After destroying Ashkelon and the Philistine coastal plain, the Babylonians besieged Judah and controlled it form 604-538 BC (Jerusalem was destroyed in 586 BC). The Persian Empire (its first incarnation was under the Medes) began around this time. The Babylonian administration in Judah used an Assyrian approach of balkanization: Megiddu (capital at Megiddo); Samerina (Samaria); Dor; and Yehud (Mizpah). There was a short-lived temple to Yahweh in Yehud (Jer 41:4–6).

Jewish diaspora communities (any Jewish community outside Israel) were an inevitable consequence of deportations, beginning with deportations by Assyria. Babylonian deportations led to Jewish diaspora in Babylon (2 Kings 24–25), along the Khabur River (Ezekiel 3:15) and in Egypt (as refugees) (Jeremiah 42–44). Regarding Egypt, ,Jewish mercenaries had already settled Elephantine Island. Judah’s population underwent an extreme decline. There were almost 120 sites in the time of Josiah, and just over 40 sites in the time of Babylonia. There had been more sites even before the United Monarchy. Luxury items, once popular, vanished almost completely from the archaeological record.

Destroyed sites included Ashlar House, House of Ahiel, Burnt Room and House of the Bullae. The Babylonian presence in Judah is attested only via its army, as its time physically spent in Judah was too brief to leave a lasting impression on the material culture (besides the population depletion). The army left behind scythian arrowheads (a giveaway of Babylonian presence), slingballs and much fiery destruction.

The period of Persian hegemony (538-332 BC) began when Persian king Cyrus seized Babylonia. Persian Control is split into Persian I (538-450 BC) and Persian II (450-332 BC), ending with Alexander’s conquest of the Levant (332 BC).

Following Persian king Cyrus’ 539 BC capture of Babylonia, Cyrus prepared a cylinder that described how the Babylonian deity should approve of his work improving the lives of Babylonians, repatriating displaced peoples and restoring temples and sanctuaries.

In fact, Persian Jerusalem was depopulated and impoverished. Persia enacted heavy taxes (Nehemiah 5) and there were conflicts with the Samaritans (Nehemiah 4, 6). The Jerusalem Temple was rebuilt, but it was meager compared to its former glory (Ezra 3). There was a Samaritan Temple at Mount Gerizim.

Jewish diaspora communities appeared in Israel and Judah (amidst the First Return and Second Return), as well as in Babylon and Elam (which had popped up as early as the 8^th cent BC), Northern Mesopotamia (ie, Guzana) and Egypt (mostly the Delta and additional migrations to Elephantine).

The Levant (aka land Beyond the River) was Persia’s 5^th satrapy (aka province) and was divided into Samaria (aka Samerian), Dor, Megiddo and Judah (aka Yehud). These provinces were clearly defined by: coinage, which was minted specially for each province; bullae, which bore the names of provinces; and textual attestation of governors of the satrapy Beyond the River.

Persian Period Material Culture

Vessels were rarely painted during the Persian period. Burnishing was the norm, as well as knife shaving, ribbing (a new development) and impression. In Persian-ruled former-Israel, the earliest coins were Greek. These were replaced by Phoenician coins from Tyre, Sidon and Arwad (but not Byblos). By the 5^th and 4^th centuries BC, the five Beyond the River satrapy (Yehud, Samaria, Ashdod and Gaza) each manufactured their own coins. During 400-344 BC, Egyptian coins also were used. The cosmopolitan nature of Persian control over the Levant extended to burial customs:

Nehemiah went to Judah in 445 BC, the 20^th year of Persian king Artaxerxes (Neh 1:1, 2:1). Nehemiah had been a cupbearer to the Persian king (Neh 1:1). Nehemiah rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem (part of a confrontation with the Samaritans), battled social injustice in Jerusalem (Neh 5) and built upon Ezra’s reforms.

© Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery. Used with permission.

Tel Dor, the best-preserved Persian Period settlement, was a very sophisticated port city (there were even special structures for boats to pull into). The Eastern mound was residential and had a Hippodamian plan that heralds from a late Persian style. The architecture itself is heavily Phoenician. Area D had canine burials. Dor and Joppa were given to Eshmun’azar II by the Persian king. Dor’s destruction was likely due to the Persian king’s 348 BC military action against coastal Phoenician cities that were revolting.

Dor Favissae

The Dor Favissae (aka Dor Crypts) were established during the 5^th and 4^th centuries BC. They contained discarded cult objects, including: a clay mold for fertility figurines (Asherah or Astarte); a head of Ba’al-Zeus with Greek helmet; the Bes amulet (Egyptian deity; made of bone); and horse and rider figurines. Two different views of 6^th-5^th century horse and rider figurine from Cyprus are shown to the left.

The Davidic Kingdom divided in 931 BC (1 Kings 12–14,19; 2 Kings 17:21). Samaria was destroyed and repopulated in 721 BC (2 Kings 17; Ezra 4:2) and the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel made their way into Judah, while some stayed behind. When Jews began to return to their homeland during the Persian Period, there was opposition between the Samaritans (People Who Remained) and the returnees (Ezra 4-5). The Myth of the Empty Land refers to the claim that the land was empty, which is likely a manifestation of radical separatism (Ezra 9-10) that just left the people who remained completely unacknowledged (those who remained had developed their own unique culture).

Byblos was a Phoenician city.

Stele of Yehawmilk of Byblos, 5^th century BC

Sarcophagus of Tabnit (?), king of Sidon (5th cent. BC)

Inscription on Sarcophagus of Eshmun’azar (II) of Sidon

Tell el-’Ajjul (aka Tell Sharuhen; Ancient Gaza) is a Bronze Age site in Southern Palestine at the mouth of the Ghazzah Wadi just south of the town of Gaza¹. Tell el-’Ajjul was excavated 1930-1934 by a British team led by Sir Flinders Petrie. The earliest remains at Tell el-’Ajjul date from ~2100 BC, with the site reaching its zenith during the Middle Bronze Age (~2300-1550 BC) and especially during a period of likely Hyksos rule during the 17^th and 16^th centuries BC.

