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{{merge from|Origins of the Hyksos|discuss=talk:Hyksos#Merge|date=February 2016}} |
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{{Egyptian Dynasty list}} |
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The '''Hyksos''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|ɪ|k|s|ɒ|s}} or {{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|ɪ|k|s|oʊ|z}};<ref>[http://www.howjsay.com/index.php?word=hyksos]</ref> [[Egyptian language|Egyptian]] ''heqa khasut'', "ruler(s) of the foreign countries"; {{lang-grc|Ὑκσώς}}, {{lang|grc|Ὑξώς}}) were a people of mixed origins, possibly from [[Western Asia]],<ref name=EB_Hyksos>{{cite web |url= http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/279251/Hyksos#ref756992 |title= Hyksos (Egyptian dynasty) |author= |date= |work= [[Encyclopædia Britannica Online]] |publisher= [[Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]] |accessdate= 8 September 2012}}</ref> who settled in the eastern [[Nile Delta]] |
The '''Hyksos''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|ɪ|k|s|ɒ|s}} or {{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|ɪ|k|s|oʊ|z}};<ref>[http://www.howjsay.com/index.php?word=hyksos]</ref> [[Egyptian language|Egyptian]] ''heqa khasut'', "ruler(s) of the foreign countries"; {{lang-grc|Ὑκσώς}}, {{lang|grc|Ὑξώς}}) were a people of mixed origins, possibly from [[Western Asia]],<ref name=EB_Hyksos>{{cite web |url= http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/279251/Hyksos#ref756992 |title= Hyksos (Egyptian dynasty) |author= |date= |work= [[Encyclopædia Britannica Online]] |publisher= [[Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]] |accessdate= 8 September 2012}}</ref> who settled in the eastern [[Nile Delta]] some time before 1650 BC. The arrival of the Hyksos led to the end of the [[Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt]] and initiated the [[Second Intermediate Period of Egypt]].<ref>Redford D., ''Egypt, Canaan and Israel in ancient times'', 1992</ref> In the context of Ancient Egypt, the term "Asiatic" – which is often used for the Hyksos – may refer to any people native to areas east of Egypt. |
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Immigration by [[Canaan]]ite populations preceded the Hyksos. Canaanites first appeared in Egypt |
Immigration by [[Canaan]]ite populations preceded the Hyksos. Canaanites first appeared in Egypt at the end of the [[Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt|12th Dynasty]] c. 1800 BC or c. 1720 BC and established an independent realm in the eastern Nile Delta.<ref name="ryholt"/> The Canaanite rulers of the Delta, regrouped in the [[Fourteenth Dynasty of Egypt|Fourteenth Dynasty]], coexisted with the Egyptian [[Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt|Thirteenth Dynasty]] and were based in [[Itjtawy]]. The power of the 13th and 14th Dynasties progressively waned, perhaps due to famine and plague.<ref name="ryholt">{{cite book|last1=Ryholt|first1=K. S. B.|last2=Bülow-Jacobsen|first2=Adam|title=The Political Situation in Egypt During the Second Intermediate Period, C. 1800-1550 B.C.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ANRi7cM5ZwsC|year=1997|publisher=Museum Tusculanum Press|isbn=978-87-7289-421-8}}</ref><ref>[[Manfred Bietak]]: ''Egypt and Canaan During the Middle Bronze Age'', BASOR 281 (1991), pp. 21-72 see in particular p. 38</ref> |
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In about 1650 BC, both dynasties were invaded by the Hyksos, who formed the [[Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt|Fifteenth Dynasty]]. The collapse of the Thirteenth Dynasty created a power vacuum in the south, which may have led to the rise of the [[Sixteenth Dynasty of Egypt|Sixteenth Dynasty]], based in [[Thebes, Egypt|Thebes]], and possibly of a local [[Abydos Dynasty]].<ref name="ryholt"/> The Hyksos eventually conquered both, albeit for only a short time in the case of Thebes. From then on, the [[Seventeenth Dynasty of Egypt|17th Dynasty]] took control of Thebes and reigned for some time in peaceful coexistence with the Hyksos kings, perhaps as their vassals. Eventually, [[Seqenenre Tao]], [[Kamose]] and [[Ahmose I|Ahmose]] waged war against the Hyksos and expelled [[Khamudi]], their last king, from Egypt c. 1550 BC.<ref name="ryholt"/> |
