“[I killed Jeho]ram son of [Ahab] King of Israel… And [I] slew [the king] of the house of David” Date- c. 840 BCE Current Location- Skirball Museum, Jerusalem, Israel Language and Script- Aramaic; alphabetic Tel Dan Stele 1 Tel Dan Stele 2. Photo courtesy of Israel Antiquities Authority. General Information- The Tel Dan Stele was […]
Megiddo was one of the most important cities in Canaan and Israel in the biblical period. It was at Megiddo that the Canaanite city-states gathered to rebel against Egyptian domination. According to the Bible, Joshua captured Megiddo (Josh. 12-21) and King Solomon built up Megiddo (1 Kings 9-15). In 732 BCE it was captured by […]
REDIRECT The Battle of Kadesh at the Ramesseum, 1274 BCE
The King of Babylon Captures the Capital of Judah “He (Nebuchadnezzar) encamped against the city of Judah (Jerusalem) and on the second day of Adar, he seized the city and seized the king. He appointed a king of his own pleasure over it [the city]. He took . . . tribute and conveyed it to […]
The Destruction of Samaria “On the twenty-fifth day of the month of Tebet Shalmaneser (V) ascended the throne in Assyria <and Akkad>. He ravaged Samaria.” Date- 722 BCE Current Location- British Museum, London, England (BM 92502) Language and Script- Neo-Babylonian?; cuneiform General Information- Shalmaneser V succeeded Tiglath-Pileser III but ruled the Neo-Assyrian Empire for only […]
Assyrian king appoints Hoshea “Israel (lit- Omri-land Bit-Humria)… All its inhabitants (and) their possessions I led to Assyria. They overthrew their king Pekah (Pa-qa-ha) and I placed Hoshea (A-u-si) as king over them. I received from them 10 talents of gold, 1,000 (?) talents of silver as their [tri]bute and brought them to Assyria.” Date- […]
“I was sent forth from the broad halls of the palace… following after two slaves. Now when I reached the enclosure-wall of the Tjeku… they told [me] they were saying to the south that they had passed by on the third of the month of the third season, day 10. [Now] when [I] reached the […]
The Turin King List or Turin Royal Canon Papyrus dates to Ramesses II and is inscribed with a list of Egyptian Rulers (1279-1213). It mentions the names of all Egyptian rulers preceded by the register of gods that, as it was believed, ruled over Egypt before Pharaohs era. The document, originally complete, fell into about […]
“Israel is wasted, bare of seed” – Merneptah Stele “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with beings divine and human, and have prevailed.” (Genesis 32-29) Date- c. 1207 BCE Current Location- Cairo Museum, Cairo, Egypt Language and Script- Middle (Classical) Egyptian; hieroglyphic Merneptah Stele Close-Up Merneptah Stele Full […]
Seti was the son of Ramesses I and the father of Ramesses II. Seti’s mummy was discovered in 1881, in the mummy cache (tomb DB320) at Deir el-Bahri, and has since been kept at the Cairo Museum.