rian MANETHOas having suddenly appeared in the Nile
Valley. He wrote that they rode their horse-drawn chari-
ots to establish a tyranny in the land. They did enter
Egypt, but they did not appear suddenly, with what
Manetho termed “a blast of God.” The Hyksos entered
the Nile region gradually over a series of decades until
the Egyptians realized the danger they posed in their
midst. Most of the Asiatics came across Egypt’s borders
without causing much of a stir. Some had distinguished
themselves as leaders of vast trading caravans that kept
Egypt’s economy secure. Others were supposedly veter-
ans of the various border police, started in the Middle
Kingdom when AMENEMHET I(r. 1991–1962 B.C.E.) con-
structed the WALL OF THE PRINCE, the series of fortresses
that guarded the eastern and western borders of the
land.
If there was a single factor that increased the Asiatic
population in Egypt, it was slavery, introduced officially
as an institution in the Middle Kingdom (2040–1640
B.C.E.). Asiatics came either as captives or as immigrants
eager for employment. As workers they were assimilated
into Egyptian society. During the Second Intermediate
Period (1640–1550 B.C.E.), when several rival dynasties
competed in the land, the Asiatics gained control of the
eastern Delta. Moving steadily southward and making
treaties with nomes or subjecting them with the aid of
Egyptian allies, the Asiatics established themselves firmly.
Only THEBES, the capital of the south, stood resolute
against their expansion, and the Hyksos were denied
most of Upper Egypt. Their hold on the western Delta is
poorly documented. For a time the nome clan of XOIS
stood independent. The Xois Dynasty, the Fourteenth
Dynasty, was contemporaneous with the Fifteenth
Dynasty (1640–1532 B.C.E.). While these rulers remained
independent, the Asiatics moved around them and built
their domain at AVARIS, a site in the eastern Delta, as their
capital.
In the beginning, Thebes and Avaris managed to con-
duct their affairs with a certain tolerance. The Hyksos
sailed to the southern cataracts of the Nile to conduct
trade without being hindered, and the Theban cattle
barons grazed their herds in the Delta without incident.
There were two separate royal lines of Hyksos in the
Delta, the Fifteenth, called “the Great Hyksos,” and a
contemporaneous Sixteenth Dynasty, ruling over minor
holdings.
The Thebans were soon contesting the Asiatic
control, and the Theban Seventeenth Dynasty (1640–
1550 B.C.E.) began to harass their caravans and ships.
APOPHIS(2),the Hyksos ruler who came to the throne
in 1585 B.C.E., then sent an insult to Sekenenré TA’OII
of Thebes and found himself in the middle of a full
scale war as a result. KAMOSEtook up the battle when
Sekenenré-Ta’o died, using the desert oases as hiding
places for his army. The young Egyptian was in striking
distance of Avaris when he died or was slain. Apophis
died a short time before him. ’AHMOSE, the founder of
the Eighteenth Dynasty and the father of the New King-
dom (1550–1070 B.C.E.), took up the battle of his father
and brother and laid siege to Avaris. The city fell to him
in c. 1532 B.C.E., and the Asiatics fled to Sharuhen in
Palestine, with the Egyptians in hot pursuit. When
Sharuhen fell to the same Egyptian armies, the Hyksos
ran to Syria. Thus the Hyksos domination of Egypt was
ended.
Building at Tell ed-Dab’a, or Lisht, the Hyksos
founded Avaris as a fortified city with palaces and
enclosed tombs. The population was mixed, and heavy
trade in oil and wine flourished. A Minoan influence is
evident at Avaris, and some 500 pieces of Cyprian pottery,
containing oils and perfumes, were discovered. Minoan
inscriptions were also found on Cypriot spindle-shaped
bottles. Hyksos styled vessels called bilbilsand poppy-
shaped as well as spindle style jugs held perfumes,
HONEY, and opium.
As the Middle Kingdom declined and fell, the Hyksos
rose at TELL ED-DAB’A, Tell Hiba, and TANIS. Avaris flour-
ished with fortified citadels, gardens, and vineyards. The
paintings in the residences were Minoan in style. The
Hyksos worshiped SET, uniting him with the Canaanite
Baal-Reshef. Several of the Hyksos rulers opened Egypt’s
eastern borders, welcoming Canaanites and other groups
into the Nile Valley.
The Asiatics had come to the Nile to absorb the
material benefits of Egyptian civilization. In turn, the
Hyksos introduced the HORSEand CHARIOT, the SHADUF
(the irrigational implement that revolutionized the farm-
ing techniques), and military weapons that transformed
the armies of the Nile into formidable forces. The Hyksos
episode also brought an awareness to the Egyptians that
they could not remain in isolation. That realization
served as an impetus for later expansion. The Tuthmossid
rulers would march in cycles of conquest to the
Euphrates River areas as declared instruments of
vengeance for the Asiatic dominance of Egypt for more
than a century.
See also QUARREL OF APOPHIS AND SEKENENRÉ(TA’OII).Suggested Readings:Oren, Eliezer D. The Hyksos: New
Historical and Archaeological Perspectives. University
Museum Monograph 96. Philadelphia: University of
Pennsylvania Press, 1997.“Hymn of Rising” A ceremony conducted each morn-
ing in the palaces of ancient Egypt. Courtiers and priests
wakened the pharaoh and the gods with songs and
hymns of praise. The lyrics of the songs were dedicated
to NEKHEBETand WADJET, the protectors of Upper and
Lower Egypt.“Hymn of Rising” 175