Kamose, the last king of the Theban 17th Dynasty, refers to the Hyksos King Apophis as a Chieftain of Retjenu ( Canaan ).

The origin of the term " Hyksos " derives from the Egyptian expression heka khasewet (" rulers of foreign lands "), used in Egyptian texts such as the Turin King List to describe the rulers of neighbouring lands.

Scarab bearing the name of the Hyksos King Apepi, now at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

He then identified Tutimaios as the Pharaoh of the Exodus ( much earlier than any of the mainstream candidates ), the Hyksos with the biblical Amalekites, the Egyptian Pharaoh Hatshepsut with the Biblical Queen of Sheba, the land of Punt with Solomon's kingdom, and Pharaoh Thutmose III with the Biblical King Shishak.

His many publications include " The Hyksos, A New Investigation " ( 1966 ); Abraham in History and Tradition ( 1975 ); " In Search of History " ( 1983, for which he won the James H. Breasted Prize and the American Academy of Religion book award ); " The Edited Bible " ( 2006 ); and " The Biblical Saga of King David " ( 2009 ).

David Rohl identifies Epaphus with the Hyksos pharaoh Apophis.

Kamose, the last king of the Theban 17th Dynasty, refers to Apophis as a " Chieftain of Retjenu ( i. e., Canaan )" in a stela that implies a Semitic Canaanite background for this Hyksos king: this is the strongest evidence for a Canaanite background for the Hyksos.

The Second Stela of Kamose is well known for recounting that a Hyksos messenger was captured with a letter from Apophis — appealing for aid from the king of Kush against Kamose — while travelling through the western desert roads to Nubia.

Furthermore, Kamose states in his second stele that his intention in returning the letter was for the Hyksos messenger to inform Apophis of the Theban king's victories " in the area of Cynopolis which used to be in his possession.

Evidence that Kamose had started a first campaign against the Kushites is affirmed by the contents of Apophis ' captured letter where the Hyksos king's plea for aid from the king of Kush is recounted in Kamose's Year 3 Second stela:

Later Hyksos kings such as Apophis simply adopted a prenomen — like the 14th dynasty kings.

Later New Kingdom literary tradition states that Seqenenre Tao came into contact with his Hyksos contemporary in the north, Apepi or Apophis.

Apepi ( also Ipepi ; Egyptian language ) or Apophis ( Greek ; regnal names Neb-Khepesh-Re, A-Qenen-Re and A-User-Re ) was a ruler of Lower Egypt during the fifteenth dynasty and the end of the Second Intermediate Period that was dominated by this foreign dynasty of rulers called the Hyksos.

However, the pyramidion of his tomb — which is inscribed with his name — was discovered at Avaris, which suggests that the Hyksos kings looted his pyramid tomb of its treasures.

In < cite > The World of the Past </ cite > ( 1963, p. 444 ), archeologist Jacquetta Hawkes states: “ It is no longer thought that the Hyksos rulers ... represent the invasion of a conquering horde of Asiatics ... they were wandering groups of Semites who had long come to Egypt for trade and other peaceful purposes .” However, this view still makes it difficult to explain how “ wandering groups ” could have gained control of Egypt, especially since the twelfth dynasty, prior to this period, is considered to have brought the country to a peak of power.

This is often viewed as a foreshadowing of the Hyksos invasion of the Delta which would occur during the Second Intermediate Period.

It is possible that this influx marked the beginning of the influx of Asiatics which would ultimately lead to the Hyksos takeover of Lower Egypt.

Identification with the tribe of Asher is plausible according to views that place the Exodus at the end of the Hyksos period but conflicts with views that date it to the 13th century.

This period is best known as the time the Hyksos ( an Asiatic people ) made their appearance in Egypt, the reigns of its kings comprising the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Dynasties.

The outlines of the traditional account of the " invasion " of the land by the Hyksos is preserved in the Aegyptiaca of Manetho, who records that during this time the Hyksos overran Egypt, led by Salitis, the founder of the Fifteenth Dynasty.

It is best known as the period when the Hyksos made their appearance in Egypt and whose reign comprised the Fifteenth dynasties.

The outlines of the traditional account of the " invasion " of the land by the Hyksos is preserved in the Aegyptiaca of Manetho, an Egyptian priest who wrote in the time of Ptolemy II Philadelphus.

This dynasty was succeeded by a group of Hyksos princes and chieftains, who ruled in the eastern delta region with their local Egyptian vassals and are known primarily by scarabs inscribed with their names and the period of their reign is called the sixteenth dynasty by modern Egyptologists.

The list also is believed to contain kings from the 15th Dynasty, which were the Hyksos ruling Lower Egypt and the Delta.

