Ḫaṣura
From ArchaeoWiki
| Representative writings and transliterations | |
|---|---|
| Akkadian | Ḫaṣura |
| Egyptian | Ḥ[ḏ]r |
| NW Semitic | הצור [Joshua 1110-13] |
| Greek | |
| Latin | |
| Arabic | Tell el-Qedaḥ |
| Other | Hazor, Haṣor |
| Contemporary | תל הצור, Tell Hazor |
The cuneiform toponym Ḫaṣura is identified with the ancient city-state and territory of Hazor at the site of Tel Hazor (Tell el-Qedaḥ), located in the Huleh Valley.
The toponym is represented in Egyptian hieroglyphic sources as:
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Contents |
Documentation
Primary
Secondary
- pHermitage 1116A vs 77
- EA 148:41-47 (Abi-Milku of Ṣurri)
- EA 364:17-28 (Ayyab of Aštartu)
- pAnastasi I,21,7
Leadership
- ʿAbdi-Tirši (Amarna period, late 14th century BCE)
Discussion
Clearly identified with Tell el-Qedaḥ in the Huleh Valley; with a surface area of circa 85 ha, the largest tel in the land of Canaan. The larger portion of this area - the Lower City - was inhabited only during the second millennium BCE, contemporary with our Akkadian and Egyptian sources.
Observations
Evidently an extremely prominent city-state, Ḫaṣura-Hazor enjoys a high profile within our cuneiform sources from the MBII period onwards: The only Canaanite city to be mentioned in the Mari archive, Hazor is cited on a number of occasions (frequency - significance?) with reference to diplomatic and commercial relationships with north Syrian and upper Mesopotamian kingdoms [Bonechi 1992]. These references have now found independent confirmation with the recovery - in the course of excavations at Tel Hazor - of several tablets of the Old Babylonian period, including one letter itemising textiles and luxury goods probably being prepared for export to Mari [Horowitz and Wasserman 2000].
Hazor in many ways more a Syrian city than a Canaanite... provides an interface between the two sub-regions. This position, combined with the city's strategic control of the Huleh Valley and passes into the Lebanon and southern Syria, large population and access to a large range of natural resources might explain its strength...
Ḫaṣura-Hazor probably included the fertile and highly strategic north Jordan and Huleh valleys as its core territory, its boundaries embracing most of Upper Galilee, a segment of the eastern Lower Galilee and at least the western portion of the Golan Heights. As such, Ḫaṣura-Hazor apparently bordered on .... (complete)
An envoy from Ḥ[ḏ]r is designated as a mryn (maryannu) and allocated one measure of beer and grain upon arrival at the Egyptian court, as revealed by pAnastasi I,21,7 - dating to the reign of Amenhotep II, this record reveals the continuation of the maryannu aristocracy at Hazor and close envoy relations with the Pharaonic administration.
As noted elsewhere [Inscribed in Clay, p.226], the Amarna Letters provide no explicit indication as to the dominance of Hazor within northern Canaan over neighbouring city-states; the two external communications in the Amarna correspondence that do mention Hazor, however, would seem strongly to suggest an expansionist strategy on the part of its Amarna period ruler, who seemingly enjoyed a long reach in the regions of the Upper Galilee and Golan at least:
- EA 148:41-47 - Abimilki of Ṣurri-Tyre, having outlined an act of hostility on the part of the Sidonian king, further reports that "The king of Ḫaṣura has abandoned his house and has aligned himself with the ʿApiru. May the king be concerned about the palace attendants. These are treacherous fellows. He has taken over the land of the king for the ʿApiru. May the king ask his commissioner, who is familiar with Canaan". It seems Abimilki was greatly concerned by the strategy of neighbouring Hazor’s ruler (not named) and in the same letter asks for additional personnel to boost his security and prestige accordingly.
- EA 364:17-28 - Ayyab of Aštartu reports to Pharaoh, "Moreover, note that it is the ruler of Ḫaṣura who has taken 3 cities from me. From the time I heard and verified this, there has been waging of war against him".
On the basis of this last communication we can reconstruct a common border between Ḫaṣura and Aštartu, perhaps somewhere along the heights of the Upper Golan.
Hazor, the route of march to the city, and the river associated with it are mentioned in pAnastasi I.
Bibliography
- Bienkowski, Piotr [1987], "The Role of Hazor in the Late Bronze Age", PEQ 119 (1987), pp.50-61.
- Bonechi, M. "Relations amicales syro-palestiniennes: Mari et Haṣor au XVIIIe siècle av. J.-C.", in Durand, J.-M., Florelagium Marianum - Recueil d'études en l'honneur de Michael Fleury, [Mémories de NABU 2], Paris, 1992, pp.9-22.
- Horowitz, Wayne and Wasserman, N., "An Old Babylonian Letter from Hazor with Mention of Mari and Ekallatum", IEJ 50 (2000), pp.169-174.
- Täubler, Eugen, "Chazor in den Briefen von Tell el-Amarna", Festschrift für Leo Baeck, Berlin, 1938, pp.9-30.
