And who eventually expelled them from the country. Their departure was the first and greatest Exodus from the Delta, and it became the historic fact around which, in later centuries, the Hebrews hung the tradi tions of their greatness in Egypt, and their expulsion therefrom. In fact, late writers like Josephus have entirely confused this great Exodus with that smaller Exodus during which the descendants of the Patriarch Jacob were obliged to ?ee to Palestine. The kings of the xviiith Dynasty understood the serious danger with which Egypt was threatened by the nomadic Semitic tribes of her north-east frontier, and took steps immediately to obtain possession of cities and towns in Southern Syria, from which they could control the movements of the restless and rebellious tribes in the neighbourhood. How they succeeded in effecting their purpose is brie?y described in this and in the followmg volume. Chronologically, however, the period treated in the present section is full of difficulty, and in the present state of Egyptological knowledge no satisfactory account of it can be given. The compilers of the King Lists were themselves hope lessly perplexed, and it is evident that many parts of their chronological systems are entirely artificial. The Turin Papyrus would probably have helped us out of this difficulty, but no reliance can be placed upon it as an authority for constructing the chronology of Dynasties XII — XVII. In spite of recent assertions to the contrary, the remarks by Rosellini, de Rouge, Birch.
