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When you hear the name Har-Megiddo, are you like most who immediately think Armageddon? Yes, Har-Megiddo is the site of the biblical confrontation between light and darkness, but it is more than that. It is a city that has existed for many millennia.
It sat on a strategic spot at the crossroads of the major, North/South - East/West commercial roads, which made it a prize for anyone who could hold it. It was a fortified city overlooking the beautiful Jezreel Valley. Whoever controlled Har-Megiddo controlled the tax revenues gained from the exchange of goods between Egypt in the South, Asia Minor in the North, and Mesopotamia in the East.
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And it wasn’t only tax revenues; it was also about controlling the pass, the highway, the movement of people—to control Har-Megiddo was to control many, many things, even things far and away.
One evidence of its importance comes out of Egypt. Thutmose III attacked Har-Megiddo and conquered it around 1450 BC, making it, according to some historians, the first recorded battle in history.
Egypt wasn’t the only country to lay its sights on Har-Megiddo. So far, archaeologists have unearthed over 20 civilizations, each built one on top of the other, over the course of time.
A historical marker at the site reads: [This city was] “established alongside ancient commercial roads and near prosperous agricultural areas, and was ruled by a central government. It made its mark on the history of the land of Israel and the people of Israel. Archaeological finds uncovered in [this tel] attests to urban planning, including gates, walls, temples, palaces, storerooms, stables, and water systems. The find also represents an encounter between the local culture and the cultures of Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and the lands of the Aegean Sea. This city existed during the Canaanite and Israelite periods, from the third to the first millennia BCE.”
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