"We have seen that the greatest expansion of Cretan trade occurred in the MM II period, when its wares were carried around the shores of the Mediterranean. Minoan connections with the East apparently continued into the MM III period. A stone vase lid from Knossos inscribed with the name of the king is part of the evidence that has been interpreted as an indications of the ephemeral Hyksos empire ranging from Crete to Egypt, and East toward Babylonia."