It is the dynasty of the
Asiatic invaders, better known as Hyksos or Heka Khaswt that means
"rulers of foreign lands" or "Shepherd Kings."
Those Asiatics are believed to be of Semitic origins but some of their
names refer to Indo-European origins.
And according to Manetho, Hyksos advanced from the east and succeeded
to take over the country without any resistance. They burnt cities,
demolished temples, treated people with cruelty and imposed brutal
taxes.
Horse Drawn chariots introduced by the Hyksos
image 2004 ©
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Hyksos then founded their capital Avaris (near present-day Zagazig).
Despite Hyksos' notoriety, they benefited Egyptians. They brought
to Egypt new weapons and introduced the horse-drawn chariots. Thus
Egyptians knew horsemanship for the first time. And in agriculture,
Hyksos are said to bring the famous traditional Egyptian "Shadoof ".
Despite their faculty for dominion, Hyksos failed to integrate
with Egyptians due to the differences in between them in attributes.
After all, Egyptians were still looking to Hyksos as unrighteous
foreign invaders.
Hyksos couldn't annex Thebes
(Luxor), which was resisting their control. The two rivals saw
peaceful eras, however.
Hyksos took Seth
as the official god of Avaris. Seth was the god of the deserts as
was associated with that are for a long time.
Salitis was the first king of the Hyksos royal house, followed by
Yakubher and Khyan. Apepi I (a.k.a. Apophis I in Greek) the next
king, ruled contemporaneously with the southern Theban 17th
dynasty. In his era, scrimmage started between the two rivals
(Hyksos and Thebans). These led to the eventual expulsion of the
Hyksos. Apepi II succeeded his father Apepi I.
After Apepi II came Khamudi who might be the same one. Khamudi (r.
1542 - 1532) is believed to have witnessed the fall of the Hyksos
Empire.
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