A Summary Of Thutmose III

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THUTMOSE III (D. 1426 B.C.) Egyptian king of the 18th dynasty (reigned 1479-26 BC), often regarded as the greatest of the rulers of ancient Egypt. Thutmose III was a skilled warrior who brought the Egyptian empire to the zenith of its power by conquering all of Syria, crossing the Euphrates to defeat the Mitannians, and penetrating south along the Nile to Napata in the Sudan. He also built a great number of temples and monuments to commemorate his deeds. Thutmose's minority Thutmose III was the son of Thutmose II; his mother was one of the king's minor wives or concubines, named Isis. Since there was no prince with a better claim to the throne, the boy was crowned king on the early death of his father; he was about 10 at the time and was betrothed…show more content…
An alliance of 330 princes from the region formed, led by the prince of Kadesh. The rebels focused their revolt on the city of Megiddo, a strategic location for the control of Syria. Megiddo was located near the Plain of Esdraelon, situated on trade routes going north to Turkey and north-east to Central Asia. The Egyptian army camped near Yehem as Thutmose III met with his generals to discuss the approach to Megiddo. There were three approaches to the city. The most direct route was slow and dangerous. The army had to march in single file through a narrow mountain pass. This made them vulnerable to attack. The other two approaches were from the north and south, less direct but safer. Thutmose overruled his advisors and ordered the army to march through the mountains to Megiddo. He believed that the god Amun-Ra would protect the army. Thutmose led the army from the front. They made it through the pass unscathed and surprised the enemy at Megiddo by setting up camp in the Plain of Esdraelon. Refer…show more content…
Divisions were then organised into smaller units of approximately two hundred and fifty soldiers who were commanded by a standard bearer. A group of “shock troops” known as the Braves of the King served as the pharaoh’s personal bodyguard. The infantry The highly disciplined infantry or mesha was the largest group and gave Egypt an advantage over its enemies such as the Mitanni. These infantry units were composed of spearmen, archers, axe-bearers, clubmen and slingers. Many foot soldiers lacked adequate armour; some were even without shields. Within the infantry there were three main groups of soldiers: the elite first class warriors called the braves, the experienced soldiers and the new recruits of whom many were conscripts. The charioteers The elite of the army were the charioteers or sennyw. Charioteers backed up the infantry by scouting and protecting the foot soldiers from enemy chariot attack. Each chariot was drawn by a pair of horses and was manned by a driver and a fighter armed with spear, bow and
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