Apepi (also Ipepi; Egyptian language ipp(i)), Apophis (Greek: Ἄποφις); regnal names Neb-khepesh-Re, A-qenen-Re and A-user-Re) was a ruler of Lower Egypt during the Fifteenth Dynasty and the end of the Second Intermediate Period that was dominated by this foreign Dynasty of rulers called the Hyksos. According to the Turin Canon of Kings, he ruled over the northern portion of Egypt for forty years. He governed during the early half of the 16th century BC and outlived his southern rival, Kamose, but not Ahmose I. Although his reign only entailed northern Egypt, Apepi was dominant over most of Egypt during the early portion of his authority and traded peacefully with the native Theban Seventeenth dynasty to the south.
While he might have exerted suzerainty over Upper Egypt during the beginning of his reign, the seventeenth Dynasty eventually assumed control over this region, and the Hyksos were driven out of Egypt no more than fifteen years after his death.
Kamose, the last king of the Theban 17th Dynasty, refers to Apepi as a “Chieftain of Retjenu” in a stela that implies a Canaanite background for this Hyksos king.
Praenomina
Neb-khepesh-Re (nb ḫpš rˁ), Aa-qenen-Re (ˁ3 ḳn n rˁ), and Aa-user-Re (ˁ3 wsr rˁ) are three praenomina (throne names) used by this same ruler during various parts of his reign. While some Egyptologists once believed that two separate kings bore the name Apepi, Aauserre Apepi and Aaqenenre Apepi, it is now recognized that Khamudi succeeded Apepi at Avaris and that there was only one king named Apepi or Apophis. Nebkhepeshre (“Re is the Lord of Strength”) was Apepi’s first prenomen; towards the middle of his reign, this Hyksos ruler adopted a new prenomen, Aaqenenre (“The strength of Re is great”). In his reign’s final decade or so, Apepi chose Aauserre as his last prenomen. While the prenomen was altered, there is no difference in the translation of Aaqenenre and Aauserre. His Horus name Shetep-tawy is attested only twice (once with A-qenen-Re). It appears on an offering table and blocks found at Bubastis.
Reign
Rather than building his monuments, Apepi generally usurped the monuments of previous pharaohs by inscribing his name over two sphinxes of Amenemhat II and two statues of Imyremeshaw. Apepi is thought to have seized the throne of northern Egypt after the death of his predecessor, Khyan, since the latter had designated his son, Yanassi, to be his successor on the throne as a foreign ruler. Khamudi, the last Hyksos ruler, succeeded him. Ahmose I, who drove out the Hyksos kings from Egypt, established the 18th Dynasty.
In the Ramesside era, Apepi is recorded worshipping Seth in a monolithic way: “[He] chose for his lord the god Seth. He didn’t worship any other deity in the whole land except Seth.” Scholars generally believe the account of Apepi’s alleged monotheism is a veiled condemnation of the more infamous attempt by the later pharaoh Akhenaten to elevate the status of his patron sun god, Aten. Jan Assmann argues that because the Ancient Egyptians could never conceive of a “lonely” god lacking personality, Seth, the desert god, who was worshipped exclusively, represented a manifestation of evil.
There is some discussion in Egyptology concerning whether Apepi also ruled Upper Egypt. Several objects with the king’s name most likely come from Thebes and Upper Egypt. These include a dagger with the name of the king bought on the art market in Luxor. There is an axe of unknown provenance where the king is called beloved of Sobek, lord of Sumenu. Sumenu is identified with Mahamid Qibli, about 24 kilometres south of Thebes, and there is a fragment of a stone vessel found in a Theban tomb. For all these objects, it is arguable that they were traded to Upper Egypt. More problematic is a block with the king’s name found at Gebelein. The block had been taken as evidence of the building activity of the king in Upper Egypt and, hence, seen as proof that the Hyksos also ruled in Upper Egypt. However, the block is not very big, and many scholars argue today that it might have reached Gebelein after the looting of the Hyksos capital and is no proof of a Hyksos reign in Upper Egypt.
The Rhind Mathematical Papyrus is dated to Year 33 of Apepi or Apophis. At the same time, the Turin King list assigns 40+ years to a Hyksos ruler who is most likely Apophis, although his name is lost in a lacuna.
Family
Two sisters are known: Tani and Ziwat. Tani is mentioned on a shrine door in Avaris and on the stand of an offering table (Berlin 22487). She was the sister of the king. Ziwat is mentioned in a bowl found in Spain.
A ‘Prince Apepi’, named on a seal (now in Berlin), is likely to have been his son. Apepi also had a daughter named Herit: a vase belonging to her was found in a tomb at Thebes, sometimes regarded as the one of king Amenhotep I, which might indicate that at some point, his daughter was married to a Theban king. The vase, however, could have been an item which was looted from Avaris after the eventual victory over the Hyksos by Ahmose I.
