Egyptian religious poetry

INTRODUCTION 27

obscurity and ignorance, and fell an easy prey to the hordes of barbarian tribes known to history as the Hyksos, whom Josephus claimed to be the Hebrews. Crushed under the heel of the invaders, Egypt lost her art, her literature, her temples, her very religion, in that orgy of destruction. Nothing remains of the earlier periods but the indestructible Pyramids and any buildings or objects already covered by the all-encroaching sand. The domination of the Hyksos, lasted, according to the historian Manetho, for five centuries! but modern scholars prefer to shorten the time to two hundred years. The Hyksos were merely destructive, they had no culture of their own, and the few remains of their occupation of Egypt are bad imitations of Egyptian work. Except, therefore, for scarabs and other small objects, the Second Intermediate Period is largely blank.

At about 1600 B.c. the princes of Thebes rebelled. Under a family, which appears to have comprised all the military genius of the age, Thebes/roused the rest of the country. The Pharaoh, Segenen-Ré, was killed in battle, but his sons, Ka-mes and Aah-mes, carried on the fight against the foreigners and drove them out. This was the beginning of the xviiith dynasty, when Egypt rose to the highest peak of power and wealth. Under her great warrior-kings her Empire extended from Syria in the north to Meroé in the south, and her civilizing influence was felt throughout the Mediterranean area and the countries of the East. Her rule over the little pugnacious principalities of Palestine enforced peace on that incessantly quarrelsome country, and with peace she brought prosperity, as excavation has now proved. Her Pharaohs showed a wisdom and humanity in their dealings with conquered countries in marked contrast with all other rulers of ancient times. Here was no putting

* This is the same length of time that Serbia was under the domination of Turkey.