Thursday, September 15, 2005

On the ramparts of history - Tel Megiddo UPDATED

An article about the important site of Tel Megiddo in Israel, including Egypt's role in its ancient past: "In the middle of the 2nd millennium BCE a dramatic event occurs at Megiddo. A confederation of Canaanite kings decides to revolt against the Egyptian hegemony, and they suffer a crushing defeat at the hands of the Egyptian pharaoh’s (Tutankhamen the 3rd) brothers-in-law. The battle they fight is the first battle ever to be recorded in human history. Its description appears on victory inscriptions found in the Karnack temples in Upper Egypt. According to the inscriptions, Tutankhamen managed to get his horsemen up from Gaza to the Megiddo area within 11 days. Shortly before he charges, Tutankhamen consults his generals over from which point to launch the attack. From the different suggestions offered, he chooses to advance through the main road (what is today Wadi Ara) and so manages to surprise the enemy, which was expecting an attack from the flank".
See the above web page for more about this fascinating archaeological site.
For more about Megiddo, see the following site:
Thanks to my much-appreciated Official Nitpicker, Chris Townsend, who has just pointed out what I am sure everyone has noticed - there was no Tutankhamun the 3rd of course. That would be Thutmose III. As it says on the Megiddo website above: "In the late 4th, 3rd and 2nd millennia B.C.E. Megiddo was probably the most powerful city-state in the north of Canaan. When the Canaanite city-states revolted against Pharaonic attempts at hegemony, it was at Megiddo that they assembled to do battle. The Egyptian army, led by Pharaoh Thutmose III, surprised the rebels by choosing the most dangerous route of attack – through the narrow ‘Aruna Pass. After routing the Canaanite forces and capturing rich booty, Thutmose III laid siege to the city for seven months. His decisive victory enabled him to incorporate Canaan as a province in the empire of the New Kingdom".

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