Avaris, the Capital of the Hyksos

The city of Avaris, which served as the capital city during the rule of the Hyksos, was later absorbed into Pi-Ramesses, as attested from a stela of Ramesses II (Van Seters, Hyksos, 127). Remains from Avaris have been excavated at Tell el-Dab’a, near Qantir. The Hyksos were an Asiatic people, who were either Hurrian, West Semitic, or possibly a combination (Van Seters, Hyksos, 162–70, 181). They entered Egypt around the 13th Dynasty, and by the 15th Dynasty they had gained control of most of Egypt (Van de Mieroop, History, 147–149). The Hyksos remained in power until the 18th dynasty and seemed to adopt the nearby Egyptian religion, particularly the sun god Re (Van Seters, Hyksos, 172–80). They were expelled by the Ramesside dynasty, who equated the Syro-Palestinian god Baal with the Egyptian god of discord, Seth. The capital was moved to Heliopolis. The Septuagint adds Heliopolis as one of the cities where Israelites were forced into labor (Exod 1:11 LXX).