Hyksos
Sign in to saveThe Hyksos (; Egyptian ḥqꜣ(w)-ḫꜣswt, Egyptological pronunciation: heqau khasut, "ruler(s) of foreign lands"), in modern Egyptology, are the kings of the Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt (fl. c. 1650–1550 BC). Their seat of power was the city of Avaris in the Nile Delta, from where they ruled over Lower Egypt and Middle Egypt up to Cusae.
AI overview
The Hyksos were a group of foreign kings who ruled parts of Egypt during the Fifteenth Dynasty, around 1650–1550 BC, establishing their power base in the city of Avaris in the Nile Delta. They matter to our understanding of ancient Egyptian history because they represent a significant period when foreign rulers controlled Lower Egypt and Middle Egypt, challenging the traditional narrative of Egyptian civilization.
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Key facts
- Hieroglyphs.image1 description
- Standard characters for "Hyksos" in the label for "Abisha the Hyksos" in the tomb of Khnumhotep II, c. 1900 BC. The crook (𓋾, ḥqꜣ) means "ruler", the hill (𓈎) is a phonetic complement q/ḳ to 𓋾 while 𓈉 stands for (foreign) "country", pronounced ḫꜣst, plural ḫꜣswt.The sign 𓏥 marks the plural.
- Hieroglyphs.title
- Hyksos
- Hieroglyphs.width
- 230px
- Hieroglyphs.name transcription
- ḥqꜣ-ḫꜣsw / ḥqꜣw-ḫꜣswt,"heqau khasut""Hyksos"
- Hieroglyphs.name explanation
- Ruler(s) of the foreign countries
- Hieroglyphs.Greek
- Hyksos (Ὑκσώς)Hykussos (Ὑκουσσώς)
- Hieroglyphs.image1
- Hyksos characters.jpg
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
36 sectionsContents
- Name
- Etymology
- Use
- Origins
- Ancient historians
- Modern historians
- History
- Early contacts between Egypt and the Levant
- Background and arrival in Egypt
- Kingdom
- Wars with the Seventeenth Dynasty
- Rule and administration
- Administration
- Rulers
- Diplomacy
- Vassalage
- Society and culture
- Royal construction and patronage
- Burial practices
- Technology
- Trade and economy
- Religion
- Genetic impact
- Potential biblical connections
- In the Manethonian–Josephus tradition
- In modern scholarship
- Legacy
- Egyptian presence in the Levant
- Later accounts
- Early modern depictions
- See also
- Notes
- Citations
- References
- Further reading
- External links
The Hyksos (; Egyptian ḥqꜣ(w)-ḫꜣswt, Egyptological pronunciation: heqau khasut, "ruler(s) of foreign lands"), in modern Egyptology, are the kings of the Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt (fl. c. 1650–1550 BC). Their seat of power was the city of Avaris in the Nile Delta, from where they ruled over Lower Egypt and Middle Egypt up to Cusae.
In the Aegyptiaca, a history of Egypt written by the Greco-Egyptian priest and historian Manetho in the 3rd century BC, the term Hyksos is used ethnically to designate people of probable West Semitic, Levantine origin. While Manetho portrayed the Hyksos as invaders and oppressors, this interpretation is questioned in modern Egyptology. Instead, Hyksos rule might have been preceded by groups of Canaanite peoples who gradually settled in the Nile Delta from the end of the Twelfth Dynasty onwards and who may have seceded from the crumbling and unstable Egyptian control at some point during the Thirteenth Dynasty.