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Hazor

Aerial view of Tel Hazor. The Bronze Age monumental buildings are covered by a roofed structure (upper-left part of the photo).

The ancient city of Hazor, in the Upper Galilee, was an important Bronze Age site, particularly between 1850 and 1200 B.C.E. Hazor was one of the largest and most influential city-states in Canaan, due in large part to its position on the international trade route between Egypt, and Mesopotamia. The land near Hazor was fertile as well, providing reliable access to food and water  and thereby contributing to the city’s stability and success. It maintained commercial ties with Babylon, Syria, and Egypt and imported tin, a critical commodity for the bronze industry. In the book of Joshua, Hazor is described as the “head of all those kingdoms” (Josh 11:10). In 2005 it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  

Aerial view of Tel Hazor. The Bronze Age monumental buildings are covered by a roofed structure (upper-left part of the photo).

The stage of development during which humans used copper or bronze weapons; in the ancient Near East, approx. 3300 to 1200 B.C.E.

A form of ancient government in which a single city was self-governing and often extended its political sphere to the surrounding countryside. Ancient Mesopotamian and Greek city-states are particularly well-known.

Evaluating its subject carefully, rigorously, and with minimal preconceptions. "Critical" religious scholarship contrasts with popular and sectarian studies.

Literally "mound," a small hill-shaped site containing numerous occupational layers of a town or city built on top of one another over millennia.

Josh 11:10

10Joshua turned back at that time, and took Hazor, and struck its king down with the sword. Before that time Hazor was the head of all those kingdoms.

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