Page:The Pharaohs and their people; scenes of old Egyptian life and history (IA pharaohstheirpeo00berkiala).pdf/107

 adopted Egyptian customs and Egyptian civilisation. The Hyksos kings assumed Egyptian titles and erected magnificent temples. And it is more than likely that the feelings of the native historians, galled and exasperated by the recollection of the harsh supremacy of aliens, considerably exaggerated the tale of the suffering and ruin entailed by their presence.

This period, of about 500 years' duration, is veiled from us in almost impenetrable darkness. The records left of themselves by the Hyksos Pharaohs were destroyed, and over the rest of the subject land there brooded the darkness of a long-protracted eclipse. The tribute was probably paid, and external quietude and order prevailed.

At length a ray of light dispels the darkness for an instant. 'It came to pass,' says an ancient papyrus, 'that the land of Khemi belonged to the enemy. No one was sovereign lord in the day when that happened. The King Sekenen-Ra ruled in the south, but the enemy ruled in the district of the Amu, and Apepi, their king, was in the city of Avaris; the whole land did him homage with the best