Editing Middle Kingdom of Egypt (section)

===Decline into the Second Intermediate Period===
[[File:KneelingStatueOfSobekhotepV-AltesMuseum-Berlin.png|thumb|upright|150px|A [[kneeling]] statue of Sobekhotep V, one of the pharaohs from the declining years of the Middle Kingdom.]]
After the death of Sobeknefru, the throne may have passed to [[Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep]],<ref>[[Kim Ryholt|K.S.B. Ryholt]]: ''The Political Situation in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period, c.1800–1550 BC'', Carsten Niebuhr Institute Publications, vol. 20. Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press, 1997</ref><ref>Darrell D. Baker: ''The Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs: Volume I – Predynastic to the Twentieth Dynasty 3300–1069 BC'', Stacey International, {{ISBN|978-1-905299-37-9}}, 2008</ref> though in older studies [[Wegaf]], who had previously been the Great Overseer of Troops,<ref name="Grajetzki 66">[[#Grajetzki2006|Grajetzki. (2006)]] p. 66</ref> was thought to have reigned next.<ref name="Grimal 183">[[#Grimal1988|Grimal. (1988)]] p. 183</ref> Beginning with this reign, Egypt was ruled by a series of ephemeral kings for about ten to fifteen years.<ref name="Grajetzki 64">[[#Grajetzki2006|Grajetzki. (2006)]] p. 64</ref> Ancient Egyptian sources regard these as the first kings of the [[Thirteenth dynasty of Egypt|Thirteenth Dynasty]], though the term dynasty is misleading, as most kings of the Thirteenth Dynasty were not related.<ref name="Grajetzki 65">[[#Grajetzki2006|Grajetzki. (2006)]] p. 65</ref> The names of these short-lived kings are attested on a few monuments and [[Graffito (archaeology)|graffiti]], and their succession order is only known from the [[Turin Canon]], although even this is not fully trusted.<ref name="Grajetzki 64"/>

After the initial dynastic chaos, a series of longer-reigning, better-attested kings ruled for about fifty to eighty years.<ref name="Grajetzki 64"/> The strongest king of this period, [[Neferhotep I]], ruled for eleven years and maintained effective control of Upper Egypt, Nubia, and the Delta,<ref name="Grajetzki 71">[[#Grajetzki2006|Grajetzki. (2006)]] p. 71</ref> with the possible exceptions of [[Xois]] and [[Avaris]].<ref name="Shaw 172">[[#Shaw2000|Shaw. (2000)]] p. 172</ref> Neferhotep I was even recognized as the suzerain of the ruler of Byblos, indicating that the Thirteenth Dynasty was able to retain much of the power of the Twelfth Dynasty, at least up to his reign.<ref name=" Shaw 172"/> At some point during the 13th Dynasty, Xois, and Avaris began governing themselves,<ref name=" Shaw 172"/> the rulers of Xois being the Fourteenth Dynasty, and the Asiatic rulers of Avaris being the [[Hyksos]] of the Fifteenth Dynasty. According to [[Manetho]], this latter revolt occurred during the reign of Neferhotep's successor, [[Sobekhotep IV]], though there is no archaeological evidence.<ref name="Grajetzki 72">[[#Grajetzki2006|Grajetzki. (2006)]] p. 72</ref> Sobekhotep IV was succeeded by the short reign of [[Sobekhotep V]], who was followed by [[Wahibre Ibiau]], then [[Merneferre Ai]]. Wahibre Ibiau ruled ten years, and Merneferre Ai ruled for twenty-three years, the longest of any Thirteenth Dynasty king, but neither of these two kings left as many attestations as either Neferhotep of Sobekhotep IV. Despite this, they both seem to have held at least parts of Lower Egypt. After Merneferre Ai, however, no king left his name on any object found outside the south.<ref name="Grajetzki 74">[[#Grajetzki2006|Grajetzki. (2006)]] p. 74</ref> This begins the final portion of the Thirteenth Dynasty when southern kings continue to reign over Upper Egypt. But when the unity of Egypt fully disintegrated, the Middle Kingdom gave way to the [[Second Intermediate Period]].<ref name="Grajetzki 75">[[#Grajetzki2006|Grajetzki. (2006)]] p. 75</ref>
[[File:GD-EG-Louxor-116.JPG|thumb|Head of a statue of [[Senusret III]]]]