In about 1650 BC, both dynasties were invaded by the Hyksos, who formed the [[Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt|Fifteenth Dynasty]]. The collapse of the Thirteenth Dynasty created a power vacuum in the south, which may have led to the rise of the [[Sixteenth Dynasty of Egypt|Sixteenth Dynasty]], based in [[Thebes, Egypt|Thebes]], and possibly of a local [[Abydos Dynasty]].<ref name="ryholt"/> The Hyksos eventually conquered both, albeit for only a short time in the case of Thebes. From then on, the [[Seventeenth Dynasty of Egypt|17th Dynasty]] took control of Thebes and reigned for some time in peaceful coexistence with the Hyksos kings, perhaps as their vassals. Eventually, [[Seqenenre Tao]], [[Kamose]] and [[Ahmose I|Ahmose]] waged war against the Hyksos and expelled [[Khamudi]], their last king, from Egypt c. 1550 BC.<ref name="ryholt"/> |
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== Origins == |
== Origins == |
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There are various hypotheses as to the Hyksos' ethnic identity. Most archaeologists {{who|date=May 2011}} describe the Hyksos as multi-ethnic, to include all of the peoples who occupied the Nile Delta or as a mixed, [[West Asian]] people. While the term "Asiatic" is often used for the Hyksos, in the context of [[Ancient Egypt]], it refers to any people native to areas east of Egypt. West Asian origins are suggested, in particular, by the names of individuals such as ''Khyan'' and ''Sakir-Har'', and pottery finds that resemble pottery found in archaeological excavations in the area of modern [[Israel]]. |
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{{Main article|Origins of the Hyksos}} |
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There are various hypotheses as to the Hyksos' ethnic identity. Most archaeologists {{who|date=May 2011}} describe the Hyksos as multi-ethnic, to include all of the peoples who occupied the Nile Delta. |
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===Etymology=== |
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The origin of the term "Hyksos" derives from the Egyptian expression ''hekau khaswet'' ("rulers [of] foreign lands"), used in Egyptian texts such as the ''[[Turin King List]]'' to describe the rulers of neighbouring lands. This expression begins to appear as early as the late [[Old Kingdom of Egypt]] to refer to various [[Nubians|Nubian chieftains]] and in the [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]] to refer to the Semitic-speaking chieftains of [[Syria (region)|Syria]] and [[Canaan]]. |
The origin of the term "Hyksos" derives from the Egyptian expression ''hekau khaswet'' (or''heqa-khaset''; "rulers [of] foreign lands"), used in Egyptian texts such as the ''[[Turin King List]]'' to describe the rulers of neighbouring lands. This expression begins to appear as early as the late [[Old Kingdom of Egypt]] to refer to various [[Nubians|Nubian chieftains]] and in the [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]] to refer to the Semitic-speaking chieftains of [[Syria (region)|Syria]] and [[Canaan]]. |
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The word Hyksos probably originated as an Egyptian term meaning "rulers of foreign lands" (''heqa-khaset''), and it almost certainly designated the foreign dynasts rather than a whole nation. |
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===Migrations=== |
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The German Egyptologist [[Wolfgang Helck]] once argued that the Hyksos were part of massive and widespread Hurrian and [[Indo-Aryans|Indo-Aryan]] migrations into the [[Near East]]. According to Helck, the Hyksos were Hurrians and part of a Hurrian empire that, he claimed, extended over much of [[Western Asia]] during this period. Most scholars have rejected this theory, and Helck himself abandoned this hypothesis in a 1993 article.<ref>see W. Helck's ''Orientalia'' 62 (1993) "Das Hyksosproblem" pp.60–66 paper</ref> |
The German Egyptologist [[Wolfgang Helck]] once argued that the Hyksos were part of massive and widespread Hurrian and [[Indo-Aryans|Indo-Aryan]] migrations into the [[Near East]]. According to Helck, the Hyksos were Hurrians and part of a Hurrian empire that, he claimed, extended over much of [[Western Asia]] during this period. Most scholars have rejected this theory, and Helck himself abandoned this hypothesis in a 1993 article.<ref>see W. Helck's ''Orientalia'' 62 (1993) "Das Hyksosproblem" pp.60–66 paper</ref> |
