A Greek name for the northern Sinai coast; a petty Kingdom seems to have existed here, long before the Greeks. Why the Sixteenth Dynasty is counted among the Pharaonic dynasties of Egypt is somewhat unclear - these kings were described by Manetho as native Egyptian, but clearly were Semitic in origin. They were likely vassals of the Hyksos guarding the western frontiers of Egypt; some sources refer to them by the tribal designation Kysos. Most of the names are known from only single references. As with the fourteenth dynasty, the presence of several kings named “Yakob” or Jacob has led some scholars to speculate on connections with the Biblical character of the same name. Only the first two names on the list can be confirmed archeologically, the others may be inventions. The dates of this dynasty seem to have been 1663 to 1555.