In the 23rd year of his reign (approx 1456 B.C.), Thutmosis III set out from Thebes to Syria to the city of Megiddo to put down an uprising by a consortium of local satraps and rebel leaders.

The night before the battle the King's troops were camped out into two separate contingents, as is typical of the Egyptian army on a campaign, one representing the South and one representing the North. The army was peaceful and apprehensive. They knew the next day many would die and the outcome was far from certain. Above all else the life of the King had to be protected, especially so far from home.

The day of the engagement and the meeting of the two immense armies was coincidentally the anniversary of the King's coronation - the twenty first day of the first month of the season of Shemu of the twenty third year of his reign.

The heavily armored King gave the battle order from his chariot of silver and gold. He was protected between the Southern army, stationed on a hill to the south of the city, and the Northern army positioned to the south west of the city of Megiddo. Thutmosis III led the charge personally, shining brilliantly in the sunlight and spearheading the power of the Pharaoh's army into the enemy's lines. No sooner had he penetrated their ranks, his following foot troops became an overwhelming force against the fearful rebels. Sure enough the enemy turned and fled. There was one thing worse than dieing in battle in the Eighteenth dynasty - it was being captured and enforced into a life of miserable slavery, or potentially something else not worth considering.

The enemy fled leaving their own gold and silver chariots as well as weaponry and horses where they fell. They were more concerned about being one of the few being pulled up the city walls by citizens using their own clothes to help the panic stricken soldiers and mercenaries. The King's army slayed everyone they were able to reach before coming across the spoils spread across the body-ridden battlefield. This was the one mistake the Pharaoh's army made. Had they left the plunder and pursued their quarry they would have seized the city there and then. Unfortunately the temptation of new weapons and horses (for soldiers who often had to provide their own in military service) was too much. Thutmosis was rightly furious about this. The spoils of victory could be gathered once the enemy had been defeated - not at a time purely opportunistic for the foot soldiers leading the charge.

The one unexpected benefit of clearing the battlefield was the capture of the enemy chief's son in the command tent of the Kadesh rebels. Whilst deciding what to do next, the loot retrieved was collected including the rounding up of prisoners and the traditional cutting off of the hands of the dead to be counted later. The King could have done without the rout of all the rebel chiefs. Capturing the city would have saved the siege of hundreds of towns and cities to capture the rebel warlords, as they were now all in one place.

The plans to siege the city were decided and shortly the entire city wall was surrounded. In not too many days the rebels realized they could not hold out or defeat the Pharaoh. They came forward with gifts of gold, silver, lapis lazuli, animals galore and of course a multitude of apologies - there was no question their lives were in the balance. The totals included 340 prisoners, 2,200 horses, 924 chariots (some decorated in gold), 1,929 cattle, 2,000 goats, 20,500 sheep and various weaponry.

Rather than execute the rebels, Thutmosis III reappointed many of the chiefs as satraps of Egypt in their old towns. Instead of creating resentment and sowing the seeds for future uprisings, the King had quite astutely created a more motivated Satrapy in Syria and Kadesh. They were humbled, grateful to keep their lives, let alone their chiefdoms and families, and would not rebel against the invincible armies of Pharaoh again.

The Battle of Megiddo had been a resounding success.