Second Intermediate Period of Egypt

The Second Intermediate Period
c. 1700–1550 BC
The political situation in the Second Intermediate Period of Egypt (c. 1650 – c. 1550 BC)
Capital	Itjtawy c.1803 – 1677 BC 13th Dynasty Avaris c.1725 – 1535 BC 14th and 15th Dynasties Thebes c.1677 – 1600 BC 13th, 16th and 17th Dynasties Abydos c.1650 – 1600 BC Abydos Dynasty
Religion	Ancient Egyptian religion
Demonym(s)	Egyptians and Hyksos
Government	Monarchy
Pharaoh
• c. 1701 – c. 1677 BC	Merneferre Ay (first)
• c. 1555 – c. 1550 BC	Kamose (last)
History
• approximately around the late 13th Dynasty	c. 1700
• The end of the 17th Dynasty of Egypt	1550 BC
Preceded by Succeeded by Middle Kingdom of Egypt New Kingdom of Egypt

Part of a series on the
History of Egypt
Prehistoric Egypt Predynastic Period 6000–3000 BC
Ancient Egypt Early Dynastic Period 3150–2686 BC Old Kingdom 2686–2181 BC 1st Intermediate Period 2181–2055 BC Middle Kingdom 2055–1650 BC 2nd Intermediate Period 1650–1550 BC New Kingdom 1550–1069 BC 3rd Intermediate Period 1069–664 BC Late Period 664–332 BC
Greco-Roman Egypt Argead dynasty 332–310 BC Ptolemaic dynasties 310–30 BC Roman and Byzantine Egypt 30 BC–641 AD Sasanian Egypt 619–629
Medieval Egypt Rashidun caliphate 641–661 Umayyad caliphate 661–750 Abbasid dynasty 750–935 Tulunid dynasty 868–905 Ikhshidid dynasty 935–969 Fatimid dynasty 969–1171 Ayyubid dynasty 1171–1250 Mamluk dynasty 1250–1517
Early modern Egypt Ottoman Egypt 1517–1867 French occupation 1798–1801 Muhammad Ali dynasty 1805–1953 Khedivate of Egypt 1867–1914
Late Modern Egypt British occupation 1882–1922 Sultanate of Egypt 1914–1922 Kingdom of Egypt 1922–1953 Republic 1953–present
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The Second Intermediate Period dates from 1700 to 1550 BC.^[1]: 123 It marks a period when ancient Egypt was divided into smaller dynasties for a second time, between the end of the Middle Kingdom and the start of the New Kingdom. The concept of a Second Intermediate Period generally includes the 13th through to the 17th dynasties, however there is no universal agreement in Egyptology about how to define the period.^[2]

It is best known as the period when the Hyksos people of West Asia established the 15th Dynasty and ruled from Avaris, which, according to Manetho's Aegyptiaca, was founded by a king by the name of Salitis.^[3] The settling of these people may have occurred peacefully, although later recounts of Manetho portray the Hyksos "as violent conquerors and oppressors of Egypt".^[4]

The Turin King List from the time of Ramesses II remains the primary source for understanding the chronology and political history of the Second Intermediate Period, along with studying the typology of scarabs, beetle-shaped amulets mass-produced in Ancient Egypt and often inscribed with the names of rulers.^[5]