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The Taking of Jaffa: The Trojan Horse before the Trojan Horse

Writer's picture: Julia AnneJulia Anne

Hundreds of years before Homer’s account of the Trojan horse saga, a similar story was told, which took place right here in Jaffa. Following the battle of Mediggo (in around 1456 BCE), the Egyptian Pharaoh Thutmose III conquered Canaan, bringing it under Egyptian rule.


A papyrus dating back the Ramesside Period describes how Jaffa fell to the Egyptians due to a cunning plot by the powerful Egyptian commander Djehuty.


The city of Jaffa (known then by the Egyptians as ‘Yapu’) was well fortified by the Canaanites so, rather than a direct assault on the city, Djehuty feigned surrender, sending a convey of 200 baskets of gifts into the city gates. Once inside the city, 200 armed soldiers jumped out of the baskets, sacking and conquering the city.

Egyptian hieroglyphs
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