Episode C13 - The Hand of Shishak

Episode C13 - The Hand of Shishak

Released Sunday, 16th October 2022
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Episode C13 - The Hand of Shishak

Episode C13 - The Hand of Shishak

Episode C13 - The Hand of Shishak

Episode C13 - The Hand of Shishak

Sunday, 16th October 2022
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0:01

Hi, everyone. This is Scott.

0:03

If you're a fan of the ancient world,

0:06

please support the patreon page

0:08

at patreon dot com forward

0:10

slash the ancient world. Thanks

0:13

again for listening.

0:31

Armageddon

0:32

is a turn that gets thrown

0:34

around as shorthand for the

0:36

end of the world. But

0:38

as many of you know, it's not an event,

0:40

but a place. In the book

0:42

of Revelation, Armageddon is the

0:44

plain where the armies of good and

0:46

evil gather on the final day of

0:48

judgment. But the name originated

0:51

is Harm Megiddo, the

0:53

mount or mount of Megiddo. And

0:56

the remains of bronze age Megiddo still

0:59

exist. around twenty miles

1:01

southeast of the modern city of Haifa

1:03

in Northern Israel. If

1:05

you wanted to, hadn't had the money

1:08

and, you know, your paperwork was all in

1:10

order. You could go visit Armageddon

1:12

right now. They're actually

1:14

building a new airport there. I'm

1:17

not joking. Long

1:19

before any talk of the end times,

1:22

Megadote earned an enviable reputation

1:24

as a stage for military conflict. Which,

1:28

in fairness, is what can happen

1:30

when you sight your city at a narrow path

1:32

along a major trade route linking

1:35

Egypt with Syria, Anatolia,

1:37

and Mesopotamia. It

1:39

can make you rich. It can make you powerful

1:42

it can definitely make you a target. The

1:46

earliest recorded battle of Megadou

1:48

was fought in fourteen fifty seven BC.

1:52

At the time, the territories west of the

1:54

euphrates were home to dozens of

1:56

minor canaanite city states of

1:58

varying size and influence. and

2:01

Megadoo was up near the top of the

2:03

list. Actually,

2:05

it was one of those times, like the

2:07

early iron age, when the major

2:10

powers were mostly out of the picture.

2:13

The main exception was the Northern Syrian

2:15

Kingdom of Latani. which had

2:17

made a few local inroads. On

2:20

the flip side, the last confirmed Egyptian

2:22

campaign under the Faroe thought

2:24

most the first was already nearly

2:27

fifty years in the past. The

2:30

previous year of fourteen fifty

2:32

eight word had come north that

2:34

the latest Egyptian pharaoh had

2:37

Shepsut had died. Times

2:39

of regime change Germ oftentimes for

2:42

testing political boundaries. On

2:45

this occasion, the Matani king

2:47

Shausch Qatar ordered one of his

2:49

vassals. the king of Kadesh

2:51

on the Orantes River to join

2:53

forces with the king of Megadoe and

2:56

do a little recon down south. Since

2:59

Megadou was roughly halfway between

3:02

Kedesh and the Egyptian border, marching

3:05

the Kedeshi army south was

3:07

already a pretty aggressive move.

3:10

Especially since between them,

3:12

Megadot and Kadesh could apparently field

3:14

an army of ten to fifteen thousand.

3:18

It's possible that number is inflated and

3:20

may all include Matani military

3:22

advisers along with contingents

3:25

from nearby cities and tribes. In

3:28

fact, there's an interesting theory about some

3:30

of the local auxiliaries. At

3:33

last year's ASOR conference, Doctor

3:36

Lauren Monro of Cornell University gave

3:39

an interesting talk on an early iron

3:41

age poem that was later

3:43

repurposed for inclusion in the Old

3:45

Testament song of Debra. She

3:48

makes a pretty convincing argument that

3:50

a biblical hymn describing a number

3:52

of proto Israelite Highland tribes

3:55

banding together to oppose the

3:57

lowland kings of Canon was

4:00

actually a story of highlanders and

4:02

lowlanders banding together to

4:04

confront the common foe. Based

4:07

on the timing, the details of the conflict,

4:10

and the local geography, the

4:12

iron age poem may have been inspired

4:14

by the earlier battle of Megadeau. And

4:18

who may have been this common foe?