Dating to the period of likely Hyksos rule are remains of a “Hyksos-style fosse (defense ditch), portions of several private dwellings, and a large building covering an area of about a half an acre. If, as seems probable, the building is to be identified as a palace, it is the largest palace of that period yet discovered in Palestine. The palace was succeeded by four other large buildings, the last of which probably dated from about 1200 BC.” ¹

Falcon earring (E.13.1948) of gold sheet, wire and granulation; crescent-shaped earring (E.12.1948) of gold sheet, wire and granulation; and tapered hoop earring (E.15.1948) of gold with granules. All date to the 14^th-12^th centuries BC. Gift of British School of Archaeology to Fitzwilliam. Image by L. M. Clancy.

Located on the plain southeast of the Dead Sea in Jordan, Bab edh-Dhrâ has been identified as likely biblical Sodom, one of the so-called Cities of the Plain.

In the central Jordan Valley near the river Jordan, the large double mound of Tell es-Sa’idiyeh has been identified as ancient Zarethan.

One of the largest Early Bronze IV settlements of the east Jordan Valley was Tell Umm Hammad, on the north side of the river Zarqa, close to its confluence with the Jordan. Its cemetery is known locally as Tiwal esh-Sharqi. Most tombs were of the traditional shaft type, though two were rectangular trenches lined on all four sides with large stones and roofed over with huge limestone slabs.

Ketef Hinnom is a site near Jerusalem that contains several burial chambers. A particularly bratty intern was given the task of examining a burial chamber that had already been fully excavated. She brutishly attacked the floor and broke through it, revealing that it was in fact a roof that had fallen to the ground. Beneath the roof, she unearthed the earliest Torah texts ever found: the ~600 BC Ketef Hinnom Amulets, two silver scrolls each containing a blessing from Num. 6:24–26.

<!–

–>

Khirbet Beit Lei is an ancient Judean site near Lachish that has yielded burial chambers, among which is a 7^th/6^th century inscription providing the earliest Hebrew reference to Jerusalem. The inscription is a Deuteronomistic blessing.

<!–

–>

A 5^th century BC shipwreck found 1.5 km from Philadelphia Youth Village, north of Akko. Ship originated in western Mediterranean as indicated by wine amphorae from Etruria, Italy and the Aegean.

That Ma’agan Mikha’el Shipwreck was a late 5^th century BC shipwreck found 35 km south of Haifa. It was built of Aleppo pine, was 13m long and had a hull 4m wide. Cargo and items aboard: 70 ceramic items (some basket-handle store jars, cooking pot, mortaria, oil lamps, jugs, juglets, cups), carved wooden boxes, shipwright’s toolkit, woven basket, rope, food remains (grapes, olives, barley), and metal objects (incense scoop and nails).

The Shavei Zion Shipwreck was a 5^th century BC shipwreck found off the coast of Shavei Zion that originated from southern Phoenician coast. Cargo: hundreds of clay female cultic figurines many with the sign of Tanit and others Cargo: hundreds of clay, female cultic figurines, many with the sign of Tanit and others with other iconography common to Carthage; pottery, African elephant tusk.

Jehoiachin (aka Jeconiah) (598/597 BC) surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar during the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem (2 Kings 24:8). Jehoiachin’s reign was ended after just 3 months when he was deported to Babylon and imprisoned (along with 10,000 other Judeans). Jehoiachin was released from prison when he was 37, but he remained in Babylon (as attested by Babylonian sources).

Judean king Manasseh ruled from 698-642 BC, beginning his reign when he was only 12 years old. Migrants from the destroyed Northern Kingdom had brought their Canaanite characteristics into the Southern Kingdom, despite Hezekiah’s reforms. Canaanite cults flourished, including astrology and Ba’al worship (Ba’al is a traditional Canaanite deity). Also, the name Manasseh itself is from the Northern Kingdom, which is unusual considering Hezekiah’s Yahwism. Manesseh grew desperate as Edomites and Assyria exerted pressure on Judah, even going so far as to perform the Phoenician practice of sacrificial infanticide.

No ceramic assemblage belongs just to the 10^th century BC (they continued into the 9^th). Cult stands of the 10^th/9^th century BC are exemplary. Red burnish is exemplary of 10^th/9^th century BC ceramics.

Phoenicians inherited and carried on Canaanite traditions.

A tophet (aka Phoenician tophet) was a type of Phoenician cemetery for infants (2 Kings 23:10). Many tophets, including the 7^th/6^th century tophet at Carthage, contained hundreds of infants. This may be correlated to the Phoenician practice of sacrificial infanticide that was practiced in times of utter duress and is attested in 2 Kings 21:6 as being performed by Judean king Manesseh.

Phoenician Shipwrecks: Philadelphia Youth Village shipwreck; Ma’agan Mikha’el Shipwreck; Shavei Zion Shipwreck.

Just a few miles south of Jerusalem is Ramat Rahel, a site open for excavation. Ramat Rahel was likely a fortress or governor-style residence. It had balustrades crowned by a palmette/proto-aeolic capitals, a Phoenician influence indicative of royal architecture. Also, Ramat Rahel has yielded lmlk seals from Judean king Hezekiah (8^th century BC), thus implying that Ramat Rahel may have been an Israelite administrative center. There was a tinge of Egyptian influence as well.

The House of the Bullae, was a Iron Age public building in Jerusalem that was destroyed during the Babylonian campaigns of 587 and 586 BC. The House of the Bullae has yielded almost 50 very well-preserved bullae with Hebrew lettering (they were fired during the Babylonian destruction). Two of the names amidst the bullae are attested in the Old Testament: Gemaryahu son of Shafan, a high official from the court of Judean king Jehoiakim (Jereiah 36:10,11-12,25); and Azaryahu son of Hilkiyahu, a high priest (1 Chronicles 9:10). Since these bullae correlate to the Babylonian conquests and persons in the Old Testament, they are one of Jerusalem’s most valuable discoveries. (link)

Yahweh was the deity of early Israelites and was a precursor to the God of today. Yahwism emerged during Iron I due to contact with Midianite traditions. However, a Late Bronze Age text mentions a Yahwistic name Yahu of Shasu. Yahweh was sometimes depicted as having a consort named Asherah, although this polytheism was later banned under Judean king Hezekiah.

Tel Dan yielded the ~825 BC House of David inscription. Three basalt fragments were discovered that recounted Aramean king Hazael’s victory over the House of David and Israel.

