Egyptians did not like even to speak the names of the builders of the two
largest pyramids.

THE TWELFTH DYNASTY (about 2300 B.C.).--After the Sixth Dynasty, Egypt,
for several centuries, is almost lost from view. When finally the valley
emerges from the obscurity of this period, the old capital Memphis has
receded into the background, and the city of Thebes has taken its place as
the seat of the royal power.

The period of the Twelfth Dynasty, a line of Theban kings, is one of the
brightest in Egyptian hhistory. Many monuments scattered throughout the
country perpetuate the fame of the sovereigns of this illustrious house.
Egyptian civilization is regarded by many as having during this period
reached the highest perfection to which it ever attained.

THE HYSKOS, OR SHEPHERD KINGS (from about 2100 to 1650 B.C.).--Soon after
the bright period of the Twelfth Dynasty, Egypt again suffered a great
eclipse. Nomadic tribes from Syria crossed the eastern frontier of Egypt,
took possession of the inviting pasture-lands of the Delta, and
established there the empire of the Shepherd Kings.

These Asiatic intruders were violent and barbarous, and destroyed or
mutilated the monuments of the country. But gradually they were
transformed by the civilization with which they were in contact, and in
time they adopted the manners and culture of the Egyptians. It was
probably during the supremacy of the Hyksos that the families of Israel
found a refuge in Lower Egypt. They received a kind reception from the
Shepherd Kings, not only because they had the same pastoral habits, but
also, probably, because of near kinship in race.