4:21

Well, there were on pretty solid ground.

4:24

Because the minute he heard news of armies

4:26

massing, the brand new Faroe

4:28

mustered his troops and marched them north

4:31

into Canon. Though

4:33

brand new isn't really quite accurate.

4:36

In fact, Futmos the third had already

4:38

co ruled Egypt with his aunt and

4:40

stepmother the pharaoh had shipset

4:43

for twenty two of his twenty four

4:45

years. But now

4:47

that he had the throne to himself, he

4:49

intended to make his mark, which

4:52

as Alexander and Caesar could tell

4:54

you, is often easier when you

4:56

write your own press. So

4:59

we actually have an insanely detailed

5:02

account of the entire campaign recorded

5:05

by Thutmos' military scribe

5:07

Chenetti and later inscribed at

5:09

Karnak. If you believe

5:11

this version, Thutmos' strategy

5:14

was so bold and daring and

5:16

immediately successful that he

5:18

nearly won the battle in a single

5:20

day. But well,

5:22

I'll let his scribe, tell it. Futmos

5:25

was in their center. Amun being

5:27

the protection of his person in the melee

5:30

and the strength of set, pervading his

5:32

members. Then the enemy

5:34

saw his majesty prevailing over

5:36

them, and they fled headlong to

5:38

Megadou with faces of fear.

5:41

They abandoned their horses and their

5:43

chariots of silver and gold. Now,

5:46

if only his majesty's army had

5:48

not given up their hearts to capturing

5:50

the possessions of the enemy, they

5:52

would have captured Megadou at this time.

5:57

So because they stopped to gather

5:59

loot, the Egyptians lost the initiative.

6:02

And Thermos was forced to lay siege

6:04

to Megadou for seven long months.

6:07

When it finally fell, Foot Most

6:09

spared its defenders' lives, but

6:11

stripped the city and surrounding countryside

6:14

of pretty much everything of value.

6:17

In fact, a substantial part of the Karnak

6:19

inscription is a detailed list of the

6:21

plunder. Including nine

6:24

hundred chariots, two hundred

6:26

suits of armor, five hundred

6:28

bows, and three hundred and

6:30

eighty seven thousand cows. He

6:33

also sent the princes of the

6:35

land bearing their tribute to

6:37

silver, gold, lapis lazuli

6:40

in turquoise southward. Then

6:43

his majesty appointed Prince's anew

6:45

for every town. I'm

6:48

going to go out on a limb here and suggest

6:51

that Thutmosis campaign had a

6:53

fairly disruptive effect on Kainan.

6:56

And you can multiply this by a dozen

6:58

more campaigns in the Kainan Syria

7:00

fonetia and adjacent territories

7:03

over the next two decades. Including

7:06

one where the most managed to capture

7:08

a lovely little town on the euphrates river

7:11

named Karkamish. But

7:13

again, in the south, the disruption

7:16

led to the abandonment of numerous

7:18

middle bronze age cities and rural

7:20

sites, and the foundation, re

7:22

foundation, or repurposing of others.

7:26

Two of the more interesting examples of

7:28

the latter were the cities of Beth

7:30

Sheehan and Telre Haav. Beth

7:34

Sheehan was cited at the junction of the Jordan

7:36

River Valley and the Jezrio Valley

7:39

and was known in later classical times

7:41

as scythopolis. At

7:44

the time of utmost the third invasion,

7:46

the site was already home to a canonite

7:49

temple to ball or possibly the

7:51

war god reshif. similar

7:53

and designed to those at Ebla and

7:55

Alaloc. But

7:57

to set the stage for future campaigns,

8:00

Sutmos decided to repurpose Beth

8:02

Sheehan as an Egyptian garrison

8:04

town. One early Egyptian

8:06

embellishment to the site was a new

8:09

temple dedicated to Macaul,

8:11

the great god, lord of Beth Sheehan.