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===Josephus=== |
===Josephus=== |
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In his ''[[Against Apion]]'', the first-century AD historian [[Josephus]] debates the synchronism between the Biblical account of [[the Exodus]] of the [[Israelites]] from Egypt and two Exodus-like events that the Egyptian historian [[Manetho]] apparently mentions. It is difficult to distinguish between what Manetho himself recounted, and how Josephus or [[Apion]] interpret him. Josephus identifies the Israelite Exodus with the first exodus mentioned by Manetho, when some 480,000 Hyksos "shepherd kings" (also referred to as just 'shepherds', as 'kings' and as 'captive shepherds' in his discussion of Manetho) left Egypt for Jerusalem.<ref name = "AA1:86–90">Josephus, Flavius, <cite>''Against Apion''</cite>, 1:86–90.</ref> The mention of "Hyksos" identifies this first exodus with the Hyksos period (16th century BC). |
In his ''[[Against Apion]]'', the first-century AD historian [[Josephus]] debates the synchronism between the Biblical account of [[the Exodus]] of the [[Israelites]] from Egypt and two Exodus-like events that the Egyptian historian [[Manetho]] (ca. 300 BC) apparently mentions. It is difficult to distinguish between what Manetho himself recounted, and how Josephus or [[Apion]] interpret him. Josephus identifies the Israelite Exodus with the first exodus mentioned by Manetho, when some 480,000 Hyksos "shepherd kings" (also referred to as just 'shepherds', as 'kings' and as 'captive shepherds' in his discussion of Manetho) left Egypt for Jerusalem.<ref name = "AA1:86–90">Josephus, Flavius, <cite>''Against Apion''</cite>, 1:86–90.</ref> The mention of "Hyksos" identifies this first exodus with the Hyksos period (16th century BC). |
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Josephus provides the earliest recorded instance of the much repeated false etymology of the term ''Hyksos'', as a Hellenised form of the Egyptian phrase ''Hekw [[Shasu]]'', meaning "Shepherd Kings". Scholars have only recently shown that the term derives from ''heqa-khase'', a phrase meaning "rulers of foreign lands".<ref>[[Israel Finkelstein|Finkelstein, Israel]] and [[Neil Asher Silberman|Silberman, Neil Asher]], ''[[The Bible Unearthed]]: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts'', 2001, The Free Press, New York City, {{ISBN|0-684-86912-8}} p. 54</ref> |
Josephus provides the earliest recorded instance of the much repeated false etymology of the term ''Hyksos'', as a Hellenised form of the Egyptian phrase ''Hekw [[Shasu]]'', meaning "Shepherd Kings". Scholars have only recently shown that the term derives from ''heqa-khase'', a phrase meaning "rulers of foreign lands".<ref>[[Israel Finkelstein|Finkelstein, Israel]] and [[Neil Asher Silberman|Silberman, Neil Asher]], ''[[The Bible Unearthed]]: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts'', 2001, The Free Press, New York City, {{ISBN|0-684-86912-8}} p. 54</ref> |
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Apion identifies a second exodus mentioned by Manetho when a renegade Egyptian priest called ''[[Osarseph]]'' led 80,000 "[[lepers]]" to rebel against Egypt. Then, Apion additionally conflates these with the Biblical [[the Exodus|Exodus]], and contrary to Manetho, even alleges that this heretic priest changed his name to [[Moses]].<ref name = "AA1:234–50">Josephus, Flavius, <cite>Against Apion</cite>, 1:234–250.</ref> Many scholars<ref>[https://www.utoronto.ca/wjudaism/contemporary/articles/a_sheresblau.html Miriam - From Prophet to Leper<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://skeptically.org/oldtestament/id4.html Egyptian Account of the Leper's Exodus<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> do not interpret ''lepers'' and ''leprous priests'' as literally referring to a disease, but rather to a strange and unwelcome new belief system. |
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Josephus records the earliest account of the false but understandable etymology that the Greek phrase ''Hyksos'' stood for the Egyptian phrase ''Hekw [[Shasu]]'' meaning the [[Bedouin]]-like "Shepherd Kings", which scholars have only recently shown means "rulers of foreign lands".<ref>Finkelstein, Israel and Silberman, Neil Asher''[[The Bible Unearthed]]: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts'', 2001, The Free Press, New York City, {{ISBN|0-684-86912-8}} p. 54</ref> |
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===Modern scholarship=== |
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[[File:ibscha.jpg|thumb|225px|right|A group of people labelled ''Asiatics'' (the glyphs immediately above the head of the first animal) entering Egypt c.1900 BC. From the tomb of 12th-dynasty official Khnumhotep II, at [[Beni Hasan]].]] |
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As to a Hyksos "conquest", some archaeologists depict the Hyksos as "northern hordes ... sweeping through Palestine and Egypt in swift chariots". Yet, others refer to a "creeping conquest", that is, a gradual infiltration of migrating nomadic or semi-nomadic people, who either slowly took over control of the country piecemeal, or, by a swift coup d’etat, put themselves at the head of the existing government. Archaeologist [[Jacquetta Hawkes]] states: |
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:It is no longer thought that the Hyksos rulers ... represent the invasion of a conquering horde of Asiatics ... they were wandering groups of Semites who had long come to Egypt for trade and other peaceful purposes.<ref>[[Jacquetta Hawkes]]. (1963). ''The World of the Past'', p. 444</ref> |
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It is generally thought that the Hyksos were probably Semites who came from the [[Levant]]. Kamose's explicit statement about the Asiatic origins of Apophis is the strongest evidence for a Canaanite background for the majority of the Hyksos. However, other interpretations are possible. |
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====Hurrians or Indo-Europeans==== |
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Contemporary with the Hyksos, there was a widespread [[Indo-Aryans|Indo-Aryan]] expansion in central and south Asia. The Hyksos used the same horsedrawn chariot as the Indo-Aryans, and Egyptian sources mention a rapid conquest. The German Egyptologist [[Wolfgang Helck]] once argued that the Hyksos were part of massive [[Hurrians|Hurrian]] and Indo-Aryan migrations into the [[Near East]]. According to Helck, the Hyksos were Hurrians and part of a Hurrian empire that, he claimed, extended over much of [[Western Asia]] during that period. In a 1993 article, Helck admitted that there is no evidence of a grand-scale Hurrian invasion,<ref>see W. Helck's Orientalia 62 (1993) ''Das Hyksosproblem'' pp.60–66 paper</ref> but noted the possibility of a sea invasion of [[Indo-Europeans|Indo-European]] peoples, mainly from Anatolia. However, this hypothesis is not supported by most scholars. |
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====Amorites or West Semites==== |
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[[Kamose]], the last king of the Theban 17th Dynasty, refers to Apophis as a ''Chieftain of [[Retjenu]]'' in a stela that implies a Canaanite background for this Hyksos king. Khyan's name "has generally been interpreted as [[Amorite language|Amorite]] ''Hayanu'' (reading ''h-ya-a-n''), which the Egyptian form represents perfectly, and this is in all likelihood the correct interpretation", says Ryholt.<ref>Ryholt, Kim SB. The Political Situation in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period c.1800-1550 B.C. (1997) by Museum Tuscalanum Press, p.128</ref> Ryholt, furthermore observes that the Assyrian lists of kings record the name ''Hayanu'' for a "remote ancestor" of [[Shamshi-Adad I]] (c.1800 BC) of Assyria, which suggests that it had been used for centuries prior to Khyan's own reign.<ref>Ryholt, Ibid., p.128</ref> |
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The etymology of the name of Sakir-Har, one of the three earliest 15th-Dynasty kings, also implies a West Semitic or Canaanite origin for the Hyksos rulers, if not the Hyksos peoples themselves. As Ryholt notes, the name ''Sakir-Har'' |
