Hyksos: Map & History
The Hyksos, in modern Egyptology, were the kings of the Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt.
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The Hyksos, in modern Egyptology, were the kings of the Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt. 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.
Modern Countries Once Part of Hyksos
At its mapped extent, Hyksos covered territory in 6 present-day countries. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
- Israel1800–1401 BCE · nearly all
- Lebanon1800–1401 BCE · nearly all
- Palestine1800–1401 BCE · nearly all
- Jordan1700–1401 BCE · most
- Syria1800–1401 BCE · a large part
- Egypt1600–1501 BCE · a small part
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Hyksos's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Hyksos in Depth
History
Historical records suggest that Semitic people and Egyptians had contacts at all periods of Egypt's history. The MacGregor plaque, an early Egyptian tablet dating to 3000 BC records "The first occasion of striking the East", with the picture of Pharaoh Den smiting a Western Asiatic enemy.
During the reign of Senusret II, c. 1890 BC, parties of Western Asiatic foreigners visiting the Pharaoh with gifts are recorded, as in the tomb paintings of 12th-dynasty official Khnumhotep II. These foreigners, possibly Canaanites or nomads, are labelled as Aamu (ꜥꜣmw), including the leading man with a Nubian ibex labelled as Abisha the Hyksos (Ancient Egyptian: 𓋾𓈎𓈉, romanized: ḥqꜣ-ḫꜣsw, Heqa-kasut for "Hyksos"), the first known instance of the name "Hyksos".
Origins
In his epitome of Manetho, Josephus connected the Hyksos with the Jews, but he also calls them Arabs. In their own epitomes of Manetho, the Late antique historians Sextus Julius Africanus and Eusebius say that the Hyksos came from Phoenicia. Until the excavation and discovery of Tell El-Dab'a (the site of the Hyksos capital Avaris) in 1966, historians relied on these accounts for the Hyksos period.
Material finds at Tell El-Dab'a indicate that the Hyksos originated in the Levant. The Hyksos' personal names indicate that they spoke a Western Semitic language and "may be called for convenience sake Canaanites."
Kamose, the last king of the Theban Seventeenth Dynasty, refers to Apepi as a "Chieftain of Retjenu" in a stela that implies a Levantine background for this Hyksos king.
Society and culture
The Hyksos do not appear to have produced any court art, instead appropriating monuments from earlier dynasties by writing their names on them. Many of these are inscribed with the name of King Khyan. A large palace at Avaris has been uncovered, built in the Levantine rather than the Egyptian style, most likely by Khyan. King Apepi is known to have patronized Egyptian scribal culture, commissioning the copying of the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus. The stories preserved in the Westcar Papyrus may also date from his reign.
Legacy
The Hyksos' rule continued to be condemned by New Kingdom pharaohs such as Hatshepsut, who, 80 years after their defeat, claimed to rebuild many shrines and temples which they had neglected.
Ramses II moved Egypt's capital to the Delta, building Pi-Ramesses near the site of Avaris, where he set up a stela marking the 400th anniversary of the cult of Set. Scholars used to suggest that this marked 400 years since the Hyksos had established their rule, however the lists of Ramesses' ancestors continued to omit the Hyksos and there is no evidence that they were honored during his reign.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Hyksos (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Hyksos Map Over Time
Dated world maps on which Hyksos appears, with the other states of the time.
Hyksos Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 134,155 km² in 1550 BCE.
Hyksos: Frequently Asked Questions
When did Hyksos exist?
Hyksos is dated to 1800 BCE – 1401 BCE, in the Bronze Age Civilizations era.
How large was Hyksos at its peak?
At its peak in 1550 BC Hyksos covered about 134,155 km².
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