Gezer is a site from ancient Israel that has yielded 10 monumental megaliths (possibly a Canaanite bamoth), 9 inscribed boundary stones (which allowed it to be the first definitively identified Biblical city) and a Solomonic 6-Chambered Gate (similar to those at Hazor and Megiddo). Also found at Gezer is the Gezer Calendar (~900 BC), the earliest known example of Hebrew writing.

In anticipation of a siege by the Assyrian king Sennacherib, Judean king Hezekiah constructed a tunnel to bring water into Jerusalem from the Gihon Spring. The Siloam Tunnel Inscription, an ancient graffiti in Hezekiah’s Tunnel, reads as follows:

Siloam Inscription, Istanbul Archaeological Museum. Image by Clancy 2009/08/29.

“[...when] (the tunnel) was driven through. And this was the way in which it was cut through: While [...] (were) still [...] axe(s), each man toward his fellow, and while there were still three cubits to be cut through, [there was heard] the voice of a man calling to his fellows, for there was an overlap in the rock on the right [and on the left]. And when the tunnel was driven through, the quarrymen hewed (the rock), each man toward his fellow, axe against axe; and the water flowed from the spring toward the reservoir for 1200 cubits, and the height of the rock above the head(s) of the quarrymen was 100 cubits.” ¹

Trade presumedly drove much of the movement of domesticated animals and plants.

Anthropo- and zoo-morphic figurines have a presumedly religious motivation. An alternative to the cultic possibility is the use of figurines as teaching aids on the mysteries of life. While large-scale cultic items have not been found, smaller finds indicate a household basis for cultic tradition. Exemplary of the Levant’s Pre-Pottery Neolithic are plaster statues, clay figures, modelled skulls and stone masks. These all show remarkable facial similarities.

Crude male and femlae figures have been found at Jericho, Munhata, Beidha, Nahal Hemar, ‘Ain Ghazal and elsewhere. Lime-plaster figurines from ‘Ain Ghazal include full-lengths and busts of men, women and children; the faces were painted with green (likely ground malachite), red (ocher) and black. Eyes were inlaid with Mediterranean or Red Sea shells (as were some modelled skulls).

Modelled skulls are adult skulls, usually lacking the lower jaw, with their front and bottom molded with clay or asphalt (like a mask) and the eyes inlaid with shells, cowrie or dog-dockle. The bottom surface is mostly flat with a mild arch. Numerous skulls have been found together, although it is unclear whether this was for cultic, sacred, storage or all three purposes (likely the case at Nahal Hemar).

Pottery Neolithic

Wadi Rabah is a Pottery Neolithic assemblage (culture) whose sites are on plains or alluvial terraces and max out at 2-4 ha. It was first discovered beneath Wadi Rabah’s Ghassulian Chalcolithic layer. Floorplans are rectilinear, with round grain silos installed in the floor. Pottery vessels resembles north Syrian dark-faced burnished ware and includes both red and black slipped vessels with a high burnish. Forms include carinated bowls, platter and closed vessels (primarily bow-rimmed type). Chalices and pedestal bowls are considered successors of white ware. Handles are often ledges and loops. Decorations are generally incisions, stipples or combs, as well as ropes or snakes. Wadi Rabah’s lithic assemblage grows to domainte the Chalcolithic period, including plano-convex cross-sections of adzes and finer serrated edges. There was mild interaction with Anatolia and Egypt, as indicated by finds in a burial tomb.

Chalcolithic

The Moabite Stone (aka Mesha Stele) is a ~850 BC stone, written by Moabite king Mesha, tells of Mesha’s liberation of Moab after 40 years of Israelite control by the House of Omri. It correlates to 2 Kings 1 and 1 Kings 3:4, “After death of Ahab, Moab rebelled…” Mesha mentions attacking Israelite towns in Gad and rebuilding Moabite towns, as well as possible references to House of David.

Solomon (970-930 BC) (I Kings 2:12–11:42) did not engage in military campaigns as his father David had. Instead Solomon entered treaties, many of which involved large sacrifices on his part. For example, Solomon began a maritime trade venture with Hiram of Tyre (1 Kings 9:26-28;10:11,22); however, he also bestowed 20 towns in the Galilee to Hiram of Tyre (1 Kings 9:10-14). In a more advantageous treaty, Solomon married the pharaoh’s daughter as part of a treaty (1 Kings 3:1) and was granted Gezer as a gift (1 Kings 9:16).

Solomon established 12 administrative districts, not including Judah (1 Kings 4:7-19) and thus received tax payments of grain and food for each month of the year. These districts were old Canaanite towns that had been incorporated during David’s reign (II-VII) and also tribal districts (VIII-XII); Judah was not included. The district Ephraim was administrated by Jeroboam, who would later lead the split of the United Monarchy under the reign of Solomon’s son Rehoboam.

Solomon built a new temple (967-960 BC) (1 Kings 6:1-36) as well as a new palace (960-947 BC) (1 Kings 7:1-12) in Jerusalem. He also fortified Jerusalem, as well as many other settlements (1 Kings 9:15-19); in another defensive move, he acquired chariots, horses and gold (1 Kings 10:26-28). Solomon allegedly disgraced God by acquiring so many horses and so much gold (1 Kings 11:1-40), and the Old Testament offers this as a reason for the fractionation of the kingdom under Rehoboam.

Solomonic Architecture

Architecture under Solomon’s reign is signified by: columns crowned by stylized palm frawns (palmettes); an altar with many accoutrements (like at Tel Dan); and a long series of stone steps. These paralleled the temples from the Iron Age (Arad and Tel Tayinat) as well as the Late Bronze Age (‘Ain Dara). The palmette capitals (aka proto-aeolic capitals) were strongly similar to Phoenician architecture. Solomonic six-chambered gates were gates composed of a hallway, which three hallways emanating from each side (a total of six chambers). Solomonic six-chambered gates were found at Gezer, Hazor, Ashdod, Lachish and Megiddo. While they represent a unified architecture, it is debatable whether these were due to a unified political structure.

