Second Intermediate Period

Revival against the Hyksos invasion

During the Middle Kingdom, Asiatics settled in Egypt because of its economic stability. The Middle Kingdom effectively ended with the 12th Dynasty. As the rulers of the 13th Dynasty weakened and the political situation became unstable, the Hyksos invaded and set up their capital at Avaris in the eastern Delta.

Rulers from Thebes resisted the invasion and founded the 17th Dynasty, which ruled the land from Elephantine in Aswan to Thebes. A series of Egyptian rulers rebelled against Hyksos authority, and after several wars King Ahmose I, following his father and elder brother, drove the Hyksos out of Egypt. The wars are recorded on several monuments, including the stelae of Kamose I and II.

Key rulers and events

• The Hyksos kings, such as Khyan and Apepi, ruled from Avaris and controlled the north. Their names have been found on objects far beyond Egypt.
• Seqenenre Tao, a Theban king of the 17th Dynasty, began the fight against the Hyksos. His mummy shows severe head wounds, which suggests he died in battle.
• Kamose, probably his son, carried the war north. His stelae describe the campaign and an intercepted letter from Apepi to the ruler of Kush in Nubia, asking for help against Thebes.
• Queen Ahhotep is honoured in texts of the time for her role in holding Thebes together during the wars.
• Ahmose I took Avaris, pushed the Hyksos out and reunited the country, beginning the New Kingdom.

The period also brought new things into Egypt, including the horse-drawn chariot and new types of weapons, which the New Kingdom armies went on to use.

Where to see this era today

• National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation, Cairo: the royal mummies hall includes Seqenenre Tao.
• Luxor Museum: one of the Kamose stelae is on display.
• Cairo’s museums: the jewellery and ceremonial weapons from the burial of Queen Ahhotep are among the treasures of Egypt’s national collection, held at the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir and the Grand Egyptian Museum.
• Tell El-Dab’a in the eastern Delta is the site of Avaris. It is an excavation rather than a tourist site, but its finds have changed what we know about the Hyksos.