The 13th Dynasty starts with the death of Nefrusobek, the last member of the royal family of the 12th Dynasty, who ruled Egypt. The two first kings of the new dynasty were sons of Amenemhat IV, who, although he was not of royal birth, ruled between Amenemhat III and Nefrusobek.

According to the Turin Kinglist, Nefrusobek's successor was named Wegaf. A comparison of material and sources, however, has led researchers to believe that the Turin Kinglist may have been wrong at this point. Seal impressions bearing Wegaf's name appear to belong more to the middle of the dynasty rather than its beginning. Similarly, Sebekhotep Sekhemre Khutawi, whom the Turin Kinglist places in the middle of the 13th Dynasty, appears to belong to the start of the dynasty. The fact that Sebekhotep and Wegaf had very similar prenomens, may have led to the two of them being mixed up in the kinglist.

Placing Sebekhotep Sekhemre Khutawi at the start of the dynasty, makes him the first king with the name Sebekhotep.

There are indications that already during the reign of Amenemhat IV, a local ruler in the Nile Delta of foreign origin became more and more powerful. It is during this reign that the frequent expeditions to the Sinai came to a stop, probably because the expeditions had to go via the Nile Delta. At the latest during the reign of Nefrusobek, this ruler was able to found his own dynasty, the 14th, which, ruling from the city of Avaris, controlled at least the eastern Nile Delta, and perhaps all of Lower Egypt.

Nefrusobek's successors of the 13th Dynasty thus only ruled over the Nile Valley, stretching from Memphis to Elephantine. The initial contacts between both rivalling houses may have been of a military nature, as the miltary burials of this period in Avaris seem to indicate. After these initial hostilities, a status quo appears to have been agreed and both houses coexisted peacefully, allowing each other access to their territories for trade.

The kings of this dynasty followed each other in rapid succession, hinting at a lack of stability of the central government which may have been caused by internal power struggles.

Very contrary to tradition that kingship was passed from father onto son, Sebekhotep III and several of his successors publically proclaimed being of non-royal birth, as if wanting to make a clear distinction between themselves and their predecessors. This too hints at the central government being plagued by power struggles.

There are also indications that towards the end of the 13th and 14th Dynasties, the fertile Nile Delta was ravaged by decades of famine. With more than 50% of the foodproduction of Ancient Egypt coming from this region, it is very likely that Upper Egypt, the realm of the 13th Dynasty, suffered as much.

Weakened by internal power struggles, famine and plagues that unvariably accompanied longer periods of famine, the last kings of the 13th Dynasty were no match for a group of foreign invaders known as the Hyksos. Coming from Asia, the Hyksos had first overthrown the equally weak rulers of the 14th Dynasty and then pushed on further south, bringing the 13th Dynasty to an end.

The table below shows the list of kings of the 14th Dynasty:

Name Manetho Highest Year Dates (*)   Sebekhotep I     1783 - 1780   Senebef     1780 - 1777   Nerikare     1776   Amenemhat V     1776 - 1773   Qemaw     1773 - 1771   Hetepibre     1771 - 1768   Iufeni     1768   Amenemhat VI     1768 - 1765   Semenkare     1765 - 1763   Sehetepibre II     1763 - 1761   Sewadjkare     1761   Nedjemibre     1760   Sebekhotep II     1760 - 1757   Reniseneb     1757 Hor I     1757 - 1755   Sekhemre Khutawi     1755 - 1752   ///kare     1752 - 1750   Seb     1750   Kay     1750 - 1749   Amenemhat VII     1749 - 1746   Wegaf     1746 - 1744   Khendjer     1744 - 1739   Imira-mesha         Antef IV         Seth I       Sebekhotep III     1729 - 1722 Neferhotep I     1722 - 1711   Sihathor     1713   Sebekhotep IV     1712 - 1700   Sebekhotep V     1700 - 1697 Sebekhotep VI     1697 - 1692   Ia-ib     1692 - 1681   Ay     1681 - 1657   Ini     1657 - 1655   Sewadjtu     1655 - 1652   Ined     1652 - 1649   Hori     1649 - 1644   Sebekhotep VII     1644 - 1643 several kings, names lost   Mer///re         Merkheperre         Merkare         Mentuhotep V         ///mesre         Ibi II         Hor II         Se///kare         Seankhptahi         ///re         Se///enre                 The following kings also belonged to the 13th Dynasty, but cannot be placed with certainty:             Sekhaenre         Senebmiu

(*) Note that all dates are approximations only and that even the length of each king's tenure of power is subject to debate.