Davis - 100 Decisive Battles: From Ancient Times to the Present

15 May 1479 b.c.

Forces Engaged

Egyptian: Unknown (probably approximately 10,000 men). Commander: Pharaoh Thutmose III.

Kadesh alliance: Unknown. Commander: King of Kadesh.

Importance

By reestablishing Egyptian dominance in Palestine, Thutmose began a reign in which Egypt reached its greatest expanse as an empire.

In the early years of the eighteenth century b.c. , the power of Egypts Middle Kingdom was waning. That coincided with the immigration of the Hyksos, a Semitic population probably from the region of Palestine, that used superior weaponry to topple the faltering Thirteenth dynasty. The Hyksos dynasty began ruling Egypt in 1786 b.c. and lasted until 1575 b.c. By then the Hyksos had become sufficiently complacent and content to lose their edge, and the Egyptian population reasserted control over their own nation. The new pharaoh, who began the New Kingdom era, was Ahmose (ruled 15751550 b.c. ). Ahmose was not content with merely regaining his country, but wanted to extend Egypts northeastern frontier to establish a strong buffer zone. He also wanted to extend Egypts power because exposure to foreign peoples had given the Egyptians a taste for things that could come only from outside their country. Hence, conquest and trade as well as security motivated Ahmoses war making.

Following in Ahmoses footsteps, later pharaohs extended Egyptian authority into the region along the eastern Mediterranean as well as southward into Nubia, modern Sudan. Under the direction of Thutmose I, Ahmoses grandson, Egypt established hegemony in Palestine and Syria. Upon his death in 1510, however, Egyptian expansion was temporarily halted because of the attitude of the new pharaoh, Hatshepsut. Hatshepsut was daughter of Thutmose I and stepsister and wife to Thutmose II. When Thutmose II died in 1490, Hatshepsut at first ruled as regent for their young son Thutmose III, but soon threw off all pretense at regency and ruled openly as pharaoh, the only woman ever to do so. Her rule (14901468 b.c. ) was marked by more than 20 years of peace, during which time Egypt embarked on a serious building program of constructing temples and monuments.

Hatshepsuts passive foreign policy, however, encouraged subject kings in the Middle East to ponder the idea of independence. Under the direction of the King of Kadesh, supported by the powerful Mitanni population east of the Euphrates, the states of Palestine and Syria broke free of Egypts rule about the time of Hatshepsuts death.

Early rumblings of discontent had not been punished by Egyptian forces, so the King of Kadesh, who probably exercised suzerainty over most of Syria and Palestine, demanded and received affirmations of loyalty from his subject kings. Some small kingdoms in southern Palestine hesitated, perhaps remembering the days of Ahmose and the penalty for disloyalty. Kadesh sent troops to compel them to cooperate, and it seems that the kingdom of Mitanni gave Kadesh covert support. They were an up-and-coming power themselves, currently competing with the nascent power of early Assyria. If Kadesh could hurt Egypt, then the Mitanni certainly hoped to benefit.

The cause of Hatshepsuts death has never been positively determined; it may have been assassination at Thutmose IIIs direction. Whatever the reason, Thutmose III was eager to take the throne and restore Egyptian power. After directing that Hatshepsuts name be obliterated from all public buildings, he set about rebuilding an army that had been idle for more than two decades. His southern flank was secure because the Nubians had become increasingly

Ionia, which was inhabited by Greek colonists. The Ionian Greeks swore fealty to the Persian Empire and provided troops, but were not overly enthusiastic about Persian rule. When Darius campaigned up the Danube valley in 512 b.c. , he left an Ionian Greek contingent guarding a bridge along his line of supply. When the Scythians, upon whom Darius was making war, prevailed over Darius, the Persians withdrew toward that bridge. The Greek commander, Miltiades, proposed destroying it and letting the Scythians destroy the Persians, but he was overruled by other Ionian leaders. Darius escaped, but swore vengeance on Miltiades, who abandoned his homeland of the Chersonese (the modern Gallipoli peninsula) and fled to Athens, the city of his birth. There he entered into Athenian politics.

Athens had recently overthrown the tyrant Hippias, who fled to Persia and entered Dariuss court. The city, under the leadership of Cleisthenes, established a republic in 510. This provoked some of the citys aristocrats to appeal to the military state of Sparta to remove Cleisthenes, which they did temporarily, but Cleisthenes (with the support of most of the population) expelled the Spartans. Afraid of Spartan retribution, Cleisthenes toyed with the idea of courting Persian support. Although Athens ultimately conceded to Sparta political preeminence in Greece, a faction of the Athenians covertly leaned toward Persia.

In 499, the Ionian city-states began a rebellion against Persia, and they appealed to the Greek city-states for aid. Sparta and most of the others declined, but Athens provided twenty warships and the city-state of Eritria provided another five. The major Persian city of Sardis in Asia Minor was burned by the Greeks in 498. When Darius suppressed the Ionian revolt, he swore revenge on Athens, who had dared to aid the Ionian rebels. That fact,

Syria toward Constantinople and then took the throne from Anastasius in March 717. Leo III, as he was crowned, immediately set about laying in as many provisions as he could for the siege he knew was coming, a daunting task for a city of perhaps half a million people. He also oversaw the repairs and strengthening of the citys two defensive walls and the placement of weaponry to beat back attacks from land or sea.

Caliph Suleiman named as commander of his forces Muslama, who led an army of reportedly 80,000 men through Anatolia toward the Byzantine capital. His plan was to invest the city from the western (landward) side, while a massive Moslem fleet kept any supplies from reaching the city. That fleet numbered some 1,800 ships, carrying another 80,000 men under the command of a general named Suleiman, not to be confused with the caliph. The Moslem fleet was to be divided into two divisions, one to blockade the Dardanelles (or Hellespont) and keep any relief from coming to Constantinople from the Mediterranean, while the second fleet blocked the Bosporus to the north, keeping out any relief from Black Sea ports. Muslama crossed his men over the Hellespont in July 717 and divided his forces: he commanded the main body that began the siege of the city, while a detachment was sent to Adrianople to keep an eye on the Bulgars, a population that had been pillaging through southeastern Europe and had attacked Constantinople in 712.

Muslama threw an attack against the walls immediately upon his arrival but it was easily beaten back. That convinced him that a frontal assault was indeed futile, so he began digging trenches to prevent any breakout from the city. Most of the fighting, therefore, took place on the water. Suleiman left part of his navy at the Dardanelles, as ordered, and led the remainder northward to take up station on the Hellespont. As they approached Constantinople, however, the leading ships were caught in a swift and unfamiliar current that began to tangle them. Seizing his opportunity, Leo quickly lowered the chain that protected the Golden Horn, the upper harbor of the city, and dashed out into the Moslem fleet before they could form into line of battle. By using Greek fire (see sidebar), his ships quickly destroyed or captured a large number of Moslem ships; the rest retreated. Suleiman feared sailing past the city now because another such lightning assault could destroy the remainder of his fleet. Thus, the northern avenue of aid was kept open for a time.