Second Intermediate Period of Egypt
Encyclopedia
The Second Intermediate Period marks a period when Ancient Egypt
fell into disarray for a second time, between the end of the Middle Kingdom
and the start of the New Kingdom. It is best known as the period when the Hyksos
made their appearance in Egypt and whose reign comprised the fifteenth
and sixteenth dynasties
.
The brilliant Egyptian twelfth dynasty
came to an end in the 18th century BC with the death of Queen Sobekneferu
(1777 BC – 1773 BC). Apparently, she had no heirs, causing the twelfth dynasty to come to a sudden end as did the Golden Age of the Middle Kingdom, which was succeeded by the much weaker thirteenth dynasty of Egypt
. Retaining the seat of the twelfth dynasty, the thirteenth dynasty ruled from Itjtawy
("Seizer-of-the-Two-Lands") near Memphis
and el-Lisht
, just south of the apex of the Nile Delta
. The thirteenth dynasty is notable for the accession of the first formally recognised Semitic king, Khendjer
. The thirteenth dynasty proved unable to hold onto the entire territory of Egypt, however, and the provincial ruling family in Xois
, located in the marshes of the western delta, broke away from the central authority to form the fourteenth dynasty
. The splintering of the land accelerated after the reign of the thirteenth dynasty king Sobekhotep IV
. It was during the reign of Sobekhotep IV that the Hyksos may have made their first appearance, and around 1720 BC took control of the town of Avaris
(the modern Tell ed-Dab'a/Khata'na), a few miles from Qantir. The outlines of the traditional account of the "invasion" of the land by the Hyksos is preserved in the Aegyptiaca of Manetho
, an Egyptian priest who wrote in the time of Ptolemy II Philadelphus. Manetho recorded that it was during the reign of "Tutimaios" (who has been identified with Dedumose I of the Thirteenth Dynasty) that the Hyksos overran Egypt, led by Salitis
, the founder of the fifteenth dynasty. This dynasty was succeeded by a group of Hyksos princes and chieftains, who ruled in the eastern delta region with their local Egyptian vassals and are known primarily by scarabs inscribed with their names and the period of their reign is called the sixteenth dynasty by modern Egyptologists.
The later rulers of the thirteenth dynasty appear to be only ephemeral monarchs under the control of a powerful line of vizier
s, and indeed, it has been suggested that the ruler in this period might have been elected, if not appointed. One monarch late in the dynasty, Wahibre Ibiau
, may have been a former vizier elevated to the office. Beginning with the reign of Sobekhotep IV, the power of this dynasty, weak to begin with, deteriorated. The later king Merneferre Ai
(ruled c. 1690 BC) appears to have been a mere vassal of the Hyksos princes ruling there; his successors held onto their diminished office until sometime after 1650 BC.
Around the time Memphis and Itj-tawy fell to the Hyksos, the native Egyptian ruling house in Thebes
declared its independence from the vassal dynasty in Itj-tawy and set itself up as the seventeenth dynasty
. This dynasty was to prove the salvation of Ancient Egypt and eventually would lead the war of liberation that drove the Hyksos back into Asia. The two last kings of this dynasty were Tao II the Brave
and Kamose
, who traditionally are credited with the final defeat of the Hyksos. With the eighteenth dynasty
, the New Kingdom
begins.
History of Ancient Egypt
The History of Ancient Egypt spans the period from the early predynastic settlements of the northern Nile Valley to the Roman conquest in 30 BC...
fell into disarray for a second time, between the end of the Middle Kingdom
Middle Kingdom of Egypt
The Middle Kingdom of Egypt is the period in the history of ancient Egypt stretching from the establishment of the Eleventh Dynasty to the end of the Fourteenth Dynasty, between 2055 BC and 1650 BC, although some writers include the Thirteenth and Fourteenth dynasties in the Second Intermediate...
and the start of the New Kingdom. It is best known as the period when the 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....
made their appearance in Egypt and whose reign comprised the fifteenth
Fifteenth dynasty of Egypt
The Fifteenth, Sixteenth and Seventeenth Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title, Second Intermediate Period. The Fifteenth Dynasty dates approximately from 1650 to 1550 BC.-Rulers:...
and sixteenth dynasties
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...
