Khyan

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Cite This Source

Khyan, Khian or Khayan was reportedly the fourth king of the Hyksos Fifteenth dynasty of Egypt who ruled approximately 1610-1580 BC. 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. He states that:

"a stela set up in Avaris contains the nomen and prenomen of Khayan 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. The association of Khayan with those of his eldest son upon this stela suggests that the latter in fact was his designated successor, as also implied by his title. Khayan was, however, succeeded by Apophis who apparently was a usurper.

Ryholt argues that the Turin Canon gives Khyan a reign of thirty to forty years due to the large numbers of objects known for this Hyksos king. Since both Bietak and Ryholt note the fact that Yanassi apparently was Khyan's designated successor, Apophis must have staged a coup d'etat to seize power--perhaps immediately after the death of Khyan to pre-empt the latter's son from assuming the throne.

Origin of Khyan's name

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." 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). Khyan's name is transcribed as Staan in Africanus' version of Manetho's Epitome.

A name similar to his appears in the Haggada as the pharaoh Sarai married.

External links

References

• 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

|}

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia © 2001-2006 Wikipedia contributors (Disclaimer)
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Friday February 08, 2008 at 20:50:49 PST (GMT -0800)
View this article at Wikipedia.org - Edit this article at Wikipedia.org - Donate to the Wikimedia Foundation