1457 BC
Battle of Megiddo
The setting
Megiddo, in the Jezreel Valley (modern northern Israel)
Fortified hill-town commanding a plain, approached through the narrow Aruna (Wadi Ara) mountain pass
Reveal the outcome
Recorded sideNew Kingdom Egypt
Recorded resultvictory on the field, followed by a ~7-month siege to take the city
Decisive Egyptian battlefield victory; the coalition fled behind Megiddo's walls, forcing a long siege before the city fell
How the atlas explains it
Thutmose III took the bold, risky direct route through the narrow Aruna pass instead of the safer flanking roads, achieving surprise and emerging on the plain before Megiddo where the enemy was not concentrated; his chariotry and disciplined deployment broke the coalition, though Egyptian troops stopping to loot the enemy camp let the defenders escape into the city and prolonged the campaign.
What followed
The earliest battle in history recorded in reliable tactical detail (via the Karnak Annals of Thutmose III), and the first documented use of a body count / booty tally; it cemented Egyptian dominance in the Levant.