Forces Engaged:
Egyptian: Unknown (probably approximately 10,000 men).
Commander: Pharaoh Thutmose III
Kadesh alliance: Unknown.
Commander: King of Kadesh
Importance:
By reestablishing Egyptian dominance in Palestine, Thutmose began a reign in which Egypt reached its greatest expanse as an empire.
The Egyptian army was comprised primarily of infantry, carrying shields and side arms — either axes or sicklelike swords. The aristocracy fought from chariots and probably as archers. Weapons at this time were bronze. The forces that Egypt faced were equipped in much the same fashion.
In his second year as a Pharaoh, Thutmose III took his army into action. He appears to have been skilled as an organizer because the rapid progress his army made implies a well-laid-out logistical system. He was also the first pharaoh who, apparently, took his own chroniclers on campaign with him because the details of the march and the battle are contemporary with the campaign. Megiddo was the first battle in history for which this can be said.
Thutmose... deployed his men in an arc athwart the small river Kina [west of the city of Megiddo], with his flanks resting on high ground. This gave him a good route of retreat, if necessary. On the night of 14 May, the two armies camped, facing each other... The details of the battle are too sketchy to determine how it was conducted. All the contemporary chroniclers state is that the enemy fled before the Pharaoh's forces: "His Majesty went forth in his chariot of electrum adorned with his weapons of war, like Horus armed with talons, the Lord of might, like Mentu of Thebes, his father Amen-Ra strengthening his arms" (Petrie, A History of Egypt, vol. II, p 107).
Having failed to capture the city in a rush, Thutmose settled down for a siege. He ordered a wall of circumvallation built of wood from the surrounding forests; the rampart was called "Thutmose, encloser of the Asiatics." In the wall, one gate was built, through which those inside the city that wished to surrender could exit. The details of the siege were recorded on a roll of leather stored in the temple of Amon, but only the reference to that scroll survives... The length of the siege is debatable, sources listing it as anywhere from 3 weeks to 7 months, although it was probably shorter rather than longer. However long it took, the besieged finally ran out of food and surrendered.
— 100 Decisive Battles From Ancient Times to the Present
© 1999 by Paul K. Davis
Oxford University Press
pp. 1-5
MEGIDDO IN HISTORY:
100 Decisive Battles
From Ancient Times to the Present
by Paul K. Davis
The world's major battles and how they shaped history. From Oxford University Press.
ALTHOUGH HISTORIANS know of battles before Thutmose II and the King of Kadesh fighting in 1479 B.C., this battle was the first to be recorded by eyewitnesses, making it the first recorded battle in history. Because of disputes over dating, however, just when the battle took place is a matter of some debate. James Breasted in 1905 gave a detailed account of the battle, and his dating has been used [in this entry].
Megiddo remained an important location in the ancient world, on the crossroads between the Hittites in the north and the Egyptians in the south, as well as those of the trade routes from the Mediterranean eastward to the empires of Assyria, Babylon, and Persia. The Book of Judges describes an eleventh-century B.C. battle along the River Kishon, flowing along the Plain of Esdraelon, which Megiddo overlooked. In that battle, Israelite forces under Deborah and Barak defeated the Canaanite forces of King Jabin. In 609 B.C., King Josiah of Judah was defeated and killed at Megiddo by the Egyptian Pharaoh Necho.
Even more unspecific about the date of the first battle at Megiddo is the date of the last one. The Hebrew word for Megiddo is Armageddon, described in the biblical Book of Revelation as the site of the final battle between the forces of good and evil. The foundation for one of the great ironies of history is thus foretold: the beginning and the end of military history occur at the same site.