While the theory of Hurrian origin for the Hyksos dynasty in Egypt 17th century b.c.e.. Janzen Hyksos The Hyksos were foreign rulers of Egypt who seized power and ruled Lower northern Eg
Trang 1cultural presence found in the Late Bronze Age can be
used to explain the end of the Middle Bronze Age
Regard-less, Hurrian infl uence in the southern Levant is based on
the confl icts that Thutmose III had with the kingdom of
Mittani The Hurrians are known in the Bible as the
Ho-rites (Gen 36:2–3); they may also be associated with the
Hivites (Exod 23:23; Judges 3:3) and the Jebusites (Exod
23:23; Josh 15:63) While the theory of Hurrian origin
for the Hyksos dynasty in Egypt (17th century b.c.e.)
has been refuted, it is possible that Hyksos infi ltration in
Egypt was a result of Hurrian expansion in Palestine
See also Fertile Crescent
Further reading: Buccellati, Giorgio, and Marilyn
Buccellati “Urkesh: The First Hurrian Captial.” Biblical
Archaeologist (v.60/2 1997); Hallo, W W., ed Context of
Scripture: Monumental Inscriptions from the Biblical World
Vol 2 Leiden, Netherlands: E.J Brill, 1997
Mark D Janzen
Hyksos
The Hyksos were foreign rulers of Egypt who seized
power and ruled Lower (northern) Egypt Contradictory
dates and king lists, as well as gaps in the records,
ren-der their history elusive, but the Hyksos were most likely
Palestinian The combined efforts of Egyptian kings
Se-qenenre, Kamose, and Ahmose and their mothers forced
out the last Hyksos ruler, Apepi, around 1530 b.c.e
The Second Intermediate Period is the label given
to the years of Hyksos power At the end of the Middle
Period of Egyptian history the breakdown of centralized
authority and fragmentation of administrative control led
to the neglect of Egypt’s borders Areas may have fallen to
the kingdom of Kush or to Nubia, and the eastern border
also brought invaders Immigrants called Aamu (usually
translated as Asiatic) may have been entering for years,
settling in the Nile Valley and assimilating into local
vil-lages About 1650 b.c.e a group of foreign chieftains with
Semitic names took control of Egypt’s Delta and ruled
from Memphis Possibly, they simply took over existing
posts and pushed out the local administrators Egyptians
referred to these kings as heka-kaswt (or hikkhase or
hi-kau khausut), meaning “rulers of foreign lands.” Greek
historians shortened that phrase to Hyksos
A major source of our knowledge of the Hyksos is
the Jewish historian Josephus, who wrote in the fi rst
century c.e Josephus quoted the Egyptian priest
Mane-tho, whose book of Egyptian history—now lost—was
composed around 270 b.c.e., 1,300 years after the
Sec-ond Intermediate Period According to Josephus, the Hyksos came from the east and seized power without striking a blow, and then destroyed temples and cities and enslaved or killed the inhabitants Their appointed king was Salitis; Bnon and then Apachman succeeded him Josephus listed six Hyksos kings, and their reigns averaged 43 years each
Sextus Julius Africanus, who wrote in the third
centu-ry c.e., also quoted Manetho He listed six Hyksos kings
of the Fifteenth Dynasty, whose reigns totaled 284 years, followed by 518 years given to the Sixteenth Dynasty, also Hyksos The Seventeenth Dynasty combined Hyksos and Theban kings, who ruled a total of 151 years Other king lists are equally confusing and the dates unreliable, but most scholars accept that during these dynasties, kings ruled simultaneously in different parts of Egypt
The numbers are diffi cult to reconcile, but historians believe that the Hyksos rulers never tried to unseat the Egyptian kings in Upper Egypt There, the Thirteenth Dynasty of Egyptian kings continued, probably paying taxes to the Hyksos The Sixteenth and Seventeenth Dy-nasties were Egyptian and centered in Thebes Concur-rently, the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Dynasties of Hyk-sos kings ruled from either Memphis or Avaris in the northeast Nile Delta
The Hyksos may have brought unique weapons with them and possibly introduced horses, chariots, the vertical loom, the lyre, and other innovations to Egypt, but overall they adopted Egyptian ways and cul-ture The greatest Hyksos king, Apepi, employed many scribes during his long reign; their work indicated just how Egyptian the Hyksos had become Apepi waged war with the Theban king Seqenenre Taa of the Sev-enteenth Dynasty Seqenenre was killed in battle; his mummy has been identifi ed and is riddled with brutal blows Seqenenre’s nephew, Kamose, continued the
fi ght, though he did not live long Kamose’s younger brother Ahmose is credited with fi nally removing the Hyksos and its last king Khamudi, and uniting Upper and Lower Egypt again Stele praise the mother of Ka-mose and AhKa-mose, Ahhotpe, who guarded Egypt and expelled the rebels, and Seqenenre’s mother Tetisheri is also given credit The fi nal confl ict between Hyksos and Theban kings lasted for 30 years
Further reading: Bourriau, Janine “The Second
Intermedi-ate Period.” In Ian Shaw, ed Oxford History of Ancient Egypt New York: Oxford University Press, 2000; Gardiner, Alan Egypt of the Pharaohs New York: Oxford University
Press, 1961
Vickey Kalambakal
208 Hyksos