David’s capture of Jerusalem established the United Monarchy. However, David ruled from Hebron because Jerusalem was not the seat of Israelite power yet. David, like his successor Solomon, was essentially a warlord ruling a territorial kingdom, which requires a minimal of formal bureaucracy (forts/palaces/etc). David warred against the Philistines, whose movement to the east placed them in direct conflict with the Israelites (Exodus 12:41). In 1,000 BC, David conquered Jerusalem (2 Sam. 5:6-10) and and built a palace there using timber and craftsmen supplied by Hiram of Tyre (2 Sam. 5:11-12). Next, David embarked on a series of clockwork military campaigns. to defeat: Moabites (2 Sam. 8:2); Aramaeans of Zobah, led by Hadadezer (2 Sam. 8:3f); Aramaeans of Damascus (2 Sam 8:5-8); Hamath, indicated by a tribute by David (2 Sam 8:9f); Edomites (2 Sam 9:13f); Ammonites (2 Sam. 10:1-14; 11:1); and the Amalekites (2 Sam. 8:12). His son Abasalom attempted a coup (2 Sam. 16:15–18:18), after which David embarked on more wars against Philistines (2 Sam. 21:15–22).

Major Overall EventsDuring the 9th century BC, Israel was under the reign of Ahab, and Judah was under the reign of Jehoshaphat. Israel and Judah were the two most important states occupying the southern end of the strategically crucial Syro-Palestinian corridor. Politics along the Syro-Palestinian corridor have always been determined by large riverine empires to the south and north, namely Egypt and Assyria. Egypt campaigned into Palestine under Shoshenq (aka Shishak) I’s 10th century BC rule, but did not militarily incur into the Syro-Palestine corridor until two centuries later. During the entire 9th century BC, Egypt’s primarily role in the affairs of Syro-Palestine and Phoenicia was merely in trade. Also, local adaptions of Egyptian motifs have been found in ivory plaques excavated in Samaria. The Assyrians exerted steady pressure on smaller Syro-Palestnian states during the 9th century BC. For example, Assyrian kings (and contemporaries of Ahab) Assurnasirpal II and Shalmeneser III made repeated incursions into Syria. However, these were delayed by the Damascus coalition at Qarqar until Damascus was successfully seized in 841 BC. At this point, the Assyrians destroyed Beth-arbel (Irbid on Jordan) and first entered Israelite territory. Jehu submitted to Assyrian rule, making Israel a vassal that benefited from Assyrian aid to block Damascus expansionism under Hazael’s rule. After decline and sporadic internal conflicts, Tiglath-pileser III usurped control of Assyria and fully consumed Israel in 722 BC and reduced Judah to a vassal in the following century.

Non-Israeli KingdomsOpposite Israel, in the territory from east of Jordan valley from south to north, were the modestly-sized kingdoms of Edom, Moab and Ammom. Edom (south of Moab) controlled the vital trade route south to the Red Sea and north to Damascus, and: was conquered by David in the tenth century; won back its independence in the following century during the reign of Jehoram of Judah; and was subjugated by Uzzia (Azariah) seventy years later. Thereafter, the Judean state maintained a tenuous grip on Edom until the Neo-Babylonian conquest. Moab (between Edom and Ammom) was part of reater Israel during the United Monarchy, and was brought under Israelite control by Omri but regained partial independence after the death of his son Ahab. These events are described differently in biblical texts (2 Kings 3) and on the King Mesha of Moab stela discovered in 1868. Ammom (north of Moab) was astride main commercial and military route through the Transjordanian highlands known as the King’s Highway, seems to have precariously remained independent during the Neo-Babylonian period.

Palestine, a southern coastal region, was occupied by the Philistine pentapolis during the 9th century BC: Gaza, Ashdod and Ashqelon (Ascalon) on the coast; Gath and Ekron inland. These five cities remained independent of Judah, despite having to pay tribute to Jehoshaphat. During the reign of Adad-nirari (810 – 783 BC), the Philistines had their first contact with the Assyrian westward advance. During Tiglath-pileser III’s reign (745 – 727 BC) and thereafter, Assyrian armies frequently entered Philistine territory.

Further north on the Mediterranean coast, at the archaeological site Khirbat al-Burj near Tantura lagoon, Dor was the principal harbor of northern Israel and then a provincial Assyrian administrative center. Just north of Dor, the Mount Carmel promontory marked the border of Ahab’s kingdom and the kingdom of Tyre. Shalmaneser III erected a stela at Carmel, and received tributes from the Israeli king Jehu, as well as Phoenician cities. Just north of Carmel was the coastal Phoenician heartland, which was closely linked with the kingdom of Samaria. Inland from Phoencia were modest city-states, which were fragments of the former Hittite empire which had broken up at the end of the Late Bronze Age, as well as Aramaean trible settlements that had formed at the beginning of the Iron Age.

During Ahab’s reign, Damascus was the most notable city-state. Bordering Tyre and Israel, Damascus had poor relations with these nations, except when they formed a coalition at Qatar on the Orontes River to stop Shalmeneser III’s incursion. Shalmeneser’s Monolith Inscription records that: king Adad-idri (aka Bir-Hadad II) of Damascus mustered 20,000 infantry; king Irkhuleni (aka Jarhuleni or Urkhilenas) of Hamath mustered 10,000 infantry; and king Ahab of Israel mustered 10,000 infantry as well. The numbers are unreliable, but the proportion of military might is very informative. However, this coalition collapsed around the time of Jehu’s destruction of the Omrid Dynasty and Hazael’ usurp of the Aramaean throne.

Tyre was ruled by Ethbaal I (aka Ittobaal or king of the Sidonians), a priest of the goddess Astarte, when Ethbaal I usurped the Tyrian throne in the 9th century BC. Ethbaal I presided over Tyre while it was the dominant southern Phoenician power and the center of a small empire that controlled Sidon (modern Sayda), Byblos (biblical Gebal; modern Jubayl) and overseas territories. Tyrian colonies were already established in the western Mediterranean, including in Cyprus and Tunisia. Additionally, tradition states that toward the end of the 9th century BC, Elissa (aka Dido, sister of King Pygmalion, great-grandson of Ethbaal) founded the important colony of Carthage. Tyrian foreign policy revolved around its cedar timber (from Lebanon), precious metals, ivory, fine pottery (misnamed Samaria ware) and purple-dyed garments. Tyre also heavily exported shipping and building technology, even providing craftsmen to help build Solomon’s Temple. Also, the port of Samaria (capital of Omri) has identical dimensions and arrangement as the southern (aka Egyptian) Tyrian port constructed under Ethbaal’s reign; this parallel suggests another instance where Tyrian technology was exported. The Tyrians even gained economically the Assyrian’s westward advance under Assyrian king Assurnasirpal II. In 879 BC, Ethbaal paid tribute to Assyria and was rewarded with an invitation to the inaugural banquet for the newly dedicated Assyrian capital of Kalkhu (modern Nimrud).

