Scarabs of the Hyksos Period 

A distinctive and numerically very significant body of scarabs were produced during the Second Intermediate Period, 1782-1570 BC, also known as the Hyksos period. Produced in both the Levant and Egypt, these scarabs serve as a very important source of information on trade and the cross pollination of cultural influences. 

“The Hyksos were a Semitic people who gained a foothold in Egypt,  c. 1782 BCE at the city of Avaris in Lower Egypt, thus initiating the era known in Egyptian history as the Second Intermediate Period (c. 1782 – c. 1570 BCE). Their name, Heqau-khasut, translates as ‘Rulers of Foreign Lands’ (given by the Greeks as Hyksos), suggesting to some scholars that they were kings or nobility driven from their homes by invasion who found refuge in the port city of Avaris and managed to establish a strong power base during the decline of the 13th Dynasty of the Middle Kingdom (2040-1782 BCE). Most likely, they were traders who were at first welcomed at Avaris, prospered, and sent word to their friends and neighbors to come join them, resulting in a large population which was able to finally exert political and then military power.

Although the later Egyptian scribes of the New Kingdom the (c. 1570-1069 BCE) would demonize the Hyksos as ‘invaders’ who conquered the land, destroyed temples, and slaughtered without mercy, there is no evidence for any of these claims. Even today, the Hyksos are referred to as invaders and their advent in Egypt as the ‘Hyksos Invasion,’ but actually, they assimilated neatly into Egyptian culture adopting Egyptian fashion and religious beliefs, with some modifications, as their own. Contrary to many claims throughout the years, there is no reason to identify the Hyksos with the Hurrians nor with the Hebrew slaves from the biblical Book of Exodus.” ⁱ