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The Fifteenth Dynasty's Expansion Against Thebes (1583 BCE)
In 1583 BCE, the Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt—ruled by the Hyksos, a Semitic-speaking people of likely Levantine origin—pushed southward in an attempt to expand their control beyond the Nile Delta into Upper Egypt. Their primary target was Thebes, the traditional religious and political heartland of the native Egyptian rulers of the Seventeenth Dynasty.
The Hyksos had dominated Lower Egypt since around 1650 BCE, establishing their capital at Avaris (modern Tell el-Dab'a). Their rule introduced new military technologies (such as the composite bow and horse-drawn chariots) and trade connections with the Near East. However, their foreign origins and dominance over the north bred resentment among the native Egyptian rulers in Thebes.
By 1583 BCE, the Hyksos king (possibly Apepi or Khyan) sought to weaken Theban resistance by launching a military campaign southward. Historical records from this period are fragmentary, but later Egyptian accounts (such as the Kamose Stelae) suggest that the Hyksos attempted to form alliances with Nubian rulers to isolate Thebes.
The Theban kings, however, resisted fiercely. The Seventeenth Dynasty, led at this time by Seqenenre Tao or his predecessors, began consolidating power and preparing for a counteroffensive. Archaeological evidence, including the brutal wounds on Seqenenre Tao's mummy, suggests he died in battle—possibly against the Hyksos.
The Hyksos' expansion southward ultimately failed to crush Theban resistance. Instead, it galvanized Upper Egypt's rulers, setting the stage for the eventual war of liberation led by Kamose and Ahmose I, who would expel the Hyksos and reunify Egypt under the New Kingdom.
Note: Exact details of this campaign remain uncertain due to limited contemporary records. Much of our understanding comes from later Egyptian accounts, which may be biased against the Hyksos.
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