Forming Israel & JudahToward the start of the 10th century BC, a local brigand chieftain named David ruled over the Judean highlands, Judean wilderness, Shephelah and the Negev. By negotiating with tribal elders, he extended his rule to the central highlands and Galilee. However, the critical move that consolidated his power was the capture of the ancient Canaanite-Jebusite city of Jerusalem. Jerusalem served as a better capital than Hebron, 20 miles (32 kilometers) south.

Solomon built upon David’s achievements, elaborating on the state apparatus with a court, harem and Phoenician-style temple. By controlling the main north-south trade routes, Solomon made contact with Phoenicia and Egypt and imported luxury items from as far north as Que (Kue, in Cilicia) and as far south as Yemen and Somaliland. A visit from Sheba’s queen (1 Kings 10:1-13) became ingrained in Jewish legend, and likely was tied to an important trade mission. Although the biblical record raves extensively about David and Solomon’s achievements, there is no source from their time that mentions them nor their kingdom.

After Solomon’s death, his undistinguished son Rehoboam failed to renew the binds between the Israelite kingdom and the Israelite confederacy in the central highlands. Jeroboam, an Ephraimite, led a secession of the northern tribes with the support of a prophet from the ancient cult center of Shiloh (modern Kirbet Seilun) near Mount Ephraim (1 Kings 11:26-40). Notably, this is the first example of a prophecy intervening in the Northern Kingdom’s affairs. During the two centuries from Solomon’s death to Samaria’s capture by Sargon II in 722, the Northern Kingdom had 19 rulers (20 including Tibni, rival of Omri) spanning 9 dynasties. It was relatively easy to seize the Northern Kingdom due to its lack of a dynastic monarchy; this was exploited by Zimri, Omri, Jehu and Pekah. For example, the chariot commander Zimri ended Baasha’s legacy by killing his son, Elah; Zimri was then eliminated by the army commander Omri. At almost a century, the longest reign was Jehu’s; at only a week, the shortest was Zimri’s. Seven of these rulers were assassinated, and Zimri avoided the siege of Tirzah (Tell al-Far’a, 7 miles northeast of Nablus) by the Omri by burning down its royal palace while he was inside. Omri established the first semi-stable dynasty (883 to 841 BC) and was the first Israelite king mentioned in nonbiblical records. Omri imitated David, moving his capital from Tirzah to the more strategic city of Samaria (modern Sabastiyah).

Looking south to Judah, all rulers (except Athalia, Ahab’s daughter) belonged to the Davidic Dynasty. The disparate number of dynasties in the Northern Kingdom and Judah is due to the stronger hold of clan ethos and clan organization among the central highlands’ Josephite tribes (as opposed to the tribes to the north). Under the Omrid and Jehu dynasties, the Northern Kingdom outweighed its southern neighbor Judah in population, extensiveness and economic and political strength.

EconomiesFinally a true kingdom due to king Omri’s efforts, the Northern Kingdom (aka kingdom of Samaria and kingdom of Israel, which are interchangeable terms) had its nucleus in Mount Ephraim, the heartland of the old tribal confederacy, but also sprawled across: the upper and lower Galilee; the fertile Jezreel Valley; the fertile northwest short of Chinnerneth, along the Sea of Galilee and near Bahr Tabariya; the Huleh Valley; the Jordan rift valley, as far south as Jericho (modern Ariba); and the upper Transjordian tableland (including the ancient regions Bashan, Gilead), in modern Jordan. In contrast, Judah was largely desert and its only cultivatable land (limited by rainfall) was in the Judean foothills and along the watershed (a region draining into a river) where Jerusalem stands.

Northern Kingdom and Judean economies were agrarian-pastoral, but Israel had more yield and grazing acreage. Regardless, each kingdom had economic advantages that increased urban populations to a whopping estimated 60,000 households in the Northern Kingdom and no more than 30,000 in Judah. The Northern Kingdom was excellently positioned along the main north-south and east-west trade arteries, giving it: immediate contact with the King’s Highway; close contact with wealthy Phoenician cities and the Syrian hinterland; and, at the Jezreel Valley and Manasseh, control over the Way of the Sea. These factors eased export of Northern Kingdom wheat, barley, wine, oil and other produce surplus. On the other hand, Judah benefited from intersecting the trade routes between Egypt and Phoenicia, Damascus and northern territories; however, Judah’s Mediterranean access was blocked by Philistine cities.

Sociology & Politics

Bibliography

Blenkinsop

Jericho (Tell es-Sultan) had a Middle Bronze Age wall five meters thick. What evidence from Jericho indicates you already have a chiefdom in the PPN? The fortification. Jericho is given great Biblical weight as the first site conquered by the Israelites. Anatolian obsidian was found at Jericho, indicating some form of trade.

Pre-Pottery Neolithic A

A series of walls, or one wall reinforced repeatedly, was found with a massive tower just within the wall’s boundary. Both wall and tower were abandoned in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A. The first wall to be erected had a breadth of 1.8m at its base and 1.6 m at the top and was preserved to a height of 3.65 m. It was built of readily-available field stones. The wall was repeatedly repaired and reinforced repeatedly, reaching a width of 3.5 m in its final stage. Within the wall was a tower 8.2 m high with a diameter of 9 m at the base and 7 m at the top also built of field stones and containing no rooms and presumably solid. This tower was also repaired during the PPNA, and an encasing wall was added linking it to the wall. Inside the tower was a staircase with 20 steps. The lower entrance faced the settlement. The roof was somewhat eroded after the PPNA. The accumulation of debris, collapse and new structures reached the top of the tower before the end of the PPNA. After it fell out of use, skeletons were laid in the staircase and the entrance was altered to allow building of a nearby structure. The same fate overtook the wall.