Although the Hyksos rulers do not have cartouches, a hieroglyphic sign is added to indicate that they were foreigners.

Bietak is best known as the director of the Austrian excavations at two sites in the Nile delta: Tell El-Dab ' a, which was the location of Avaris, the capital of the Hyksos period ; and Piramesse, which was the capital of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt.

His reign is important for the decisive military initiatives he took against the Hyksos, who had come to rule much of Ancient Egypt.

It is thought that his mother, as regent, continued the campaigns after the death of Kamose ( also in battle with the Hyksos ), and that his full brother made the final conquest of them and united all of Egypt.

There is no evidence to support Pierre Montet's assertion that Kamose's move against the Hyksos was sponsored by the priesthood of Amun as an attack against the Seth-worshippers in the north ( i. e., a religious motive for the war of liberation ).

The Carnarvon Tablet does state that Kamose went north to attack the Hyksos by the command of Amun, but this is simple hyperbole, common to virtually all royal inscriptions of Egyptian history, and should not be understood as the specific command from this deity.

Kamose is known to have campaigned against the Kushites prior to his third year since the Hyksos king directly appeals to his Kushite counterpart to attack his Theban rival and avenge the damage which Kamose had inflicted upon both their states.

It is unlikely that Kamose had the resources, simultaneously, to defeat the Kushites to the south and then, inflict a serious setback on the Hyksos to the north in just one year over a front-line that extended over several hundred kilometres.

Manetho recorded that it was during the reign of " Tutimaios " ( who has been identified with Dedumose I of the Thirteenth Dynasty ) that the Hyksos overran Egypt, led by Salitis, the founder of the fifteenth dynasty.

Ptolemy's policy was to find a deity that should win the reverence alike of both groups, despite the curses of the Egyptian priests against the gods of the previous foreign rulers ( i. e. Set who was lauded by the Hyksos ).

For example during the Hyksos period, when horse-using maryannu Asiatics ruled in Egypt, at their capital city of Avaris, Baal became associated with the Egyptian god Set, and was considered identical-particularly with Set in his form as Sutekh.

The Second Intermediate Period was of particular interest to Josephus, where he equated the Hyksos or " shepherd-kings " as the ancient Israelites who eventually made their way out of Egypt ( Apion 1. 82-92 ).

This is because while the early Hyksos kings are known to have used the title heka-khawaset in their reigns such as Sakir-Har or Khyan -- at least early in the latter king's reign before he chose the prenomen Seuserenre.

Around 1674 BC, these Canaanites, whom the Egyptians referred to as " rulers of foreign lands " ( Egyptian, ), hence " Hyksos " ( Greek ), invaded Egypt, where they would rule for over a century.

Josephus records the false etymology that the Greek phrase Hyksos stood for the Egyptian phrase Hekw Shasu meaning the Shepherd Kings, which scholars have only recently shown means " rulers of foreign lands.

The issue of Sakir-Har's name, one of the three earliest 15th Dynasty kings, also leans towards a West Semitic or Canaanite origin for the Hyksos rulers — if not the Hyksos peoples themselves.

Josephus identifies the Israelite Exodus with the first exodus mentioned by Manetho, when some 480, 000 Hyksos " shepherd kings " ( also referred to as just ' shepherds ', as ' kings ' and as ' captive shepherds ' in his discussion of Manetho ) left Egypt for Jerusalem .< ref name = " AA1: 86 – 90 "> Josephus, Flavius, < cite > Against Apion </ cite >, 1: 86 – 90 .</ ref > The mention of " Hyksos " identifies this first exodus with the Hyksos period ( 16th century BC ).

Josephus records the earliest account of the false but understandable etymology that the Greek phrase Hyksos stood for the Egyptian phrase Hekw Shasu meaning the Bedouin-like Shepherd Kings, which scholars have only recently shown means " rulers of foreign lands.

The known rulers for the Hyksos 15th dynasty are:

Egyptologist Donald B. Redford has suggested that these were ancestors of the Hyksos dynasty, later misconstrued as belonging to the names of Egyptian kings in Manetho ( due to confusion between the Egyptian words for " Hyksos " and " Xois ").

Hyksos relations with the south seem to have been mainly of a commercial nature, although Theban princes appear to have recognized the Hyksos rulers and may possibly have provided them with tribute for a period.

Ahmose I would succeed in expelling the Hyksos from Egypt and placing the country under a centralised administrative control for the first time since the mid-13th dynasty.

The New Kingdom lists are each selective in their listings: that of Seti I, for instance, lists seventy-six kings from Dynasties I to XIX omitting the Hyksos rulers and those associated with the heretic Akhenaten.

Dominating the river often proved necessary for prosecuting sieges, like the Egyptian conquest of the Hyksos capital Avaris.