The Second Intermediate Period dates from 1782 to 1550 BC. It marks a period when ancient Egypt was divided into smaller dynasties for a second time, between the end of the Middle Kingdom and the start of the New Kingdom. The concept of a Second Intermediate Period generally includes the 13th through to the 17th dynasties; however, there is no universal agreement in Egyptology about how to define the period.
It is best known as the period when the Hyksos people of West Asia established the 15th Dynasty and ruled from Avaris, which, according to Manetho's Aegyptiaca, was founded by a king by the name of Salitis. The settling of these people may have occurred peacefully, although later recounts of Manetho portray the Hyksos "as violent conquerors and oppressors of Egypt".
The Turin King List from the time of Ramesses II remains the primary source for understanding the chronology and political history of the Second Intermediate Period, along with studying the typology of scarabs, beetle-shaped amulets mass-produced in ancient Egypt and often inscribed with the names of rulers.
History
Collapse of the Middle Kingdom
The 12th Dynasty of Egypt ended in the late 19th century BC with the death of Queen Sobekneferu. She had no heirs, causing the dynasty to come to an abrupt end, and with it, the most prosperous era of the Middle Kingdom; it was succeeded by the much weaker 13th Dynasty. According to the Byzantine chronicler George Syncellus, all three sources of the translated king list of Africanus, Eusebius, and the Armenian of Eusebius state that the 13th Dynasty had sixty kings that ruled and lived in Dioplus for roughly 453 years. Retaining the seat of the 12th Dynasty, the 13th Dynasty (c. 1773 – 1650 BC) ruled from Itjtawy ("Seizer-of-the-Two-Lands") for most of its existence.
Migration to Thebes
The 13th Dynasty switched to Thebes in the far south possibly in the reign of Merneferre Ay. For some authors, this marks the end of the Middle Kingdom and the beginning of the Second Intermediate Period. 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.
Though the 13th Dynasty may have controlled Upper Egypt, the 14th Dynasty ruled Lower Egypt, and both houses agreed to co-exist allowing trade. Evidently the rulers had trouble with securing power within their territory, being replaced in rapid fashion, but other factors like famine may have played a part. The eventual collapse of the 13th Dynasty became an opening for two smaller dynasties to take control of Egypt.
According to Manetho, invaders from the east 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..."
Fourteenth Dynasty
The 13th Dynasty proved unable to hold on to the entire territory of Egypt, and a provincial ruling family, located in the Nile Delta, broke away from the central authority to form the 14th Dynasty (–1650 BC). According to Syncellus, all three sources agree that the 14th Dynasty had seventy-six kings and their court was located in Xois, now modern day Sakha, although they provide different numbers of years ruled. Africanus stated the dynasty reigned for 184 years, whilst the Armenian version of Eusebius states 484 years. Eusebius states the same as Africanus, but in another copy the same number as the Armenian version.
The precise borders of the 14th Dynasty state are not known, due to the general scarcity of its monuments. In his study of the Second Intermediate Period, Kim Ryholt concludes that the territory directly controlled by the 14th Dynasty roughly consisted of the Nile Delta, with borders located near Athribis in the western Delta and Bubastis in the east. Most modern Egyptologists share the view that Avaris – rather than Xois – was the 14th Dynasty's seat of power.
Contested rulers proposed by Ryholt as the first five rulers of the dynasty are commonly identified as being of Canaanite (Semitic) descent based on their names. His conclusions about their chronological position within the period are contested in Ben Tor's study. Other sources don't refer to the dynasty as foreign or Hyksos and they were not referred to as "rulers of foreign lands" or "shepherd kings" in kings lists.
The contested rulers (with the translation of their nomens) are:
- Yakbim Sekhaenre ("Yakbim" means "(the goddess) Aya is a rock")
- Ya'ammu Nubwoserre ("Ya'ammu" means "where is the uncle")
- Qareh Khawoserre ("Qareh" means "the bald one")
- 'Ammu Aahotepre ("'Ammu" could mean "the Asiatic")
- Sheshi Maaibre ("Sheshi" is a Semitic name)
The most attested, non-contested ruler of the dynasty, Nehesy Aasehre, left his name on two monuments at Avaris. His name means "the Nubian". According to Ryholt, he was the son and direct successor of the pharaoh Sheshi with a Nubian Queen named Tati. or Amorite. The settling of Levantine populations in Lower Egypt may have occurred peacefully in the wake of the disintegration of the 14th Dynasty. The kings formed "the second Asiatic Kingdom in the Delta" and ruled Lower Egypt from Avaris for a hundred years. but the kingdom being based in Avaris is now viewed as a secessionist move rather than expansionist. It is still debated if the movement of the Hyksos was a military invasion or a mass migration of Asiatics from Palestine.
