was found in both the upper and lower cities to confirm that the Hazor of the Late Bronze I Age indeed was destroyed by a great fire, and that the “cultic centers seemed to have been singled out for especially harsh treatment by the conquerors in the 15th century” BC.[55]V. THUTMOSE III AS THE DESTROYER OF THE LATE BRONZE I CITY1. Pro Thutmose III. To whom does Hazor’s chief archaeologist attribute the destruction of the city of the Late Bronze I Age? According to Ben-Tor’s published excavation report, “This destruction is most probably contemporary with the end of Stratum 2 in the lower city, which may have been the result of the military campaign led by Thutmosis III.”[56] The association between Stratum 2 of the lower city and Stratum XV on the tel—the level of the Late Bronze I findings in Area M—remains undisputed, but does the extant evidence agree with Ben-Tor’s proposal that Thutmose III just may be the right choice for the destroyer of the city of this age?In the first half of the 15th century BC, during the nearly 54-year-long reign of Thutmose III, Egypt reached the zenith of its imperial expansion, receiving tribute from nations as far away as Assyria and Babylon.[57] Yadin connects this era in Egypt’s history to the “LB I [Hazor] which still existed in the times of Thutmosis III.”[58] This valiant pharaoh launched 17 known military campaigns into/through Syro-Palestine, during any of which he could have reduced Hazor to rubble and burned it to the ground. The record of his exploits in neighboring Palestine clearly makes him prime suspect number one, but does the record warrant that he can or should be dubbed as the figure most likely to have destroyed Late Bronze I Hazor?Thutmose III is credited with initiating the ANE custom of listing the Asiatic and African peoples whom he conquered, or over whom he claimed dominion. In the Temple of Amun at Karnak, three of his lists bear inscriptions with the names of conquered peoples. Subsequent New-Kingdom (ca. 1560–1069 BC) pharaohs followed this example by compiling such lists also, among whom are Amenhotep II, Thutmose IV, Amenhotep III, Horemheb, Seti I, Ramses II, and Ramses III. One city on Thutmose III’s conquest-lists is Hazor, meaning that he either destroyed or subjugated it. Which of these two options is correct, though? The answer seems to lie with Amenhotep II (ca. 1455–1418 BC), his son and successor, who also lists Hazor among the cities that he conquered.[59] Yet, could Amenhotep II himself have conquered or subjugated Hazor if his father recently had razed the city and burned it to the ground? Archaeology and epigraphy answer all of these questions.2. Contra Thutmose III. Evidence related to the reigns of Thutmose III and Amenhotep II strongly contradicts the theory that Thutmose III may be responsible for the destruction of Late Bronze I Hazor.a. Evidence related to the reign of Thutmose III. Thutmose III is far more likely to have subjugated Hazor than actually to have destroyed it.
In support of this conclusion is the parallel that exists with
several other cities that were destroyed or subjugated by Thutmose III and Amenhotep II. Relevant among these cities are Aleppo, Kadesh, and Tunip. Kadesh, which is considered to have been the most powerful city in Syria and was mentioned already as being the focal point of rebellious opposition to Egypt at the outset of the reign of Thutmose III, is the closest of these cities in proximity to Hazor.[60] Not to be deterred, Egypt’s greatest imperialistic pharaoh eventually attacked Kadesh and “destroyed” the city. However, Pritchard notes this about the invasion of Kadesh: “The word ‘destroy,’ used with reference to this town, is not to be taken literally; Thutmose may have done no more than destroy its food supplies.”[61] Redford concurs, as he writes, “The mountains were crossed and Kadesh attacked directly. Although the terse entry in the daybook reads ‘destroying it,’ it is clear that the city itself did not fall, and suffered only the laying waste of its orchards and crops.”[62]Even Kadesh, the fierce enemy of Thutmose III that led a rebellion against Egypt at the outset of his reign as sole regent, was not razed or burned down by this pharaoh. If loathsome Kadesh was shown such mercy, as confirmed by Amenhotep II’s later “destruction” of that city also, what reason would Thutmose III have to burn down nearby Hazor?[63] The primary goal of this imperialist was subjugation and tribute-collection, not destruction and annihilation.[64] Only on rare occasions would he so devastate a city, as he had no intention of applying a scorched-earth policy.[65] Actually, these cities were merely stepping stones toward his ultimate goals: the defeat of Mitanni, the conquest of Mesopotamia and its environs, and the status of dominant world-empire.[66] Since Hazor was located on this pharaoh’s normal campaigning route, he and his enormous army would be far wiser to preserve and exploit Hazor, as their 17 campaigns through Palestine required innumerable supplies. A central part of the Egyptian campaigning policy in Palestine was to provide food for the troops and horses.[67]b. Evidence related to the reign of Amenhotep II. Even stronger evidence demonstrating that Thutmose III did not burn the city to the ground is that Hazor was a functioning city during Amenhotep II’s reign, and that Amenhotep II himself could not have burned the city to the ground either, despite his own claim to have destroyed Hazor. This conclusion is based on both archaeological and epigraphical evidence. Archaeologically, Hazor’s stratigraphy reveals a notably long period of non-habitation that occurred between the city’s Late Bronze I and Late Bronze II occupations, thus demonstrating that Hazor sat deserted for a considerable time after its conflagration at the close of Late Bronze I. Yadin writes in reference to the findings in the lower city, “In view of a considerable accumulation between Stratum 2 and Stratum 1B above it, it may be assumed perhaps that there was a gap in the history of Hazor, some time in the middle of the fifteenth century” BC.[68]This “considerable accumulation” attests to a period of multiple decades in which the once-glorious Hazor sat abandoned, unused, and uninhabited. Since Amenhotep II mentions Hazor on the conquest list of his Year-3 campaign, the city cannot have been destroyed by his father and then abandoned throughout the entirety of his own reign. If Amenhotep II’s claim to have destroyed Hazor is accepted as trustworthy,[69] this renders a conflagration under Thutmose III and a subsequent invasion/conquest under Amenhotep II mutually exclusive, an impossible chain of events. There had to be an occupied city of Hazor for Amenhotep II to conquer!Important archaeological evidence exists in the form of a royal scarab from the reign of Thutmose IV (ca. 1418–1408 BC).[70] This son and successor of Amenhotep II reigned for a modest “eight-plus years,” though most scholars assiEnglish Rosetta Stone
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