Hyksos

In this episode, we focus on the Hyksos, the foreign rulers of Egypt’s Fifteenth Dynasty, exploring how Levantine migrants gradually settled in the Nile Delta and rose to power in Avaris rather than conquering Egypt in a single dramatic invasion. We examine their important impact on Egyptian history through innovations such as the horse and chariot, as well as the ways they adopted Egyptian customs while ruling a divided kingdom. The episode also follows the growing conflict with the native Seventeenth Dynasty pharaohs that ended with the Hyksos expulsion and helped pave the way for the rise of the New Kingdom, while also considering their long and controversial legacy in later Egyptian memory, including theories connecting them to the biblical Exodus.