Observing other Arab villages with 150-400 persons per hectare, Jericho’s 2.5 hectare footprint means it likely had a population of 375-1,000. This sort of wall could have been built in only 21 workdays by 75 laborers, though, so the importance of community is not an overwhelming factor. The wall was likely built to prevent the settlement from being subermged by water and mud, as the tower is inside the boundary (very unique) and no fortifications against human enemies have been found at other sites until after the following period. Also, PPNA inhabitants of Jericho relied on the hunt for animal fats and protein (rather than being a pastoral society) so thus likely were not faced with large groups of enemies. The tower likely served some religious function, as water was nearby (no need for water storage) and botanical studies have not found grain (not used as a silo).

Plastered skull from Jericho. Pre-Pottery Neolithic B, ~7200 BC. British Museum, WA 127414. Image by L. M. Clancy ©

Burials at jericho

Bodies cleared at Jericho (262 skeletons) and Netiv Ha-Gdud (25 skeletons) were buried in a flexed or semiflexed position, continuing the ancient traditions of Natufian sites. An innovation, which began in the Late Natufian, was the removal of the skull from some adults buried at the site. Numerous skulls have been found in secondary burials in structures or pits, although they were not plastered as in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A. Grave goods were found rarely, and only as a few bone needles and points. Traces of matting in primary and scondary burials were found at Jericho. Burials were often found under floors, although it is unclear if this is intentional or if bodies were buried between houses and then became intramural as new houses were built and older ones were torn down.

Plastered Skulls

Kathleen Kenyon’s 1952-1958 excavations found numerous plastered skulls beneath the floors of houses. In each case the lower the jaw had been removed and the face modeled in lime plaster. Shells were placed in eye sockets and on some skulls red and black paint was used to represent facial features, hair and even mustaches. Also recovered were skeletons whose skulls had been removed. Similar plastered skulls have been found throughout the Levant, including ‘Ain Ghazal in Jordan and Tell Ramad in Syria. This may be evidence for widespread ancestor worship.

Shiqmin dates as far back as the early Chalcolithic. Phase III (4,520-4,400 BC) has subterranean houses and 2 semicircular alters). Phase II (4,240-3,990 BC) shifts to an open-air village (as opposed to subterranean). Shiqmin was mostly destroyed at the end of Phase II, with Phase I (3,940-3,700) indicated uneven site oocupation followed by abandonment.

Arad is 8.9 hectares, surrounded by a wall that is 2/2.5 m wide, 4/5 m high and 1,176 m long, and which is elaborated with semi-circular and, later, rectilinear towers.

Arad III Arad III represents Early Bronze Age II of the Southern Levant. Petrographic links with Sinai, shells from Red Sea, slags andmetallurgical materials from Sinai. What makes it remarkable is that it is very urbanized. NO gap after Stratum III (between III and II) housese from Statum III continue styles.

Arad IIDestruction for unknown reason, A thick burn layer places its destruction at 2,800 BC. Possibly an Egyptian incursion, local infighting or even an earthquake that started a fire. Towers are now rectangular while Arad II has semi-circular towers. One thing interesting are twin temples built in broad-house style with entries on long sides. Sacred precinct, large twin temple, small twin temple and large single-mounted cultic structure. What gives it away as a temple is benches along the entirety of the room and small standing stones. Lime stone block and superstructure of mud brick — regions that are dry (and mud brick requires water) generally have higher stone foundation.

Arad ISparse settlement. Squatters are living on remains of Stratum II city. Abandonment by 2650 BC. Maybe trade relationship as a “middle-man” role in the copper exchange had collapsed. It is possibly that Egyptians had already gone directly in the Early Bronze II to the Sinai, taking forceful control of the mines.

Iron IIB & IICThe temple in Arad should not exist by the ideology of Hezekiah. Lots of altars were found that existed on the roofs of houses. People would go atop their houses and light incense on their roof.

Arad Ostraca: A corespondence between guy commanding fortress and…??

Megiddo was an Early Bronze Age village noted for having the largest alter of the Bronze Age. Many animal bones were found on and near the altar indicating that animals were sacrificed and then swept aside to rot. Also, Middle Bronze Age I (aka Middle Bronze Age IIA) red burnish ware was found at Megiddo.

Megiddo I

Megiddo II

Megiddo III

Assyrian administrative center.

Megiddo IVA

Megiddo was destroyed under Ahab’s reign.

Armageddon: 609 BC

Ebla (originally tel Mardeep) was an ancient city in modern Tell Mardikh (65 km south of Aleppo in Syria) whose destruction in ~2250 BC by a Mesopotamian king preserved an archive in Eblaite, a Semitic cuneiform found only in Ebla (after this destruction, Ebla was immediately rebuilt). When Ebla was at its peak and keeping these archives, its capital city spanned 56 ha and sustained 15,000-20,000 people. Ebla’s hegemony extended southward toward modern Hama and eastward toward the Euphrates. Ebla traded with (but was depended upon by) Mediterranean port cities to the west and Anatolia to the southeast (north of Carchemish/Karkamish).

Ebla also dominated a pocket of cities between the Euphrates and the Balikh rivers, on the Carchemish-Harran axis. Ebla entered a prolonged war with Ebla over control in this region, culminating in Ebla being set ablaze (likely by Sargon of Akkad, a city in north central Mesopotamia). Within a few centuries, Ebla had rebuilt and, according to documents, flourished again. However, the Hittite king Murshili I dealt the city its final destruction and it never regained its political power. Although Ebla remained only a small village, it was a frequent setting of myths and poetry and retained its style of names and unique Eblaite language.

How Did Ebla Become An Urban Center?

What Prefaced Ebla’s Development? In ~3,200-3,000 BC, urbanized Sumerian colonies along trade routes expanded Uruk culture: in north and central Syria, west of the Euphrates, this influence was weak and urbanization congealed slowly; in northeast Syria, in the upper Khabur and Balikh river basins as far as the upper Tigris, a stronger Uruk cultural influence led to a more cohesive territorial system. During the secondary urbanization that swept the Southern Levant in the middle of the 3^rd millennium BC, areas untouched by urbanization developed proto-urban characteristics. The transition to full urbanization in upper Mesopotamian sites was as early as ~2,600 BC when Early Dynastic III in Mesopotamia began. Simultaneously, after centuries without communication, intense cultural interaction formed between these northern areas and southern Mesopotamia. Cities that participated in this development, albeit at disparate times and degrees, included: Tell Taya in the Wadi Tharthar; and Tell Leilan (ancient Shekhna/Shubat-Enlil), Tell Brak and Tell Mozan in the Khabur triangleEbla had its own pacing and context for secondary urbanization. Initial EB I and EB II occupations at Tell Mardikh are poorly documented. An absence of Uruk pottery (found elsewhere in Syria) at Tell Mardikh negates a southern Mesopotamian influx in such an early period. Amidst a steady shift toward urbanization was an EB IVA₁ predecessive stage, epitomized by a multi-level food processing facility just north of the Ceremonial Staircase. The shoddy EB III building G₂ was replaced by storerooms and workshops for a new palace. The completed palace (Mardikh IIB₁) reflected the city’s growth, with two entire rooms allocated for archives (indicating a meatier administration and accounting system). Service sectors were set in the EB II settlement while ceremonial quarters were located the periphery on the western slope of the tell.

