Hyksos In Ancient Egypt

The fifteenth dynasty (second intermediary period) of the Hyksos Period in ancient Egypt is distinct in that it was ruled by people of non-Egyptian origin. The term “Hyksos” is a Greek term that is derived from the Egyptian word for Asiatics, “Heqa-khasut” that means “ruler of foreign/hill countries.” These Asiatic people were possibly Syrian/Palestinian in origin.
There are records of the Hyksos invading Egypt and gaining control over the Delta region, however there is no record of it being a violent invasion. Their control over the Delta region is believed to have been mostly a peaceful infiltration. This period was ruled by six kings over the course of 108 years. These kings were not well recorded and only a few of their names were preserved.
The ones that were preserved are more closely related to Egyptian tradition, this could mean that the Hyksos period consisted of “puppet kings.” What makes the Hyksos hated throughout ancient Egypt is that their invasion, because it was “peaceful” was probably set up by a higher king therefore setting the Hyksos up as pawns. They built their capital in Awaris and tried to rule over the whole area of Egypt without having been traditionally from Egypt and were from different countries and backgrounds
Question 2:
The New Kingdom in ancient Egypt saw a huge explosion of both sacral and sepulchral architecture.
Even though wood was not in large supply, the Egyptians used different types of stone such as limestone, sandstone, granite, and also sun-baked mud bricks to build their famous monumental architecture. There was great prosperity during the New Kingdom and the pharaohs used their money to build temples, obelisks, etc. to give thanks for their success to the gods. These temples to the gods were one of the main architectural innovations of the New Kingdom. The temples of ancient Egypt are all widely recognizable. The two temples that stand at Abu Simbel and the figures carved and depicted there are no exception. These twin temples were carved out of the mountainside in 1264 BC and was known as the “Temple of Ramesses, beloved by Amun.” Ramessess II had these temples erected to impress Egypt’s neighbors to the south as well as being a reinforcement of Egyptian religion. Abu Simbel was dedicated to the gods Amun, Ra-Horakhyt, Ptah, and the deified Ramesses. The Great Temple is meant to represent Ramesses II and the Small Temple represents Queen
Nefertari. The Great Temple at Abu Simbel is easily distinguishable because of the four colossal statues that are at the front of the temple.
These four statues are 20 meters tall and all of them represent Ramesses II, who is depicted as seated on a throne and wearing a double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. There are other smaller statues at the legs of the colossal Ramesses II statues. These smaller ones represent his family such as his chief wife Nefertari, queen mother Mut-Tuy, his first two sons and six of his daughters. The entrance is also depicted with a giant cryptogram of Ramesses II’s throne name, User-Maat-Re by using an image of a king that is worshipping Ra Harakhti who is holding a hieroglyph “user” and feather in his right hand and Ma’at in his left hand. It is also believed that with the original positioning of the temple and the statues representing Amun Ra, Ra-Horakhty, and Ramesses would be illuminated by the sun penetrating the inside of the temple on October 21 and February 21. The god Ptah was not part of this illumination and remained in the dark as to symbolize the Underworld for which he
represents. The Small Temple or temple of Hathor and Nefertari is located 100 meters northeast of the Great Temple. This temple also features colossal statues carved into the front of it but these are half the size as the ones at the Great temple and represent both Ramesses II and Nefertari. It is important to note that these statues represent the only time that a king and his consort were ever depicted as being equal in size.