Atlas of Battles

battle, major, ancient

Battle of Megiddo

Battle of Megiddo was a battle fought on 16 April 1457 BC at Tel Megiddo, in what is now Israel. The recorded result: Egyptian victory; Territorial expansion of the Egyptian Empire. Recorded strength: Unknown; modern estimates: c. 10,800 against Unknown; modern estimates: c. 10,700.

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Aerial view of Tel Megiddo, northern Israel.
Aerial view of Tel Megiddo, northern Israel.. AVRAM GRAICER, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought16 April 1457 BC
WhereTel Megiddo, Israel32.585N, 35.184E
OutcomeEgyptian victory; Territorial expansion of the Egyptian Empire
BelligerentsEgyptian EmpireagainstCanaanites; Kadesh; Megiddo; Kingdom of Mitanni; Hurrians
Casualties and losses4,000 killed; 1,000 woundedand8,300 killed; 3,400 captured

Record

Date16 April 1457 BC
PlaceTel Megiddo, Israel
32.585N, 35.184E
KindBattle, ancient
StrengthUnknown; modern estimates: c. 10,800Unknown; modern estimates: c. 10,700
Casualties and losses4,000 killed; 1,000 wounded8,300 killed; 3,400 captured
Commanders
  • Thutmose III
Battle of MegiddoBattle of MegiddoBattle of MegiddoBattle of Mishmar HaEmekBattle of Al-FuleBattle of Mount TaborBattle of AraraBattle of AraraTel AvivDamascusAmmanJerusalemGaza CityHaifaNablusAl Qunaytirah100 km32.585N, 35.184E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Megiddo
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 25 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Megiddo today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2024-09-26. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2024.

The recorded site stands at about 163 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 40 to 398 m, 358 m of relief, hilly country and today it is 42% cropland, 34% tree cover, 16% grassland.

cropland: 42%tree cover: 34%grassland: 16%built-up: 5%shrubland: 2%cropland 42%tree cover 34%grassland 16%built-up 5%shrubland 2%
west to east, 10.0 km57 to 301 mnorth to south, 10.0 km44 to 228 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

Contested ground: this site was fought over 3 times between 1457 BC and 1948.

Battle of Megiddo is one of 1 engagements of the 15th century BC in the atlas and one of 152 in present-day Israel.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q733364, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Megiddo (15th century BC), revision 1370269307, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.