The urban development of Mardikh IIB₁ and other calciform sites started later than sites of the upper Khabu, although the economies (dry farming, extensive animal rearing) were analogous. This is because the urbanization was endogenous. The Early Dynastic period brought the Mesopotamian frontier, forcing many city-states, such as Ebla, to strive to appear like an independent political power. However, Ebla’s rain-dependent agriculture had low yields. Ebla compensated by forming a capital city with an administrative network borrowed from Mesopotamia, including writing and accounting. Once urbanization initiated at Ebla, it increased rapidly: writing in Ebla cannot antedates the brief proto-urbanism of EB IVA₁, allowing only 200 years for Sumerian literary and school tradition to be assimilated by Ebla scribes and for cuneiform to be adapted for Eblaite. Ebla’s ensuing hegemony over autonomous minor urban centers forced the tribes (ábba.ábba) and leading families (lugal.lugal) to cede to Ebla as their conduit for grazing rights and circulation of goods. Royal Palace G, atop an acropolis at Tell Mardikh, vividly manifested the shift from proto-urban EB III structures to a 56 hectare EB IVA (~2,400-2,200 BC) urban center.

What Were Ebla’s Archives?

A shelved room with an adjacent vestibule were constructed in the Audience Court during Ebla’s later periods. It contained ~2,100 tablets spanning topics relevant to an administration that was growing rapidly and had specialized in: textile and metal accounting; tax deliveries; temple offerings; letters; state reports; and scribal exercises. The palace archives were homogenous documents on daily and monthly expenditures of grain to sustain the palace’s inhabitants; these records were kept on file no more than three years, and were periodically destroyed to make room for new ones.

Ebla scribes adopted Sumerian book-keeping techniques and terms. However, Ebla scribes sometimes also misused Mesopotamian nomenclature for certain texts. It seems that the archival system and bureaucratic organization were less sophisticated at Ebla than in contemporaneous Mesopotamian cities, and indeed less specialized. Yet Ebla scribes did develop an accounting tradition that discarded Mesopotamian number notations in favor of one that incorporated Sumerian and was more friendly to the Semitic tongue of an Ebla.

Ebla’s Royalty

The kingship had a low profile, and kings were oft mentioned just by their title; en and lugal referred, respectively, to the king and high-ranking officials (the reverse of Mesopotamian usage). There was no royal inscription genre to boast of the kingdom and proclaim the king as directly linked to the gods. There were only sporadic year names whereby a king would name an entire year after the prior year’s main achievement or a notable official. A list of Ebla kings is shown below, along with kings of other Mesopotamian cities.

The royal household included extended family, the court, elders (ábba.ábba) and at least fifty gangs of workmen (women, described below, were separate). There was some niche in management of workers belonging to sa.za_x^ki (the royal household). However, in a radical departure from Mesopotamia, there was a generic term (ugula) for the overseer of any workers belonging to Ebla from masons to laborers. Workers were organized into gangs (guruš of men; dam of women) each containing ~20 people who relied on their ugula for food rations. Documents about palace food allotments detail various administrative sectors and their location in the city.

The king’s mother (Ama.gal en) and primary wife (maliktum) enjoyed an autonomy that continued through Canaanite and Hebrew societies, and could access and manage palace goods. The royal harem included women of the king (dam en) who lived in a separate building and had a plastic hierarchy based on the king’s affections. Ebla princesses inherited this hierarchy (with maliktum daughters at the top), and a princess’ rank helped choose the foreign leader she would marry.

Ebla’s Political Organization

At Ebla the palace was responsible for the city’s economic organization. The palace managed its own farms, scattered mostly across northeast Ebla, to grow barley, wheat, grapes and olives. It is unclear how much land the palace owned due to the muddle of hundreds of urban villages in the region, although there are records of land gifts where entire villages (uru.uru) were transferred or given in inheritance. There are no mentions of land (ie, for farming) managed by temples nor labor that depended on temples, although temples may have kept archives for other purposes. This contrasts the Mesopotamian temple institution but anticipates a typical Syro-Palestinian temple in later times.

Temples carried out sacrifies and disbursed the sacrificial meat, but the palace accounted for animals as either suitable for sacrifice in central tamples (inside) or suitable for peripheral sanctuaries (outside). Also, state and private agreements, including division of an inheritance or donation of real estate, were confirmed by taking an oath before Kura in his temple (shared by Barama, a goddess attached to his cult). Interestingly, Ebla’s deities have ethnically diverse name: Dagan, Ishtar and Hadda/’Ada are Semitic; Ishkhara and Ashtapi are Hurrian; and Nidakul and Kura are unidentified.

Sheep rearing (and other animal husbandry) primarily drove the Ebla economy. The king owned multiple herds — some as large as 67,000 head — and the state owned ~700,000 head. These flocks roamed the hill country to the north and south, outside of Ebla’s limits. Ebla’s productivity and quality of wool was unmatched until Ur focused intensely on wool during it’s Third Dynasty late in the 3^rd millennium BC. Ebla’s palace ran the textile workshops, which were managed by women of the king and employed women; this is evidenced by food ration archives. Textiles were marketed for export and given as tributes, although Ebla lacked long-distance ventures and most receipts pertain to taxes and redistributions.

Metalwork also powered Ebla’s craft-oriented economy, although metal objects circulated less widely than textiles. Jewelry and containers of pure or alloy metals were made by government standards for hoarding. Their distribution has only been documented in dowries, temple donations and gifts and taxes paid by government officials. However, Ebla had access to large amounts of gold and silver; this is evidenced by the 63 kg of gold and over 1,000 kg of silver (combined) that it paid as tribute to the Mari kings Iblul-Il, NI-zi and Enna-Dagan.

