardiner
Sir Alan Henderson Gardiner was one of the premier British Egyptologists of the early and mid-20th century...
's Royal Canon of Egypt. It also contains an extensive catalogue of all the known monuments, inscriptions and seals for the kings of this period.
Ryholt's study makes note of numerous recent archaeological finds including the discovery of a new Hyksos
Hyksos
The Hyksos were an Asiatic people who took over the eastern Nile Delta during the twelfth dynasty, initiating the Second Intermediate Period of ancient Egypt....
king named Sakir-Har
Sakir-Har
The obscure Hyksos king, Sakir-Har, was discovered in a recently excavated door jamb from Tell el-Dab'a of Ancient Egypt by Manfred Bietak. His titulary appear on door jamb, Cairo TD-8316...
, the find of a door jamb at Gebel Antef in the mid-1990s which establishes that Sekhemre Shedtawy Sobekemsaf II
Sobekemsaf II
Sobekemsaf II Sekhemrewadjkhaw was a pharaoh of Egypt during the 17th Dynasty. He is attested by a series of inscriptions mentioning a mining expedition to the rock quarries at Wadi Hammamat in the Eastern Desert during his reign. One of the inscriptions is explicitly dated to his Year 7...
was the father of the 17th Dynasty Theban kings Antef VI
Antef VI
Sekhemre-Wepmaat Intef was an Egyptian king of the Seventeenth dynasty of Egypt, who lived during the Second Intermediate Period, when Egypt was ruled by multiple kings....
and Antef VII
Antef VII
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. He is known to be the brother of Sekhemre-Wepmaat Intef and perhaps the son of Sekhemre...
as well as a fresh discussion of Ahmose's Unwetterstele document. It also strongly argues that the Sixteenth dynasty of Egypt
Sixteenth dynasty of Egypt
The sixteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt was a dynasty of pharaohs that ruled in Upper Egypt for 50 years during the Second Intermediate Period The sixteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty XVI) was a dynasty of pharaohs that ruled in Upper Egypt for 50 years during the Second Intermediate...
was made up of poorly attested Theban kings such as Nebiriau I
Sewadjenre Nebiriau I
Sewadjenre Nebiriau or Nebiryerawet I was a pharaoh of Egypt of the 16th or 17th Theban dynasty based in Upper Egypt during the Second intermediate period. Nebiriau I reigned for 26 years according to the Turin Canon and was succeeded by Nebiriau II who may have been his son...
, Nebiriau II
Nebiriau II
Nebiriau II or Nebiryerawet was a king of the 16th or 17th Theban dynasty who ruled Upper Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period of Ancient Egypt. He is commonly assumed by some Egyptologists to be the son of Sewadjenre Nebiriau I, his predecessor given the rarity of the name Nebiriau in...
, Seuserenre Bebiankh
Seuserenre Bebiankh
Seuserenre Bebiankh was a native Ancient Egyptian king of the 16th Theban dynasty during the Second Intermediate Period and the successor of king Semenre. He is assigned a reign of 12 years in the Turin Canon...
and Sekhemre Shedwaset who are documented in the last surviving page of the Turin Canon rather than minor Hyksos vassal kings in Lower Egypt
Lower Egypt
Lower Egypt is the northern-most section of Egypt. It refers to the fertile Nile Delta region, which stretches from the area between El-Aiyat and Zawyet Dahshur, south of modern-day Cairo, and the Mediterranean Sea....
, as is generally believed. Among the most significant discussions is Ryholt's evidence that Sekhemre Khutawy
Sekhemre Khutawy
Sekhemre Khutawy was an Egyptian king of the 13th Dynasty.-Evidence:Sekhemre-Khutawy is named in the Nile Flood records at Semna near the second cataracts...
rather than Ugaf
Wegaf
Khutawyre Wegaf was an Egyptian king of the 13th Dynasty who is known from several sources, including a stelae and statues. There is a general known from a scarab with the same name who is perhaps identical with this king....
was the first king of Egypt's 13th Dynasty
Thirteenth dynasty of Egypt
The thirteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt is often combined with Dynasties XI, XII and XIV under the group title Middle Kingdom. Other writers separate it from these dynasties and join it to Dynasties XIV through XVII as part of the Second Intermediate Period...
(see Appendix A of his book) and a discussion of the foreign origins of the Semitic 13th Dynasty king named Khendjer
Khendjer
Khendjer was an Egyptian king of the 13th Dynasty. The name Khendjer is poorly attested in Egyptian. Khendjer "has been interpreted as a foreign name hnzr and equated with the Semitic personal name hzr, [for] boar" according to the Danish Egyptologist Kim Ryholt...
--whose reign lasted a minimum of 4 years and 3 months based on dated workmen's control notes found on stone blocks from his unfinished pyramid complex. (Ryholt: p. 193) Khendjer's name, which means 'boar', is a foreign Semitic name that suggests he was the first recognised foreign (i.e. of non-Egyptian origin) Pharaoh of Egypt.
However, some of Ryholt's conclusions are based on limited evidence which can be interpreted in many different ways. His chapter on the 14th Dynasty
Fourteenth dynasty of Egypt
The Eleventh , Twelfth, Thirteenth and Fourteenth Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title, Middle Kingdom, though this dynasty overlaps partially with either the Thirteenth Dynasty or the Fifteenth Dynasty, during the Second Intermediate Period.It is associated with the...
has now been demonstrated to be erroneous in assuming that the 14th Dynasty was contemporary with the 13th Dynasty from the latter's founding around 1800 BC until its collapse in c. 1650/1648 BC. The evidence from the strata levels of Ryholt's cited 14th Dynasty seals as recounted in a BASOR (315) 1999, pp. 47–73 book review by Daphna Ben Tor and James/Susan Allen conclusively establish that the 14th Dynasty was only contemporary with the 13th Dynasty in the last half century of the latter's existence. Critically, Manfred Bietak
Manfred Bietak
Manfred Bietak is an Austrian archaeologist. He is Professor emeritus of Egyptology at the University of Vienna and Director of the Austrian Archaeological Institute in Cairo 1973-2009...
has dated the inscriptions and monuments of Nehesy at Tell el-Dab'a in the Delta
Nile Delta
The Nile Delta is the delta formed in Northern Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's largest river deltas—from Alexandria in the west to Port Said in the east, it covers some 240 km of Mediterranean coastline—and is a rich...
—the first known Dynasty 14 king—to Stratum F or B/3 of the Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
at around 1700 BC—corresponding to the late 13th Dynasty. Ryholt's proposal that king Sheshi, A'amu and Yakbim were also rulers of the 14th Dynasty is discredited by Ben Tor's study of the known strata levels of their seals which show that they date to the second half of the Hyksos 15th Dynasty and are not contemporary with the 13th dynasty. Sheshi, Yakbim and A'amu are more likely to be Hyksos vassal kings in the Delta. Therefore, not all of Ryholt's conclusions have been accepted by Egyptologists.