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; "
|+15th Dynasty Kings
!Name
!Image
!Dates and comments
|-
|Salitis
|Unattested
|Mentioned by Manetho as first king of the dynasty; currently unidentified with any known archaeologically attested person. Ruled for 19 years according to Manetho, as quoted by Josephus.
|-
|Semqen
|67x67px
|Mentioned on the Turin king list. According to Ryholt, he was an early Hyksos ruler, possibly the first king of the dynasty; von Beckerath assigns him to the 16th dynasty.
|-
|Aperanat
|50x50px
|Mentioned on the Turin king list. According to Ryholt, he was an early Hyksos ruler, possibly the second king of the dynasty; von Beckerath assigns him to the 16th dynasty.
|-
|Yanassi
|left|59x59px
|Khyan's eldest son, possibly at the origin of the mention of a king Iannas in Manetho's Aegyptiaca
|-
|Sakir-Har
|
|Named as an Hyksos king on a doorjamb found at Avaris. Regnal order uncertain.
|-
|Apophis
|56x56px
|c. 1590?–1550 BC
Ruled 40+ years. may have been a short-lived local dynasty ruling over part of Upper Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period in Ancient Egypt and was contemporary with the 15th and 16th dynasties. The Abydos Dynasty stayed rather small with rulership over just Abydos or Thinis. Since the dynasty was contemporaneous with the 16th Dynasty, the territory under Abydene control could not have extended farther than Hu, 50 km south of Abydos. While most likely rulers based in Thebes itself, some may have been local rulers from other important Upper Egyptian towns, including Abydos, El Kab and Edfu. Not listed in the Turin canon (after Ryholt) is Wepwawetemsaf, who left a stele at Abydos and was likely a local kinglet of the Abydos Dynasty. Others, such as Helck, Vandersleyen, Bennett combine some of these rulers with the Seventeenth Dynasty of Egypt. The list of rulers is given here as per Kim Ryholt and is supposedly in chronological order:
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto;"
|+16th Dynasty Kings
! style="width:270px" |Name of king
!Image
! style="width:120px" |Dates
! style="width:300px" |Comments
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|Name lost in a lacuna of the Turin canon
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|Five kings lost in a lacuna of the Turin canon
|}The continuing war against the 15th Dynasty dominated the short-lived 16th Dynasty. The armies of the 15th Dynasty, winning town after town from their southern enemies, continually encroached on 16th Dynasty territory, eventually threatening and then conquering Thebes itself. Famine, which had plagued Upper Egypt during the late 13th Dynasty and the 14th Dynasty, also blighted the 16th Dynasty, most evidently during and after the reign of Neferhotep III.
The end of the 16th Dynasty came after relentless military pressure by the succeeding 15th Dynasty after many attempts, with evidence of Nebiryraw I's own personal seals being found in the Hyksos territory. Sometime around 1580 BC, the 16th Dynasty collapsed after being conquered by King Khyan of the Hyksos 15th Dynasty.
Seventeenth Dynasty
The 17th Dynasty (c.1571-1540 BC) was established by the Thebans quickly after the fall of the 16th. The details of the overthrow of the Hyksos in Thebes are unclear.
Five kings are recorded on the Karnak King List, dated to the reign of Thutmose III. Three kings are also listed in the kings scene of TT2, dated to the reign of Ramesses II. More names may have originally appeared in the missing sections of the kings lists. 17th Dynasty kings constructed a palatial complex at Deir el-Ballas, which is thought to have played an important role during the rule, but was later abandoned in the New Kingdom
{| class="wikitable"
|+17th Dynasty Kings
! style="width:120px" |Nomen (personal name)
! style="width:120px" |Prenomen (throne name)
! style="width:120px" |Horus-name
! style="width:50px" |Image
! align="center" |Reign
!Burial
!Consort(s)
!Comments
|-
|Rahotep
|Sekhemre-wahkhaw
|Wahankh
|70x70px
|c. 1585 BC
|Dra' Abu el-Naga'?
|
|
|-
|Sobekemsaf I
|Sekhemre-wadjkhaw
|Hetepnetjeru
|frameless|77x77px
|7 years
|Dra' Abu el-Naga'?
|Nubemhat
|
|-
|Sobekemsaf II
|Sekhemre-shedtawy
|(unknown)
|186x186px|Statuette Sobekemsaf Petrie b
|
|Dra' Abu el-Naga'? Tomb was robbed during the reign of Ramesses IX
|Nubkhaes
|
|-
|Intef V
|Sekhemre-wepmaat
|Wepmaat
|93x93px|Louvre 122006 050
|2-3? years
|Dra' Abu el-Naga'?
|
|
|-
|Intef VI
|Nubkheperre
|Neferkheperu
|96x96px
|3-8? years
|Dra' Abu el-Naga'
|Sobekemsaf
|
|-
|Intef VII
|Sekhemre-heruhermaat
|(unknown)
|130x130px
|
|Dra' Abu el-Naga'?
|Haankhes
|
|-
|Ahmose the Elder
|Senakhtenre
|Merymaat
|70x70px|Relief Senakhtenre by Khruner
|1-2 years
|Dra' Abu el-Naga'?
|Tetisheri
|
|-
|Tao
|Seqenenre
|Khaemwaset
|79x79px
|c. 1560 (4 years)
|Dra' Abu el-Naga'?
|Ahmose Inhapy
Sitdjehuti
Ahhotep I
|Died in battle against the Hyksos
|-
|Kamose
|Wadjkheperre
|Khahernesetef
|110x110px|Sarcophage-Kamose
|1555 to 1550 BC (5 years)
|Dra' Abu el-Naga'
|Ahhotep II?
|
|}
The last two kings of the dynasty opposed the Hyksos rule over Egypt. The 17th Dynasty would see four different ruling families whose last king did not have a male heir to the throne. Subsequently, other powerful families established kings having short reigns.
