carried desolation with them wherever they went. The temples of the
Egyptian gods were destroyed and their priests massacred. But before
long Egyptian culture proved too strong for the invaders. The rude chief
of a savage horde became transformed into an Egyptian Pharaoh, whose
court resembled that of the ancient line of monarchs, and who surrounded
himself with learned men. The cities and temples were restored and
beautified, and art began to flourish once more. Except in one respect
it became difficult to distinguish the Hyksos prince from his
predecessors on the throne of Egypt. That one respect was religion. The
supreme object of Hyksos worship continued to be Sutekh, the Baal of
Western Asia, whose cult the foreigners had brought with them from their
old homes. But even Sutekh was assimilated to Ra, the Sun-god of On, and
the Hyksos Pharaohs felt no scruple in imitating the native kings and
combining their own names with that of Ra. It was only the Egyptians who
refused to admit the assimilation, and insisted on identifying Sutekh
with Set the enemy of Horus.

At the outset all Egypt was compelled to submit to the Hyksos
domination. Hyksos monuments have been found as far south as Gebelên and
El-Kab, and the first Hyksos dynasty established its seat in Memphis,
the old capital of the country. Gradually, however, the centre of Hyksos
power retreated into the delta. Zoan or Tanis, the modern San, became
the residence of the court: here the Hyksos kings were in close
proximity to their kindred in Asia, and were, moreover, removed from the
unmixed Egyptian population further south. From Zoan, "built"--or rather
rebuilt--"seven years" after Hebron (Num. xiii. 22), they governed the
valley of the Nile. Their rule was assisted by the mutual jealousies and
quarrels of the native feudal princes who shared between them the land
of Egypt. The foreigner kept his hold upon the country by means of the
old feudal aristocracy.