The Battle of Megiddo
The Battle of Megiddo is the first battle to be recorded in full detail in ancient history,
as it was a custom for the chief military scribe “Tjaneni” to inscribe all the records of
the battle in hieroglyphs on the temple of Amen-Ra in Thebes, Karnak. In approximately
1479 B.C, on the 21st day of the first month of the third year of the rule of king ThutmoseIII,
the pharaoh of Egypt led his army to fight off a revolt led by the king of Kadesh (the Ancient city in the Near East).
King Thutmose III took the throne from his step-mother Queen Hatshepsut who was able
to build a prosperous country and a very powerful, well-trained, and organized army
The Battle of Megiddo
and pass it on to him when she died. After her death, the kings of Megiddo and Kadesh
rebelled against him as they believed, he was unworthy and weak. So king Thutmose’s
first campaign was against the coalition between the Canaanites of Megiddo,
the Syrians of Kadesh, and other cities that took part in this revolt that gathered
outside the city of Megiddo which was a crucial fortress and along with important
trade and military route. He gathered an army of between 10,000 and 20,000 men
consisting of charioteers and infantry, the army took a base near the enemy forces,
then he led his army through the dangerous path to the enemy’s base which gave him
The Battle of Megiddo
control over the element of surprise which caused the enemy’s army which consists
of the same number of troops and weaponry to panic and also the pharaoh’s army
access to very advanced weaponry and intelligence tactics. The Egyptian army
chased the fleeing enemy’s and cut them down one by one, the remaining part of
the army took shelter in the city of Megiddo. The battle turned into a siege in a matter
of moments as the Egyptian army dug a most and made their own defensive wall
all around the city. The siege lasted for seven months before the defeated leaders
surrendered the city then the Egyptian army entered and took more than 20,000
horses, millions of grains and livestock, gold and silver chariots, jewels and precious
metals, and three fortresses. His victory gave him control of the northern front of his
The Battle of Megiddo
kingdom, where he can launch campaigns to other countries and expand, is the kingdom.
The children of the defeated leaders were taken to Egypt, educated in Egyptian school, and later when they come of age, they will return back to their land with the permission
of the Egyptian pharaoh to continue serving him. His triumph over this coalition and
through his time and unbelievable fame of this battle established the success of
all his future campaigns and his reputation in the history books.