Art and culture
Society
In the Late Middle Kingdom, Tell el-Dab'a became a major harbour for ships and a trading post with connections across the Mediterranean. It became increasingly populated by natives of the Levant, evidenced by changes in ceramics, burial customs, and architecture. Egyptian ethnonyms for Levantines include ꜥꜣmw (‘Asiatics’), Jwntj.w (‘those with bows’), k3tj.w (‘those of the turquoise mining region on the Sinai’), Mnṯw.w (‘furious ones(?)'), and Sṯtj.w (‘those from the land of Setjet’), though this doesn't reflect their own identity.
The exact origin of this Levantine population is thus debated; it is surmised they are a result of either seaborne immigration from the northern Levant or immigration from the southern Levant across the Sinai. Archaeological evidence from both regions note a rapid decline in trade contacts between Egypt and the northern Levant (Byblos), coinciding with the beginning of substantial trade contacts between Egypt and Palestine (southern Levant), sometime in the early 17th century BC. A number of scarabs found in Palestine attesting to Egyptian pharaohs are completely absent in the northern Levant. Support for the southern Levant shift is evidenced by 2020 analysis on Canaanite pottery from Tell el-Dab‘a.
Art
The arts of the first half of the 13th Dynasty is part of the Middle Kingdom (about 2025-1700 BC). The culture of the latter half of the 13th Dynasty in Upper Egypt exibits a sharp downward trend, with loss of standard and style notably in orthography when inscribing hieroglyphs. Royal monuments no longer attain a certain level of artistry after the mid-13th Dynasty. Whilst the monuments commissioned by the king remain a relatively high level, the arts of the Second Intermediate Period generally do not reach this level in non-commisioned work.
Archaeological evidence in Egypt indicates large-scale importation of Canaanite scarabs during the Second Intermediate Period. The proliferation of Anra scarabs during the period was bolstered by the Palestinian market, with anra scarabs most frequently found there. Early 15th Dynasty rulers reverted to a style of scarab craftmanship common in the 12th Dynasty, though it corrupted soon after this initial ideal with scarabs becoming more degraded than the preceding 14th Dynasty.
Religion
The Hyksos rulers, of foreign origin, adopted Egyptian conventions, including royal titles, prenomens, hieroglyphic inscriptions and worshipping the Egyptian pantheon. They took Set as their patron deity and it later merged with Ba'al of the Asiatic pantheon, becoming the hybrid deity Seth-Baal over time. King Apophis is recorded as worshiping Set exclusively, as described in this 19th Dynasty passage:
Genetic impact
Genetic data from mummies of the Third Intermediate Period (787-544 BC), published in 2017 and again analysed in 2025, showed marginal continuity from the Nuwayrat Old Kingdom individual (NUE001) sample, complemented by a significant Levantine ancestry influx. The main ancestry source of the Third Intermediate Period mummies was Bronze Age Levant ancestry, appearing at around 64% in the main model. This phenomenon could have originated in the proposed Bronze Age Canaanite expansion of the end of the Middle Kingdom and the advent of the Second Intermediate Period of Egypt.
A strontium isotope analysis dismissed the Hyksos invasion model in favour of a migration one. Contrary to the model of a foreign invasion, the study didn't find more males moving into the region, but instead found a sex bias towards females, with a high proportion (77%) being non-locals.
See also
- First Intermediate Period of Egypt
- Third Intermediate Period of Egypt
Notes
References
Bibliography
- Von Beckerath, Jürgen. "Untersuchungen zur politischen Geschichte der zweiten Zwischenzeit in Ägypten," Ägyptologische Forschungen, Heft 23. Glückstadt, 1965.
- Gardiner, Sir Alan. Egypt of the Pharaohs. Oxford, 1964, 1961.
- Hayes, William C. "Egypt: From the Death of Ammenemes III to Seqenenre II." Chapter 2, Volume II of The Cambridge Ancient History. Revised Edition, 1965.
- James, T.G.H. "Egypt: From the Expulsion of the Hyksos to Amenophis I." Chapter 8, Volume II of The Cambridge Ancient History. Revised Edition, 1965.
- Kitchen, Kenneth A., "Further Notes on New Kingdom Chronology and History," Chronique d'Égypte, 63 (1968), pp. 313–324.
- Oren, Eliezer D. The Hyksos: New Historical and Archaeological Perspectives Philadelphia, 1997.
- Ryholt, Kim. The Political Situation in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period c. 1800–1550 B.C., Museum Tuscalanum Press, 1997.
- Van Seters, John. The Hyksos: A New Investigation. New Haven, 1966.