View source for Tel Hazor

{{Short description|Archeological site of an ancient city in Israel}}
{{Other uses|Hazor (disambiguation){{!}}Hazor}}
{{Infobox ancient site
 |name        = Tel Hazor
 |native_name = {{Script/Hebrew|תל חצור}}
 |alternate_name=
 |image       = Hatzor-HouseofPillars.jpg
 |alt=
 |caption     = House of Pillars at Hazor
 |map_type    = Israel northeast#Israel#West Asia
 |map_size    = 220
 |map_alt =
 |coordinates = {{coord|33|1|0|N|35|34|1|E|display=inline,title}}
 |location    = Tell el-Qedah, Israel
 |region      = [[Upper Galilee]]
 |type        = Settlement
 |part_of=
 |length=
 |width=
 |area=
 |height=
 |builder=
 |material=
 |built=
 |abandoned   = 732&nbsp;BC
 |epochs=
 |cultures=
 |dependency_of=
 |occupants=
 |event=
 |excavations=
 |archaeologists=
 |condition=
 |ownership=
 |management=
 |public_access=
 |website= <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
 |notes=
| designation1           = WHS
| designation1_offname   = Biblical Tells&nbsp;– [[Megiddo (place)|Megiddo]], Hazor, [[Tel Be'er Sheva|Beer Sheba]]
| designation1_date      = 2005 <small>(29th [[World Heritage Committee|session]])</small>
| designation1_number    = [https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1108 1108]
| designation1_criteria  = ii, iii, iv, vi
| designation1_type      = Cultural
| designation1_free1name = Region
| designation1_free1value= [[List of World Heritage Sites in Asia and Australasia|Asia-Pacific]]
}}

'''Tel Hazor''' ({{langx|he|תל חצור|Tel Ḥāṣor}}), translated in [[LXX]] as '''Hasōr''' ({{langx|grc|Άσώρ}}),<ref name = Gauthier24/><ref name = Budge1021/> and in [[Arabic]] '''Tell Waqqas''' or '''Tell Qedah el-Gul'''<ref name=ShalevBar>{{cite journal |last1=Shalev |first1=Yiftah |last2=Bar |first2=Shay |title=An 8th Century B.C.E. Israelite Administrative Centre at Tell el-Asawir/Tel 'Esur |pages=123–144 |journal=Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins |publisher=Harrassowitz |volume=133 |number=2 |year=2017 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324561697 |access-date=12 July 2021}}</ref> ({{langx|ar|تل القدح|Tell el-Qedah}}), is an archaeological [[Tell (archaeology)|tell]] at the site of ancient Hazor, located in the [[Upper Galilee]], north of the [[Sea of Galilee]], in the northern [[Korazim Plateau]]. From the Middle Bronze Age (around 1750 BCE) to the Iron Age (ninth century BCE), Hazor was the largest fortified city in the region and one of the most important in the [[Fertile Crescent]]. It maintained commercial ties with [[Babylon]] and Syria, and imported large quantities of tin for the bronze industry. In the [[Book of Joshua]], Hazor is described as "the head of all those kingdoms" ({{bibleverse|Josh.|11:10}}) and archaeological excavations that have emphasized the city's importance.

The Hazor expedition, headed by [[Yigael Yadin]] in the mid-1950s, was the most important dig undertaken by [[Israel]] in its early years of statehood. Tel Hazor is the largest archaeological site in northern Israel, featuring an upper tell of 30 acres and a lower city of more than 175 acres.<ref name="biblicalarchaeology">{{cite web|url=http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/news/scorched-wheat-may-provide-answers-on-the-destruction-of-canaanite-tel-hazor/ |title=Scorched Wheat May Provide Answers on the Destruction of Canaanite Tel Hazor - Biblical Archaeology Society |publisher=biblicalarchaeology.org|access-date=2015-09-03|date=2012-07-24 }}</ref>

In 2005, the remains of Hazor were designated a [[World Heritage Site]] as part of the ''Biblical Tels—Megiddo, Hazor, Beer Sheba''.

==Excavations==
[[File:Hazor - Royal fortress gate.jpg|thumb|Royal fortress gate found at Hazor, now in the [[Israel Museum]]]]
The site of Hazor is around {{convert|200|acre|km2}} in area, with an upper city making up about 1/8 of that. The upper mound has a height of about 40 meters. Initial soundings were carried out by [[John Garstang]] in 1926.<ref>John Garstang, "History in the Bible," ''American Journal of Economics and Sociology'', vol. 3, no. 3, Essays in Memory of Franz Oppenheimer 1864–1943, pp. 371–385, 1944</ref>

