The Hyksos

Book excerpt: The Hyksos, foreign rulers of Egypt in the Second Intermediate Period--from about 1700 to 1550 B.C.--have been a source of continuing debate among archaeologists and historians. Mr. Van Seters approaches the problems of their rise to power, their dynasties, the nature of their rule, and their religion from the joint perspectives of archaeology and literary criticism. Archaeological investigation shows the Middle Bronze culture of Syria-Palestine to have had highly developed fortifications, advanced urban life, fine buildings and temples, and a high quality of practical and artistic craftsmanship. Based on a revised date for the long-known The Admonitions of Ipuwer, this study offers a fresh explanation of the Hyksos' rise to power. A new examination of the location of Avaris, their capital, indicates that the previous identification with Tanis must give way to the region near Qantir. The Hyksos were not Hurrians or Indo-Aryans, but Ammurite princes who rose to power in Egypt following the dynastic weaknesses at the end of the Middle Kingdom.