𓋹 Pharaoh Archive

Period of ancient Egypt

Second Intermediate Period Egypt

c. 1800–1550 BCE

The Second Intermediate Period was a time of divided rule. The late 13th Dynasty, the 14th Dynasty of the Delta, the Hyksos 15th Dynasty at Avaris and the Theban 16th and 17th Dynasties overlapped, and Nubia was ruled by the kingdom of Kush.

The period ended when the Theban kings Kamose and Ahmose I defeated the Hyksos and reunified Egypt, beginning the New Kingdom. Many kings here are known only from scarabs and fragmentary lists, so the chronology is contested.

Key themes

13th Dynasty of Egypt

c. 1773–1650 BCE

The 13th Dynasty followed the 12th and ruled from Itjtawy for roughly a century and a half.

Read the full 13th Dynasty guide →

14th Dynasty of Egypt

c. 1800–1650 BCE

The 14th Dynasty is a line of rulers based in the eastern Nile Delta, most likely around Avaris (Tell el-Dab'a), that overlapped with the later 13th Dynasty.

Read the full 14th Dynasty guide →

15th Dynasty of Egypt (Hyksos)

c. 1650–1550 BCE

The 15th Dynasty is the Hyksos royal house, rulers of Western Asiatic origin who governed the north of Egypt from Avaris in the eastern Delta.

Read the full 15th Dynasty (Hyksos) guide →

16th Dynasty of Egypt

c. 1650–1580 BCE

The 16th Dynasty is generally reconstructed as a Theban line ruling parts of Upper Egypt while the Hyksos held the north.

Read the full 16th Dynasty guide →

17th Dynasty of Egypt

c. 1580–1550 BCE

The 17th Dynasty was the Theban house that opened the war against the Hyksos.

Read the full 17th Dynasty guide →