The thirteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...

 (notated Dynasty XIII) is often combined with Dynasties XI, XII and XIV under the group title 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...

. Other writers separate it from these dynasties and join it to Dynasties XIV through XVII as part of the Second Intermediate Period

Second Intermediate Period of Egypt

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...

. Dynasty XIII was from approximately 1773 BC to sometime after 1650 BC.

Rulers

There are many known rulers for Dynasty XIII. Some of the better known ones are listed below. The names and order in the table is based on Dodson and Hilton.

Dynasty XIII pharaohs

Pharaoh	|Horus-name	|Burial	|Consort(s)	|Comments
Sobekhotep Sekhemre-Khutawy Sobekhotep II birth name: Sobekhotep throne name: Sekhemre KhutawySobekhotep II was an Egyptian king of the 13th Dynasty.He is known from several monuments, including a statue, several Nile level records in Nubia and from building works at Medamud and Luxor...   or Wegaf 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....				no agreement yet in Egyptology who was the first king of the Dynasty XIII
Amenemhat V	Sekhemkare Sekhemkare Horus name: Mekhibtaui Nebti name: ItisekhemefThrone name: SekhemkareBirth name: Amenemhat SenebefAmenemhat V Sekhemkare was an Egyptian king of the 13th Dynasty. He appears as 'Sekhemkare' in the Turin King List. Contemporary monuments of this king are several Nile level records and a statue found...
Ameny Qemau Ameny Qemau Ameny Qemau was an Ancient Egyptian king of the early Thirteenth Dynasty, probably the same person as Sehotepibre, who is known from the Turin King List. His position within the succession is uncertain....		Pyramid in South Dashur		Son of Ameny?
Qemau Siharnedjheritef	Hotepibre Hotepibre HotepibRe was an Ancient Egyptian King of the Thirteenth dynasty of Egypt .-Family:Siharnedjheritef was likely the son of Ameny Qemau and the grandson of King Amenemhet V. He was possibly succeeded by a king named Jewefni who may have been a brother...			Son of Qemau?
Amenemhet VI Amenemhet VI )|name explanation = Translation: He who satisfies the Two Lands|name2 = G16-s-sxm-xa:a-w|name2 in cartouche =|name2 cartouche symbol =|name2 determinative =|name2 transcription = Nebti Name Sekhem-khau ...	Sankhibre
Nebnuni	Semenkare Semenkare Semenkare was an Egyptian king of the 13th Dynasty. "Semenkare" means "the one who establishes the Ka of Re"....
Sobekhotep II Sobekhotep II birth name: Sobekhotep throne name: Sekhemre KhutawySobekhotep II was an Egyptian king of the 13th Dynasty.He is known from several monuments, including a statue, several Nile level records in Nubia and from building works at Medamud and Luxor...	Sekhemre-Khutawy	possibly Dahshur Dahshur Dahshur , is a royal necropolis located in the desert on the west bank of the Nile approximately 40 kilometres south of Cairo...
Renseneb Renseneb Renseneb or Ranisonb was an Egyptian king of the 13th Dynasty.-Legacy:He appears in the Turin King List with a reign of four months. He is only known from one contemporary object, a bead which shows that he had a double name: Renseneb Amenemhat...
Hor Hor Hor was an Egyptian king of the 13th Dynasty. He appears in the Turin King List as Au-ib-Rê. He most likely reigned only for a short time, not long enough to prepare a pyramid, which was in this dynasty still the common burial place for kings.-Burial:...	Auibre "Re Succours the Heart"	Dahshur Dahshur Dahshur , is a royal necropolis located in the desert on the west bank of the Nile approximately 40 kilometres south of Cairo...  near the pyramid of Amenemhet III	Nubhotepi
Amenemhet VII	Sedjefakare Sedjefakare birth name: Amenemhat Kaythrone name: SedjefakareSedjefakare Amenemhat was an Egyptian king of the 13th dynasty, known from the Turin King List, and several other objects, including six cylinder seals, one bark stand from Madamud and two scarab seals. His name appears as graffito in the tomb of...
Wegaf 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....	Khutawyre "Re Protects the Two Lands"	Unknown
