Atlas of Battles

battle, major, ancient

Battle of Megiddo

Battle of Megiddo was a battle fought in 609 BC at Tel Megiddo, in what is now Israel. The recorded result: Egyptian victory. Recorded strength: Unknown against Unknown.

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Bronze kneeling statuette of the pharaoh Necho (either Necho I, circa 673-664 B.C., or Necho II, circa 610-595 B.C.)
Bronze kneeling statuette of the pharaoh Necho (either Necho I, circa 673-664 B.C., or Necho II, circa 610-595 B.C.). Keith Schengili-Roberts, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought609 BC
WhereTel Megiddo, Israel32.583N, 35.183E
OutcomeEgyptian victory
BelligerentsTwenty-sixth Dynasty of EgyptagainstKingdom of Judah
Casualties and lossesUndeterminedandUndetermined

Record

Date609 BC (year precision)
PlaceTel Megiddo, Israel
32.583N, 35.183E
KindBattle, ancient
Territorial changeSubjugation of Judah by Dynasty XXVI of Egypt
StrengthUnknownUnknown
Casualties and lossesUndeterminedUndetermined
Commanders
  • Josiah
Battle of MegiddoBattle of MegiddoBattle of MegiddoBattle of Mishmar HaEmekBattle of Al-FuleBattle of Mount TaborBattle of AraraBattle of AraraTel AvivDamascusAmmanJerusalemGaza CityHaifaNablusAs Suwayda100 km32.583N, 35.183E
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 164 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 43 to 398 m, 355 m of relief, hilly country and today it is 40% cropland, 35% tree cover, 17% grassland.

cropland: 40%tree cover: 35%grassland: 17%built-up: 5%shrubland: 2%cropland 40%tree cover 35%grassland 17%built-up 5%shrubland 2%
west to east, 10.0 km59 to 312 mnorth to south, 10.0 km46 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.

Elsewhere in 609 BC

Battle of Megiddo is one of 27 engagements of the 7th century BC in the atlas and one of 179 in present-day Israel.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q913818, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Megiddo (609 BC), revision 1383297528, 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.