Abisha the Hyksos

The renowned paintings on the tomb of the vizier Khnumhotep II  in the Beni Hasan necropolis depict a scene which took place in the sixth year (1892 BC) of king Senusret II (1897-1878 BC) of the XII Dynasty  of Egypt when a group of Western Asiatics visited him to bring gifts. These foreigners were named the Aamu (ꜥꜣmw) of Shu (Ŝw) and their leader  “Abisha the Hyksos”: this is the first known instance of the name Hyksos in hieroglyphic inscriptions.

The paintings on the tomb of the vizier Khnumhotep II depicting the  Aamu (ꜥꜣmw) of Shu (Ŝw) and their hieroglyphic texts are carefully reviewed in the book Atletenu to investigate the links between the Aamu, Northern Syria and the Hyksos.