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...	Userkare / Nikanimaetre	Pyramid, South Saqqara Saqqara Saqqara is a vast, ancient burial ground in Egypt, serving as the necropolis for the Ancient Egyptian capital, Memphis. Saqqara features numerous pyramids, including the world famous Step pyramid of Djoser, sometimes referred to as the Step Tomb due to its rectangular base, as well as a number of...	Seneb[henas?]
Intef	Sehetepkare		Aya Aya (Queen) Aya was an Ancient Egyptian king's wife of the Thirteenth Dynasty.She is known from two sources. Aya appears on a stela now in Würzburg. From this source it is clear that she was part of an influential family of high court officials and was related to the Vizier Ankhu.She also appears in the...  (Iy)?
Sobekhotep III Sobekhotep III Sobekhotep III was an Egyptian king of the 13th dynasty.-Family:The family of the king is known from several sources. A monument from Sehel Island shows Sobekhotep with his father Mentuhotep, his mother was Iuhetibu , his brothers Seneb and Khakau, and a half-sister called Reniseneb...	Sekhemre Sewadjtawy		Senebhenas  Nani
Neferhotep I Neferhotep I Neferhotep I was an Egyptian king of the Thirteenth Dynasty and one of the most powerful rulers of this dynasty. The Turin Canon assigned him a reign length of 11 years....	Khasekhemre		Senebsen
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....	Khaneferre		Tjin
Sobekhotep V Sobekhotep V Sobekhotep V was an Egyptian king of the 13th Dynasty. His birth name was Sobekhotep, and his throne name was MerhotepreSobekhotep V appears in the Turin King List as the successor of Sobekhotep IV. According to this document, he only reigned for four years. Sobekhotep IV was perhaps his father, as...	Merhotepre		Nubkhaes ?
Sobekhotep VI Sobekhotep VI Sobekhotep VI was an Egyptian king of the 13th Dynasty. His birth name was Sobekhotep, and his throne name was Khahotepre. -External links:* from Digital Egypt...	Khahotepre
Ibiaw 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...	Wahibre 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...
Ay	Merneferre		Inni ?
Ini I Merhotepre Ini Merhotepre Ini was the son and successor of Merneferre Ay and a king of the late Thirteenth dynasty of Egypt. He is assigned a brief reign of 2 Years 3 or 4 Months and 9 days in the Turin Canon...	Merhotepre
Sewadjtu Sankhenre Sewadjtu Sankhenre Sewadjtu is almost unknown from contemporary historical records since he ruled Egypt at a time when the 13th Dynasty's control over all of Egypt was receding. He is listed as the successor of Ini in the Turin Canon and is given a reign of 3 years and 2-4 months.-References:* Kim Ryholt,...	Sankhenre

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. Unfortunately, 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 an odd fragmentary inscription or from scarabs.

Sobekhotep I and II

Ryholt gives a ruler named "Sobkhotep I Sekhemre-khutawy" as the first king of this dynasty. Sobekhotep Sekhemre Khutawy is referred to as Sobekhotep II in this article. Ryholt places Sobkhotep Sekhemrekhutawy at the beginning of the dynasty at ca 1800 BC, and Sobekhotep Khaankhre ca 20 years later at 1780 BC. Dodson and Hilton similarly has Sobekhotep Sekhemrekhutawy predating Sobekhotep Khaankhre.

Successors

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 Nubia

Nubia

Nubia is a region along the Nile river, which is located in northern Sudan and southern Egypt.There were a number of small Nubian kingdoms throughout the Middle Ages, the last of which collapsed in 1504, when Nubia became divided between Egypt and the Sennar sultanate resulting in the Arabization...

n state of Kush. In the north, parts of Lower Egypt became heavily settled by an immigrant Asiatic population. An independent line of kings created Dynasty XIV that arose in the western Delta during later Dynasty XIII. According to 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...

, into this unstable mix came invaders from the east called 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....

. Their regime, called Dynasty XV, replaced Dynasties XIII and XIV in most of the country.