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.
Dating issues
Williams and others place Dedumose as the last king of Egypt’s 13th Dynasty. Precise dates for Dedumose are unknown. However, according to the commonly accepted Egyptian chronology, his reign probably ended around 1690 BC.
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. This may indicate he is a son of Dedumose I. However, 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. During that time, the Hyksos invaded its territory:
The excellent god, beloved of Thebes; The one chosen by Horus, who increases his [army], who has appeared like the lightning of the sun, who is acclaimed to the kingship of both lands; The one who belongs to shouting.
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. Meyer held that certain pharaohs were elected to office.
As Josephus’ Timaios
Dedumose is usually linked to Timaios. Timaios is mentioned by the historian Josephus – quoting Manetho – as a king during whose reign an army of Asian foreigners subdued the country without a fight.
The introductory phrase in Josephus’ quotation of Manetho του Τιμαιος ονομα appears somewhat ungrammatical. It follows A. von Gutschmid, the Greek words του Τιμαιος ([genitive definite article] Timaios [nominative]) are often combined into the proposed name Τουτιμαιος (Tutimaios). This is based on the tenuous argument of von Gutschmid that this sounded like Tutmes, i.e. Thutmose.
This has influenced the transliteration of the name Dedumose as Dudimose to reinforce the resemblance. The hieroglyphic spelling of the name, however, does not justify this transliteration. Nevertheless, Dedumose did rule either as a Pharaoh of the 13th Dynasty, which preceded the Hyksos. Alternatively, he may have ruled as part of the 16th Dynasty contemporary with the early Hyksos. In addition, the primary form Timaios in the manuscript of Josephus still plausibly represents his name.
Whiston’s translation of Josephus understands the phrase to mean “[There was a king] of ours (του), whose name was Timaios (Τιμαιος ονομα). A. Bülow-Jacobsen has suggested, however, that the phrase in Josephus may have been derived via a series of (unattested) scribal errors from του πραγματος (“of the matter”). He believes that ονομα (“this is a name”, typically left out of translations) is a later gloss. Consequently, the original text of Josephus did not contain the name of a Pharaoh at all.
Fringe theories
There have been revisionistic attempts by the historian Immanuel Velikovsky and Egyptologist David Rohl to identify Dedumose II as the Pharaoh of the Exodus, much earlier than the mainstream candidates. Rohl, in particular, 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. This makes Dedumose the Pharaoh of the Exodus. Rohl’s theory, however, has failed to find support among most scholars in his field.
Between the 18th and 19th centuries, Francis Wilford claimed that Josephus’ account is reportedly mentioned in an Indian text concerning an Egyptian tale. In this text, the Pharaoh’s name appears as Tamovatsa.