Thutmose III (Part 8): The Final Campaigns.
1455 to 1450 BCE. After 20+ years of near-annual campaigning, Thutmose III finally came to the end of his life at war. We explore the last ten years of this process in one sweep…
Bibliography
- Donald B. Redford, The Wars in Syria and Canaan of Thutmose III, 2003.
- Donald B. Redford, Egypt, Canaan and Israel in Ancient Times, 1992.
- Ellen Fowles Morris, The Architecture of Imperialism, 2005.
- Richard A. Gabriel, Thutmose III: A Military Biography, 2009.
- Colleen Manassa, Imagining the Past: Historical Fiction in New Kingdom Egypt, 2013.
- James K. Hoffmeier, “Aspects of Egyptian Foreign Policy in the 18th Dynasty in Western Asia and Nubia,” Penn State 2001.
- Norman de Garis Davies, “Foreigners in the Tomb of Amenemhab (No. 85),” Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 1934.
I was surprised to learn of Thutmose’s conquest of Kadesh in this, it was my understanding that the city he subdued in his final years was Tunip, but I guess I have been reading the wrong things.
It really feels like too little too late for Thutmose though to be honest, had he subdued Qadesh in his massive 10,000 soldier campaign that he wasted ravaging Mitanni crops, he would have had decades to consolidate his grip on the city, as it was though, he was unable to bring a lasting Egyptian control to the critical city in his final years.
I think this reflects the fundamental flaw in Thutmose’s military strategy, he was always keen to chase the next symbolic victory, no matter how strategically useless.
None of his conquests north of Kadesh in the interior mattered while they were surrounded by Kadesh on the one side and Mitanni on the other. Sure they’d pay tribute for a couple of years, but that’s not really substantial.