Middle Bronze-late Bronze transitional period in Palestine Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Watanabe, Hiroaki Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 26/09/2021 06:49:25 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/279960 INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has t)een reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly firom the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. 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ProQuest Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Art>or, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 MIDDLE BRONZE-LATE BRONZE TRANSITIONAL PERIOD IN PALESTINE by Hiroaki Watanabe Copyright © Hiroaki Watanabe 2002 A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF NEAR EASTERN STUDIES In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 2002 UMI Number 3050322 Copyright 2002 by Watanabe, Hiroaki All rights reserved. UMI UMI Microform 3050322 Copyright 2002 by ProQuest Information and Leaming Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17. United States Code. ProQuest Information and Leaming Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 2 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA « GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of che Final Examination Committee, we certify that we have Hiroaki Watanabo read the dissertation prepared by_ entitled Bronze-l.ate Bronze Transitional Period in Palestine. and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the Degree of Dortor of Philosophy Dati ward Wi/itfht DaT? Beth A. Nakhai Date Date Date Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate's aubKiSBion of the final copy of the dissertation to the Graduate College. I hereby certify chat I have read this dissercation prepared under my direction and recoaacnd chac ic be accepced as fulfilling che dissercacion requiremenc. Dissertation Dlrsctor ,, ,, i am G. D>.ver ">•" 3 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fiiiflllment of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the copyright holder. 4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation, for whose content I am solely responsible, was completed under the supervision of the faculty of the department of Near Eastern Studies: Dr. William G. Dever, Dr. J. Edward Wright and Dr. Beth A. Nakhai. I would like to express my utmost gratitude for their constructive reviews wtiich gready improved my writing. I am especially thankful for Dr. Dever, my dissertation director, for his generous support and encouragement in my completion. DEDICATION To My Parents 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES 8 ABSTRACT 9 CHAPTER I- INTRODUCTION 11 1.1 Previous Research 13 1.1.1 Recent Challenges 16 1.1.1.1 Textual Approach by Hoffmeier (1989) 16 1.1.1.2 Hurrian Invasion Theory by Na'aman(1994). 19 1.1.2 Respondents 22 1.1.2.1 Textual Approach 23 1.1.2.2 Hurrian Invasion Theory 25 1.2 Critique 29 1.3 Strategies of This Research 34 CHAPTER 2-SITES AND EGYPTLaiN DOCUMENTS 37 2.1 Site Survey 37 2.1.1 Hazor 39 2.1.2 Megiddo 46 2.1.3 Shechem 48 2.1.4 Shiloh 55 2.1.5 Jericho 58 2.1.6 Gezer 71 2.1.7 Tell Beit Mirsim 80 2.1.8 TeUel-'Ajjul 85 2.1.9 TeU el-Far'ah (South) 89 2.1.10 Summary Table of Stratigraphy 91 2.2 TeUel-Dab'a 93 2.3 Egyptian Documents 97 2.3.1 Ahmose 97 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS, Continued 2.3.2 Amenhotep I 99 2.3.3 Thutmosis I 99 2.3.4 Thutmosis II 100 2.3.5 Hatshepsut 101 2.3.6 Thutmosis HI 102 CHAPTER 3- CONCLUSION: INTERPRETATION & SYNTHESIS ... 107 3.1 Destruction in Archaeological Record 107 3.2 Egyptian Campaigns 110 3.3 Cause of Destruction 112 REFERENCES 115 8 LIST OF TABLES TABLE 1: Egyptian Chronology 13 TABLE 2: Site List—possible MB III destruction 38 TABLE 3: Summary Table of Stratigraphy 91 9 ABSTRACT The end of the Middle Bronze Age in Palestine during the 16th century B.C. E. coincides with the expulsion of the Hyksos and the rise of the 18th Dynasty in Egypt. During the transitional period between the Middle Bronze Age and the Late Bronze Age in Palestine (circa. 16th~15th century B.C.E.), many sites that had enjoyed prosperity in the Middle Bronze Age su^ered destruction that was so devastating that they were left abandoned until the Late Bronze Age I period. What exactly happened to cause such prosperous sites to be destroyed and abandoned during the transitional period? To answer this question, we have surveyed Egyptian texts from Ahmose to Thutmosis III and ten key sites: Hazor, Megiddo, Shechem, Shiloh, Jericho, Gezer, Tell Beit Mirsim, Tell el-'Ajjul, Tell el-Far'ah (South) and Tell el-Dab'a (Avaris). The results are as follows: Destruction was observed at all sites with the exception of Megiddo, Tell el-Fa'ah (South) and perhaps Tell el-Dab'a, whose graves were thoroughly plundered. There is a consistency in the date of destruction; it occurred in the MB/LB transition while Jericho was destroyed sometime in the 10 Middle Bronze Age. Sites after destruction also show some consistency; They experienced overall collapse as gaps of occupation followed. The fact that Egyptians, led by Ahmose, plundered the graves of Avaris, suggests that the action was punitive. After establishing his campaign residence at Avaris, Ahmose planned to break the power of the Hyksos in southern Palestine and attacked Shamhen. Thutmosis Ill's claim that he took 119 cities might not be an exaggeration: His siege of Megiddo lasted seven months, which would have allowed the Egyptians to dispatch auxiliary forces against other cities. After considering various causes that could account for destruction, we have concluded that the only one that can explain why destruction consistently occurred in the same phase, and why gaps of occupation consistently followed destruction, is the Egyptian campaigns. 11 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION After 2000 B.C.E., a major transformation occurred in Palestine that initiated the Middle Bronze Age. Sites that were previously abandoned were reoccupied and urbanization was resumed. Palestine saw a period of rapid recovery and reached its zenith toward the end of the Middle Bronze Age. Besides cultural prosperity, one of the characteristics of the period is that nearly all sites of various sizes were fortiHed with city walls (Dever 1987:150-154). The end of the Middle Bronze Age in Palestine during the 16th century B.C.E. coincides with the expulsion of the Hyksos and the rise of the 18th Dynasty in Egypt. During the transitional period between the Middle Bronze Age and the Late Bronze Age in Palestine (circa. 16th~15th century B.C.E.), many sites that had enjoyed prosperity in the Middle Bronze Age suffered destruction that was so devastating that many sites were left abandoned until the Late Bronze Age I period. What exactly happened to cause such prosperous sites to be destroyed 12 and abandoned during the transitional period, 1500-1450 B.C.E. (henceforth MB/LB transition)? To begin our quest to answer this question, we will review previous research, evaluate the previous attempts to provide an explanation, and present strategies in this thesis to And a solution. Any discussion of this era in Palestine must begin with a chronology of Egypt because it was the Egyptian New Kingdom that dominated the region in the following Late Bronze Age. In our discussion, we agree with Kitchen's neutral position that allows two chronologies: a ^high' and a 'low' gathered from various alternatives (1989:49-52). For convenience, we adopt the low chronology that seems to command more adherents (see Table 1).' 'High or Low debates depend on the location where Sothic sightings were observed. For instance, the low chronology assumes that the sightings took place at Elephantine while the high chronology locates the sightings at Memphis. Regrettably, the current evidence available is not sufficient to determine a dependable, accurate, and acceptable absolute chronology for Egypt during the Bronze Age (Ward 1992:63; cf.