Divided Rule. During the Second Intermediate Period (circa 1630-1539/1523 B.C.E.) Egypt was divided into two spheres of influence. While native Egyptian princes ruled Upper Egypt from Thebes, foreign kings called the Hyksos (Egyptian Heka-Hasut, "Rulers of Foreign Lands") controlled the Delta from Avaris (modern Tell el Daba). The near absence of contemporary written documents and the conflict between the rulers inferred from archaeological evidence combined with subsequent Egyptian descriptions of the Hyksos have hindered modern understanding of this period. Though scholars have now established who the Hyksos were, debate continues over how they gained power.

Origins. The Egyptian expression Heka-Hasut was used as early as the Old Kingdom (circa 2675-2130 B.C.E.) to describe rulers of foreign lands from both Nubia and the Levant. The term in Egyptian carried no racial or national designation. In the Second Intermediate...