The Hyksos were rulers of foreign, West Asian origin who took control of northern Egypt around 1650 BC and ruled it as the 15th Dynasty for about a century. Their name comes from the Egyptian heqa khasut, “rulers of foreign lands”. Their expulsion by the kings of Thebes opened the way for the New Kingdom, Egypt’s age of empire.
Who were they?
For a long time the Hyksos were described as invaders who swept in by force. Most historians now think they rose to power gradually, from communities of Canaanite settlers already living in the eastern Delta, as central government weakened. Their capital was Avaris, in the Delta, excavated at Tell el-Dab’a.
What they brought
The Hyksos period brought new technology to Egypt: the horse and chariot, the composite bow, new kinds of bronze weapons and armor. The Egyptians learned to use them, and these tools helped the later pharaohs build an empire.
The war of liberation
Kings in Thebes still ruled the south. The Theban king Seqenenre Tao died in battle, as the axe wounds on his mummy show. His son Kamose continued the war, and his successor Ahmose I captured Avaris around 1550 BC and drove the Hyksos out, founding the 18th Dynasty and the New Kingdom. Ahmose’s mummy is in the Luxor Museum.
