Semqen
| Semqen | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Šamuqēnu, Sem-qen | |||||||||||||
Drawing of the scarab seal of Semqen. | |||||||||||||
| Reign | some time between 1649 BC and 1621 BC (Ryholt) | ||||||||||||
| Predecessor | founder of the dynasty (Ryholt) or 'Aper-'Anati (von Beckerath) | ||||||||||||
| Successor | uncertain, 'Aper-'Anati (Ryholt) or Sakir-Har (von Beckerath) | ||||||||||||
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| Dynasty | uncertain dynasty, most likely 15th Dynasty, otherwise 16th Dynasty | ||||||||||||
Semqen (also Šamuqēnu) was a Hyksos ruler of Lower Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period in the mid-17th century BC. According to Jürgen von Beckerath he was the third king of the 16th Dynasty and a vassal of the Hyksos kings of the 15th Dynasty. This opinion was shared by William C. Hayes and Wolfgang Helck but recently rejected by Kim Ryholt. In his 1997 study of the Second Intermediate Period, Ryholt argues that the kings of the 16th Dynasty ruled an independent Theban realm c. 1650–1580 BC. Consequently, Ryholt sees Semqen as an early Hyksos king of the 15th Dynasty, perhaps its first ruler. This analysis has convinced some Egyptologists, such as Darrell Baker and Janine Bourriau, but not others including Stephen Quirke.