The New Empire (from 1600 to 525 B.C.).--The expulsion of the Hyksos was effected by _Aahmes I_., first king of the eighteenth dynasty. It was accomplished, however, not all at once, but gradually. From this event Egypt enters on a new stage in its career. It becomes a military, an aggressive, and a conquering state. Notwithstanding the enormous sacrifice of life that must have been involved in the erection of pyramids and in other public works, the Egyptians had not been a cruel people: compared with most Semitic peoples, they had been disposed to peace. But now a martial spirit is evoked. A military class arises. Wars for plunder and conquest ensue. The use of horses in battle is a new and significant fact. The character of the people changes for the worse. The priestly class become more compact and domineering. Temples are the principal edifices, in the room of massive sepulchers. Under _Thothmes I_. and his successors, especially _Thothmes III_., wars were successfully waged against the Syrians, and against the Ethiopians on the south. The palaces and temples of Thebes, including the gigantic structures at _Karnak_ and _Luxor_, are witnesses to the grandeur of these monarchs. The Egyptian arms were carried through Syria, and as far even as Nineveh. During the reigns of _Amenophis III_. and _Amenophis IV_., that is, in the latter half of the fifteenth century B.C., the _Amarna Letters_ (see p. 44) were written. Under the _Ramessides_, the conquests of Egypt reached their farthest limit. RAMSES II.--Ramses II., or Ramses the Great (1340-1273 B.C.),--who was called by the Greeks Sesostris, a name with which they linked many fabulous narratives,--is the most brilliant personage in Egyptian history. He is the first of the renowned conquerors, the forerunner of the Alexanders and Napoleons. His monuments are scattered over all Egypt. In his childhood he was associated on the throne with his father, himself a magnificent monarch, _Seti I_. In the seventh year of the sole reign of the son he had to encounter a formidable confederacy under the lead of the Syrian _Hittites_--the "Khita"--in the north-east, a powerful nation. How he saved himself by his personal valor, on the field of _Kadesh_, is celebrated in the Egyptian Iliad, the heroic poem of _Pentaur_. A subsequent treaty with this people is one of the most precious memorials of his reign.