Second Intermediate Period

Second Intermediate Period
Iry-Hor · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Name	Second Intermediate Period
Native name	ṯꜣwy ḫꜣst
Start year	ca. 1650 BCE
End year	1550 BCE
Region	Egypt
Preceded by	Middle Kingdom of Egypt
Succeeded by	New Kingdom of Egypt

Second Intermediate Period The Second Intermediate Period was an era of political fragmentation and cultural exchange in ancient Egypt between the end of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt and the rise of the New Kingdom of Egypt. It saw competing dynasties based in Thebes, Avaris, and other centers; incursions and settlement by peoples from the Levant including the Hyksos; and evolving patterns in administration, military practice, and material culture that influenced later rulers such as those of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. The period is known through a combination of king lists, archaeological stratigraphy at sites like Tell el-Dab'a and Karnak, and references in Near Eastern sources including the Amarna letters precursors.

Chronology and Political Overview

Chronology for the period rests on reconstructions that synthesize the Turin King List, Abydos King List, inscriptions from Karnak, and stratigraphic evidence from excavations at Avaris (Tell el-Dab'a), Thebes, and Memphis. Roughly dated ca. 1650–1550 BCE, the era witnessed overlapping reigns of the late Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt successors, the indigenous Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt, the fragmented Fourteenth Dynasty of Egypt in the Delta, and the foreign Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt ruled by Hyksos kings; contemporaneous local rulers sometimes recognized as the Sixteenth Dynasty of Egypt and the Seventeenth Dynasty of Egypt controlled Upper Egypt. Political geography included contested control of the Nile Delta, core holdings in Upper Egypt around Thebes, and shifting alliances with Near Eastern polities such as Mitanni and city-states of ancient Canaan.

Dynasties and Rulers

Principal dynasties during the period include the Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Fourteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Sixteenth Dynasty of Egypt, and Seventeenth Dynasty of Egypt. Notable figures associated with these houses include ramified lists of rulers like Sobekneferu’s successors, the obscure kings of the Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt recorded in the Turin King List, Hyksos rulers such as Salitis and Apophis, and Theban leaders including Seqenenre Tao and Kamose who launched campaigns against the northern dynasts. Chronological debates persist over the exact sequence and overlap of reigns, partly due to lacunae in the Turin King List and variant king lists compiled in the New Kingdom of Egypt.

Foreign Influence and Hyksos Presence

The Hyksos are attested through archaeological remains at Avaris (Tell el-Dab'a), contemporary Egyptian inscriptions, and later historiography such as the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus era chronicles. They introduced innovations including the compound bow and horse and chariot technology that transformed warfare; objects and styles show links with Canaan, Levant, and Anatolia. Interaction with groups from Syria and Palestine is visible in imported pottery types like Mycenaean affinities and in diplomatic exchanges hinted by material parallels with Ugarit and Byblos. The period features episodes of warfare and accommodation between Hyksos rulers, Theban dynasts, and other local powers culminating in Theban campaigns recorded in monumental inscriptions and later royal propaganda.

Social, Economic, and Administrative Changes

Administrative decentralization produced more local elites centered in cities such as Avaris (Tell el-Dab'a), Thebes, Lisht, and Abydos. Economic networks shifted as Delta ports and Near Eastern trade enhanced exchange with Byblos, Ugarit, and Kadesh; commodities included timber, metals, and luxury goods. New military technologies affected recruitment and provisioning, altering the roles of provincial officials recorded in ostraca and scarab inscriptions. Land tenure patterns and temple estates show continuity with Middle Kingdom institutions but also regional variation visible in administrative archives recovered at Tell el-Dab'a and private tombs at sites like Beni Hasan.

Culture, Religion, and Material Culture

Religious practice retained devotion to major deities such as Amun, Ptah, and Osiris, with Theban cults gaining prominence and later legitimizing the restoration by Ahmose I. Artistic production blended Egyptian and Levantine motifs in ivories, cylinder seals, and decorated pottery; burial customs ranged from continued use of traditional tomb types at Deir el-Bahri to novel interments in the Delta. Literary and lexical continuity is evident in administrative texts and onomastic patterns recorded in scarabs and stelae, while funerary art from the period shows iconographic developments that influenced the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt.

Archaeological Evidence and Major Sites

Key archaeological sites include Avaris (Tell el-Dab'a), whose palace complexes, cemeteries, and imported assemblages demonstrate Hyksos administration; Karnak and Luxor Temple precincts that preserve Theban monumental activity; Abydos and Sakkara with elite burials; and settlements such as Khatana (Qantir) linked to Delta occupation. Excavations by teams associated with institutions like the Austrian Archaeological Institute and the Egyptian Antiquities Organization have produced pottery sequences, seals, and skeletal remains essential to reconstructing demographic and cultural change. Stratigraphic correlations with Levantine sequences at Tell el-Dab'a and typological analysis of weaponry provide evidence for the timing and nature of foreign influence.

Legacy and Transition to the New Kingdom

The period’s resolution came with Theban victories under Ahmose I and predecessors who expelled Hyksos rulers, reunified Egypt, and set administrative and military precedents for the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Technologies and foreign connections acquired during the era—chariot warfare, composite bows, and interstate trade routes—were incorporated by New Kingdom states such as the Ramesside period predecessors to project power into Levantine territories. The Second Intermediate Period thus functioned as a transformative interlude linking Middle Kingdom institutions to imperial expansion in the New Kingdom, shaping Egypt’s political geography, military institutions, and cultural repertoire into the Bronze Age international system.

Category:Periods of ancient Egypt