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{{quote|text=is evidently a theophorous name compounded with ''hr'', Canaanite ''harru'', [meaning] "mountain". This sacred or deified mountain is attested in at least two other names which are both West Semitic (''Ya'qub-Har'' and ''Anat-Har'') and so there is reason to suspect that the present name also may be West Semitic. The element ''skr'' seems to be identical with ''śkr'', "to hire, to reward", which occurs in several [[Amorite]] names. Assuming that ''śkr'' takes a nominal form as in the names ''sa-ki-ru-um'' and ''sa-ka-ŕu-um'', the name should be transliterated as either ''Sakir-Har'' or ''Sakar-Har''. The former two names presumably mean "the Reward". Accordingly, the name here under consideration would mean "Reward of Har".<ref>Ryholt, op. cit., pp.127–128</ref>}} |
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==== Phoenicia-Palestine in the MB II period ==== |
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[[John Van Seters]] in his book, ''[[The Hyksos: A New Investigation]]'', argues that the [[Ipuwer Papyrus]] does not belong to the [[First Intermediate Period]] of Egyptian history (c. 2300-2200 BCE), as previously thought, but rather to the [[Second Intermediate Period]] (c. 1700-1600 BCE). |
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{{quote|text=On the basis of the archaeological investigation, the foreigners of Egypt are seen as a geographical extension of the corresponding culture of Phoenicia-Palestine in the [[Bronze Age|MB II period]], a culture with a highly advanced urban society. This civilization of the Levant has its roots in the Amurrite world of both Syria and Mesopotamia in the Old Babylonian period, and has a direct heir in the so-called Canaanite world of the Late Bronze Age.The MB II period began during the Middle Kingdom, and by the end of the Twelfth Dynasty the whole of Phoenicia-Palestine was under the influence of Egypt, with diplomatic ties and active cooperation between the rulers of the various city-states and the rulers of Egypt. During the early Thirteenth Dynasty, the foreigners had much freer access into Egypt. Many of them rose to places of high honor in the administration of the country.<ref name="Seters2010">{{cite book|last=Seters|first=John Van|authorlink=John Van Seters|title=The Hyksos: A New Investigation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PJ9MAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA191|date=1 April 2010|publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers|isbn=978-1-60899-533-2|page=191}}</ref>}} |
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== 15th Dynasty == |
== 15th Dynasty == |
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{{Hiero|Hyksos|<hiero>S38-N29-N25:X1*Z1</hiero>|align=left|era=nk}} |
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[[File:ScarabBearingNameOfApophis MuseumOfFineArtsBoston.png|thumb|150px|right|Scarab bearing the name of the Hyksos King Apophis, now at the [[Museum of Fine Arts, Boston]]]] |
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Traditionally, only the Fifteenth Dynasty rulers are called ''Hyksos''. The Greek name "Hyksos" was coined by [[Manetho]] to identify the Fifteenth Dynasty of Asiatic rulers of northern Egypt. In Egyptian Hyksos means "ruler(s) of foreign countries", however, Josephus mistranslated Hyksos as "Shepherd Kings".<ref>{{cite book|last=Lloyd|first=A.B.|title=Herodotus, Book II: Commentary, 99-182 v. 3|year=1993|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-07737-9|url=https://books.google.com/?id=8DiTX_EsWasC&pg=PA76&dq=Manetho+mistranslated+Hyksos#v=onepage&q=Manetho%20mistranslated%20Hyksos&f=false|accessdate=23 December 2011|page=76}}</ref> |
Traditionally, only the Fifteenth Dynasty rulers are called ''Hyksos''. The Greek name "Hyksos" was coined by [[Manetho]] to identify the Fifteenth Dynasty of Asiatic rulers of northern Egypt. In Egyptian Hyksos means "ruler(s) of foreign countries", however, Josephus mistranslated Hyksos as "Shepherd Kings".<ref>{{cite book|last=Lloyd|first=A.B.|title=Herodotus, Book II: Commentary, 99-182 v. 3|year=1993|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-07737-9|url=https://books.google.com/?id=8DiTX_EsWasC&pg=PA76&dq=Manetho+mistranslated+Hyksos#v=onepage&q=Manetho%20mistranslated%20Hyksos&f=false|accessdate=23 December 2011|page=76}}</ref> |
