and
THE DEPARTMENT OF NEAR EASTERN LANGUAGES AND CIVILIZATIONS, HARVARD UNIVERSITY
 
present a lecture
 
by
 
Manfred Bietak
University of Vienna
  
The “Enigma of the Hyksos” is a new project of the Austrian Academy of Sciences directed by Prof. Dr. Manfred Bietak and supported by a European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant under the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme. The project aims to shed light on the so-called Hyksos Period in Egypt (c. 1750–1530 BC), an obscure era that saw the rise to power of a dynasty of non-Egyptian rulers over large parts of the Nile Valley. Using historical and archaeological approaches as well as scientific techniques such as DNA and physical anthropology, it will examine the origins and rise to power of the Hyksos, the hybrid patterns of Hyksos culture, and the reasons for their downfall and ultimate expulsion from Egypt by the pharaohs of the New Kingdom. Finally it will examine the lasting impact of the Hyksos on the culture of New Kingdom Egypt.
 
Semitic Museum, Room 201
Friday, October 7th, 4:00 p.m.
 
Free and open to the public.