The Battle of Megiddo

The Battle of Megiddo was fought between Egypt and a large Canaanite coalition in the 15th Century BC. The Egyptian forces were led by Pharaoh Thutmose III, while the Canaanite army was led by the King of Kadesh. It is significant because it was the first battle to have been recorded in reliable detail.

There are even some possible exact dates for the battle. The date most accepted by Egyptologists is May 9, 1457 BC. Others place the battle in 1482 BC or 1479 BC. The battle of Megiddo was won by the Egyptians and the Canaanite forces were routed. The Canaanites had fled to safety in the city of Megiddo, leading to the Siege of Megiddo.

Besides being the first battle with a detailed and reliable account, it was also the first recorded battle with use of the composite bow. The account of the battle also produced the first body count. All of the reports of the battle come from Egyptian sources, mainly in hieroglyphic writings on the Hall of Annals in the Temple of Amun at Karnak, Thebes, by the military scribe Tjaneni.

The victory reestablished Egyptian dominance in Palestine, with the Egyptian Empire hitting its largest size. The empire was expanded, and Thutmose III made all of the defeated kings send a son to the Egyptian Court. They received an Egyptian education and returned home being sympathetic to the Egyptians. Overall, unrest in the area of Palestine and Syria continued, with several more campaigns almost every year.

The Battle of Actium

The Battle of Actium was a conflict during the Roman civil war between the forces supporting Octavian and those supporting Mark Antony. The battle took place on September 2, 31 BC on the Ionian Sea near Actium in Greece. Octavian’s fleet was commanded by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, while Antony’s was supported by Cleopatra VII’s fleet.

Octavian’s fleet was victorious which allowed him to consolidate power over Rome and lead to his adoption of the title of Princeps and acceptance of the title Augustus from the Senate. This was to preserve the appearance of a restored Republic, although historians consider it to be the beginning of the Roman Empire.

The battle took place outside the Gulf of Actium with Mark Antony leading 220 warships through the straights to the sea. He met Octavian’s fleet, who were arranged to block his exit from the straight, at that point. Antony’s fleet was made mostly of large quinqueremes, while Octavian’s fleet was mostly smaller Liburnian vessels armed with better trained crews. Despite the defeat, Antony was able to get on a smaller vessel with his flag and escaped. Except for a few ships that escaped with him, his entire fleet was captured or destroyed by Octavian’s fleet.

After the loss, Antony’s army mostly deserted, and he eventually committed suicide. Cleopatra then tried to negotiate a surrender with Octavian, but wasn’t able to get favorable terms and also committed suicide. The conclusion of the battle also marks the final surrender of Egypt as well as the end of the Hellenistic Age and Ptolemaic Kingdom.