Eric Cline

entrances to the Jezreel Valley.

They were not at the central part because they hadn't expected him.

It was a surprise attack, and that was it.

He captured Megiddo.

There is a battle when the Canaanites come too late, and he beats them.

But he did make a major mistake, which he admits.

he let his men stop to loot the camps of the Canaanite rebels, which were all around Megiddo.

That allowed the people inside the city time to close the city gates, including hauling people up using ropes made of cloth and linen and all that.

And it then took them at least three months, if not eight months, to actually capture the city.

So I tell my students the lesson

is that if you're going to do this, capture the city first, then loot and plunder.

Don't do it the other way around because it will cost you, right?

So the end result is that he wins the battle.

He puts down the rebellion.

He captures all kinds of things.

He tells us the sheep, the goat, the cattle, the chariots that he takes back, and that's it.

He puts down the rebellion.

So it is

not only a victory for him, but it's, like we said, the earliest recorded battle.

And the Egyptians then really never relinquished control until about 1140 BC, which is 300 years later when the Late Bronze Age collapse takes place.