Biblical Geography and History

by Charles Foster Kent

XI

PALESTINE UNDER THE RULE OF EGYPT

Reasons Why Egypt Conquered Palestine. The Egyptian rule in Palestine was established about 1580 B.C. and, with the exception of two long lapses, was maintained for nearly three centuries. Thotmose III, the greatest warrior and organizer in Egyptian history, after fifteen energetically fought campaigns, extended the border of Egypt to the Euphrates and brought all the petty little rival kingdoms in Palestine and Syria under his control. The reason for his intense activity was not merely the lust for conquest and spoil, but the desire to deliver Egypt from the danger of another attack similar to that of the Hyksos. From a very early period the northeastern boundary of Egypt was guarded by fortresses, since there were no natural barriers between it and Palestine. The population of northern Arabia was too scattered to be a menace to the peace of Egypt; but Palestine and Syria, with their fertile fields and growing population, were a just cause of anxiety and fear to the peace-loving dwellers of the Nile valley. The powerful kingdoms on the Tigris and Euphrates were also from the earliest times ever eager for western conquest. Thus with the sixteenth century B.C. began the great struggle between the East and the West for the possession of Palestine.

Commanding Position of Megiddo. Throughout the Egyptian period the city of Megiddo, on the southwestern side of the Plain of Esdraelon, overshadowed all others in importance. Here the united kings of Syria and Palestine made their stand against Thotmose III, and after capturing this mighty fortress, the Egyptian ruler was left master of Palestine. The reason why Megiddo had attained this prestige was partially because of its strategic importance and partially because of its military strength. Recent excavations leave little doubt that this famous Canaanite city is to be identified with the present Tell el-Mutesellim^[(63)]. It is one of the three or four most imposing mounds in all Palestine. It lies close to the Samaritan hills and yet stands out in the plain, a huge, round plateau between fifty and seventy-five feet in height. It commands a view of practically every part of the Plain of Esdraelon and far along the Plain of Jezreel toward the Jordan until the view is cut off by Mount Gilboa. It looks straight across the Plain of Esdraelon at its broadest point, through the valleys which lead past Mount Tabor to the Sea of Galilee. A little to the left rise the hills of Lower Galilee, while to the northwest it commands the view through the narrow pass to the Plain of Acre and the Mediterranean. Under its northeastern front ran the important road leading northwest from the Jordan and central Palestine and connecting with the main highway along the northern coast. On its southeastern side, through a broad, fertile valley, came the main highway from the southern coast plains and Egypt, which ran northeastward to Damascus. A northern branch passed through the wide plain between the Lebanons and the Anti-Lebanons.

Its Military Strength. The city is to-day a stately, deserted ruin, but its sides are so steep on the east and west that it is still impossible for even the hardy Arabian horses to mount to the top from these directions. For one on foot, accustomed to climbing, it is an exceedingly difficult scramble. A low saddle of land connects the mound with the Samaritan hills to the west, making the approach from this point somewhat easier. Recent excavations have further revealed the great strength of this fortress city. It was surrounded by a wall twenty-eight feet thick and guarded by towers of corresponding strength. On its level top was an area of several acres, ample room for a large Canaanite population, for the houses were little more than cubicles, and the streets narrow, intricate lanes, at many points scarcely wide enough for two people to pass comfortably. The public buildings, however, which included a palace and temple, were of a much stronger and more massive construction.^[(64)]

Thotmose III's Advance Against Megiddo. Standing upon the mound of Megiddo it is not difficult to picture the great decisive battle, which the scribes of Thotmose III have recorded vividly and with great detail. His courage in rejecting the counsels of his generals to advance from the Plain of Sharon by a détour and his resolve to approach the city directly through the valley from the southwest command our admiration, for five miles to the south the valley narrows, affording a splendid opportunity for a determined enemy to attack an invading army with great advantage. Without opposition, however, the Egyptian army, with its gay oriental trappings, came up the valley. Its energetic king was in front, "showing the way by his own footsteps." Having reached the Plain of Esdraelon at the south of Megiddo, the king, late the same afternoon or in the night, threw out his left wing on the hills to the northwest of the city that he might command the roads leading along the western side of the Plain of Esdraelon. He thus both secured his line of retreat and was in a position to cut off fugitives in case he won the decisive battle. This position also gave him the easiest line of approach to Megiddo itself.

The Decisive Battle. The following morning the king rallied his forces for battle. While his left wing retained its strategic position his right wing was drawn up on a hill to the southwest of the city. He was thus able to descend upon the forces of the allied Canaanite kings, who were drawn up in a north and south line before the city. Riding in a glittering chariot of elektrum, the indomitable warrior led the onset. Before this army, already a victor on many hard-fought battle-fields, the Canaanites at the first attack fled headlong to Megiddo. Finding the gates closed against them, many of the fugitives were drawn up the wall by their friends within. Elated by their easily won victory and attracted by the rich spoils in the camp of the vanquished king of Kadesh, the victors fell to plundering and thereby lost a precious opportunity to capture the city at once.

Capture of Megiddo. Not daunted by its seemingly impregnable walls, Thotmose III at once gave orders to surround it. His servants he sent out to gather the ripening grain on the fields which stretched across the Plain of Esdraelon and to collect the great herds that were pasturing over the grass-covered hills and valleys on its border. Within the city no provision had been made for a siege, and the thousands shut up within its walls were soon reduced to starvation. After several weeks, the city was, therefore, compelled to surrender. The king of Kadesh had fled, but his family and the families of his nobles fell into the hands of the conqueror. The spoils found in the captured city reveals the almost incredible opulence of this early Canaanite civilization. Nine hundred and twenty-four chariots, two thousand two hundred and thirty-eight horses, two hundred suits of armor, the royal tent, with the sceptre of the king of Kadesh, an ebony statue of himself, inlaid with lapis-lazuli and gold, a silver statue, probably of some god, and vast quantities of gold and silver were among the spoils which the conqueror claims to have found in the captured city.

The Cities of Palestine. The contemporary literature already discovered indicates that by 1400 B.C. most of the cities that figured in Hebrew history were already established and that Palestine was almost, if not fully, as densely populated as in the days of the Hebrews. Among the chief Phœnician cities on the coast were Arvad in the north, Byblos and Beirut in central Syria, and Sidon, Tyre, and Accho in the south. The coast plains to the south of Mount Carmel, including the cities of Dor, Gezer, Ashdod, Altaku, Askalon, Gath, and Gaza, were at this period held by the Phœnicians or their kinsmen the Canaanites. Among the cities later captured by the Hebrews were Kadesh and Hanathon in Galilee, and Shechem, Bethel, Beth-horon, Ajalon, Jerusalem, and Beth-anoth in southern Palestine. As in the days of the Hebrew occupation, the Plain of Esdraelon was the centre of a strong Canaanite confederacy, which included Megiddo, Taanach, Shunem, Bethshean, and certain other cities whose sites have not yet been identified.