.
The brilliant Egyptian twelfth dynasty
Twelfth dynasty of Egypt
The twelfth dynasty of ancient Egypt is often combined with Dynasties XI, XIII and XIV under the group title Middle Kingdom.-Rulers:Known rulers of the twelfth dynasty are as follows :...
came to an end in the 18th century BC with the death of Queen Sobekneferu
Sobekneferu
Sobekneferu was an Egyptian pharaoh of the twelfth dynasty. Her name meant "the beauty of Sobek." She was the daughter of Pharaoh Amenemhat III. Manetho states she also was the sister of Amenemhat IV, but this claim is unproven. Sobekneferu had an older sister named Nefruptah who may have been...
(1777 BC – 1773 BC). Apparently, she had no heirs, causing the twelfth dynasty to come to a sudden end as did the Golden Age of the Middle Kingdom, which was succeeded by the much weaker thirteenth dynasty of Egypt
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...
. Retaining the seat of the twelfth dynasty, the thirteenth dynasty ruled from Itjtawy
Itjtawy
Itjtawy , is the as-yet unidentified location of the royal city founded by Twelfth Dynasty Egyptian King Amenemhat I during year 20 of his reign. It is located in the Faiyum region, and its cemeteries were located at Lisht, el-Lahun and Dahshur...
("Seizer-of-the-Two-Lands") near Memphis
Memphis, Egypt
Memphis was the ancient capital of Aneb-Hetch, the first nome of Lower Egypt. Its ruins are located near the town of Helwan, south of Cairo.According to legend related by Manetho, the city was founded by the pharaoh Menes around 3000 BC. Capital of Egypt during the Old Kingdom, it remained an...
and el-Lisht
El-Lisht
Lisht or el-Lisht is an Egyptian village located south of Cairo. It is the site of Middle Kingdom royal and elite burials, including two pyramids built by Amenemhat I and Senusret I. The two main pyramids were surrounded by smaller pyramids of members of the royal family, and many mastaba tombs of...
, just south of the apex of the Nile 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 thirteenth dynasty is notable for the accession of the first formally recognised Semitic king, 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...
. The thirteenth dynasty proved unable to hold onto the entire territory of Egypt, however, and the provincial ruling family in Xois
Xois
Xois was a town of great antiquity and considerable size. Situated nearly in the center of the Nile Delta in Egypt, it is identified as the ancient Egyptian city of Khasut or Khaset or Sakha.-History:Xois sat upon an island formed by the Sebennytic and Phatnitic branches of the Nile...
, located in the marshes of the western delta, broke away from the central authority to form the fourteenth 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...
. The splintering of the land accelerated after the reign of the thirteenth dynasty king Sobekhotep IV
Sobekhotep IV
Khaneferre Sobekhotep IV was one of the most powerful Egyptian kings of the 13th Dynasty. He was the son of the 'god's father' Haankhef and of the 'king's mother' Kemi. His brother, Neferhotep I, was his predecessor on the throne....
. It was during the reign of Sobekhotep IV that the Hyksos may have made their first appearance, and around 1720 BC took control of the town of Avaris
Avaris
Avaris , capital of Egypt under the Hyksos , was located near modern Tell el-Dab'a in the northeastern region of the Nile Delta, at the juncture of the 8th, 14th, 19th and 20th Nomes...
(the modern Tell ed-Dab'a/Khata'na), a few miles from Qantir. The outlines of the traditional account of the "invasion" of the land by the Hyksos is preserved in the Aegyptiaca of Manetho
Manetho
Manetho was an Egyptian historian and priest from Sebennytos who lived during the Ptolemaic era, approximately during the 3rd century BC. Manetho wrote the Aegyptiaca...
