Khyan
| Khyan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Lion inscribed with the cartouche of Khyan, British Museum, EA 987. |
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| Pharaoh of Egypt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reign | 1610?–1580 BC, 15th Dynasty | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Predecessor | Sakir-Har? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Successor | ? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Children | Yanassi | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 1580 BC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monuments | A Stela in Avaris | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Seuserenre Khyan, Khian or Khayan was a king of the Hyksos Fifteenth dynasty of Egypt. His royal name Seuserenre translates as "The one whom Re has caused to be strong."[1] Khyan bears the titles of an Egyptian king, but also the title ruler of the foreign land (heqa khasut). The later title is the typical designation of the Hyksos rulers.
Khyan is one of the better attested king's from the Hyksos period, known from many seals and seal impressions. Remarkable are objects with his name found at Knossos and Hattusha indicating diplomatic contacts with Crete and the Hittites. A sphinx with his name was bought on the art market at Bagdad and might demonstrate diplomatic contacts to Babylon.
The chronological position of Khyan is disputed. For a long time he was identified with king Iannas in the history of Egypt written by Manetho. However, stylistically Khyan's scarabs are close to scarabs of king Yaqub-Har, who is only known from scarabs and might date rather to the beginning and not to the end of the Hyksos-period.[2] This indicates that Khyan was an earlier Hyksos ruler in the sequence of their 15th dynasty kings. The early position of Khyan within the 15th Hyksos dynasty is now confirmed by new archaeological finds at Edfu. Here were found seal impressions of Khyan in close connection with seal impressions of the 13th Dynasty king Sobekhotep IV, indicating that both kings reigned at about the same time.[3]
The remains of a palace were recently excavated at Avaris. Seal impressions of Khyan were found there, indicating that this was his palace.[4]
A stela of Khyan mentioning a king's son' was also discovered at Avaris. Manfred Bietak observed that: "a stela set up in Avaris contains the nomen and prenomen of Khyan and a now lost dedication (presumably to Seth, Lord of Avaris) below which are inscribed the title and name of the Eldest King's Son Yanassi."[5][6]
The Danish Egyptologist Kim Ryholt, who published an extensive catalogue of the monuments of all the numerous pharaohs of the Second Intermediate Period, notes an important personal detail regarding this king's family; Ryholt writes that the association of Khyan with those of his eldest son upon this stela suggests that Yanassi in fact was his designated successor, as also implied by his title."[7]
Origin of Khyan's name [edit]
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| Khyan[8] in hieroglyphs |
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Ryholt notes that the name, Khyan, generally has been "interpreted as Amorite Hayanu (reading h-ya-a-n) which the Egyptian form represents perfectly, and this is in all likelihood the correct interpretation." [9] It should be stressed that Khyan's name was not original and had been in use for centuries prior to the fifteenth Hyksos Dynasty. The name Hayanu is recorded in the Assyrian king lists—see "Khorsabad List I, 17 and the SDAS List, I, 16"--"for a remote ancestor of Shamshi-Adad I (c.1800 BC)."[9] Khyan's name is transcribed as Staan in Africanus' version of Manetho's Epitome.
References [edit]
- ^ Khiyan Titulary
- ^ W. Ward, in; O. Tufnell: Scarabs and their Contribution to History in the Early Second Millennium B.C., Warminster 1984, 68, fig. 29
- ^ N. Moeller, G. Maround, N. Ayers: Discussion of Late Middle Kingdom and Early Second Intermediate Period History and Chronology in Relation to the Khayan Sealings from Tell Edfu, in: Ägypten und Levante XXI (2011), 87-121 online PDF
- ^ M. Bietak: A Hyksos Palace at Avaris, In: Egyptian Archaeology 38 Spring 2011, S. 38-41
- ^ Manfred Bietak, MDAIK 37, pp.63-71, pl.6
- ^ Kim SB Ryholt, The Political Situation in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period, CNI Publications, (Museum Tusculanum Press: 1997), p.256
- ^ Ryholt, p.256
- ^ Khiyan Titulary (by Jacques Kinnaer, Belgian Egyptologist)
- ^ a b Ryholt, p.128
Bibliography [edit]
- Kim Ryholt, The Political Situation in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period c.1800-1550 B.C., Museum Tuscalanum Press, (1997), 463 pages, ISBN 87-7289-421-0
| Preceded by Sakir-Har? |
Pharaoh of Egypt Fifteenth Dynasty |
Succeeded by ? |
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