Major excavations were conducted for four seasons from 1955 to 1958 by a [[Hebrew University]] team led by  [[Yigael Yadin]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Yadin|first=Yigael|author-link=Yigael Yadin|date=February 1956|title=Excavations at Hazor|journal=The Biblical Archaeologist|volume=19|issue=1|pages=2–11|doi=10.2307/3209263|jstor=3209263|s2cid=133750909 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Yadin|first=Yigael|author-link=Yigael Yadin|date=May 1957|title=Further Light on Biblical Hazor: Results of the Second Season, 1956|journal=The Biblical Archaeologist|volume=20|issue=2|pages=33–47|doi=10.2307/3209148|jstor=3209148|s2cid=188952326 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Yadin|first=Yigael|author-link=Yigael Yadin|date=May 1958|title=The Third Season of Excavation at Hazor, 1957|journal=The Biblical Archaeologist|volume=21|issue=2|pages=30–47|doi=10.2307/3209155|jstor=3209155|s2cid=134086184 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Yadin|first=Yigael|author-link=Yigael Yadin|date=February 1959|title=The Fourth Season of Excavations at Hazor|journal=The Biblical Archaeologist|volume=22|issue=1|pages=2–20|doi=10.2307/3209103|jstor=3209103|s2cid=135358907 }}</ref>
Yadin returned to Hazor for a final season of excavation in 1968.<ref>Yigal Yadin, The Fifth Season of Excavations at Hazor 1968–1969, The Biblical Archaeologist, vol. 32, no. 3, pp. 50-71, 1968</ref> The excavations were supported by [[James A. de Rothschild]], and were published in a dedicated five volume set of books by the [[Israel Exploration Society]].

Excavation at the site by Hebrew University, joined by the [[Complutense University of Madrid]], resumed in 1990 under Amnon Ben-Tor. Those excavations continue to the present. The work from 1990 to 2012 is detailed in two IEF books.<ref>Ben-Tor, Amnon, Doron Ben-Ami, and Debora Sandhaus, Hazor VI. The 1990 - 2009 Excavations. ''The Iron Age''. Israel Exploration Society: Institute of Archaeology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2012</ref><ref>Ben-Tor, Amnon, Sharon Zuckerman, Shlomit Bechar, and Débora Sandhaus, HAZOR VII. The 1990-2012 Excavations. ''The Bronze Age'', ed. Tsipi Kuper-Blau. Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel Exploration Society, 2017</ref>

In the 2010 excavation season, two [[cuneiform]] tablet fragments, made of local clay, were discovered dating to the [[Old Babylonian period]] of the Middle Bronze Age. The 2nd fragment is small, containing only 7 signs. They are inscribed with laws in the style of [[Hammurabi's Code]], the [[Laws of Eshnunna]], the Book of Exodus, and Hittite laws, seven in total. The fragments include laws pertaining to body parts and damages including those of slaves.<ref>Horowitz, Wayne, Takayoshi Oshima, and Filip Vukosavović,  "Hazor 18: Fragments of a Cuneiform Law Collection from Hazor.", ''Israel Exploration Journal'' 62, pp. 158–76, 2012</ref><ref>Vukosavović, Filip. "THE LAWS OF HAZOR AND THE ANE PARALLELS.", Revue d’Assyriologie et d’archéologie Orientale, vol. 108, 2014, pp. 41–44</ref><ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/hammurabi-like-cuneiform-discovered-at-tel-hazor-1.304266 'Hammurabi-like' cuneiform discovered at Tel Hazor - Asaf Shtull-Trauring - Jul. 27, 2010], ''[[Haaretz]]''</ref>

The 2013 excavation season involved the [[Late Bronze Age]] (LBA) area M-East, and M-West. M-East included small elements of MBA and represented a major destruction event with extensive burning.<ref>Ben-Tor, Amnon, and Sharon Zuckerman., "Tel Hazor — 2013: Preliminary Report." Hadashot Arkheologiyot: Excavations and Surveys in Israel, vol. 126, 2014,</ref> In the 2014 and 2015 seasons the Iron Age II thru 8th century BCE layer of area M3  and the Iron age M4 area were worked. A number of unbaked loom weights were found there.<ref>Ben-Tor, Amnon, et al., “Tel Hazor – 2014: Preliminary Report.” Hadashot Arkheologiyot: Excavations and Surveys in Israel, vol. 127, 2015</ref><ref>Ben-Tor, Amnon, and Shlomit Bechar., “Tel Hazor - 2015: Preliminary Report.” Hadashot Arkheologiyot: Excavations and Surveys in Israel, vol. 128, 2016</ref> The excavation of 2016 was in the LBA administrative palace [[destruction layer]] of area M3. Finds included fragments of an Egyptian statue. The 10 century BCE standing stone complex and 9th century BCE fortifications, built on top of the LBA destruction layer, were also further explored.<ref>Bechar, Shlomit, and Amnon Ben-Tor., “Tel Hazor – 2016: Preliminary Report.” Hadashot Arkheologiyot: Excavations and Surveys in Israel, vol. 129, 2017,</ref> In 2017 excavation work concentrated in the LBA M3 area containing an administrative palace with a basalt monumental entrance stair. Work also continued on the Iron Age II fortifications.<ref>Bechar, Shlomit, and Amnon Ben-Tor. “Tel Hazor – 2017: Preliminary Report.”, Hadashot Arkheologiyot: Excavations and Surveys in Israel, vol. 130, 2018</ref> In the 2018 excavation season, the 29th season, from June to July 2018, areas worked were the LBA M3, the 8th century BCE and Persian M4, and the 8th and 10th century BC M68.<ref>Bechar, Shlomit, and Amnon Ben-Tor. “Tel H̱aẕor – 2018: Preliminary Report.”,  Hadashot Arkheologiyot: Excavations and Surveys in Israel, vol. 132, 2020</ref> In the 2019 season, the 13th of the current excavation, areas M4 and M68 were worked, both Iron Age.<ref>Bechar, Shlomit, and Amnon Ben-Tor. "Tel H̱aẕor – 2019." Hadashot Arkheologiyot: Excavations and Surveys in Israel, vol. 133, 2021</ref>

In total, Hazor has provided more cuneiform tablets than any other site in the Southern Levant. They fall into two groups. Those from the Middle Bronze period are in standard Old Babylonian [[Akkadian language]] while those from the Late Bronze Age are in a local dialect typical of [[New Kingdom Egypt]]ian times.<ref>Wayne Horowitz. "Hazor: A Cuneiform City in the West." ''Near Eastern Archaeology'', vol. 76, no. 2, 2013, pp. 98–101</ref>

Finds from the dig are housed in a museum at [[Kibbutz]] [[Ayelet HaShahar]]. In 2008, some artifacts in the museum were damaged in an earthquake.<ref name="haaretz">{{cite web|url=http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/images/printed/P020308/a.a.0203.430.1.9.jpg|title=Image: a.a.0203.430.1.9.jpg, (245 × 163 px)|work=Haaretz|access-date=2015-09-03}}</ref>

==Chronology==
This table lists the [[strata]] (layers) of ruined settlements that accumulated to form Tel Hazor according to Hazor archeologist [[Sharon Zuckerman]]. The shades represent the different archeological periods: [[Bronze Age]], [[Iron Age]], [[Achaemenid Empire|Persian period]] and [[Hellenistic period]]. Some layers are associated with the content of contemporary historical sources.<ref name=":0" />
{| class="wikitable" |-
!Fixed date (BCE)
!Archeological period
!Stratum (layer) – Upper City
!Stratum (layer) – Lower City
!Excavation results
!Historical references
|-
|- bgcolor="#fff2e6"
|28th century||Early Bronze Age III–II
|XXI|| ||Houses||
|- bgcolor="#fff2e6"
|27th century <br />24th century||Early Bronze Age III
|XX–XIX|| ||Houses and a monumental structure (possibly a palace or other central building)||
|- bgcolor="#ffe5cc"
|22nd century <br />21st century||Middle Bronze Age I/Intermediate Bronze Age
|XVIII|| ||Houses||
|- bgcolor="#ffd7b3"
|18th century||Middle Bronze Age IIA–B
|Pre XVII|| ||Burials and structures||[[Execration texts|Egyptian Execration Texts]]
|- bgcolor="#ffd7b3"
|18th century 17th century||Middle Bronze Age IIB
|XVII||4||Erection of the earthen rampart of the Lower City||[[Mari, Syria#Excavations and archive|Mari archive]]
|- bgcolor="#ffd7b3"
|17th century 16th century||Middle Bronze Age IIB
|XVI||3||Both Upper and Lower Cities are settled.||
|- bgcolor="#ffc999"
|15th century||Late Bronze Age I
|XV||2||Both Upper and Lower Cities are settled.||[[Annals of Thutmose III]]
|- bgcolor="#ffc999"
|14th century||Late Bronze Age II
|XIV||1b||Both Upper and Lower Cities are settled.||[[Amarna letters]]
|- bgcolor="#ffc999"
|13th century||Late Bronze Age II
|XIII||1a||Both Upper and Lower Cities are settled.||[[Papyrus Anastasi I]]
|- bgcolor="#ccdcff"
|11th century||Iron Age I
|XII–XI|| ||pits and meager architecture||
|- bgcolor="#b3cbff"
| mid 10th century <br />early 9th century||Iron Age IIA
|X–IX|| ||six-chambered gate, casemate wall, domestic structures||[[United Kingdom of Israel]] (possibly under [[Solomon]])
|- bgcolor="#b3cbff"
|9th century||Iron Age IIA–B
|VIII–VII|| ||casemate wall still used, administrative structures and domestic units||[[Northern Kingdom of Israel]] ([[Omri dynasty]])
|- bgcolor="#b3cbff"
|8th century||Iron Age IIC
|VI–V|| ||casemate wall still used, administrative structures and domestic units||Northern Kingdom of Israel (from under [[Jeroboam II]] to the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire|Assyrian]] destruction by [[Tiglath-pileser III]]
|- bgcolor="#b3cbff"
|8th century ||Iron Age IIC
|IV|| ||sporadic settlement||post–Assyrian destruction; settlement (possibly [[Israelite]])
|- bgcolor="#b3cbff"
|7th century||Iron Age IIC (Assyrian)
|III|| ||governmental structures on and around the tell||
|- bgcolor="#ffffb3"
|5th century <br />4th century||Persian
|II|| ||citadel, tombs||
|- bgcolor="#ffccf2"
|3rd century <br />1st century||Hellenistic
|I|| ||citadel||
|}

In a recent article (2021), [[Israel Finkelstein]], quoting his past articles regarding stratum X in Tel Hazor (shown in the table above), commonly attributed to Solomon, states:<ref>Finkelstein, Israel, (2021). [https://www.torrossa.com/en/resources/an/5098647#page=36 "Israel and Aram: Reflections on their Border"], in In Search for Aram and Israel: politics, culture, and identity, pp. 17–36.</ref> {{blockquote|"In past articles I proposed identifying Omride architecture. ... I therefore see no alternative to the Omride identity of Hazor X..."}}

