A history of Geshur in the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age periods

The principal aim of this study is to explore the Late Bronze and Iron Age horizons of Geshur, and seek to defme the nature of Geshur as an historical entity based on limited textual and archaeological evidence. The thesis is structured around siX; chapters which provide the framework for understanding Geshur: Chapter 1 introduces the reader to Geshur, and sets forth the methodological issues of how the thesis views the use of historical sources and the archaeological record. The author proceeds on the premise that an independent use of both data sources followed by their convergences will enhance the understanding of Geshur. Chapter 2 studies the landscape of Geshur, the quality of the land and its impact on the flow ofhistoI)' in the region. The topography and environmental factors of Geshur reveal that the area to the east of the Sea of Galilee was an ideal locale for the emerging of a socially complex entity, with the necessary rain and natural resources to sustain life. Chapter 3 is an overview of the grander political landscape of the ancient Near East in the LB-Iron Age. A proper understanding of Geshur begins with placing it contextually in its geopolitical environment. The analysis, though brief, of sociopolitical structures over a broad range of spatial and temporal contexts helps to frame a perspective on any localized event. Chapter 4 in many ways was the 'point of origin' for this investigation. The only reason why this research project is called a 'HistoI)' of Geshur' is the biblical references which exist for Geshur. This chapter offers an analysis of all the direct citations of Geshur in the Bible, which are found in the Deuteronomistic HistoI)'. However, also explored are areas from the Bible where one might expect a citation of Geshur, but there is none. Even after all direct references mentioning Geshur end, there is ongoing activity recorded in the Bible in this area. Chapter 5 is an analysis of textual data which derives from non-biblical sources. Since Egypt and Assyria used Palestine as a travel corridor and their kings were known for campaigning in the southern Levant, one assumes that there may be references to either Geshur or the area around Geshur found in these sources. Chapter 6 moves the research from'the texfual data to the archaeological record. The archaeological data with which an analysis of LB-Iron Age Geshur is constructed derives from the empirical assessment of the stratigraphy and of the archaeological record of sites and surveys in its region. After this, the second half of the chapter utilizes a 'ground plan approach' to explore if there are indicators in the archaeological record that may point towards or reflect upon the social, political, and perhaps religious spheres of Geshur. All six chapters when combined reveal that Geshur was ideally situated in an environmental and political landscape by which it benefitted. By combining the textual and archaeological record it seems possible that Geshur may have started emerging in the Late Bronze Age, followed by an observable socially complex Iron Age polity, with its end possibly coming during the campaigns ofTiglath-pileser III in 733/32 B.C.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo