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A 13th dynasty ruler’s burial was found intact. Which one?

Hor. Wegaf was the first ruler of the dynasty. At one time it was believed the changeover was accompanied by chaos but it now seems to have been a smooth transition although little was built in his reign. Nehesy was the least obscure of the 14th Dynasty ruler. The 14th Dynasty ruled for about 57 years in the eastern delta but only two kings are known from monuments. Hor was the third king of Dynasty 13. His tomb was small and the only impressive item was his life sized wooden Ka statue (a representation of his spirit in the form of a statue of him with a pair of arms raised above his head).

One 13th Dynasty king shared his name with a later king but he is not given a regnal number (as in Henry I, Henry II etc in England). Who is he?

Ay. Regnal numbers are modern. Kings were identified by their other names – This Ay was Merneferre and the successor of Tutankhamen was Kheperkheperure. Ay was probably the last king of the dynasty to control the whole of Egypt.

Sheshi was the first pharaoh of Dynasty 15 – the Hyksos. What does the name Hyksos mean?

Desert princes. Shepherd kings and captive shepherds were translations made by the first century CE Jewish historian Josephus. Shepherd kings was the accepted translation for a long time. An alternate translation is rulers of foreign lands (heqa-khase). They seem to have been a Semitic people and probably infiltrated over a long period then took advantage of instability rather than invaders.

Apepi I sent a message to his contemporary ruler in Thebes, Sequenre Tao. What was it?

The roaring of the sacred Hippopotami at Thebes was keeping him awake in Avaris (800 km away) and Sequenre should do something about it. We do not have the response to this message. After the fall of the Hyksos the Egyptians tried to destroy all records of them and blackened their memory, for instance they falsely accused them of not honouring the Sun god. It was thought they introduced the chariot but now it seems it appeared shortly after the Hyksos did.

How does it seem Seqenenre Tao died?

In battle. His body was hurriedly embalmed (possibly on the battlefield). He was probably killed by at least two people who inflicted five wounds, four when he was on the ground. No inscription records what happened – according to the inscriptions no pharaoh in history ever lost a battle.

What connects Sobekemsaf II with Amun-pnufer?

Amun-pnufer robbed his tomb. Sobekemsaf was the first king of his dynasty so his father probably was not a king. Amun-pnufer and seven accomplices robbed the king’s tomb and that of his queen in the reign of Ramses IX (probably over 500 years after he was buried). The 17th Dynasty tombs are quite poor.

What connects Ahmose I with Ahmose son of Ebana?

Ahmose son of Ebana left an account of how he served in the kings campaigns against the Hyksos. Ahmose son of Ebana left his biography in his tomb (and I have written a quiz about it). He also served under Amenhotep I and Tuthmosis I. Ahmose was the first king of the eighteenth dynasty and of the new kingdom which shows that the division into dynasties is inconsistent as he was the son of Sequenre II and brother of his predecessor Kahmose which should mean he was part of the previous dynasty. Being the first king of the new kingdom is not a reason for starting a new dynasty as the middle kingdom started in the middle of Dynasty eleven.

What is remarkable about the burial of Tuthmosis I?

He had two tombs. Tuthmosis was not the son of Amenhotep I. His claim to the throne was that he was married to princess Ahmose, the daughter of king Ahmose I and of his queen Ahmose. Ahmose I was the last king who had a pyramid. One theory was that he was originally buried with his daughter Hatshepsut but later as part of his campaign against the memory of Hatshepsut Tuthmosis III moved the body to a new tomb.

Who was Tuthmosis II's famous royal wife?

Hatshepsut. He was the son of Tuthmosis I by a minor wife and Hatshepsut was his daughter by his great royal wife. They seem to have had a daughter and he had a son (the future Tuthmosis III) by a harem girl called Isis.

In the quarries at Aswan is the largest obelisk ever attempted which is attributed to Hatshepsut. What evidence for her ordering it is there?

None. The only evidence for who ordered it is that it is huge (41.75 metres tall, 1168 tonnes in weight) which leads some people to think that it belonged to Ramses II. There are depictions of her people moving obelisks. One of the rafts used seems to have been 100 metres by 30 metres. The temple also has a description of her expedition to Punt. No one knows where Punt is - it was originally thought to be northern Somaliland or but most scholars now think it is further south (Eritrea or southern Sudan). One of the things they brought back was hbny or ebony. However owing to later misidentifications true ebony now has to be called African Blackwood.