Finkelstein's Low Chronology is disputed by other archaeologists, such as [[William G. Dever]], who considers that although the "larger-than-life" portrait of the Bible is exaggerated, Judah was a centralized kingdom around 10th century BCE and likely ruled by Solomon.<ref>Dever, William G. (2021). [https://jjar.huji.ac.il/publications/solomon-scripture-and-science-rise-judahite-state-10th-century-bce «Solomon, Scripture, and Science: The Rise of the Judahite State in the 10th Century BCE»]. ''Jerusalem Journal of Archaeology'' '''1''': 102-125.</ref> The conventional date of stratum X in the 10th century is also supported by Amnon Ben-Tor and Shlomit Bechar, the chief excavators at the site.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Hazor: Canaanite metropolis, Israelite city |last=Ben-Tor |first=Amnon |publisher=Israel Exploration Society |year=2016 |isbn=978-965-221-101-9 |pages=132–146 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bS-JDAEACAAJ |oclc=945028849}}</ref> A more nuanced position is held by [[Avraham Faust]] et al. (2021), who consider the chronological difference between Finkelstein and his opponents was already narrowed when he agreed that "not only the Iron Age IIA, but perhaps even the late Iron Age IIA, started already in the 10th century", but that most scholars have instead adopted various versions of the traditional, or modified, chronology.<ref>Faust, Avraham; Garfinkel, Yosef; Mumcuoglu, Madeleine (2021). [https://jjar.huji.ac.il/publications/study-10th-century-bce-early-21st-century-ce-overview «The Study of the 10th Century BCE in the Early 21st Century CE: An Overview»]. ''[[Jerusalem Journal of Archaeology]]'' 1, '''p. 3:''' "The sophisticated methods of data collection and analysis that resulted from the debate significantly narrowed the chronological gap between the schools, leading most scholars to follow various versions of the traditional, or modified, chronology (e.g., Stager 2003; Mazar 2011; Katz and Faust 2014; Garfinkel et al. 2015; 2019; Dever 2017; Faust and Sapir 2018; Ortiz 2018; Master 2019), and even Finkelstein raised his chronology dramatically, agreeing that not only the Iron Age IIA, but perhaps even the late Iron Age IIA, started already in the 10th century BCE (e.g., Finkelstein and Piasetzky 2011: 51; Kleiman et al. 2019: 534-535)."</ref>

Among scholars who support Finkelstein's Low chronology, regarding Tel Hazor's stratum X, is Merja Alanne, which in her (2017) Doctoral dissertation, quoting late Dr. Orna Zimhoni's work (1997), writes:<ref>Alanne, Merja, (2017). [https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/84363234.pdf Tel Dan: Biblical Dan An Archaeological and Biblical Study of the City of Dan from the Iron Age II to the Hellenistic Period], University of Helsinki, p. 211.</ref> {{blockquote|"Unlike Zarzegi-Peleg, Zimhoni leans towards the lower chronology and dates Megiddo VA-IVB to the 9th century, following the date of the pottery from the Jezreel enclosure. Accordingly, Hazor X−IX would also be dated to the same century."}}

However, other scholars such as Thomas E. Levy and Daniel Frese have noted that the evidence of the pottery from Jezreel is insufficient to support the Low chronology:<ref>{{cite book |title=Historical Biblical Archaeology and the Future: The New Pragmatism |last1=Levy |first1=Thomas E. |publisher=Routledge |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-134-93746-2 |pages=190 |last2=Frese |first2=Daniel A. |editor-last=Levy |editor-first=Thomas Evan |chapter=The Four Pillars of the Iron Age Low Chronology |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NLbsCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA187}}</ref> {{blockquote|"A more serious objection, made by many researchers, is that the pottery of the Iron Age IIA is basically the same for much of the 10th and 9th centuries (Ben-Tor and Ben-Ami 1998: 30; Halpern 2000: 102; Mazar and Carmi 2001: 1340; Mazar 2005: 19; Dever 2005: 75-76; Mazar 2007: 147-48). Thus, the Jezreel compound and Megiddo VA-IVB might have the same pottery, but that does not mean they both represent the 9th century."}}

==History==
===Early Bronze Age===
The first settlement excavated in Tel Hazor is dated to the Early Bronze Age II and III periods, existing at around the 28th and 24th centuries BCE. It was part of a system of settlements around the [[Hula Valley]], including [[Abel-beth-maachah|Abel Beth Maachah]], [[Dan (ancient city)|Dan]] and [[Kedesh]]. The settlement was exposed in limited areas where a few houses were discovered. Based on these finds, Early Bronze Age Hazor was not a significant settlement. With that said, it seems that a large monumental structure dated to the following Middle Bronze Age period was already erected in the Early Bronze Age, sometime after the 27th century BCE. If this is true it implies that already in its beginnings, Hazor was a well-planned settlement that served as an urban center. It also shows one of the earliest examples of [[basalt]] slabs used as foundations to walls ([[orthostates]]) in the [[Southern Levant]], only preceded by a temple from [[Tel Megiddo]]. The transition to the Early Bronze Age III period is characterized by the movement of people from rural areas within the valley to major urban sites such as Hazor, Dan and Abel Beth Maachah. Thus the establishment of a possible palace in Hazor, as well as in Dan, attest to this phenomenon.<ref name=":0" />

