Thutmoses - part 3
Jan 31st, 2007 by Lee (admin)
This siege continued for seven months, until eventually the vanquished kings sent out their sons and daughters to negotiate for peace. They were offered good terms for their surrender, being required only to swear allegiance to Egypt. Considering the history of some of his brutal predecessors, Thutmose was taking the chance that he may appear week to his people. However, his strategy paid off and he gained respect from his former enemies.
Thutmose III is often compared with Napoleon but, unlike Napoleon, he never lost a battle. He conducted sixteen campaigns in Palestine, Syria and Nubia and his treatment of the conquered was always humane, a strategy that may well have encouraged his enemies to surrender battles that could have gone against Egypt.
The frequency of wars in the region went into a relative decline and so the peoples’ in the area were able to push their energies into other areas, allowing both Egypt and her neighbours to experience an unprecedented era of groth and prosperity.Thutmose III’s impact upon Egyptian culture was profound. He was a national hero who was revered long after his time. Indeed his name was held in awe even to the last days of Egyptian history.
Besides his military achievements he carried out many building works at Karnak. He also set up a number of obelisks in Egypt, one of which, mistakenly called Cleopatra’s Needle, can now be see along the Embankment in London. Another is near the Lateran in Rome and there is also one of his obelisks in Istanbul. Through these monuments, Thutmose’ name has been preseved to this day in some of the key places of our time, thereby ensuring him of the immortality he craved.