The Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Who Fought History’s Earliest Recorded Battle
Pharaoh Thutmose III was a warrior-king, and his best-known engagement was the Battle of Megiddo, in 1457 BC. It is the earliest recorded battle in the history of war for which reliable details exist. It took place between an Egyptian army led by Thutmose, and a coalition of rebellious Canaanite states that sought to free themselves of vassalage to Egypt. The rebellion was centered in the city of Megiddo, an important hub at the southern edge of the Jezreel Valley, astride the main trade route between Mesopotamia and Egypt.
Thutmose departed Egypt at the head of a strong army, and marched to Yaham. He had a choice from three routes to reach Megiddo: a southern one via Taanakh, a northern route via Yokneam, and a central one via Aruna that would take him straight to his destination. The southern and northern routes were longer, but safer. The central route was quicker but risky, because it required passage through narrow ravines in which an army would have to advance single file. It would be easy for an enemy to let an army file through the narrow passage, then attack the exit and entrance to bottle it up front and rear.