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Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - Hyksos Enigma (The Enigma of the Hyksos)

Teaser

Summary

This Project seeks to find the origin, the ethnical background, and the reasons for migration to Egypt, the way of rising to power, the way of domination, the cause of collapse to the reign and the impact of the Western Asiatic population, which caused the Hyksos rule to Egypt on the Egyptian culture of the New Kingdom. The methods to elucidate these research questions are multiple. Besides critical historical research, the Middle Bronze Age Culture as assessed in the Eastern Nile Delta is to be closely defined and compared with the cultural matrix of regions in the northern and southern Levant. Personal names of foreigners from the Levant in Egypt and toponyms are closely scrutinized to identify areas of origins. Stratigraphic investigations and statistical analyses of artefacts can be expected to give a picture of prosperity and decline by import scores. Genetic research by DNA is expected to give information of the origin of the population in the Eastern Delta. Acculturation studies will show the development and arrest of acculturation of the Asiatic immigrants to Egypt and their impact on the Egyptian Culture.
The objectives of this research cover a highly obscure part of world history and are therefore very important. New methods of analysis as planned within this research programme will bring about new sources of historical research.

Work performed

From the beginning of the research period, the core staff including an administrative Project Manager was hired and contacts with different countries in the Near East taken up. The network with the partner - the Bournemouth University - was intensified and research agreements taken up. The PI started a comparative architectural analysis on sacred architecture as found in Tell el-Dabâ€˜a and parallels from the Ancient Near East. Silvia Prell, the Research Coordinator and Assistant to the PI, started at the same time an in depth study on equid burials in the ancient Near East and in Egypt within her research track Cultural matrix of the Middle Bronze Age in the Eastern Delta. From the beginning of 2017, the Post-Docs Anna-Latifa Mourad and Sarah Vilain started their research tracks on Cultural Interference Studies and on Trade and Crisis Analysis. At the same time, the PhD-candidate Silvia Gomez-Senovilla started her research track on Comparative Settlement Patterns in the Levant and in Egypt. From middle of 2017, Elisa Priglinger started another Post-Doc research track on Migration Studies. In addition, the subcontractors supporting Sarah Vilain and Silvia Prell in their research tracks have commenced with their work. At the Bournemouth University Nina Maaranen filled, the PhD position with autumn term 2016 and in August 2017 the Post-Doc will start her post.

Final results

Beyond the state of the art results have already quite clearly emerged. The concept of religion and its architecture have their roots in northernmost Syria and even more so in Mesopotamia. This region seems to be the spiritual homeland of the elite of the Hyksos rule in Egypt. The same results seem to be produced by the study of the equid burials in Egypt and the Levant.