, an Egyptian priest who wrote in the time of Ptolemy II Philadelphus. Manetho recorded that it was during the reign of "Tutimaios" (who has been identified with Dedumose I of the Thirteenth Dynasty) that the Hyksos overran Egypt, led by Salitis
Salitis
Salitis was the first king of the Hyksos Fifteenth dynasty of Egypt, who began to rule Egypt around 1648 BC. The precise dates of his rule are unknown. Northern Egypt was controlled by Hyksos rulers throughout the Dynasty. The Hyksos were people of Semitic origin who were thought to have invaded...
, the founder of the fifteenth dynasty. This dynasty was succeeded by a group of Hyksos princes and chieftains, who ruled in the eastern delta region with their local Egyptian vassals and are known primarily by scarabs inscribed with their names and the period of their reign is called the sixteenth dynasty by modern Egyptologists.
The later rulers of the thirteenth dynasty appear to be only ephemeral monarchs under the control of a powerful line of vizier
Vizier (Ancient Egypt)
The vizier was the highest official in Ancient Egypt to serve the king, or pharaoh during the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms. Vizier is the generally accepted rendering of ancient Egyptian tjati, tjaty etc, among Egyptologists...
s, and indeed, it has been suggested that the ruler in this period might have been elected, if not appointed. One monarch late in the dynasty, Wahibre Ibiau
Wahibre Ibiau
throne name: Wahibrebirth name: IbiauWahibre Ibiau was an Egyptian king of the 13th Dynasty, who reigned for 10 years, 8 months and 29 days according to the Turin King List. He is not known from many contemporary monuments. There are several scarab seals with his name as well as a stela of an...
, may have been a former vizier elevated to the office. Beginning with the reign of Sobekhotep IV, the power of this dynasty, weak to begin with, deteriorated. The later king Merneferre Ai
Merneferre Ai
Merneferre Ay was an Ancient Egyptian ruler of the Thirteenth dynasty of Egypt. He assumed the throne around 1700 BC...
(ruled c. 1690 BC) appears to have been a mere vassal of the Hyksos princes ruling there; his successors held onto their diminished office until sometime after 1650 BC.
Around the time Memphis and Itj-tawy fell to the Hyksos, the native Egyptian ruling house in Thebes
Thebes, Egypt
Thebes is the Greek name for a city in Ancient Egypt located about 800 km south of the Mediterranean, on the east bank of the river Nile within the modern city of Luxor. The Theban Necropolis is situated nearby on the west bank of the Nile.-History:...
declared its independence from the vassal dynasty in Itj-tawy and set itself up as the seventeenth dynasty
Seventeenth dynasty of Egypt
The Fifteenth, Sixteenth and Seventeenth Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title, Second Intermediate Period. The Seventeenth Dynasty dates approximately from 1580 to 1550 BC.-Rulers:...
. This dynasty was to prove the salvation of Ancient Egypt and eventually would lead the war of liberation that drove the Hyksos back into Asia. The two last kings of this dynasty were Tao II the Brave
Tao II the Brave
Seqenenre Tao II, , called The Brave, ruled over the last of the local kingdoms of the Theban region of Egypt in the Seventeenth Dynasty during the Second Intermediate Period. He probably was the son and successor to Senaktenre Tao I the Elder and Queen Tetisheri...
and Kamose
Kamose
Kamose was the last king of the Theban Seventeenth Dynasty. He was probably the son of Seqenenre Tao II and Ahhotep I and the full brother of Ahmose I, founder of the Eighteenth Dynasty. His reign fell at the very end of the Second Intermediate Period...
, who traditionally are credited with the final defeat of the Hyksos. With the eighteenth dynasty
Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt
The eighteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt is perhaps the best known of all the dynasties of ancient Egypt...
, the New Kingdom
New Kingdom
The New Kingdom of Egypt, also referred to as the Egyptian Empire is the period in ancient Egyptian history between the 16th century BC and the 11th century BC, covering the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties of Egypt....
begins.