followed by SOBEKNEFERU, the first woman to appropriate
all the royal names of a pharaoh. Her reign lasted only
four years, and the Thirteenth Dynasty came to power in
a futile effort to retain a grip on the nation. This royal
line was listed in the Turin Canon, which credited
between 50 and 60 rulers to a period of 140 or more
years. They continued to conduct building projects and
governmental administration, but they were increasingly
harassed by the growing number of Asiatics in the north-
eastern Delta, and in time they collapsed or served as vas-
sals to the new foreign regime.
In XOIS, in the western Delta, another dynasty, the
Fourteenth, contemporaries of the Thirteenth or the Fif-
teenth Dynasties, maintained independence of a sort and
promulgated a long line of kings (76 according to
MANETHO). Scarcely any evidence remains of this royal
line, but its rulers are mentioned in the Turin Canon.
THE SECOND INTERMEDIATE PERIOD
(1640–1550 B.C.E.)This was an era of struggle and confusion, marked by the
presence of the HYKSOS, the Asiatics who conquered the
northeastern territories of Egypt. Manetho, the third cen-
tury B.C.E. historian, stated that the Asiatics, whom he
called the Hyksos, arrived in a whirlwind of devastation
to conquer the land. The Hyksos did come to the Nile
and did assume kingly roles, but their introduction into
the land was gradual and dependent upon many factors.
Slavery had been introduced as an institution into
Egypt during the Middle Kingdom, whose last rulers held
their power from Memphis or Thebes. While Egypt’s mili-
tary powers declined, the clamor for slaves increased,
especially for the feudal and priestly estates of the Delta
and the Faiyum.
The Asiatics, called the A’amu, Seteyu, or Hikau-
Khoswet (Manetho’s Hyksos), came willingly into Egypt
as mercenary border guards, as prisoners, or as inden-
tured servants, because Egypt offered them opportunities.
As their numbers increased, they began to insinuate
themselves into various positions of power. IPUWER’s
complaints about the presence of the “Desert,” a refer-
ence to the Hyksos, in Egypt provides a cunning image of
the changes taking place. The “Desert,” the coarse
nomads, consolidated their gains and opened Egypt to
more and more migrations from the Mediterranean
region.
The Fifteenth Dynasty, ruling from AVARISin the east-
ern Delta, was the royal line of the Hyksos. These kings
ruled from 1640 to 1532 B.C.E. A second group of Hyksos
kings ruled contemporaneously as the Sixteenth Dynasty,
but exercised less political control and held limited terri-
tory. Both Asiatic royal lines ruled at the same time as the
Seventeenth Dynasty, the kings of Thebes, who main-
tained a tight grip on Upper Egypt. The Seventeenth
Dynasty is dated from c. 1640 to 1550 B.C.E. and was
entirely Egyptian.
In the beginning, when the Hyksos and their allies
were entrenched in the eastern Delta and were construct-
ing their capital at AVARIS, the Thebans maintained some-
what cordial relations with them. The Hyksos sailed past
Thebes on their way to the lands below the cataracts of
the Nile in order to trade there, and the Theban cattle
barons grazed their herds in the Delta marshlands with-
out incident. The cordiality vanished after a time, how-
ever, and the Hyksos had to abandon all hopes of
penetrating deep into Theban territories. They remained
ensconced with their forces at CUSAE, unable to maintain
their dominance of more southerly lands.
Then APOPHIS(2) of Avaris sent an insulting message
to TA’OIIof Thebes, words recorded in the QUARREL OF
APOPHIS AND SEKENENRÉ TA’OII. The Thebans declared war
on the Hyksos c. 1570 B.C.E., and Ta’o II mobilized his
armies and struck at the Asiatic outposts. He died in bat-
tle or as a result of an ambush, but his son, KAMOSE, took
up the war with equal vigor.
Kamose, the last king of the Seventeenth Dynasty,
used the famed MEDJAYtroops and other military strate-
gies and was approaching the defenses of Avaris when he
died. His brother, ’AHMOSE, the founder of the Eighteenth
Dynasty and the New Kingdom, laid siege to the city and
ran the Asiatics out of Egypt, pursuing them to Sharuhen
and then into Syria.
The arts and architecture of Egypt waned during the
Second Intermediate Period, although the tombs of the
nomarchs in the outlying provinces were adorned with
vivacious scenes that reflected the continuity of life in
areas untouched by Egypt’s warring dynasties. The Sec-
ond Intermediate Period did have one lasting effect, how-
ever. Egypt was brought to the realization of the military
and political realities of the age. The Thebans, watching
the domination of the Asiatics in the northeast section of
the nation, resolved to oust them from the Nile and to
seal the borders once again.
THE NEW KINGDOM (1550–1070 B.C.E.)
The era following the departure of the Asiatics, the New
Kingdom became a period of empire, prestige, and mili-
tary prowess. The New Kingdom was actually a combina-
tion of three separate historical periods: the beginning of
the empire, the ’AMARNAera, and the Age of the Rames-
sids. ’Ahmose destroyed Avaris and put down rebellions
within Egypt and Nubia, and then he set about conduct-
ing the affairs of state with a keen and energetic mind. He
reduced the status of the hereditary princes and counts of
the various nomes, thus putting an end to the petty rival-
ries that had plagued the nation in the past.
He established the viceroyalty of Nubia and con-
ducted all other government affairs through a series of
judges and governors, who were sworn to serve him and
the cause of his dynasty. This early part of the New King-
dom was particularly graced by talented Egyptians who
brought loyalty and dedication to their tasks as officialsEgypt 121