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The revolt of the Asian ones

At the end of the reign of Hatchepsout, syro-Palestinian princes had united themselves against Egypt:

Since Yeraza to the marshes of the ground, one had rebelled (litt. one had fallen in rebellion) against His Majesté. The powerful king of Qadesh, quoted located on the edges of the Oronte, had taken the head of united. The latter were supported by the king of Mitanni, the rival eternal of Egypt. The town of Megiddo, where the battle proceeded, to the outlet of the master keys of the Carmel, was with the crossroads of several commercial tracks and soldiers carrying out towards the Mediterranean coast and the Mésopotamie. Because of its strategic position of first importance, united there their troops had concentrated.

Increase towards Megiddo

After the death of Hatchepsout, in the year 22 of its nominal reign, Thoutmôsis {{III}} undertook the first of the sixteen (or eighteen) campaigns which it had to carry out to subject the Asian ones. It had joined together a many army of ten thousand men: tanks, archers and infantrymen, followed by the convoys of the intendance.

Towards mid-July, the Egyptians passed the fortress of Tjaru (Σιλε, Sile, current El Kantara) in the Eastern delta, and reached nine days later the town of Gaza, which was taken by storm. As of the following day, they restarted to arrive eleven days later at Yehem, undoubtedly current Yemma on the southern side of the Carmel Mount, located at some 110 kilometers of Gaza. The objective was the fortified town of Megiddo,

where the enemy méprisable of Qadesh in this moment had entered even, joining together around him the Large ones of all the foreign countries which had been faithful to Egypt (litt. on the water of Egypt)… their horses, their armies and their gens.

Pharaon sent scouts to recognize the surroundings. There were three possible roads to reach Megiddo since Yehem. The road of north, by Ziftah, and the road of the south, by Taanakh, would oblige the army to advance in ground discovered. On the other hand, the road of the medium, by Arouna, would possibly make it possible to surprise united; it followed however a narrow procession where the troops could pass only in Indian file: if the enemy waited at the exit, the army would not have time to be spread.

The officers of the king advised prudence: Isn't it true that one follows this procession a horse will have to walk behind another horse, the army and the soldiers making in the same way? Will our avant-garde have to fight whereas our rear-guard is here in Arouna and that it will not be able to fight? There exist broader ways…

The king ignored these objections, and the army crosses the procession without incident.

The battle and the head office of Megiddo

The following day, two days after the departure of Yehem, Pharaon charged the enemies with the head with its troops. They flee towards Megiddo; … they are hoisted and draws them by their clothing over the walls from the city, because people had closed the doors of the city. (…) Ah! if the army of Its Majesty had not given its heart to plundering (litt. given its heart to plunder the possessions of these enemies), it would have taken Megiddo at once.

Thoutmôsis harangua its troops: All the chiefs of the countries of North are locked up inside the place. It is thus to take thousand cities to take Megiddo. Seize the city valiantly!

The Egyptians invested Megiddo; after a seven month old seat, the city went, in February of the year 23. After the victory this enemy coward king de Qadesh and the Large ones which was with him were authorized to leave to come near My Majesty, like all their children; they were in charge of many tributes out of gold and out of money, they brought all the horses in their possession, their tanks of gold and of money,… all their weapons… My Majesty made whereas one allowed them to return (litt. that one returned the way of their cities to them), they all from went away, overlapping asses, because I had taken their chevaux.

Spoils

The Tjenen scribe which accompanied the army drew up a precise calculation of the spoils: 340 prisoners ( sḳrw cnḫw ), 2041 mares ( ssmwt ), 191 foalta ( msywt nywt ssmwt ), 6 standards ( jbrw ), 1 tank ( wrrt ) encrusted with gold… having belonged to this Kadesh enemy, 1 beautiful tank encrusted with gold having belonged to Large of Megiddo, 892 tanks having belonged to its méprisable armed, 200 armours ( ms N cḥ3 , litt. tunics of combat), 502 arcs ( pḏwt ), 1929 bovines ( jw3w ), 2000 large goats ( cwt wrwt ), 20 500 sheep ( cwt ḥḏt ).

The conclusion of the countryside

To make sure honesty of overcome, Thoutmôsis took along to Egypt “the women having belonged to this cheap enemy (I. E. king de Qadesh) with the children, just as the women of the chiefs who were with him and all children. ”

Its victory over the Asian ones, the first of long series, was worth an immense prestige with the king. Even the countries which escaped Egyptian hegemony sent tribute in homage: Cyprus, country of Hatti, Assyrie and even remote Babylon.

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