To what extent did thutmose the third establish an empire?

Thutmose the third was just a young boy when his father had died. His step mother Hatshepsut was regent until he was old enough to become pharaoh but then Hatshepsut seized the throne and ruled herself as pharaoh in his place. Thutmose was denied his throne until Hatshepsut died more than 20 years later. Thutmose was a man in a hurry when he finally took power to the throne. His military victories against neighbouring kingdoms made Egypt one of the richest countries on earth.

Thutmose led 17 military campaigns into the Near East over 20 years, particularly concentrating on Syria and Palestine. These countries were home to over 300 prosperous cities that dominated trade routes but came under no centralised control. There were also many powerful kingdoms such as Babylon, Assyria, the Hittites and the Mitanni who posed threats to Egyptian power in the region.

The battle of Megiddo was a turning point in Egypt's imperial history. It was at the battle and siege of Megiddo that Thutmose III conquered Egypt's arch-enemy the Mitanni and established the great Egyptian empire.
Although other early New Kingdom pharaohs brought Palestine and Syria under Egyptian control, the chieftains of the Mitanni revolted against Egyptian control. Thutmose encouraged his troops by parading before them in an electrum chariot. Few details of the battle exist. Thutmose led the charge against the enemy and won a decisive victory. The enemy, including the princes of Kadesh and Megiddo, fled to the city of Megiddo and the Egyptian soldiers began to plunder the battlefield. The city