A large part of Hazor's pottery from that time belongs to the [[Khirbet Kerak]] type. A [[Petrography|petrographic]] study of these vessels has shown that they were made with local clays and that Hazor played a key role in distributing them across the country. The study also showed that other types of pottery were made of a different source of local clay. This use of two different local clays for two different families of vessels might indicate a technical decision or otherwise the presence of two or more workshops. One theory suggests that the manufacturers of the Khirbet Kerak tools, which were introduced to the settlement, chose or were forced to use a different source of clay, not controlled by the other workshops. Noteworthy is the discovery of 15 [[cylinder seal]] impressions on pottery from this period, added to another found some 2 kilometers south. This assemblage is one of the largest in the southern Levant and the fact it was found in such a small excavation area further supports the reconstruction of Hazor as an important city during this period.<ref name=":0">Sharon Zuckerman (June 2013), [https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5615/neareastarch.76.2.0068#metadata_info_tab_contents Hazor in the Early Bronze Age], [[Near Eastern Archaeology (journal)|''Near Eastern Archaeology'']], Vol 76, No. 2, pp. 68–73</ref>

===Intermediate Bronze Age===
Compared to the rest of Canaan, Hazor and Megiddo did not show signs of urban decline in the Intermediate Bronze Age. In Hazor, there was evidence of human settlements and a thriving economy, based on copper ingots and pottery from the Megiddo Ware family.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Shlomit Bechar |title=Tel Hazor: A Key Site of the Intermediate Bronze Age |journal=[[Near Eastern Archaeology (journal)|Near Eastern Archaeology]] |date=June 2013 |volume=76 |issue=2 |pages=73–75 |jstor=10.5615/neareastarch.76.2.0073 |doi=10.5615/neareastarch.76.2.0073 |s2cid=164990790}}</ref>

In 2021, archaeologists discovered that Intermediate Bronze Age (ca. 2300–2200 BC) Hazor was preceded by years of abandonment, which started in the Early Bronze Age III (ca. 2500 BC). The latter was left in ruins but the new city built on top followed similar architectural patterns.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lev |first1=Ron |last2=Bechar |first2=Shlomit |last3=Boaretto |first3=Elisabetta |date=2021 |title=Hazor Eb III City Abandonment and Iba People Return: Radiocarbon Chronology and ITS Implications |journal=Radiocarbon |volume=63 |issue=5 |page=1453 |doi=10.1017/RDC.2021.76 |bibcode=2021Radcb..63.1453L |doi-access=free }}</ref>

===Middle Bronze Age===
During the Middle Bronze II (1820–1550 BC), Hazor was a vassal of [[Ishi-Addu]] of [[Qatna]] and his son [[Amut-piʾel II|Amutpiel II]]. Qatna was at the time a rival of the Great Kingdom of Yamhad centered on Aleppo, which also included Ebla and Hamath. Qatna controlled territory towards the Akkar Plain and the Beqa Valley to Hazor. However, Qatna also faced rebellions in the south, often instigated by Yamhad. In any case, Hazor was under strong Syrian influence from the north.

====King Ibni-Addu====
A king Ibni-Addu of Hazor (c. 1770–1765 BC) is known.<ref name="Sasson">Sasson, Jack M. "Introduction". ''From the Mari Archives: An Anthology of Old Babylonian Letters'', University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, 2015, pp. 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781575063768-002</ref> There are trade routes connecting Hazor with Zimri-Lim of Mari and Yarim-Lim of Yamhad. Tin trade was important used together with copper to make the alloy bronze. For a brief period, Mari received tin from Elam before their friendship collapsed. ARMT 23 556 (dating to year 9–10 of Zimri-Lim) mentions this tin trade and Ibni-Addu of Hazor.<ref name="Sasson" /> At Hazor, a letter fragment addressed to king Ibni-Addu of Hazor is known.<ref>Israel Antiquities Authority, IAA 1997-3304; https://www.imj.org.il/en/collections/393323-0</ref><ref name="Goren">Goren, Y. (2000). "Provenance Study of the Cuneiform Texts from Hazor." ''Israel Exploration Journal'', 50(1/2), 29–42. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27926915</ref>

====Execration texts====
In Egypt, Hazor is mentioned in the [[execration texts]].

====Mari Archive====
At [[Mari, Syria|Mari]] (Syria), on the Euphrates River, letters mention Hazor during the reigns of [[Yasmah-Adad]] and [[Zimri-Lim]] (1775–1761 BC).<ref>Abraham Malamat, "Silver, Gold, and Precious Stones from Hazor" in a New Mari Document, ''The Biblical Archaeologist'', vol. 46, no. 3, pp. 169–174, (Summer, 1983)</ref> Hazor is part of a trade route Hazor-Qatna-Mari. A tablet fragment was also found at Hazor which listed an expected trade path from Hazor to Mari and then on to Ekallatum.<ref>Horowitz, Wayne, and Nathan Wasserman. "An Old Babylonian Letter from Hazor with Mention of Mari and Ekallātum." ''Israel Exploration Journal'', vol. 50, no. 3/4, 2000, pp. 169–74</ref> The Mari Letter (IAA 1997-3305) is a list of commodities from Mari to Hazor.<ref name="Goren" />

[[File:Hatzor-IsraeliteBastion.jpg|thumb|250px|Archaeological remains at Hazor]]

===Late Bronze Age===
{{hiero|ḥwḏꜣr<ref name=Gauthier24>{{cite book |last1=Gauthier |first1=Henri |title=Dictionnaire des Noms Géographiques Contenus dans les Textes Hiéroglyphiques Vol. 4 |date=1927 |page=24 |url=https://archive.org/details/Gauthier1927/page/n15}}</ref><ref name=Budge1021>{{cite book |last1=Wallis Budge |first1=E. A. |title=An Egyptian hieroglyphic dictionary: with an index of English words, king list and geological list with indexes, list of hieroglyphic characters, coptic and semitic alphabets, etc. Vol II |date=1920 |publisher=[[John Murray (publishing house)|John Murray]] |page=[https://archive.org/details/egyptianhierogly02budguoft/page/1021 1021] |url=https://archive.org/details/egyptianhierogly02budguoft}}</ref>|<hiero>F18:Y1-U28-G1-D21:Z1:N25</hiero>|era=nk|align=left}}

At the beginning of the early [[New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]], [[Ahmose I]] started military campaigns into the southern Levant to evict the Hyksos. Several cities were attacked and more military campaigns came with [[Thutmose I]] and later [[Thutmose III]].

