Many battles have taken place near the town of Megiddo, Palestine, but only those during the last three and a half millennia are known.
Megiddo is a tel, a hill made of 26 layers of the ruins of ancient cities in a strategic location at the head of a pass through the Carmel Ridge, which overlooks the Jezreel Valley from the south. Megiddo was a site of great importance in ancient world, as it guarded the western branch of Via Maris, an ancient trade route from Egypt to Mesopotamia.
The site was inhabited from 7000 BC to 500 BC. Modern Megiddo is nearby. The neighboring Mount Megiddo (Har-megiddo in Hebrew), gave its name to the Armageddon of the Christian Bible.
A list of known battles follows.
Battle of 1469 BC
This is the first battle in all of history about which reliable detailed information survives. Pharaoh Tutmoses III conquered Canaan in an early expansion of the Egyptian Empire.
Battle of 609 BC
The forces of Egypt fought those of the Kingdom of Judah.
Egypt under Necho II was allied with the Assyrians against the Babylonians.
Rushing to help the Assyrians, the Egyptians were blocked on Via Maris by the army of Judah, led by its king Josiah. The Egyptians prevailed over Judah, and Josiah was killed. However, Egypt was not able to prevent a Babylonian victory over the Assyrians four years later.
Battle of 1918
The battle of September 19-21, 1918, was an important milestone in British General Edmund Allenby's conquest of Palestine during World War I. His forces made a massive push into the Ezdraelon Valley from the west, through the Carmel Ridge then engulfed the Turkish forces in the valley and on the River Jordan. When he was created a viscount, Allenby took the name of this battle as his own, becoming the First Viscount Allenby of Megiddo.
