page_title: Hyksos
section_title: Rule and administration
hierarchical_section_title: Hyksos / Rule and administration
caption_attribution_description: English: Asiatic official Munich (retouched)
context_page_description: The Hyksos were people of probable Levantine origin, who established the Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt based at the city of Avaris in the Nile delta, from where they ruled the northern part of the country. While the Hellenistic Egyptian historian Manetho portrayed the Hyksos as invaders and oppressors, modern Egyptology no longer believes that the Hyksos conquered Egypt in an invasion. Instead, Hyksos rule had been preceded by groups of Canaanite peoples settled in the eastern delta who probably seceded from central Egyptian control near the end of the Thirteenth Dynasty.
  The Hyksos period marks the first in which Egypt was ruled by foreign rulers. Many details of their rule, such as the true extent of their kingdom and even the names and order of their kings, remain uncertain. The Hyksos practiced many Levantine or Canaanite customs, but also many Egyptian customs. They have been credited with introducing several technological innovations to Egypt, such as the horse and chariot, as well as the sickle sword and the composite bow, but this theory is disputed.
  The Hyksos did not control all of Egypt.
caption: An official wearing the "mushroom-headed" hairstyle also seen in contemporary paintings of Western Asiatic foreigners such as in the tomb of Khnumhotep II, at Beni Hasan. Excavated in Avaris, the Hyksos capital. Dated to 1802–1640 BC. Staatliche Sammlung für Ägyptische Kunst.[103][104][105][106]
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