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The Hyksos had Canaanite names, as seen in those with names from [[ancient Semitic religion]] such as [[Anat]] or [[Baal]]. Several of their pharaohs did in fact adopt the Egyptian title ''hekw chasut'' (foreign overlords) for themselves, along with Egyptian throne names. They introduced new tools of warfare into Egypt, most notably the [[composite bow]] and the horse-drawn [[chariot]]. |
The Hyksos had Canaanite names, as seen in those with names from [[ancient Semitic religion]] such as [[Anat]] or [[Baal]]. Several of their pharaohs did in fact adopt the Egyptian title ''hekw chasut'' (foreign overlords) for themselves, along with Egyptian throne names. They introduced new tools of warfare into Egypt, most notably the [[composite bow]] and the horse-drawn [[chariot]]. |
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The names, the order, and even the total number of the Fifteenth Dynasty rulers are not known with full certainty. The names appear in [[Egyptian hieroglyphs|hieroglyphs]] on [[monument]]s and small objects such as jar lids and [[scarab artifact|scarab]]s. In those instances in which [[Fivefold Titulary#.28Praenomen.29 He of the Sedge and the Bee|''Prenomen'']] and [[Fivefold Titulary#.28Nomen.29 Son of Ra|''Nomen'']] do not occur together on the same object, there is no certainty that the names belong together as the two names of a single person. The Danish Egyptologist [[Kim Ryholt]] sums up the complex situation by stating that "there are only vague indications of the origin of the Fifteenth Dynasty" and concurring that the small number of surviving names of the Fifteenth Dynasty are "too few to allow for general conclusions" about the Hyksos' background in his 1997 study of the Second Intermediate Period.<ref>Kim Ryholt, The Political Situation in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period c.1800-1550 B.C., Museum Tuscalanum Press, 1997. p.126</ref> Furthermore, Ryholt stresses that |
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: we also lack positive indications that any of the rulers of the Fifteenth Dynasty were related by blood, and, accordingly we could be dealing with a dynasty of mixed ethnic origin.<ref>Ryholt, op. cit., p.126 An example given by Ryholt "is the family of the kings Warad-Sin and Rim-Sin of [[Larsa]]. Their father had been the ruler of two Amorite tribes, but both he and their grandfather had Elamite names, while they themselves had Akkadian names, and a sister of theirs had a Sumerian name.</ref> |
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[[Manetho]]'s history of Egypt is known only through the works of others, such as ''[[Against Apion]]'' by [[Flavius Josephus]]. These sources do not list the names of the six rulers in the same order. To complicate matters further, the spellings are so distorted that they are useless for chronological purposes; there is no close or obvious connection between the bulk of these names—''Salitis'', ''Beon'' or ''Bnon'', ''Apachnan'' or ''Pachnan'', ''Annas'' or ''Staan'', ''Apophis'', ''Assis'' or ''Archles''—and the Egyptian names that appear on scarabs and other objects. The Turin king list affirms there were six Hyksos rulers, but only four of them are clearly attested as Hyksos kings from the surviving archaeological or textual records: 1. [[Sakir-Har]], 2. [[Khyan]], 3. [[Apepi I|Apophis]] and 4. [[Khamudi]]. |
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Khyan and Apophis are by far the best attested kings of this dynasty, whereas Sakir-Har is attested by only a single doorjamb from Avaris that bears his royal titulary. Khamudi is named as the last Hyksos king on a fragment from the Turin Canon. The hieroglyphic names of these Fifteenth Dynasty rulers exist on monuments, scarabs, and other objects. |
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Two Hyksos pharaohs remain unknown. Many scholars have suggested that they were Maaibre [[Sheshi]], [[Aperanat|Aper-Anath]], [[Semqen|Samuqenu]], [[Yakbim Sekhaenre|Sekhaenre Yakbim]] or Meruserre [[Yaqub-Har]] (who are all attested by seals or scarabs in the Delta region) but, thus far, all that is certain is that they were Asiatic kings in the Egypt's Delta region. They could be either the remaining two Hyksos kings or were members of the previous Fourteenth Dynasty at Xois. |