8:15

A recovered Stelay shows the deity

8:17

seated on a throne with two Egyptians

8:19

paying homage. At

8:22

the same time, around three miles away,

8:24

a new city was founded atop a partially

8:27

populated bronze age tell, named

8:29

Rahaf. By

8:31

its earliest mentions the following century,

8:34

Tel Rehav was already a major

8:36

city. According to archaeologist

8:39

and historian Amihai Mazar, Who's

8:41

our source for much of today's episode?

8:44

The city's estimated area of ten

8:46

hectares is somewhat larger

8:48

than nearby Pella, roughly

8:50

similar to that of Megadou and

8:52

more than twice as large as the Egyptian

8:55

government center at Betchyan. Tel

8:58

Aviv's fairly rapid growth may have

9:00

been a deliberate initiative on

9:03

the part of the Egyptian administration. An

9:06

attempt to create a canonite polity

9:08

that could be easily managed and

9:10

provide the nearby Egyptian garrison with

9:13

produce and other commodities. In

9:16

fact, the new city's population was

9:18

likely made up of canaanites displaced

9:21

by the most the third campaigns. Under

9:25

the subsequent nineteenth Thoramicide

9:27

dynasty, both Beth Sheehan

9:29

and Tel Rahaf continued to

9:31

grow and prosper. Beth

9:34

Sheehan was completely rebuilt.

9:36

And under the twentieth dynasty, the

9:39

city gained large administrative buildings

9:41

and a palace for the local Egyptian

9:43

governor. At the same

9:46

time, bizarre notes that Tel Rehan

9:48

became the center of a Canonite city

9:51

state administered by a local

9:53

ruler who perhaps controlled a

9:55

large part of the Beth Sheehan Valley

9:58

and some adjacent territory to the

10:00

west and northwest, while

10:02

being under the supreme control of

10:04

the Egyptian governor at Betchyan. Recovered

10:08

finds highlight some distinctions between

10:11

the two sides. While half

10:13

the pottery at Beth Sheehan was

10:15

in an Egyptian style, favored

10:17

by its Egyptian administrative and

10:19

military population. The majority

10:22

of the pottery at Tel Rehav was

10:24

a local Cananite style. Though

10:27

it's worth noting that a few pots and jars

10:29

were imported from Philistine Econ

10:32

and even Anatolian Meledis. Of

10:36

course, the twentieth Egyptian dynasty

10:38

ruled during the era of the bronze age

10:40

collapse. while the

10:42

sea peoples destroyed the inland sites

10:44

of Hasor, Megando, and Lakish,

10:47

they never penetrated as far as the Jordan

10:50

Valley. but the local

10:52

region didn't escape unscathed. I

10:55

mentioned a few episodes back that Egypt

10:57

largely withdrew from chaen during

10:59

the reign of Rameses the sixth. One

11:02

of the outpost the Egyptians abandoned

11:05

was the garrison at Beth Sheyhan.

11:08

It may not have been an entirely passive

11:11

withdrawal. Parts

11:13

of the site suffered violent destruction. likely

11:16

at the hands of local Canonites or

11:18

possibly even Habiburu. Whoever

11:21

was to blame, it was the Canonites who

11:24

occupied the city. I

11:26

also noted a few episodes back that

11:28

after the Israelite King saw was

11:30

killed by the Philistines at Mount Gilboa,

11:33

they displayed his head, sword, and

11:35

armor at Ashkelon. But

11:38

his body and those of his sons.

11:41

were supposedly displayed at this new

11:43

Kainanite iteration of Beth Sheon.

11:47

And what about Tel Rehav? Well,

11:50

that's probably the more interesting story.

11:53

Because all the way from its Egyptian foundation

11:56

in the late bronze age, through the

11:58

bronze age collapse and into the

12:00

early iron age, tell Rahaf

12:02

kept right on chugging along. It's

12:05

actually one of very few sites that preserves

12:08

a highly detailed archaeological record

12:10

of this entire time span. with

12:12

zero breaks due to violent destruction

12:15

or abandonment, which makes

12:17

it an excellent vehicle for tracking

12:19

developments right down through the time

12:21

of our story. According

12:24

to Masar, in the wake of the Egyptian

12:26

withdrawal of the late twelfth century

12:28

BC, Tel Aviv shows

12:30

evidence for continuous intensive

12:33

and well planned building activities. The

12:36

contemporary city was substantial. and

12:39

extended over the entire ten hectare

12:41

mountain. It was well

12:43

planned and densely built, with

12:45

domestic as well as public buildings.

