Hyksos

A nomadic desert tribe of Palestine whose name means "rulers of foreign lands" and who infiltrated Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period (1800-1650 BC). They infiltrated the Eastern Delta during the Middle Kingdom and from 1630 to 1521 BC they dominated the Nile Valley from their capital of Avaris in the Delta. They became powerful enough to form the 15th Dynasty; traditionally they also formed the 16th Dynasty. Their breaking of Egyptian isolation opened the way for the flowering of culture in the New Kingdom which immediately followed their expulsion by Ahmose. Ahmose was the founder of the 18th Dynasty and the end of the Hyksos rule marked the beginning of the New Kingdom. The Hyksos were responsible for the introduction of the horse and chariot and perhaps the upright loom olive and pomegranate. They made improved battle axes and fortification techniques. The name Hyksos was used by the Egyptian historian Manetho (fl 300 BC) who according to the Jewish historian Josephus (fl 1st century AD) translated the word as "king-shepherds" or "captive shepherds.

Often described as the Shepherd Kings, these nomadic groups from Palestine entered Egypt towards the end of the Middle Kingdom in the 18th century BC. Subsequently they established a capital at Avaris in the eastern Nile delta and later extended their control further south. In the 17th century BC with little information provided about their culture. Archaeologically they are recognizable in their Palestinian homeland by a system of defence with ramparts faced by a smooth hard plaster slope, recognized at such sites as Hazor and Jericho. The Hyksos are credited with introducing horses and chariots to Egypt, as well as the olive and the pomegranate.