Under Thutmose III [[Canaan]] was an Egyptian [[vassal state]].

In the Amarna Period (c. 14th century BCE), the king of Hazor (Hasura) saw its petty king [[Abdi-Tirshi]], as swearing loyalty to the Egyptian pharaoh. In Amarna Tablet EA 148, [[Abimilki|Abi-Milku]], the king of [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]], accused to pharaoh that the land of Hazor is taken by [[ʿApiru|Habiru]] and the king of Hazor aligned with [[ʿApiru|Habiru]], and in EA 228, the king of Hazor requests the pharaoh to remember the harm that is done (by [[ʿApiru|Habiru/ʿApiru]] or neighboring cities) against his city.<ref>Moran, William L. (1992). [https://archive.org/details/amarnaletters0000unse_c3q4 The Amarna Letters]. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-4251-4.</ref>

[[File:Amarna letter. A letter from Abdi-Tirshi (King of Hazor) to the Egyptian Pharaoh Amenhotep III or his son Akhenaten. 14th century BCE. From Tell el-Amarna, Egypt. The British Museum.jpg|thumb|Amarna letter. A letter from Abdi-Tirshi (King of Hazor) to the Egyptian Pharaoh Amenhotep III or his son Akhenaten. 14th century BCE. From Tell el-Amarna, Egypt. The British Museum]]

According to the [[Book of Joshua]], Hazor was the seat of [[Jabin]], a powerful Canaanite king who led a Canaanite confederation against [[Joshua]], an Israelite military commander. However, Joshua and his soldiers defeated the Canaanites and burnt Hazor to the ground.<ref>Joshua 11:1–5, 11:10–13</ref> According to the [[Book of Judges]], Hazor was the seat of Jabin, the king of Canaan, whose commander, [[Sisera]], led a Canaanite army against [[Barak]], but was ultimately defeated.<ref>Judges 4</ref> [[Textual criticism|Textual scholars]] believe that the prose account of Barak, which differs from the [[poem|poetic]] account in the [[Song of Deborah]], is a conflation of accounts of two separate events, one concerning Barak and Sisera like the poetic account, the other concerning Jabin's confederation and defeat.<ref name=Peakes>''[[Peake's commentary on the Bible]]''</ref> 

[[File:Tel hatzor.JPG|thumb|left|250px|Aerial photo of Tel Hazor. Remains of Iron and Bronze Age cities are seen in the upper tell, and the lower tell stretches to the right and beyond the frame of this photo.]]

Amnon Ben-Tor of the [[Hebrew University of Jerusalem]] believes that recently unearthed evidence of violent destruction by burning verifies the Biblical account.<ref>Ben-tor, Amnon (2013). [https://www.academia.edu/35948616/Who_Destroyed_Canaanite_Hazor «Who Destroyed Canaanite Hazor?»]. BAR.</ref> In 2012, a team led Ben-Tor and Sharon Zuckerman discovered a scorched palace from the 13th century BCE in whose storerooms they found ewers holding burned crops; Sharon Zuckerman did not agree with Ben-Tor's theory, and claimed that the burning was the result of the city's numerous factions opposing each other with excessive force.<ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/a-3-400-year-old-mystery-who-burned-the-palace-of-canaanite-hatzor-1.453095 A 3,400-year-old mystery: Who burned the palace of Canaanite Hatzor], [[Haaretz]]</ref> [[Israel Finkelstein]] claims that the Israelites emerged as a subculture within Canaanite society and rejects the biblical account of the Israelite conquest of Canaan.<ref name=Finkelstein>[[Israel Finkelstein]], ''[[The Bible Unearthed]]''</ref> In this view, the Book of Joshua conflates several independent battles between disparate groups over the centuries, and artificially attributes them to a single leader, Joshua.<ref name=Peakes /> One archaeological [[stratum]] dating from around 1200&nbsp;BCE (13th century BCE) shows signs of catastrophic fire, and cuneiform tablets found at the site refer to monarchs named ''Ibni Addi'', where ''Ibni'' may be the [[etymology|etymological]] origin of ''Yavin'' (''Jabin'').<ref>https://embassies.gov.il/MFA/IsraelExperience/history/Pages/Hatzor%20-%20The%20Head%20of%20all%20those%20Kingdoms.aspx {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2024}}</ref> The city also show signs of having been a magnificent Canaanite city prior to its destruction, with great temples and opulent palaces, split into an upper [[acropolis]], and lower city; the town evidently had been a major Canaanite city. He theorized that the destruction of Hazor was the result of civil strife, attacks by the [[Sea Peoples]], and/or a result of the [[Bronze Age collapse|general collapse]] of civilization across the whole [[Eastern Mediterranean]] in the Late Bronze Age.<ref name=Finkelstein /> More recently, Shlomit Bechar holds that a complex of cultic standing stones (''matzebot'') from the Iron I and Iron IIa Israelite strata at Hazor was built to commemorate the Israelite conquest of the city. She writes that, whether the Israelites did destroy Hazor or not, this complex shows that the conquest tradition probably emerged at an early date.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Take a Stone and Set It Up as a "Maṣṣẹ̄bā": The Tradition of Standing Stones at Hazor |journal=Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26602398 |last=Bechar |first=Shlomit |issue=1 |volume=134 |pages=28–45 |year=2018 |jstor=26602398 |issn=0012-1169}}</ref>

