Almost immediately after his sole rule began ,
Thutmosis III
sent an expedition to the Levant , where he wanted to gain control of a number of cities and towns from northeastern Syria . The King went to Gaza from the Egyptian border fortress at Tjaru . Gaza had been under Egyptian rule at least since Ahmose's time and we presume that Sharuhen's loyalty had been expected since the same reign . The annals record that in the first campaign of his twenty-third year as a ruler Thutmosis III left Gaza and planned his attack on Megiddo from the city of Yehem . It was also protected by a group of chiefs representing regions of the Levant as far as Nahrin . Thutmosis' inscription indicated that these chiefs should have been loyal to
Egypt
.
Thutmosis III continued to campaign until the 42nd year of his reign , in the regions of Northern Palestine , Lebanon and parts of Syria . The spoils taken from the Battle of Megiddo , together with the peace offerings that ended the seven-month siege of the town , were considerable and included 894 chariots , 200 suits of armor and two of bronze belonging to the chiefs of Megiddo and Kadesh , as well as over 2000 horses and 25000 animals . Following the siege of
Megiddo , Thutmosis III replaced the defeated local chiefs and continued northward in the direction of the Litani River . The Egyptian proceeds included a range of materials from precious metals (gold , silver , copper , and lead) to wood , oils and even foodstuffs . The king sent the children of the city rulers back to Egypt to be Egyptianized . The participation in the conquest of Syria , including Nahrin , by newly formed Egyptian military elite is commemorated in at least eleven Theban tombs from the reign of Thutmosis III and early in that of Amenhotep II , in addition to numerous private statue and stelae inscriptions .
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