Scope: We will see three distinct phases of government in this lecture: (1) the decline of the Middle Kingdom during Dynasty XIII, (2) Egypt controlled by foreigners during Dynasties XV-XVII, and (3) the expulsion of the Hyksos by a heroic prince of Thebes and his two sons at the end of Dynasty XVII. We should recall that ancient Egypt is the only civilization to have been eclipsed twice and bounced back to prominence on both occasions.
Outline
I. Dynasty XIII (1782-1650 BC) is the lost dynasty.
A. We have the names of ten kings, but little else, other than a few small pyramids at Dahshur. How did they feel building in the shadows of the large pyramids of Sneferu at Dahshur? Perhaps they built at Dahshur for religious purposes.
1. King Hor (1760 BC) had a very short reign, but his tomb at Dahshur contained a fine life-sized wooden Ka-statue. This indicates wealth, because wood was very expensive in ancient Egypt.
2. Four small pyramids at Saqqara are a sign of decline.
B. For the last 57 years of the XIII Dynasty, another group of “kings” (Dynasty XIV) ruled from the Eastern Delta.
1. There is very little tangible record from this Delta dynasty, because the area is so moist.
2. Egyptological investigations began in the Delta in the nineteenth century to find evidence of Biblical events. The Delta Exploration Society, later the Egypt Exploration Fund (now Society), pioneered excavations in the area.
3. But the Delta was—and is—difficult land to dig in. Whole temples have entirely sunk under water.
4. The kingship was weakening.
II. Dynasty XV: The Hyksos (1663-1555 BC).
A. Who are the Hyksos? Not “shepherd kings,” as first translated, but “foreign kings.”
1. The problem with tracing the Hyksos in the historical record is that only victories were recorded in ancient Egyptian chronicles. Defeats went unrecorded.
2. The Hyksos were Semites who invaded from without or perhaps just took over after living in Egypt for some time. The tombs at Beni Hassan show Semites in Egypt.
3. They ruled from the northern Delta—Avaris (modern Tell el- Daba)—where the soil is moist, so little remains. Current archaeological research is going on at Avaris.
4. Foreign exchange during this period is indicated by Minoan frescos. Ajar with a Hyksos cartouche was found in the palace of Knossos on Crete.
B. The Hyksos worshipped strange gods: Seth (the “evil God” who had hacked up Osiris) and the war god, Reshep.
1. Seth was represented by a goat-like animal with a forked tail.
2. We have no evidence of Hyksos temples to these gods. They don’t seem to have integrated with the locals.
C. They were not literate; their scarabs show only scroll designs and very few inscriptions. There are very few Hyksos scarabs in the south, suggesting that this foreign people stayed in the north.
D. Was Joseph in Egypt during this time? Some people think Joseph and his brothers were the Hyksos.
III. Dynasty XVII (1663-1570 BC) began the overthrow of the Hyksos.
A. The princes ruling in Thebes were buried in crude coffins at Dra Abu el-Naga.
B. The inflammatory letter from the Hyksos king Apophis to Seqenenre Tao II was first believed to be a literary papyrus, but it is only a fragment. Because we don’t have the end of the papyrus, we don’t know what happened after Seqenenre massed an army to march north.
C. Papyrus was the first paper in the history of the world.
1. Although the papyrus plant once grew wild in Egypt, it is now cultivated for the tourist trade.
2. To make a surface for writing, you take the stalk of the plant, cut thin strips, then pound it with a mallet and leave it in the sun to dry. With a stone, you polish it until the surface is smooth enough for writing.
3. A papyrus roll was a series of glued pages. Over thousands of years, the first and last pages of a papyrus tended to be the most badly damaged—thus, we lack the end of the story of Apophis. Is there any way to know what really happened?
D. The Theban prince Seqenenre Tao II went to war, and his mummy in Cairo tells us the outcome of the dispute.
1. He most likely died in battle as a result of head wounds. He was brought back to Thebes for burial but was never completely embalmed.
2. His son Kamose (“the soul is born”) continued the war against the Hyksos.
3. The Kamose Stela and Carnarvon Tablet tell the tale of a walled city and a Flyksos messenger to Nubia who doesn’t get through.
4. Kamose’s brother, Ahmose, completed the job of expelling the Hyksos.
5. A career military man, Ahmose, son of Ebana, recorded the final Egyptian victory on his own tomb wall: The Hyksos were chased to Palestine. Ahmose I will begin Dynasty XVIII.
Essential Reading:
Aidan Dodson, Monarchs of the Nile, Chapter VIII.
Supplementary Reading:
Peter A. Clayton, Chronicle of the Pharaohs, pp. 90-97.
Questions to Consider:
1. How were the Hyksos able to conquer the Egyptians?
2. Why are there so few records of the Hyksos occupation?
* Erratum: On the tape, the professor twice refers to the “pyramid” of King Hor; he did not have a pyramid but a shaft tomb.