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Hyksos Invasion of Egypt c. 1730- 1570 B.C.

During the period of Hyksos Invasion catastrophe struck Egypt again. This time the trouble was from an Asian group known as the Hyksos, rather than from within.

 The Hyksos took Egypt by surprise with horses and chariots, tools of battle never seen before by the Egyptians. The Hyksos made Avarias (in the Delta) their capital. For more than one hundred fifty years the hyksos ruled Egypt. They sometimes let local rulers alone, however, as long as they paid tribute.

Eventually, local rulers from Thebes, in the south, refused to pay tribute and began to make war on the Hyksos. Finally a ruler known as Ahmose succeeded in defeating the Hyksos and founded the 18th Dynasty.