Ahmose I expels the Hyksos and founds the New Kingdom
- Date
- c. 1550 BCE
- Category
- Politics & governance
- Region
- Egypt (Nile Valley & Delta)
- Era
- Ancient Civilizations
- Significance
Ahmose I, ruler of Thebes, completed the reunification of Egypt by driving out the Hyksos, a Levantine dynasty that had controlled the Nile Delta during the Second Intermediate Period.
He captured their capital Avaris and pursued the survivors into southern Canaan, besieging the fortress of Sharuhen. These campaigns, recorded in the autobiography of the soldier Ahmose son of Ibana, ended foreign rule and inaugurated the Eighteenth Dynasty and the New Kingdom, conventionally dated c. 1550 BCE. The New Kingdom became the most powerful and expansionist era of pharaonic Egypt, lasting roughly five centuries. Ahmose's reign established a centralised state, professionalised the army (now equipped with the horse-drawn chariot and composite bow adopted from the Hyksos), and laid the foundation for Egypt's transformation into an imperial power controlling territory from Nubia to the Euphrates.
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Empires active in c. 1550 BCE
- New Kingdom of Egypt1550 BCE – 1077 BCE
- Hittite Empire1650 BCE – 1178 BCE
- Shang Dynasty1600 BCE – 1046 BCE
- Elamite Kingdom2700 BCE – 539 BCE
Related politics & governance events
- Code of Hammurabi inscribed on the basalt stelec. 1755 BCE
- Mycenaean Takeover of Knossos and the Linear B Archivesc. 1450 BCE
- Amarna letters: cuneiform as the language of diplomacyc. 1360–1332 BCE
- Egyptian–Hittite peace treaty (the 'Eternal Treaty')c. 1259 BCE
- Senusret III's Nubian campaigns and administrative centralisationc. 1850 BCE
- Building of the First Palace at Knossosc. 1900 BCE
Further reading
The wider story
The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt
Sweeping, readable narrative of the whole pharaonic era, New Kingdom included.
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