rulers of the great Egyptian Empire stayed within the gates of their
palace and listened to the music of the harp or the flute.

One day there came rumors to the town of Thebes that wild tribes of
horsemen had been pillaging along the frontiers. An army was sent to
drive them away. This army moved into the desert. To the last man it was
killed by the fierce Arabs, who now marched towards the Nile, bringing
their flocks of sheep and their household goods.

Another army was told to stop their progress. The battle was disastrous
for the Egyptians and the valley of the Nile was open to the invaders.

They rode fleet horses and they used bows and arrows. Within a short
time they had made themselves master of the entire country. For five
centuries they ruled the land of Egypt. They removed the old capital to
the Delta of the Nile.

They oppressed the Egyptian peasants.

They treated the men cruelly and they killed the children and they were
rude to the ancient gods. They did not like to live in the cities but
stayed with their flocks in the open fields and therefore they were
called the Hyksos, which means the Shepherd Kings.

At last their rule grew unbearable.

A noble family from the city of Thebes placed itself at the head of a
national revolution against the foreign usurpers. It was a desperate
fight but the Egyptians won. The Hyksos were driven out of the country,
and they went back to the desert whence they had come. The experience