Seqenenre Tao was the pharaoh who ruled southern Egypt in the late 17th dynasty, roughly between 1,558 and 1,553 BC.

That was a troubled time. The Hyksos (whose name in ancient Egyptian was Heqau-khasut, “the rulers of foreign lands”) occupied the northern part of Egypt and took Avaris (present-day Tell el Dabaa) as their capital during a time called the “second intermediate period” (1650−1550 BC).

Although the pharaohs maintained power over the south (with capital in Thebes), the entire territory was forced to pay tribute to the invaders.