The
sixteenth dynasty of
ancient Egypt (notated
Dynasty XVI) was a
dynasty of
pharaohs that ruled in
Upper Egypt during the
Second Intermediate Period (c. 1650-1550 BCE), a period that saw the division of
Upper and Lower Egypt between the pharaohs at
Thebes and the
Hyksos kings at
Avaris.
Identification
Of the two chief versions of
Manetho's
Aegyptiaca, Dynasty XVI is described by the more reliable
Africanus (supported by
Syncellus) as "shepherd kings", but by
Eusebius as
Theban.
Ryholt (1997), followed by Bourriau (2003), in reconstructing the
Turin canon, interpreted a list of Thebes-based kings to constitute
Manetho's Dynasty XVI, although this is one Ryholt's "most debatable and far-reaching" conclusions.
History
The continuing war against
Dynasty XV dominated the short-lived Dynasty XVI. The armies of Dynasty XV, winning town after town from their southern enemies, continually encroached on Dynasty XVI, eventually threatening and then conquering Thebes itself. Ryholt (1997) has suggested that Dedumose I sued for a truce in the latter years of the dynasty, but one of his predecessors,
Nebiriau I, may have been more...
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