Sixteenth dynasty of Egypt

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...
Read More