Some scholars argue the Book of Judges and Book of Joshua may be parallel accounts referring to the same events, rather than describing different time periods,<ref name=Peakes/><ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia'', Book of Joshua, Book of Judges</ref> and thus they may refer to the same Jabin, a powerful king based in Hazor, whose Canaanite confederation was defeated by an Israelite army.<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia'', ''Jabin''</ref>

Some Christian polemicists report that the [[Allah as a lunar deity|lunar origins of Allah]] can be found in Hazor, which has been criticized by archaeologists.<ref>[http://mquran.org/content/view/9276/16/ Reply To Robert Morey's Moon-God Allah Myth: A Look At The Archaeological Evidence], in ''mquran.org'', 22 November 2006</ref>

===Israelite Hazor===
[[File:Hatzor-SolomonicGate.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The six-chambered gate from the Israelite period, view from the north-west. Similar gates have also been found at Hazor, Megiddo, and Lachish.<ref name= madain>{{cite web |title=Tel Hazor Israelite City Gate |url=https://madainproject.com/tel_hazor_israelite_gate |website=Madain Project |access-date=10 May 2020}}</ref>]]

The archaeological remains suggest that after its destruction, the city of Hazor was rebuilt as a minor village within "the territory of Naphtali" ([[Book of Joshua|Joshua]] 19:36).<ref>"Negev," Avraham/Gibson, Shimon, ''Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land'', New York/London 2001, p.220, {{ISBN|978-0-8264-1316-1}} (English)</ref> According to the [[Books of Kings]], the town, along with [[Tel Megiddo|Megiddo]], and [[Gezer]], was substantially fortified and expanded by [[Solomon]].<ref>1 Kings 9:15</ref> Like Megiddo and Gezer, the remains at Hazor show that during the Early Iron Age the town gained a highly distinctive ''six-chambered'' [[gate]], as well as a characteristic style to its administration buildings; archaeologists determined that these constructions at Hazor were built by the same leadership as those at Megiddo and Gezer.<ref name=Finkelstein /> Many archaeologists conclude that they were constructed in the tenth century by King Solomon;<ref>William G. Dever, [https://books.google.com/books?id=6-VxwC5rQtwC&pg=PA43 What Did the Biblical Writers Know, and when Did They Know It?] 2002 p.43</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |title=Hazor in the Tenth Century B.C.E. |journal=Near Eastern Archaeology |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.5615/neareastarch.76.2.0105 |last=Ben-Tor |first=Amnon |issue=2 |volume=76 |pages=105–109 |doi=10.5615/neareastarch.76.2.0105 |year=2013 |s2cid=164757762 |issn=1094-2076|url-access=subscription }}</ref> others date these structures to the early 9th century BCE, during the reign of the [[Omrides]].<ref name=Finkelstein />

[[Yigael Yadin]], one of the earliest archaeologists to work on the site, saw certain features as clearly being Omride; Megiddo, Gezer, and Hazor, all feature deep rock cut pits, from the base of which were rock cut tunnels leading to a well that reached the [[water table]], as water-supply systems, which Yadin attributed to the rule of [[Ahab]]; Yadin also attributed to Ahab a citadel, measuring 25 × 21&nbsp;m, with two-meter thick walls, which was erected in the western part of Hazor. It has been claimed that Yadin's dating was based on the assumption that the layer connected with the gates and administration buildings were built by Solomon.<ref name=Finkelstein />

Archaeologist [[William G. Dever]] estimates the city's population to have been between 500 and 1,000 people during the 9th and 8th centuries BCE.<ref name=":022">{{Cite book |last=Dever |first=William G. |title=Beyond the Texts: an archaeological portrait of ancient Israel and Judah |date=2017 |publisher=SBL Press |isbn=978-0-88414-218-8 |location=Atlanta |pages=392}}</ref>

Archaeological remains indicate that towards the later half of the 9th century BCE, when the king of Israel was [[Jehu]], Hazor fell into the control of [[Aram Damascus]]. Some archaeologists suspect that subsequent to this conquest Hazor was rebuilt by Aram, probably as an Aramaean city. When the [[Assyria]]ns later defeated the Aramaeans, Hazor seemingly returned to Israelite control; Assyrian records indicate that [[Jehoash of Israel|Joash]], king of Israel at the time, had paid tribute to Assyria and Israel had become an Assyrian vassal state.<ref name="Finkelstein" /> Subsequently, the town, along with the remainder of the kingdom of Israel, entered a period of great prosperity, particularly during the rule of [[Jeroboam II]]. Some archaeologists attribute the later large scale constructions at Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer, including the rock cut water supply systems, to this era.

