Refers to the period in Egypt from about 1756 to 1540 BCE comprising the Thirteenth Dynasty through the Seventeenth Dynasty; some sources begin with the Fourteenth Dynasty about 1630 BCE. During this period at least four of the Dynasties ruled at the same. The period is characterized by the seizure of power by the Asiatic Hyksos of the Fifteenth Dynasty in the North during which elements of Asiatic civilization were absorbed by Egypt.
