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and scope of government that had been brought about during the mass mobilization for the war against the Hyksos. The Hyksos period saw the birth of a powerful Egyptian military. As Breasted explains, "[The Hyksos] brought the horse into the Nile valley and taught the Egyptians warfare on a large scale". Once Ahmose had taken Avaris and pushed the Hyksos out of Lower Egypt, the temptation to use this newfound power was too great. "From this time on, the Egyptian kings moved southward [towards Nubia] in a concerted and well-planned manner". In the wake of the bigger army came "administrators, tax masters, accompanying civilians, and even the priesthood".

Or, as Faulkner puts it: "The rise of the Eighteenth Dynasty brought with it changes in the military sphere which amounted almost to a revolution. During the earlier periods of Egyptian history there was no lack of warlike activity, but it was on a comparatively small scale; under the new dispensation we meet for the first time with a large standing army organized on a national basis and officered throughout with professional soldiers. The reason for this fresh development was that, as a result of the expulsion of the Hyksos from Egypt and the determination of the Pharaohs to render impossible any repetition of the foreign domination, Egypt developed into a first-class military power with the control of Palestine and Syria as the main feature of her foreign policy".

The actual organisation of the military also reflects the deep-seeded ideological and political changes inspired by the Hyksos. There arose a full-fledged professional standing army. The full titulature and ranks were reinstated. The age for conscription was lowered, with stiff penalties for evasion. There were garrisons at key cities displaying the true might of the pharaoh. As Shaw observes, "The New Kingdom fortresses and garrisons of the Delta borders were intended to prevent any recurrence of the ignominious imposition of foreign rule by the Hyksos dynasty". The function of the military was now solely to police external threats - no longer did it also fulfill the role of quashing domestic disputes. There was hardly any time to do both. A "new scope to the functions of the Pharaoh had become firmly entrenched". There was now need for two Viziers rather than one, because the Pharaoh the head of the military was frequently required to travel throughout the land waging campaigns.

CONCLUSION

This essay has explored two seemingly distinct

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