kingdom · Egypt, North Africa and Sudan

Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt

1650 BCE – 1550 BCE (approx.) · capital Avaris

The Hyksos kings of Avaris, rulers of Levantine origin who governed northern Egypt for about a century.

Origins

Around 1650 BCE rulers of Levantine descent, called Hyksos from the Egyptian for 'rulers of foreign lands', took power at Avaris in the eastern Delta and captured Memphis, ending the Middle Kingdom of Egypt. Later Egyptian tradition portrayed this as an invasion, but it grew from a long-settled Canaanite population in the Delta.

Rule and society

The Hyksos adopted pharaonic titles and Egyptian administration while keeping Levantine customs at Avaris, where their great palaces and temples have been excavated. They worshipped Seth, identified with the storm god Baal, and traded widely with Canaan and Cyprus. Their era spread the horse and chariot in Egypt, and the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus was copied under Apepi. Khyan's name appears on objects found as far as Knossos and Baghdad.

Decline and legacy

The Seventeenth Dynasty of Egypt at Thebes went to war against Apepi. Ahmose I, who came to the throne around 1550 BCE, captured Avaris some years later and then besieged Sharuhen in southern Canaan, driving out the Hyksos and founding the Egyptian Empire New Kingdom.

Lineage

Middle Kingdom of Egypt 2055 BCE – 1650 BCEFifteenth Dynasty of EgyptEgyptian Empire New Kingdom 1550 BCE – 1070 BCE

Connections (2)

Fourteenth Dynasty of Egypt was conquered by Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt1650 BCE
Seventeenth Dynasty of Egypt paid tribute to Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt1580 BCE – 1555 BCE

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Cite this page

APA: The Epoch Institute. (2026). Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/fifteenth-dynasty-of-egypt
MLA: “Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/fifteenth-dynasty-of-egypt. Accessed .
Chicago: The Epoch Institute. “Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/fifteenth-dynasty-of-egypt.
Harvard: The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/fifteenth-dynasty-of-egypt (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