Hyksos

American  

[hik-sohs, -sos] / ˈhɪk soʊs, -sɒs /

noun

1. a nomadic people who conquered and ruled ancient Egypt between the 13th and 18th dynasties, c1700–1580 b.c.: believed to have been a Semitic people that originally migrated into Egypt from Asia.

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Hyksos British  

/ ˈhɪksɒs /

noun

1. a member of a nomadic Asian people, probably Semites, who controlled Egypt from 1720 _bc until 1560 _bc

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Etymology

Origin of Hyksos

1595–1605; < Greek Hyksṓs, perhaps < Egyptian ḥg ( ʾ ) ruler + h̬ʾst foreign land

Example Sentences

Today they are more commonly called Hyksos, a Greek corruption of this Egyptian name.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

These Canaanites are often referred to as the Hyksos.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

The first kings of the Egyptian New Kingdom drove out the Hyksos and extended their own influence into Nubia.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

While they started as “foreigners,” the Hyksos quickly adopted the practices of the Egyptian kings they had overthrown, using Egyptian scribes to keep records in hieroglyphics, worshiping the local gods, and generally behaving like Egyptians.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2020

For example, in 1674 B.C., horses even enabled a foreign people, the Hyksos, to conquer then horseless Egypt and to establish themselves temporarily as pharaohs.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond