Attack on Canaan by Egypt

According to tradition, Pepi II (2278 until 2184 BC), or Neferkare was the last ruler of Egypt's 6th Dynasty, and in fact the last significant ruler of the Old Kingdom prior to the onset of what Egyptologists call the Fist Intermediate Period. We are told that his reign of possibly 94 (some Egyptologist believe 64) years was the longest in ancient Egyptian history. He seems to have come to the throne at about the age of six, and would therefore have lived until the age of one hundred.

King Mentuhotep I came to power after a difficult period erupted at the end of the great Old Kingdom, the First Intermediate Period, which left Egypt in a state of unrest. He succeeded a long line of kings who could not hold Egypt together, and fought for overall control. Basically what happened was that King Pepi's reign was so long and full of bribing and appeasing that it decentralized the control and scattered it among the nomarchs. He was giving away so much of his wealth to the nobles and foreign political connections that together they finally surpassed the power of the once all-mighty "Pharaohship"

Mentuhotep II or Neb-hetep-re,In year 14 of his rule, we know that a revolt took place in the Abydos area by the Hierakleopolitan forces, and that he quickly crushed it. Afterwards, his armies slowly drove the Hierakleopolitan forces north eventually leading to his overall rule of Egypt, but even by year 39 of his rule, when the country was well under his control, he continued his military campaigns into Nubia.

• c. 1995 BC: Pharaoh Mentuhotep II, Eleventh dynasty of Egypt dies.

• 1991 BC: Egypt: Pharaoh Mentuhotep IV died. End of Eleventh Dynasty. Pharaoh Amenemhat I started to rule. Start of Twelfth Dynasty.
• c. 1985 BC: Political authority became less centralized in Ancient Egypt.
• c. 1985 BC – 1795 BC: Rock-cut tombs at Beni Hasan were made. Twelfth Dynasty.
• February 27, 1953 BC: A very close alignment of the naked-eye planets took place in which these planets are together in a span of 4.3 degrees.
• c. 1942 BC: The so-called king of Leubingen (today part of Sömmerda) was buried in a large barrow within a 66-foot-wide (20 m) stone cairn inside a ring ditch.
• 1932 BC: Amorite conquest of Ur.
• c. 1928 BC – 1895 BC: "Harvest scene", tempera facsimile by Nina de Garis Davies of wall painting in the tomb of Khnumhotep II, Beni Hasan. Twelfth Dynasty. In the upper cemetery members of the elite class built striking tombs to represent their social and political positions as the rulers and officials of the Oryx Nome, which is the 16th Nome of Upper Egypt. At this site, the provincial high elite were buried in large and elaborately decorated tombs carved into the limestone cliffs near the provincial capital, located in the upper cemetery area. These tombs lie in a row on a north-south axis. There is a slight break in the natural rock terrace, on to which they open, that divides the thirty-nine high status tombs into two groups.^[7] The basic design of these elite tombs was an outer court and a rock-cut pillared room (sometimes referred to as the chapel) in which there was a shaft that led to the burial chamber.
• Tomb 2 – Amenemhat, known as Ameny, nomarch under Senusret I (accessible).
• Tomb 3 – Khnumhotep II, notable for the depiction of caravans of Semitic traders (accessible). 
• well- known scene of “Asiatics” in the tomb of Khnumhotep II at Beni Hassan (tomb BH 3), which an associated inscription dates to Year 6 of Senusret II (ca. 1897–1878 bce). Many scholars have studied this scene and come to a variety of conclusions about the original home of the foreigners represented and the specific reason for their apparent visit to Egypt.
• Tomb 4 – Khnumhotep IV, nomarch during the late 12th Dynasty (closed).
• Tomb 13 – Khnumhotep, royal scribe during the 12th dynasty (closed).
• Tomb 14 – Khnumhotep I, nomarch under Amenemhat I (closed).
• Tomb 15 – Baqet III, notable for the depiction of wrestling techniques (accessible).
• Tomb 17 – Khety, nomarch during the 11th dynasty, son of Baqet (accessible).
• Tomb 21 – Nakht, nomarch during the 12th dynasty (closed).
• Tomb 23 – Netjernakht, overseer of the Eastern Desert during the 12th dynasty (closed).
• Tomb 27 – Ramushenty, nomarch during the 11th dynasty (closed).
• Tomb 29 – Baqet I, nomarch during the 11th dynasty (closed).
• Tomb 33 – Baqet II, nomarch during the 11th dynasty (closed).
• 1913 BC – 1903 BC: Egyptian-Nubian war.

After defeating the Hyksos, Ahmose began campaigning in Syria and Nubia. A campaign during his 22nd year reached Djahy in the Levant and perhaps as far as the Euphrates, although the later Pharaoh Thutmose I is usually credited with being the first to campaign that far. Ahmose did, however, reach at least as far as Kedem (thought to be nearByblos), according to an ostracon in the tomb of his wife, Ahmose-Nefertari.^[29] Details on this particular campaign are scarce, as the source of most of the information, Ahmose, son of Ebana, served in the Egyptian navy and did not take part in this land expedition. However, it can be inferred from archaeological surveys of southern Canaan that during the late 16th century BC Ahmose and his immediate successors intended only to break the power of the Hyksos by destroying their cities and not to conquer Canaan. Many sites there were completely laid waste and not rebuilt during this period—something a Pharaoh bent on conquest and tribute would not be likely to do.^[30]

Ahmose I's campaigns in Nubia are better documented. Soon after the first Nubian campaign, a Nubian named Aata rebelled against Ahmose, but was crushed. After this attempt, an anti-Theban Egyptian named Tetian gathered many rebels in Nubia, but he too was defeated. Ahmose restored Egyptian rule over Nubia, which was controlled from a new administrative center established at Buhen.^[9] When re-establishing the national government, Ahmose appears to have rewarded various local princes who supported his cause and that of his dynastic predecessors.

Ahmose I led three attacks against Avaris, the Hyksos capital, but also had to quell a small rebellion further south in Egypt. After this, in the fourth attack, he conquered the city.^[26] He completed his victory over the Hyksos by conquering their stronghold Sharuhen near Gaza after a three-year siege.^[14][27] Ahmose would have conquered Avaris by the 18th or 19th year of his reign at the very latest. This is suggested by "a graffito in the quarry at Tura whereby 'oxen from Canaan' were used at the opening of the quarry in Ahmose's regnal year 22."^[28] Since the cattle would probably have been imported after Ahmose's siege of the town of Sharuhen which followed the fall of Avaris, this means that the reign of Khamudi must have terminated by Year 18 or 19 of Ahmose's 25-year reign at the very latest.

During the New Kingdom, the Egyptian empire was expanded to its greatest size. The majority of these expansions were carried out by Thutmose III. Under his rule, Egypt controlled all of Nubia, Egypt, Syria and Palestine. He was the true warrior king, leading 17 campaigns and consolidating his victories by taking hostages, oaths and tribute.

The battle of Megiddo was a turning point in Egypt's imperial history. It was at the battle and siege of Megiddo that Thutmose III conquered Egypt's arch-enemy the Mitanni and established the great Egyptian empire.

Menkheperre (Thutmose's throne name),

 The Napoleon of Ancient Egypt

Thutmose III The Napoleon of Ancient Egypt 1479 – 1425 BC

 Thutmose led 17 military campaigns into the Near East over 20 years, particularly concentrating on Syria and Palestine. These countries were home to over 300 prosperous cities that dominated trade routes but came under no centralised control. There were also many powerful kingdoms such as Babylon, Assyria, the Hittites and the Mitanni who posed threats to Egyptian power in the region. Egypt's arch enemy in this time was Kadesh.

Between Year 22 and 23 of his reign, Thutmose III marched to Megiddo to subdue the prince of Kadesh. He camped on a plain south of Megiddo in Gaza. The campaign was to be the greatest military victory of his career.

The battle and siege of Megiddo

Although other early New Kingdom pharaohs brought Palestine and Syria under Egyptian control, the chieftains of the Mitanni revolted against Egyptian control. 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.



At the time of the Battle of Kadesh (1274 BC), between Egypt and the Hittites, the latter forged a defensive alliance with Alaksandush, who was Homer's Alexandros (Paris), the king of Wilusa, which was Homer's Ilios (Troy). Meanwhile, Egyptian intelligence reported a Hittite alliance with the Dardani, Homer's name for the Trojans*.