Egypt, a former vassal of Assyria, was allied with Assyrian King Ashur-uballit II and marched in 609 BC to his aid against the Babylonians.

[8] The Egyptian army of Pharaoh Necho II was delayed at Megiddo by the forces of King Josiah of Judah.

[9] The Egyptians and the Assyrians together crossed the Euphrates and laid siege to Harran, which they failed to retake.

Assyria ceased to exist as an independent power, and Egypt retreated and was no longer a significant force in the Ancient Near East.

[12] While historians typically take Necho II to have been fighting in support of the remaining Assyrian forces,[13] according to Flavius Josephus, in his account, Antiquities of the Jews[14] Necho entered the battle to take advantage of the power vacuum created by the Assyrian forces' defeat.