The Iron Age period in the southern Levant (1200—530 BC*) is considered the first period to have relatively numerous historical sources: it corresponds historically to the biblical Judges and Monarchy periods depicted in the bible books of Judges—Kings and in some of the Prophets’ books, which according to some scholars begun to be written at this period. There are also non-biblical historical sources about and from the period. Archaeological finds sometimes correspond with the biblical texts and the historical sources, and sometimes contradict them completely, and these disparities have been discussed extensively in archaeological, historical, and biblical research ever since they began 150 years ago.
The period is characterised by significant cultural and political developments that changed the southern Levant completely. While during the prior period (the Late Bronze Age) it was governed by the Egyptian empire, and the Canaanite was the hegemonic culture, in the Iron Age the Egyptians left, and new cultural-ethnic entities developed and settled in the region, some of them originating in the area, and some of them alien: the Sea Peoples (predominantly the Philistines) the Israelites, and the Phoenicians. During the period they developed new political institutions: the Kingdoms of Israel, Judah, the Philistine city-states, and Phoenician Tyre, which established between themselves and with the other kingdoms and empires around them complex political relations. In the latter part of the period, they were conquered by new empires: the Neo-Assyrian and the Neo-Babylonian, and the southern levant became a part of a new, vast, and complicated political order. These occupations began a long period of imperial control in the region which will last until modern times.
There is disagreement among scholars regarding the sub-division and the dating of the period (see high chronology, low chronology). Yet it is agreed to separate it into two parts: the Iron Age I (approximately 1200—980 BC) – during which the cultural, ethnic, and political changes began, and the Iron Age II (approximately 980—530 BC) – during which the new regional kingdoms were established, and later on conquered and the area came under imperial-Mesopotamian governance. While the sub-division of these periods is not agreed upon, they can be parted in the following way:
Iron Age Ia – 1200—1135 BC.
Irong Age Ib – 1135—980 BC.
Iron Age IIa – 980—830 BC.
Iron Age IIb – 830—700 BC.
Iron Age IIc – 700—586 BC.
Iron Age IId – 586—530 BC.
*The dating is according to Amihai Mazar’s method.
Sources
Mazar, A. (Accessed on 29 October 2023). The Iron Age 1150—586 BCE. Israeli Institute of Archaeology. https://www.israeliarchaeology.org/%D7%AA%D7%A7%D7%95%D7%A4%D7%95%D7%AA/the-iron-age/?lang=en
Mazar, A. (2019). The Iron Age I. In Faust, A., & Katz H. (Eds.). Archaeology of the land of Israel: From the Neolithic to Alexander the Great (vol. 2) (pp. 109—196). Lamda – The Open University.
Faust, A. (2019). The Iron Age II. In Faust, A., & Katz H. (Eds.). Archaeology of the land of Israel: From the Neolithic to Alexander the Great (vol. 2) (pp. 197—321). Lamda – The Open University.