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===Range=== |
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The Hyksos kingdom was centered in the eastern [[Nile Delta]] and [[Middle Egypt]] and was limited in size, never extending south into [[Upper Egypt]], which was under the control of [[Thebes, Egypt|Theban]]-based rulers, except briefly, for about three years, at the end of Khyan's reign and the beginning of Aphophis'. The Hyksos Fifteenth Dynasty rulers established their capital and seat of government at [[Avaris]]. |
The Hyksos kingdom was centered in the eastern [[Nile Delta]] and [[Middle Egypt]] and was limited in size, never extending south into [[Upper Egypt]], which was under the control of [[Thebes, Egypt|Theban]]-based rulers, except briefly, for about three years, at the end of Khyan's reign and the beginning of Aphophis'. The Hyksos Fifteenth Dynasty rulers established their capital and seat of government at [[Avaris]]. |
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[[File:ibscha.jpg|thumb|200px|left|An earlier group of Asiatic peoples depicted entering Egypt c. 1900 BC, from the tomb of a [[Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt|Twelfth Dynasty]] official [[Khnumhotep II]] under pharaoh [[Senusret II]] at [[Beni Hasan]].]] The rule of these kings overlaps with that of the native Egyptian pharaohs of the [[Sixteenth Dynasty of Egypt|Sixteenth]] and [[Seventeenth Dynasty of Egypt|Seventeenth]] Dynasties, better known as the [[Second Intermediate Period of Egypt|Second Intermediate Period]]. The first pharaoh of the [[Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt|Eighteenth Dynasty]], [[Ahmose I]], finally expelled the Hyksos from their last holdout at [[Sharuhen]] in [[Gaza City|Gaza]] by the sixteenth year of his reign.<ref>Grimal, Nicolas. ''A History of Ancient Egypt'', p.193. Librairie Arthéme Fayard, 1988.</ref><ref>Redford, Donald B. ''History and Chronology of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt: Seven Studies'', pp.46–49. University of Toronto Press, 1967.</ref> |
[[File:ibscha.jpg|thumb|200px|left|An earlier group of Asiatic peoples depicted entering Egypt c. 1900 BC, from the tomb of a [[Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt|Twelfth Dynasty]] official [[Khnumhotep II]] under pharaoh [[Senusret II]] at [[Beni Hasan]].]] The rule of these kings overlaps with that of the native Egyptian pharaohs of the [[Sixteenth Dynasty of Egypt|Sixteenth]] and [[Seventeenth Dynasty of Egypt|Seventeenth]] Dynasties, better known as the [[Second Intermediate Period of Egypt|Second Intermediate Period]]. The first pharaoh of the [[Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt|Eighteenth Dynasty]], [[Ahmose I]], finally expelled the Hyksos from their last holdout at [[Sharuhen]] in [[Gaza City|Gaza]] by the sixteenth year of his reign.<ref>Grimal, Nicolas. ''A History of Ancient Egypt'', p.193. Librairie Arthéme Fayard, 1988.</ref><ref>Redford, Donald B. ''History and Chronology of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt: Seven Studies'', pp.46–49. University of Toronto Press, 1967.</ref> |
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The independent native rulers in Thebes do seem,{{citation needed|date=May 2011}} however, to have reached a practical ''[[modus vivendi]]'' with the later Hyksos rulers. This included transit rights through Hyksos-controlled Middle and [[Lower Egypt]] and pasturage rights in the fertile Delta. One text, the ''[[Carnarvon Tablet]] I'', relates the misgivings of the Theban ruler’s council of advisors when [[Kamose]] proposed moving against the Hyksos, whom he claimed were a humiliating stain upon the holy land of Egypt. The councilors clearly did not wish to disturb the status quo: |
The independent native rulers in Thebes do seem,{{citation needed|date=May 2011}} however, to have reached a practical ''[[modus vivendi]]'' with the later Hyksos rulers. This included transit rights through Hyksos-controlled Middle and [[Lower Egypt]] and pasturage rights in the fertile Delta. One text, the ''[[Carnarvon Tablet]] I'', relates the misgivings of the Theban ruler’s council of advisors when [[Kamose]] proposed moving against the Hyksos, whom he claimed were a humiliating stain upon the holy land of Egypt. The councilors clearly did not wish to disturb the status quo: |
