Late / uncertain Dynasty 13 rulers and damaged Turin entries
13th Dynasty — uncertain late candidates
Open full-size illustration →Source: Shaw, Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (2000)
Background
This entry stands in for the tail end of the Thirteenth Dynasty king list, the point at which the Turin Canon papyrus is so badly damaged that even the names of many kings survive only as fragments or are lost entirely. Reign lengths here are frequently reduced to a single illegible or partial numeral. Names such as Sewadjtu, Sankhptahi and Ini are reconstructed readings of what the papyrus preserves, not identities independently confirmed by any monument, seal, or inscription found elsewhere. Research: UCL Digital Egypt; Turin Canon studies.
Reign dates: Shaw, Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (2000)
Full profile
What the evidence can and cannot show
Historians can say with reasonable confidence that royal authority was weakening through this final stretch of the dynasty, based on the shortening apparent reign lengths recorded in the papyrus and the fact that, within a few decades, the Thirteenth Dynasty lost control of the eastern Delta to a rival line of foreign rulers and was eventually pushed out of its capital at Itjtawy as well. Beyond that broad pattern, honest treatment of this material means acknowledging its limits: no family relationships, reign events, or individual actions can be reliably attached to these names. Anything more specific than a name and a damaged reign-length figure would not be supported by the surviving sources.
Sources for this profile
- Baker, D. D. (2008). The Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs: Volume 1. Stacey International.
- Shaw, I. (Ed.). (2000). The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press.
- Ryholt, K. (2004). The Turin King-list. Ägypten und Levante, 14, 135–155.
- Dodson, A., & Hilton, D. (2004). The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson.
- University College London. Digital Egypt for Universities.
The complete, APA-formatted reference list is on the Academic Sources & Bibliography page.