Publication Showcase: CACHE Member Anna-Latifa Mourad investigates Egyptian-Near Eastern relations

CACHE congratulates our Centre Member Dr Anna-Latifa Mourad on the publication of her new book The enigma of the Hyksos, Volume II. Transforming Egypt into the New Kingdom: The impact of the Hyksos and Egyptian-Near Eastern relations, Contributions to the Archaeology of Egypt, Nubia and the Levant 10 (Harrassowitz, 2021).

The book is the second in a series published by the European Research Council project “The Enigma of the Hyksos”, led by Prof. Manfred Bietak and hosted at the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Through a holistic study of old and new data, the project seeks to cast light onto the often obscure period of ancient Egyptian history that saw a dynasty of rulers from western Asia, known as the Hyksos, rise to power (c. 1640–1530 BCE).

Anna joined this project in 2017 following the completion of her PhD at Macquarie University in 2014. As part of the multidisciplinary investigation, she led a research track on multidirectional cultural interference studies examining the impact of relations between Egypt and western Asia during the Middle Bronze Age, spanning the Middle to early New Kingdom periods. A key line of enquiry from this research that is explored in Anna’s publication is the extent to which these relations, and the Hyksos, influenced Egypt’s culture and society as it transitioned into its New Kingdom state following the end of Hyksos rule. Through a consideration of archaeological, textual, and artistic material as well as theoretical frameworks, Anna’s work not only seeks to clarify this transformative period in particular but also to identify the processes and effects of cultural contact more broadly.

Anna is currently a Macquarie University Research Fellow in the Department of History and Archaeology. For more on Anna's work, see her Macquarie University profile, read our CACHE Matters E-Zine 2019 feature, and engage with her on Twitter.