Bilbiography

Milano, Lucio 1995.

Below are established explanations for the Neolithic’s developments. These explanations place varying emphasis upon: ecological factors at the end of the glacial period ~9^th millennium BC, as glaciers melted and temperatures rose; and social factors of between/within different societies, including more functional (need → response to need) explanations. These theories draw upon botany, palynology, and zooarchaeology to varying extents.

Bilbiography

bar Yosef, 1992.

Anatolian obsidian was found at Jericho, indicating some form of trade. Microlithis dropped sharply in abundance during the PPNA, a marked departure from the Natufian. PPNA art was limited to anthropomorphic figurines of chalk and clay, although a few stone figurines have been found with crude outlines of features. Also, social stratification is indicated by a range of sizes amongst PPNA houses. Joint communal effort in the PPNA is evidenced by the tower and wall at Jericho.

Levantine Pre-Pottery Neolithic A sites include: Jericho and Nahal Oren in Israel; Netiv Ha-Gdud, Gilgal and Gesher in the Jordan Valley; and Hatula in the Judaean hills. The sites were either built upon or have been submerged under alluvial fans. Wall foundations at Jericho, Gilgal, Netiv Ha-Gdud and Nahal Oren are made of mortar-reinforced stones, slabs or even bricks. Actual walls were made of sticks and mud, or bricks. Jericho and Netiv Ha-Gdud yielded well-preserved loaf- (plano-convex) and cigar-shaped bricks with lengths of 30-40 cm.

Floorplans were circular or oval. Nahal Oren has yielded 13 structures, ranging from 5-15 sq m (most are 7-10). On the other hand, Netiv Ha-Gdud has yielded structures of adjoining small rooms that are each 6-10 sq m (smaller) to 20-30 sq m (larger). Roofing small rooms required only branches, sticks, hides or clay-covered mats; roofing larger rooms required additional support, likely by a centrally erected wooden post. At Jericho and Netiv Ha-Gdud, floors were plastered with clay or levigated mud; mats sometimes left impressions on wet clay. Floors were sometimes laid on a pebble or stone foundation. Nathal Oren’s clay floors were unpreserved — occupation levels were identified only by hearths, stone slabs, storage installations (30-50 cm wide/deep) and soil color changes.

Herd animals were domesticated in the Levant during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B. Sheep and goats were domesticated for practical reasons, and much later cattle were domesticated (although for religious/sacrifice reasons). There was an intense adoration of cattle, evidenced by clay bucrania crowned with real horns found at Catal Huyuk in Anatolia.

Also, the PPNB begins the Neolithic distinction of shifting from circular/oval to rectilinear houses.This was likely due to space limitations, as rectilinear rooms can be efficiently crammed into a small space. Indeed, houses were built one room at a time as needed and rectilinear houses take up much less space than their increasingly rare circular/oval counterparts.

Also arriving in the PPNB is white ware. White ware refers to bowls, cups and footed bowls of lime and ash (giving the impression of soft limestone). Vessels of this type have been found through the ancient Near East.

Pre-Pottery Neolithic C?

Rollefson’s excavations in Jordan have suggested a 6,000-5,500 BC Pre-Pottery Neolithic C, based on the follow criteria:

Although continuous with the Pre-Pottery Neolithic, knowledge about the Levant’s Pottery Neolithic period is fragmentary. This is largely due to a shift in settlement patterns, likely due to a climatic change at the beginning of the 6^th millenium BC that dried and then re-moistened the Levant. There are sites in the Jordan valley, and the few hill and desert sites lagged behind their agricultural counterparts: they remained hunter-gatherers; did not use pottery for cooking; and even still built somewhat circular/oval houses. However, the economic base did not change and people still subsisted on domesticated sheep and goats, as well as pigs by now; some wild species were still hunted, possibly by hunter-gatherers who then sold their catch. Distinct forms within the Levantine Pottery Neolithic material culture include tots-in-pots (jars of dead infants) and coffee-bean-eyed figurines. Also, ceramics finally arrived during the Pottery Neolithic. However, ceramics were made on an individual basis, were not widespread, and mostly took on natural forms. It is thus difficult to distinguish distinct ceramics assemblages (let alone styles that can be traced to a specific time or place, as is done with later ceramics).Many sickle blades and grinding tools exist, indicating reaping and preparation of grain. Larger pots could have been used as silos or for liquid storage. Obsidian trade, largely attested at Wadi Rabah, continued — howver, other trade is scarcely evidenced.

Lithics are continuous with the Pre-Pottery Neolithic. Blade production evolved mildly, and axe cross-sections remained trapezoidal or almond-shaped. However, in the late Pottery Neolithic, the transverse arrowhead first appeared, fashioned from a blade segment into a trapezoidal or triangular shape. The sickle blade also evolves from a coarse denticulation to a fine (or no) denticulation; this is also characteristic of the Chalcolithic. Fan scrapers also appear in the late Pottery Neolithic.

Artistically, the coffee-bean-eyed figurine is unique to the Pottery Neolithic. It is a clay figurine of a seated woman with ample breasts, a large belly and a heaaddress; her eyes resemble coffee beans. A complete coffee-bean-eyed figurine was found at Munhata (near Sha’ar Ha-Golan) and in Tel Aviv. In another emphasis of the female form, pebbles have been found with crude incisions of eyes, a mouth, hands, legs and possibly a vaginal slit. These pebbles may have been heated, then pressed onto an individual’s skin to leave patterned scars. As sheep, goats, cattle and pigs were all domesticated by this time, it is understandable that their forms have also been found fashioned in clay.

Architecture consisted mostly of house pits, storage pits and pits dug for clay excavation. These pits quickly filled with natural and occupation debris. House pits were 3-4 m in diameter and 1 m deep. A house pit at Munhata contained a bench, hearth and paved area. Roofing was made of mud, reeds, thatch and/or hides. Pottery, lithics, animal bones and other artifacts were discovered in and near these pits. Deep and narrow pits were likely formed by clay and earth excavation, followed by use as silos. Despite few graves overall, jar burials of infants have been found (tots-in-pots); however, typical of nomadic lifestyles, these centralized burial locations lack an accompanying settlement.