Khamudi

Khamudi (also known as Khamudy) was the last pharaoh of the Hyksos fifteenth dynasty of Egypt, who came to power in the northern portion of Egypt. The Year 11 date in the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus is now believed by many Egyptologists to belong to his reign since it refers to Ahmose as "He of the South." [Thomas Schneider, "The Relative Chronology of the Middle Kingdom and the Hyksos Period (Dyns. 12-17)" in Erik Hornung, Rolf Krauss & David Warburton (editors), Ancient Egyptian Chronology (Handbook of Oriental Studies), Brill: 2006, p.195] Another date on the papyrus is explicitly dated to Year 33 of Khamudi's predecessor Apophis As Thomas Schneider writes:: "Another reign length can be inferred from the note on the verso of the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus whereby in the 11th regnal year of the ruling king, Heliopolis has been conquered, and "he of the South" has attacked and taken Sile. Since "he of the South" must denote the Theban ruler Ahmose, the regnal year 11 can only be assigned to the successor of the Hyksos king Apapi: Khamudi. The Hyksos capital Avaris will have fallen to Ahmose not much later." [Ibid., pp.194-195]

It is generally believed that Ahmose defeated the Hyksos king by his 18th or 19th year. This is suggested by "a graffito in the quarry at Tura whereby 'oxen from Palestine' were used at the opening of the quarry in Ahmose's regnal year 22." [Ibid., p.195] Since the cattle could only have been brought after Ahmose's 3 year long siege of the South Palestinian town of Sharuhen which followed after the fall of Avaris, this means the reign of Khamudi must have terminated by Year 18 or 19 of Ahmose's 25 year reign at the very latest. [Ibid., p.195]

The Hyksos were a foreign line of rulers who invaded Egypt and ruled for several generations before this defeat by Ahmose a native ruler from Thebes, who drove them from Egypt at that time.

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