King Thutmose III
King Thutmose III is the 18th dynasty’s sixth pharaoh. Thutmose II, his father, married Hatshepsut, his sister, but they had no kids. He married another commoner and had Thutmose III as a result of their marriage. Tuthmose II died in 1479 BC, leaving the kingdom to his six-year-old son, Thutmose III.
His aunt and stepmother appointed themselves as guardians of the young king’s throne, and after two years, she proclaimed herself queen to the throne and ruled for twenty years, then vanished, and Thutmose III ascended the throne in 1455 BC. Thutmose III is considered Egypt’s greatest ruler and one of history’s most powerful emperors, as he established a modern Egyptian Empire. It lasted until Ramses XI’s reign in around 1070 BC.
Thutmose III was a military genius with supernatural personality qualities. He trained on the Luxor battlefields, and these exercises gave him valuable military experience during a period when Hatshepsut was in charge of the army and supplied it with cavalry and chariots. He mastered several things throughout his rule.
Archery and arrows were manufactured by the Egyptians perfectly at his time. Thutmose III launched sixteen military campaigns against Asia, establishing Egypt’s power in Syria and Palestine, as well as in Nubia in the south.
King Thutmose III’s campaigns and battles
These are the conflicts and military campaigns fought by Ancient Egyptian King Tuthmosis III after he ascended to the throne following his aunt Hatshepsut’s death.
The Battle of Megiddo and the First Campaign:
The fight is engraved on one of the walls of the Karnak temple, and it is the first war-recorded conflict in the history of the ancient world. The army clerk’s leader was given this tremendous responsibility. They stored copies of these records in the temple of the deity Amun-Ra at Thebes. Only the writings reached us, with portions inscribed on the walls of the Karnak temple by Thutmose III.
The army’s route to Megiddo was as follows:
On April 19, 1479 BC, Thutmose’s army marched from the Citadel of Sila (now the Qantara), through the desert that ran along Palestine’s eastern and southern boundaries. In the morning, he marched with his army to Yaham, which is now Yama, which is eighty miles from Gaza. On the 21st day of that same year, the king gave instructions to prepare for combat and headed off in his golden chariot.
The left wing of His Majesty’s army stationed itself on a hill south of Qena. The right wing took up a position in a camp northwest of Megiddo. When the enemy saw the might of Thutmose’s army, they fled to Megiddo with terrified faces.
They had thrown the ground like fish in the ropes of a net, leaving their horses and chariots, and Thutmose’s army took all the reasons for joy, offering praise to God (Amon) for the victory he gave his son on this day, and the site of Megiddo was one of the greatest battles in the history of wars because it is a historical document.
King Tuthmose III is the greatest warrior
Thutmose III was a great military commander. His talents were not limited to being a general. He was a brave and skilled leader and had the courage to take risks. Thutmose III knew the consequences and showed his war skills to his enemies.
The Campaigns
News of Egypt’s triumph reached Assyria. The Assyrian ruler sent gifts to King Thutmose. Thutmose recorded these in his war records. This was proof of his power.
Thutmose III’s later campaigns had two goals: inspecting the conquered countries and checking the loyalty of their princes. He also brought back a large amount of wood, which was scarce in Egypt.
His greatest campaign was his eighth, which he led in his 32nd year. He achieved his goal of reaching the Euphrates River and conquering all the surrounding lands. Thutmose III documented this success in the “Jabal Barkal” painting.
King Thutmose III’s Achievements:
King Thutmose III built many temples in Thebes. He built two temples near the Temple of Hatshepsut in Deir el-Bahari. Thutmose III also finished the temple at Habu that Hatshepsut had started. He built a temple for the god Ptah in Memphis. This temple has three rooms. The first room is for Ptah. The second is for Hathor. The third is for the goddess Sekhmet. Her statue has a lioness’s head on top of the sun disk. Thutmose III erected seven obelisks. You can see most of them in cities around the world. One is in London, and another is in New York.
Tuthmosis III’s death
Thutmose III died at age 82. He had ruled for 54 years. His tomb is in the Valley of the Kings. He was one of the first kings to build a tomb for himself there. The tomb is known as KV34. It is carved into rock. The design is beautiful and well-coordinated. Stairs lead to a high room. More stairs go down to a large lower room. This room holds the sarcophagus. The chamber walls have drawings of ancient religious monuments. They also have hieroglyphic writings from the Book of the Dead.
