Did Egypt ever own Palestine?

Did Egypt Ever Rule Over Palestine?

Long before modern borders and political claims, the lands of the eastern Mediterranean were shaped by powerful empires rising and falling. One of the most enduring civilizations—Ancient Egypt—did, in fact, exert control over parts of what we now know as Palestine, but not in the way modern ownership is understood.

During the New Kingdom period (circa 1550–1070 BCE), Egypt reached the height of its imperial power. After expelling the Hyksos—a people of Levantine origin who had ruled parts of northern Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period—the pharaohs launched military campaigns to secure their borders and expand their influence. These campaigns, led by rulers like Thutmose III, extended Egyptian control northward into the Levant, including regions of modern-day Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank.

This control wasn’t like modern sovereignty. Instead, Egypt established a network of vassal cities and tribute systems, where local rulers governed under Egyptian oversight. Major trade routes ran through these territories, making them strategically vital. Egyptian influence waned over time, especially after increasing pressure from Sea Peoples and shifting power dynamics in the region.

It’s important to note that this was over 3,000 years ago—long before the emergence of modern national identities. While Egypt did not “own” Palestine in a contemporary legal sense, it did dominate the region militarily and politically for centuries during antiquity.

Today, the complex history of the land includes many layers—Canaanite, Egyptian, Philistine, Israelite, Roman, and more. But in the ancient past, the pharaohs’ reach into Palestine was very real, etched into temple inscriptions and preserved in the dust of forgotten cities.