Qarqur (Ancient Karkara)
The confederation consisted of troops from the cities of Damascus and Hamath from the Phoenician coastal states, and even a cohort of camel-mounted troops led by the wonderfully-named 'Gindibu the Arab'. Significantly, there was also a contingent supplied by Ahab, King of the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
An account of the battle with these details is inscribed on the 'Kurkh Stela' (now in the British Museum) as a great Assyrian victory in which Shalmaneser cut swathes through the enemy, making absolute mincemeat of them. However, as the Assyrians did not return to the area for some years, this may be a rather biased view of events! Whatever the element of propaganda present in Shalmaneser's account, it does provide a great deal of information concerning the alliance of city-states, and provides an independent, corroborative reference to a biblical personality.
The site of Tell Qarqur has been excavated for some years by Dr. Rudolph Dornemann on behalf of the American Schools of Oriental Research. Dr. Dornemann has excavated the impressive defenses of the Iron Age city, with exposures revealing the earlier, Middle and Early Bronze Age towns.
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The gateway and defensive wall excavations at Tell Qarqur The substantial Iron Age defences can be seen in these excavation trenches. The tour bus waits for us patiently below. |