Predecessor Dedumose I? Father Dedumose I? | Successor Djedankhre Montemsaf? Parents Dedumose I | |
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Reign some time between 1588 BC and 1582 BC (Ryholt) (16th Dynasty (Ryholt, Baker) or 13th Dynasty (von Beckerath, Schneider, Franke)) | ||
Djedneferre Dedumose II was a native Ancient Egyptian pharaoh during the Second Intermediate Period. According to egyptologists Kim Ryholt and Darrell Baker, he was a ruler of the Theban 16th Dynasty. Alternatively, Jürgen von Beckerath, Thomas Schneider and Detlef Franke see him as a king of the 13th Dynasty.
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Dating issues
Williams and other place Dedumose as the last king of Egypt's 13th Dynasty. Precise dates for Dedumose are unknown, but according to the commonly accepted Egyptian chronology his reign probably ended around 1690 BC.
There have been attempts by the revisionist historians Immanuel Velikovsky and David Rohl to identify him as the Pharaoh of the Exodus, much earlier than the mainstream candidates.
Attestations
Djedneferre Dedumose II is known from a stela originally from Gebelein which is now in the Cairo Museum (CG 20533). On the stela Dedumose claims to have been raised for kingship, which may indicate he is a son of Dedumose I, although the statement may also merely be a form of propaganda. The martial tone of the stela probably reflects the constant state of war of the final years of the 16th Dynasty, when the Hyksos invaded its territory:
Ludwig Morenz believes that the above excerpt of the stele, in particular "who is acclaimed to the kingship", may confirm the controversial idea of Eduard Meyer that certain pharaohs were elected to office.
As Josephus' Tutimaios
Attempts have been made to link Dedumose to the story of Tutimaios or Timaios, his conflict with the Hyksos and his fall, as told by the historian Josephus. However, the link between Dedumose and Tutimaios is tenuous at best and not supported by linguistic (Tutimaios is more likely derived from Djehutymose) or historical facts.
In Rohl's revised chronology
David Rohl's 1995 A Test of Time attempted to change views on Egyptian history by shortening the Third Intermediate Period of Egypt by almost 300 years. As a by-result the synchronisms with the biblical narrative have changed, making the 13th Dynasty pharaoh Djedneferre Dedumose (Dedumesu, Tutimaos, Tutimaios) the pharaoh of the Exodus. Rohl's theory, however, has failed to find support among most scholars in his field.