New Kingdom
Thutmose III (Menkheperre)
18th Dynasty · 1550-1295 BCE
Open full-size illustration →Source: Shaw, Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (2000)
Background
Thutmose III, throne name Menkheperre, is often called the Napoleon of ancient Egypt for the scale and success of his military campaigns, which expanded Egyptian control to its greatest territorial extent. His reign is documented in unusual detail thanks to the Annals inscribed at Karnak, one of the most extensive surviving historical records from any ancient Egyptian king. Research: UCL Digital Egypt; Metropolitan Museum.
Reign dates: Shaw, Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (2000)
Full profile
The military superpower
Following the death of Hatshepsut, Thutmose III launched a series of relentless military campaigns that transformed Egypt into an international superpower. He fought 17 campaigns in the Levant, most notably defeating a massive Canaanite coalition at the Battle of Megiddo in 1457 BCE. He expanded the empire to its greatest territorial extent, stretching from the Euphrates River in the north to the Fourth Cataract of the Nile in the south. In his later years, he systematically tried to erase Hatshepsut's name and image from historical monuments.
The Annals and the seven-month siege of Megiddo
Thutmose III's campaigns were recorded in the Annals, a lengthy inscription carved into the walls of the temple of Amun-Re at Karnak that remains one of the most detailed surviving military records from ancient Egypt. Its most extensive section describes his first campaign, in his twenty-third regnal year, against a coalition of Canaanite rulers gathered at Megiddo. According to the text, Thutmose recognized the city's strategic value, reportedly declaring that "the capture of Megiddo is the capture of a thousand cities," and after winning the initial battle he ordered a moat and stockade built around the city rather than risk a costly assault, starving the defenders into surrender after a siege lasting roughly seven months.
A botanical record of conquest
A chamber at Karnak known today as the Botanical Garden of Thutmosis III preserves detailed relief carvings of roughly 275 plant and animal species, including around fifty distinct plants and at least twenty-five kinds of birds alongside cattle, goats, and gazelles, all identified by accompanying inscriptions as specimens the king brought back from his Levantine campaigns. Rather than a garden in the modern sense, the reliefs functioned as a kind of royal natural-history record, documenting the unfamiliar flora and fauna of newly controlled territories and asserting Egyptian mastery over foreign lands through the collection and display of their living resources.
Sources for this profile
- Baker, D. D. (2008). The Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs: Volume 1. Stacey International.
- Shaw, I. (Ed.). (2000). The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press.
- University College London. Kings of the New Kingdom.
- Reeves, N., & Wilkinson, R. H. (1996). The Complete Valley of the Kings. Thames & Hudson.
- Dodson, A., & Hilton, D. (2004). The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson.
The complete, APA-formatted reference list is on the Academic Sources & Bibliography page.