Thutmose III
The Warrior Pharaoh
Hatshepsuts sucessful reign was followed by that of the great warrior
pharaoh, Thutmose III.
It is a
tribute to Hatshepsuts ability, that she had been able to keep this able young
soldier under her thumb even after he came of age. The new kings frustration at
having been kept from his rightful throne for so long was quickly shown by his
having Hatshepsuts name erased from all public inscriptions and replaced either
with his own name or those of his ancestors.
Thutmose III spent much of his reign restoring
Egyptian power in Syria and Palestine.
He waged six campaigns there, and another eleven
against the Hurrians who had settled down to found the powerful kingdom of
Mitanni. Much of this required long drawn out sieges, such as that of Megiddo,
which lasted eleven months and involved building a wooden palisade and moat to
completely cut the city off.
Sometimes trickery was used. At the siege of Joppa, Egyptian troops supposedly
got into the city by hiding in grain bags going in through the gates. At other
times, the Egyptians found themselves involved in some pretty hard
fighting.
Thutmose III reign was one
of extream millitary expertise.