THE SECOND INTERMEDIATE PERIOD

1782 - 1570 BC

Dynasty 13:

The true chronology of the 13th dynasty is rather vague since there are few surviving monuments from this period. There were many kings who reigned for a short time, who were not of a single family and some were born commoners. The last fifty years represents a gradual decline. It seems that after the death of Ay, the eastern Delta broke away under its own petty kings (14th dynasty). There is even less known about this dynasty.

Asiatic immigration became widespread, the northeastern Delta being settled by successive waves of Palestinians.

13th dynasty 1782-1650 BC

Wegaf

Intef IV

Hor

Sobekhotep II

Khendjer

Sobekhotep III

Neferhotep I

Sobekhotep IV

Neferhotep II

Wegaf	Ameny Intef IV	Hor	Sobekhotep II	Khendjer (Userkare)

The true chronology of Dynasty 13 is hard to ascertain but the dynasty lasted for about 70 years, through 10 kings. The burial of Hor was found at Dahshur and his reign was thought to have lasted only a few months. A pyramid at Saqqara has been identified with Khendjer.

Sobekhotep III	Neferhotep I	Sobekhotep IV	Ay (Merneferre)	Neferhotep II

Throughout this dynasty, the country remained relatively stable according to records of the Nile level during this time. Several large red granite statues of Sobekhotep have survived and a statue of Neferhotep was recently unearthed at Luxor. Each of the kings of this dynasty reigned only for a short while.

Dynasty 14 :

The Middle Kingdom fell because of the weakness of its later kings, which lead to Egypt being invaded by an Asiatic, desert people called the Hyksos.

These invaders made themselves kings and held the country for more than two centuries. The word Hyksos goes back to an Egyptian phrase meaning "ruler of foreign lands".

The Jewish historian Josephus (1st century AD) mentions them. He depicts the new rulers as sacrilegious invaders who despoiled the land but with the exception of the title Hyksos they presented themselves as Egyptian kings and appear to have been accepted as such.

They tolerated other lines of kings within the country, both those of the 17th dynasty and the various minor Hyksos who made up the 16th dynasty.

14th dynasty

Lasted for around
57 years

Nehesy

One of the few documented rulers of this dynasty. Thought to have been the son of an Egyptian administrator who took over the royal throne. During this time, the Nile delta was suffering from poor harvests ans famine, which weakened the people and allowed the Hyksos to take over the country.

Dynasty 15:

Sheshi	Yakubher	Khyan	Apepi I	Apepi II (Khamudi)

The rulers of the fiftenth dynasty were the Hyksos. Egypt was taken over by the immigrant nomadic Hyksos, who probably came from southern Canaan or Syria. The conquest of Memphis by Sheshi in 1674 BC began their dynasty which lasted until they were expelled in 1567. They did however respect the Egyptian religion and laws and culture, whilst introducing some of their own gods. They maintained trade relations with the Minoans and Babylonians and also, being great warriors, introduced the horse and charriot to the Egyptians. Apepi seems to have had the longest reign but towards the end of his time as king, the Egyptian 17th dynasty started war against him. Apepi formed an alliance with the Kushites but unsuccessfully fought against Tao II even though Tao was killed in battle. The fight was taken over by Kamose who forced the Hyksos to retreat northwards to Avaris. Eventually, Apepi II was forced to withdraw from Avaris and leave the Delta.

Dynasty 16:

Anather	Yakobaam

The two rulers of the 16th dynasty were probably only working for the Hyksos as their names do not appear in cartouches

Dynasty 17:

Sobekemsaf II	Intef VII	Tao I	Tao II	Kamose

Dynasty 17 kings were based at Thebes and controlled southern Egypt independantly from the Hyksos in the north. After a peaceful hundred years of a divided Egypt, they started a war to reunite Upper and Lower Egypt, which lasted 20 years. There are probably a few more kings from around this time but their chronology is unclear.Sobekemsaf II was thought to have been on the throne for 7 years. A relief at Karnak shows him making offerings to war god Mentu-Re. Tao II was the king who started the rebellion against the Hyksos but was unfortunately killed in battle. The war was continued by his son Kamose who regained much territory before he died after only four years in power. The fight was taken up by his brother Ahmose who eventually liberated Egypt from the Hyksos after a total of 25 years civil war and became the founder of the first dynasty of the "New Kingdom".