Thutmose_Iii's_Military_Campaign

Thutmose III was considered to have been the “Napoleon of Egypt” [2] for his seventeen military conquests. During these campaigns, nearly 350 cities were captured during his reign, all over the areas of the Near East, Nubia and Euphrates. His campaign records, refers to the Annals, were transcribed on the inner wall within the sanctuary of Amun-Re at Karnak, and Thanuny, his army commander, states in his tomb on the west bank that, "I recorded the victories he won in every land, putting them into writing according to the facts"[3]. In his twenty-second/third year, he marched to Gaza in ten days and from Yehem, planned the battle to take Megiddo which was held by a rebellious prince named Kadesh. There were three possible approaches to Megiddo, two of which were fairly open, straightforward routes while the third was through a narrow pass that soldiers would only be able to march through in single file. Though he was advised against this dangerous pass by his generals, Thutmose not only took this dangerous route, but actually led the troops through. This first campaign revealed Thutmose to be the military genius of his time. He understood the value of logistics and sudden surprise attack. He surrounded Megiddo for seven months [4], According to the Annals; Syrian princes were obligated to send tribute such as lapis lazuli and their own sons as hostages to Egypt. Thutmose's second, third, and fourth (lost) campaigns appear to have been nothing more than tours of Syria and Canaan to collect tribute [5]. The fifth, sixth, and seventh campaigns were directed against the Phoenician cities in Syria and against Kadesh on the Orontes. His eighth campaign was the conquest of Nahrin. In Year 33 of Thutmose’s rule, after crossing the Euphrates River, he attacked Egypt’s greatest enemy, the Mitanni. It appears that Mitanni was not expecting an invasion, so they had no army of any kind ready to defend against Thutmose, although their ships on the Euphrates did try to defend against the Egyptian crossing. During this period Thutmose put up a second stele commemorating his crossing of the Euphrates, just next to the one his grandfather Thutmose I had put up several decades earlier.[6] Thutmose III then returned to Syria by the way of Niy, where he records that he engaged in an elephant hunt.[7] He then collected tribute from foreign powers and returned to Egypt in victory.[8] His ninth campaign was in his thirty-fourth year, but this appears to have been just a raid of the area called Nukhashshe, a region populated by semi-nomadic people. The plunder recorded is minimal, so it was probably just a minor raid. [9] Thutmose boasted a total crushing victory for his tenth campaign as the king of Mitanni had raised a large army and engaged the Egyptians around Aleppo in Thutmose's thirty-fifth year, but this statement doubted that Thutmose accomplished any great victory here due to the very small amount of plunder taken.[10] He lost his eleventh and twelfth campaign and within his four campaigns, he returned to Nukhashashe for a very minor campaign [11], defeated Shasu and received tributes from Syria, Cyprus, Retennu and the Hittites, as well as taxes from Wawat & Kush(upper & lower Nubia). Thutmose’s last big campaign was during his forty-second year against Kadesh. He moved his troops by land up the coastal road, overthrows Tunip, Kadesh; and returned to Egypt in victory. [12] [2] James Henry Breasted-Ancient Times: A History of the Early World; An Introduction to the Study of Ancient History and the Career of Early Man. [3]James Henry Breasted-Ancient Records of Egypt, VOL II [4] Steindorff, George; and Seele, Keith. When Egypt Ruled the East. p.55 [5] Redford, Donald. B. The Wars in Syria and Palestine of Thutmose III. p. 225. [6] Grimal, Nicolas. A History of Ancient Egypt. p.216. [7] Redford, Donald. B. The Wars in Syria and Palestine of Thutmose III. p. 226 [8] Grimal, Nicolas. A History of Ancient Egypt. P.214. Library [9] Redford, Donald. B. The Wars in Syria and Palestine of Thutmose III. p. 81. [10] Redford, Donald. B. The Wars in Syria and Palestine of Thutmose III. p. 22 [11] Redford, Donald. B. The Wars in Syria and Palestine of Thutmose III. p. 87. [12] Redford, Donald. B. The Wars in Syria and Palestine of Thutmose III. p. 240 [13] Gary Kenworthy Studies in Ancient Egypt-Thutmose III p.185 [14] Gary Kenworthy Studies in Ancient Egypt-Thutmose III p.186 [15] Lipinska, Jadwiga. "Thutmose III," p.402. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. Ed. Donald Redford. Vol. 3, pp.401-403