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Asiatics

A group of people labelled Asiatics
A group of people labelled Asiatics
Evidence of contact with the Near East goes back to the Predynastic period. Although some scholars  favoring  diffusionist  models  have  argued  for  a  massive  influx  through the Nile Delta or the Wadi Hammamat via the Red Sea,  the  consensus  today  is  for  increasing  contact  and  interaction  focused  on  the  Nile  Delta  and  the  Sinai.  There  is  ample  textual  evidence  in  the  form  of  names  for  the  presence  of  Syrian- Palestinians in Egypt's public institutions and private houses. For example,  the  Middle Kingdom Brooklyn  Papyrus  lists  seventy- seven  servants  of  the  lady  Senebtisi,  forty-eight  of  whom  have  Near  Eastern  names.  Other  texts  show  that  new  generations  of  families  like  these  received  Egyptian  names,  gradually  assimilating into Egyptian society. Several stelae from  this  period  depict  servants  labeled  as  Near  Easterners, but with Egyptian names, dress, and hairstyles. Some  may  have  come  to  Egypt  as  captives  from  military  campaigns,  although there was considerable movement of peoples going both  ways for trade and diplomacy.

Egypt  gradually  became  more  engaged  with  Near  Eastern  peoples  during  the  later  Middle Kingdom,  through  the  establishment of a major point of immigration at Tell ed-Dab'a in  the eastern Nile Delta. This site has all the hallmarks of a trade  diaspora, an expatriate settlement serving as an interface between  the two trading partners. Excavations document a gradual increase  in the numbers and influence of Syrian-Palestinians at Dab'a over  the course of the thirteenth dynasty. By the late thirteenth dynasty,  Middle  Bronze  Age  pottery  makes  up  40  percent  of  the  assemblage,  "warrior"  tombs  with  typical  weaponry  and  associated  equid  burials  appear  with  great  frequency,  and  monumental  temples  in  the  standard  Middle  Bronze  Age  layout  rival  those  of  sites  in  Syria-Palestine.  A  complex  settlement  hierarchy developed in Palestine during this period, anchored by  major trade "gateways" at Tell ed-Dab'a in the south and Hazor in  the  north.  At  the  end  of  the  thirteenth  dynasty,  Tell  ed-Dab'a  became the capital of the Syrian-Palestinian fifteenth dynasty, the  Hyksos, which established direct control over the northern half of  Egypt  and  forced  the  Upper  Egyptian  seventeenth dynasty  to  accept a role as a vassal state. The Hyksos only partly assimilated  to  Egyptian  culture,  although  it  is  likely  that  many  of  their  descendants remained in the Delta after Egypt's "expulsion" of the  early eighteenth dynasty, thereby becoming part of Egyptian New  Kingdom society.

Substantial  numbers  of  Near  Eastern  peoples,  mostly  Syrian- Palestinians  but  including  individuals  from  Mitanni  (Syria)  and  Hatti  (Anatolia),  were  captured  during  the  great  military  campaigns of the New Kingdom, which ranged as far as northern  Syria.  Others  came  as  tribute  from  vassal  states  controlled  by  Egypt  or  as  free  traders,  craftsmen,  and  scribes.  Most  prisoners  were assigned to various royal and temple estates to provide labor  in the fields, although some were parceled out as rewards to val- orous warriors. Skilled Near Eastern craftsmen were employed in  Egyptian  workshops,  and  others  were  employed  as  servants  in  elite and royal households. Literate elites from the Near East were  often employed in the Egyptian bureaucracy, where their linguistic  skills  proved  valuable  to  the  conduct  of  international  trade  and  diplomacy;  the  ambitious  might  rise  to  high  positions.  The  Canaanite  Ben-ozen  became  chief  of  the  department  of  alimentation and beverage and chief royal herald under Ramesses II.  The  chief  draftsman  in  the  temple  of  Amun,  Pas-Ba'al,  was  possibly taken prisoner under Thutmose III, and his descendants  occupied his office for six generations. An individual  with  the  Canaanite  name  Aper-E]  became  vizier  under  King Amenhotep III (1382-1344), and Chancellor Bey became a virtual kingmaker at  the end of the nineteenth dynasty. Egyptians intermarried with Near  Easterners,  and  slaves  were  sometimes  adopted  into  Egyptian  families.  Although  most  Near  Easterners  assimilated  to  some  degree,  the  cultural  influence  was  not  unidirectional.  Levantine  mythical and literary motifs, loan words, and deities such as Ba'al,  Astarte,  and  Reshep  all  entered  into  the  Egyptian  cultural  sphere  during the New Kingdom.
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