The Kyksos invaders of Egypt gained their name from and Egyptian term meaning 'rulers of foreign lands'. One of these was Salitis, who was amongst the original leaders of the Semitic-speaking hordes who entered northern Egypt at the end of the Thirteenth Dynasty. He was evidently chosen by his fellow shaikhs (to employ an anachronistic terminology), initially no doubt as primus inter pares, as king. He established himself in Memphis, the ancient capital, but sought a stronghold in the north where the Hyksos might stay in contact with their ancestral lands in Palestine and the Levant. He chose the city of Avaris, which he rebuilt and refortified, establishing, it is said, a garrison of 240,000 men to guard the frontiers.