Iron Age (1200 to 586 B.C.)

Iron Age I (1200-1000 B.C.) and Iron Age II (1000-586 B.C.) saw the emergence of iron tools and weapons and a remarkable development of cities throughout the Near East. Numerous events recorded in the Bible are thought to have taken place during this time, and many digs focus on uncovering Iron Age strata.

The Israelites emerged in Canaan during Iron Age I; the United and Divided Monarchies occurred in Iron Age II. Hazor, with temples dating to the Canaanite period and administrative buildings dating to the Israelite period, was ruled by King Jabin, who unsuccessfully attempted to oppose Joshua. The Book of Joshua says the city was burned after its defeat by Joshua (Joshua 11:10-13), and artifacts from the excavation show that there was a great conflagration at the site at the end of the Late Bronze Age.

While the Israelites were emerging at Canaan, the Ammonites were establishing themselves east of Jordan. At Jalul on the Madaba Plain, a seal with Ammonite names was discovered, implying that the Ammonite rule reached as far as Madaba.

In the 11th century B.C. the Israelites came together under the leadership of Saul; David, his successor, established himself as king and made Jerusalem his capital in 1000 B.C. Israelite rule reached its peak under David’s son, Solomon, who built a great temple to Yahweh in the 10th century B.C. After Solomon’s death, the territory was split into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. Five years after that, the Egyptian pharaoh Shishak led an overwhelming military campaign against both kingdoms, but both managed to survive.

In the eighth century the Assyrians pillaged much of the northern Israelite kingdom; in the south, King Hezekiah saw his kingdom greatly weakened, but he managed to keep Jerusalem from falling to the Assyrian onslaught. The kingdom of Judah lasted until the Babylonians conquered it in the early sixth century B.C. Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian ruler, then destroyed Jerusalem and exiled the Judahites in 586 B.C., bringing an end to the Iron Age.

Other Iron Age sites include: Ashkelon, Tel Harassim, Beth-Shemesh, Tell Safut, Dor, Hadar, Kinneret, Yatir, Tel Zayit and Khirbat al-Mudayna.