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{{quote|[W]e are at ease in our (part of) Egypt. Elephantine (at the First Cataract) is strong, and the middle (of the land) is with us as far as Cusae [near modern Asyut]. The sleekest of their fields are plowed for us, and our cattle are pastured in the Delta. Emmer is sent for our pigs. Our cattle have not been taken away… He holds the land of the Asiatics; we hold Egypt[.]<ref name = "Pritchard 232">Pritchard (ed.), ''Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament'' (ANET), pp 232f.</ref>}} |
{{quote|[W]e are at ease in our (part of) Egypt. Elephantine (at the First Cataract) is strong, and the middle (of the land) is with us as far as Cusae [near modern Asyut]. The sleekest of their fields are plowed for us, and our cattle are pastured in the Delta. Emmer is sent for our pigs. Our cattle have not been taken away… He holds the land of the Asiatics; we hold Egypt[.]<ref name = "Pritchard 232">Pritchard (ed.), ''Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament'' (ANET), pp 232f.</ref>}} |
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It would appear as though Hyksos administration was accepted in most quarters, if not actually supported by many of their northern Egyptian subjects. The flip side is that, in spite of the prosperity that the stable political situation brought to the land, the native [[Egyptians]] continued to view the Hyksos as non-Egyptian "invaders". When they eventually were driven out of Egypt, all traces of their occupation were erased. There are no surviving accounts that record the history of the period from the Hyksos perspective, only that of the native Egyptians who evicted the occupiers, in this case the rulers of Eighteenth Dynasty, who were the direct successors of the Theban Seventeenth Dynasty. It was the latter that started and led a sustained war against the Hyksos. Some think that the native kings from Thebes had an incentive to demonize the Asiatic rulers in the North, thus accounting for the destruction of their monuments. From this viewpoint, the Hyksos dynasties represent superficially Egyptianized foreigners who were tolerated, but not truly accepted, by their Egyptian subjects. In contrast, scholars such as [[John A. Wilson (Egyptologist)|John A. Wilson]] found that the description of the Hyksos as overpowering, irreligious foreign rulers had support from other sources.<ref>"''The culture of ancient Egypt''", John Albert Wilson, p. 160, University of Chicago Press, org. pub 1956 -still in print 2009, {{ISBN|0-226-90152-1}}</ref> |
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==Decline== |
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The rule of these Hyksos kings overlaps with those of the native Egyptian pharaohs of the [[Sixteenth dynasty of Egypt|16th]] and [[Seventeenth dynasty of Egypt|17th dynasties]] of Egypt, better known as the [[Second Intermediate Period of Egypt|Second Intermediate Period]]. The first pharaoh of the [[Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt|18th dynasty]], [[Ahmose I]], finally expelled the Hyksos from their last holdout at [[Sharuhen]] in [[Gaza City|Gaza]] by the 16th year of his reign.<ref>Grimal, Nicolas. ''A History of Ancient Egypt.'' p.193. Librairie Arthéme Fayard, 1988.</ref><ref>Redford, Donald B. ''History and Chronology of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt: Seven Studies'', pp.46–49. University of Toronto Press, 1967.</ref> Scholars have taken the increasing use of scarabs and the adoption of some Egyptian forms of art by the Fifteenth Dynasty Hyksos kings and their wide distribution as an indication of their becoming progressively Egyptianized.<ref>Booth, Charlotte. <cite>The Hyksos Period in Egypt</cite>. p.15-18. Shire Egyptology. 2005. {{ISBN|0-7478-0638-1}}</ref> The Hyksos used Egyptian titles associated with traditional Egyptian kingship, and took Egyptian god [[Set (mythology)|Seth]] to represent their own titular deity.<ref>Booth, Charlotte. <cite>The Hyksos Period in Egypt</cite>. p.29-31. Shire Egyptology. 2005. {{ISBN|0-7478-0638-1}}</ref> |
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==Theoretical invasion== |
==Theoretical invasion== |