also captured. Then all the soldiers
rejoiced greatly, and they glorified Amen, because he had made his son
(_i.e._ the king) victorious on that day, and they praised His Majesty
greatly, and acclaimed his triumph. And they collected the loot which
they had taken, viz. hands [cut off the dead], prisoners, horses,
chariots [decorated with] gold and silver," etc.

In spite of the joy of the army Thothmes was angry with his troops for
having failed to capture the city. Every rebel chief was in Megiddo, and
its capture would have been worth more than the capture of a thousand
other cities, for he could have slain all the rebel chiefs, and the
revolt would have collapsed completely. Thothmes then laid siege to the
city, and he threw up a strong wall round about it, through which none
might pass, and the daily progress of the siege was recorded on a
leather roll, which was subsequently preserved in the temple of Amen at
Thebes. After a time the chiefs in Megiddo left their city and advanced
to the gate in the siege-wall and reported that they had come to tender
their submission to His Majesty, and it was accepted. They brought to
him rich gifts of gold, silver, lapis-lazuli, turquoise, wheat, wine,
cattle, sheep, goats, &c., and he reappointed many of the penitent
chiefs to their former towns as vassals of Egypt. Among the gifts were
340 prisoners, 83 hands, 2041 mares, 191 foals, 6 stallions, a royal
chariot with a golden pole, a second royal chariot, 892 chariots, total
924 chariots; 2 royal coats of mail, 200 ordinary coats of mail, 502
bows, 7 tent poles inlaid with gold, 1929 cattle, 2000 goats, and 20,500
sheep.

THE CONQUESTS OF THOTHMES III SUMMARISED BY
AMEN-RA, KING OF THE GODS

The conquests of Thothmes III were indeed splendid achievements, and the
scribes of his time summarised them very skilfully in a fine text which
they had cut in hieroglyphs on a large stele at Karnak. The treatment
is, of course, somewhat poetical, but there are enough historical facts
underlying the statements to justify a rendering of it being given in
this chapter. The text is supposed to be a speech of Amen-Ra, the lord
of the thrones of the Two Lands, to the king. He says:

"Thou hast come to me, thou hast rejoiced in beholding my beneficence, O
my son, my advocate, Menkheperra, living for ever! I rise upon thee
through my love for thee. My heart rejoiceth at thy auspicious comings
to my temp