Ancient Egyptian History

1650 BCE to 343 BCE - The Second Intermediate Period, The New Kingdom and The Late Period

Though the period ranging from 1795 to 1550 BCE is called the Second Intermediate Period, it should not be assumed that because of its name it is similar to the First Intermediate Period. Unlike the First Intermediate Period there was not a complete collapse into anarchy rather the institutions created by the Twelfth Dynasty survived throughout the Thirteen Dynasty until the invasion of the Hyksos. According to the records that have survived the Hyksos controlled Egypt during the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Dynasties. How exactly the Hyksos seized power and where exactly they came from remains unknown. The period between the end of the Twelfth Dynasty and the beginning of the Fifteenth Dynasty is a confusing period where it seems that hundreds of nomarchs attempted to seize the throne of Egypt. Though there was relative stability during within Egypt during this period of chaotic rule, the powers of the king were greatly diminished. Some scholars only assign the Fifteenth Dynasty to Hyksos rule, however substantial arguments have been made that they also ruled throughout the Sixteenth Dynasty. This compilation of Ancient Egyptian history will follow the claim that they ruled for both Dynasties. As mentioned we do not know who exactly the Hyksos were. Hyksos, the name itself, means “ruler of foreign lands”, and Egyptian expression that refers to rulers from Asia. Earlier scholars mistook this to believe that this was an entire nation of people. The Hyksos were in fact migrants who came to Egypt from numerous places and evidence suggests that they were of several racial groups. It is believed that the weaker government of the Thirteenth Dynasty allowed these immigrants to freely enter Egypt. In about 1715 BCE, it is believed that they besieged and occupied the Delta city of Avaris, which they made their capital. By about 1675 BCE, it is believed that they became strong enough to attack Memphis directly, throwing out the weak Egyptian kings that ruled there.

Later works of Ancient Egyptian history, as composed by Egyptians, condemn the rule of the Hyksos as a time of lawlessness and cruelty. Modern scholars believe that there is little fact in the idea that Hyksos desecrated Egypt. The assumption of the control by the Hyksos seems to be gradual, not the result of large military campaign. The Fifteenth Dynasty is believed to have begun in 1650 BCE under the rule of Sheshi, the first Hyksos king of Egypt. Though Sheshi is called the king of Egypt it would be wrong to assume that he had total domination over Egypt as the rulers of the Middle Kingdom had. Hyksos rule seems to be mostly in the north, southern Egypt may even have been under control of the native kings who were descendent of the Thirteenth Dynasty. It is possible that the Hyksos had some control over the south, as they were able to communicate with the Nubians and set up trading posts, but this control would have been far from absolute.

For the most part, it seems as if the Hyksos rulers tried to behave like the Egyptian rulers of old. The gods they worshiped were Egyptian, they used royal Egyptian titles and they build Egyptian style monuments. Although Egyptian tradition condemns the rule of the Hyksos, despite evidence that suggests that they made significant contributions to Egypt as a whole. Perhaps the most important thing that the Hyksos accomplished was that they made the rulers of The New Kingdom look beyond their own borders. The Hyksos also added new cultural elements to Egypt; the most significant of these was the wheel, the composite bow and bronze. All these things had been foreign to Egyptian society before the arrival of the Hyksos. The Egyptians up until this period had made use of simple bows and copper weapons; this may suggest how the Hyksos were able to defeat the Egyptians with such ease, as they possessed more formidable armaments.

Like our information about the Hyksos, our information about how they were finally expunged from Egypt is limited. We know that at some time, the Theban king Seqenenre took an army north to attack the Hyksos city of Alvaris, whether there was actually any kind of battle remains unknown. What we do know is that Seqenenre died unexpectedly, and task of driving the Hyksos from Egypt fell to his son Kamose. Again, we have little information about what happened during the reign of Kamose. The sum of our information is essentially that he died and his half brother Ahmose became king. Fortunately, we know slightly more about the rule of Ahmose and his campaigns against the Hyksos then we do about his predecessors. We know that it was Ahmose that finally led the attack on the Hyksos capital of Alvaris. Ahmose’s reign is believed to have begun in 1550 BCE, starting the New Kingdom and the Eighteenth Dynasty. From this point forward in Egyptian history it becomes more accurate to use the name Pharaoh as opposed to King. The word Pharaoh originally meant “Great House”, the residence of the king, but in the New Kingdom it came to refer to the king himself. It is anachronistic to use Pharaoh to refer to the kings of the Middle and Old Kingdom. Ahmose seems to have completed the campaign against the Hyksos, as after this rule they are never referred to again. After consolidating his rule in Egypt it seems that Ahmose campaigned in both Palestine and Nubia, consolidating his influence in both regions. How Ahmose was able to gather the resources to undertake two military campaigns just after liberating his country from a foreign element remains unknown and rather confusing for scholars. Perhaps there is some embellishment in regards to his exploits in Nubia and Palestine.

After Ahmose’s death in 1551 BCE, his son Amenhotep I (1551 BCE to 1542 BCE) became Pharaoh. Amenhotep’s military exploits seem to have centered on consolidating power in Nubia and rebuilding the forts of the Middle Kingdom that helped control the region. After his death Amenhotep I seems to have been succeeded by someone of a new blood line, though in certain scholarly works, Thutmose I, Amenhotep’s successor is included as part of the Eighteenth Dynasty. Thutmose I like his predecessor also campaigned within Nubia, brining Egyptian control as far as the Third Cataract, the extent of Egyptian control during the Middle Kingdom. In 1518 BCE Thutmose I was succeeded by his son Thutmose II (1518 – 1504 BCE). During the first year of Thutmose II’s reign there was a rebellion in Nubia, by all historical accounts, this rebellion was a serious one. Thutmose acted promptly in regards to this threat and sent a large army to Nubia that mercilessly crushed the rebellion. Perhaps the most significant thing that Thutmose did during his reign was marry his half-sister Hatshepsut. When Thutmose II died in 1504 BCE, his 9 year old son, Thutmose III was not of age to take the throne, so Hatshepsut ruled in his place as regent.

Next: 1650 BCE to 343 BCE - The Second Intermediate Period, The New Kingdom and The Late Period - Continued
Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

HeavenGames