Israel's attempted rebellion against Assyrian domination resulted in an invasion by the forces of the Assyrian ruler, [[Tiglath-Pileser III]]; the evidence on the ground suggests that hasty attempts were made to reinforce the defenses of Hazor.<ref name=Finkelstein /> Despite the defences, in 732&nbsp;BCE Hazor was captured, its population deported,<ref name=Finkelstein /><ref>2 Kings 15:29</ref> and the city was burnt to the ground.<ref name=Finkelstein />

==See also==
*[[Archaeology of Israel]]
*[[Cities of the ancient Near East]]
*[[Early Israelite campaigns]]
*[[Hatzor HaGlilit]]
*[[National parks and nature reserves of Israel]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Ruhama Bonfil and Anabel Zarzecki-Peleg, "The Palace in the Upper City of Hazor as an Expression of a Syrian Architectural Paradigm," ''Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research'', no. 348, pp.&nbsp;25–47, Nov 2007
* Ruhama Bonfil, "Coming before the King—A Ceremonial Basin in Hazor's Throne Room." ''Eretz-Israel'' 30 (Amnon Ben-Tor Volume): 59–72 (Hebrew), 145*–46* (English summary).
* Bonfil R. and Zarzecki-Peleg A., 2022, "'The iron which the king, my lord, gave to the smiths for work': Aspects of Authority and Prestige in the City Plan of Hazor Stratum VIII." in U. Davidovich, N. Yahalom-Mack & S. Matskevich (eds.), ''Material, Method, and Meaning: Papers in Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology in Honor of Ilan Sharon'', Ägypten und Altes Testament, vol. 110, Zaphon, Münster, pp.&nbsp;313–335
* Schulamit Geva, Hazor, Israel (British Archaeological Reports (BAR)), BAR, 1989, {{ISBN|978-0-86054-689-4}}
*[https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/258353/1/NEA_UehlingerB_Mastering_the_seven_headed_serpent_FINAL.pdf]Uehlinger, Christoph, "Mastering the Seven-Headed Serpent: A Stamp Seal from Hazor Provides a Missing Link between Cuneiform and Biblical Mythology", Near Eastern Archaeology 87.1, pp. 14-19, 2024
* Yadin Yigael and Et Al. Yadin, Hazor I: An Account of the First Season of Excavations, 1955, Magnes Press, 1958
* Yadin Yigael, Hazor II: An Account of the Second Season of Excavations, 1956 [James A. De Rothschild Expedition at Hazor], Oxford University Press, 1961, {{ISBN|978-0-19-647165-5}}
* Yadin Yigael, Hazor III–IV. An Account of the Third and Fourth Seasons of Excavations, 1957–1958. The James A. De Rothschild Expedition at Hazor, Biblical Archaeology Society, 1989, {{ISBN|978-965-221-008-1}}
* A. Ben Tor and [[Robert Bonfil]], Hazor: v. 5: The James A De Rothschild Expedition at Hazor (Ancient synagogues studies), Israel Exploration Society, 1997, {{ISBN|978-965-221-003-6}}
* Yadin Yigael, Hazor (Schweich Lectures on Biblical Archaeology), British Academy, 1972, {{ISBN|978-0-19-725925-2}}
* Yadin Yigael, Hazor: Rediscovery of a Great Citadel of the Bible, Littlehampton, 1975, {{ISBN|978-0-297-76845-6}}
* Zarzecki-Peleg, A and Bonfil, R. (2011) "A Syrian City-State in Mitanni's Orbit?" ''Ugarit-Forschungen'' 43: 537–567
* Zarzecki-Peleg, A and Bonfil, R. (2011) "A Syrian City-State in Mitanni's Orbit?" ''Ugarit-Forschungen'' 43: 537–567
* S. Zuckerman, "Where is the Archive of Hazor Buried?" ''Biblical Archaeology Review'', vol. 32, pp.&nbsp;28–37, 2006
* S. Zuckerman, "'...Slaying oxen and Killing Sheep, Eating Flesh and Drinking Wine...': Feasting in Late Bronze Age Hazor," ''Palestine Exploration Quarterly'', 139,3 (2007), 186-204.

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* [http://hazor.huji.ac.il The Hazor Excavations Project] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511195012/http://hazor.huji.ac.il/ |date=2011-05-11 }} – [[Hebrew University of Jerusalem]]
* [http://www.yadinproductions.com/yadin_archeology.html "Yadin photographs & footage of the excavations"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080117142713/http://www.yadinproductions.com/yadin_archeology.html |date=2008-01-17 }}
* [http://hazor.huji.ac.il/hazorbooks.htm The Hazor Excavation Reports] – Hebrew University of Jerusalem
* [https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1108 UNESCO World Heritage site for Hazor]

{{World Heritage Sites in Israel}}
{{National parks of Israel}}{{Ancient states and regions of the Levant}}{{Sites of the Israelite Settlement}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hazor}}
[[Category:Tel Hazor| ]]
[[Category:Populated places established in the 3rd millennium BC]]
[[Category:Populated places disestablished in the 8th century BC]]
[[Category:Razed cities]]
[[Category:Upper Galilee]]
[[Category:Land of Israel]]
[[Category:Bronze Age sites in Israel]]
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in Israel]]
[[Category:National parks of Israel]]
[[Category:Amarna letters locations]]
[[Category:Canaanite cities]]
[[Category:Former populated places in Israel]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Northern District (Israel)]]
[[Category:Bronze Age palaces in Israel]]
[[Category:Tells (archaeology)]]
[[Category:Omrides]]
[[Category:Book of Joshua]]
[[Category:Book of Judges]]