12:49

It's also worth noting that in contrast

12:51

to many of its contemporary neighbors, Tel

12:54

Rehav apparently lacked a fortification wall.

12:58

Moving into the tenth century BC,

13:01

the era of the supposed unified Israelite

13:03

Kingdom Tel Raha remained

13:06

one of the largest and most prosperous

13:08

sites in the region. Recoveried

13:10

finds provide evidence of long distance

13:13

trade relations with the coastal

13:15

cities of Ako, Dorr,

13:17

Tyre, and Biden. And

13:19

through them, as far as Attica and

13:21

UBEA and Greece. Mizar

13:24

also notes that commercial ties

13:26

with Egypt are reflected in a considerable

13:29

number of feyont's ambulance. as

13:32

well as the bones of types of fish

13:34

that originated in the Nile and Lagoons

13:36

of the Northern Sinai. Mazor

13:40

also highlights other finds, including

13:43

clay altars, cultic chalices,

13:46

clay figurines, personal seals

13:48

and seal impressions. The

13:51

Cananite altars were often enclosed

13:53

by a parapet with horns on

13:55

its four corners. While some

13:58

were adorned with figures of naked

14:00

goddesses. Canaanite

14:03

cultic practices, including the

14:05

worship of Ball and Ashera, continued

14:07

to predominantly, and

14:10

there's no evidence the God of Israel

14:12

was worshipped in the city, or

14:15

at least not yet. Both

14:18

bronze and iron metallurgy were

14:20

practiced at Telrahaave. One

14:22

of the major sources copper was the

14:24

mines we discussed a few episodes back

14:27

at Timna, Fean, and elsewhere

14:29

in the Arab region, home to the contemporary

14:32

edamites. According

14:34

to archaeologist and historian, Nama

14:36

Yahalomac, the earliest

14:38

bronze working at Telre Have was

14:40

done using methods imported from

14:42

Egypt. But after its

14:44

withdrawal, Egyptian traditions were

14:47

replaced with canaanite ones. Over

14:50

the course of the tenth century BC, iron

14:53

became the main metal worked

14:55

at Telre Haute, likely

14:57

sourced from nearby Alune in

14:59

modern Jordan. As

15:02

it happens, the only written record

15:04

from this period mentioning Tel Rehove

15:06

is actually sourced from Egypt. Because

15:09

around nine twenty five BC, the

15:12

new Egyptian Faroe, Shoshank the

15:14

first, marched his army into

15:16

Canon. There are

15:18

two main sources for Ashishan's campaign.

15:22

The first is what's called the Bubastite

15:24

Portal at the Temple of Karnak

15:26

in Egypt. The portal

15:28

holds a depiction of Shoshank Smiting

15:31

his enemies, along with a list

15:33

of roughly a hundred and fifty locations

15:35

supposedly conquered during the expedition.

15:39

According to historian Nathan Steinmeier,

15:41

while a number of these locations are

15:43

too badly broken to read, many

15:46

names are still intact and

15:48

can be used to create a basic

15:50

map of the campaign. Oh,

15:52

and I should mention that I've also created

15:54

a few new maps for this season. The

15:56

links are in the blog post.

15:59

The second

15:59

source is the biblical account,

16:02

which refers to Shoshank as

16:04

Shishak.

16:06

The campaign evidently had

16:08

two main prongs, with

16:10

troops sent into two different regions

16:12

to accomplish different goals. From

16:15

the Philistine City of Gaza, one

16:17

force marched southwest through the negative

16:20

desert and into the Arab Valley.

16:23

Stein Meier notes that at least one

16:25

factor driving the campaign was

16:27

likely gaining greater control over

16:29

the region's copper trade. as

16:32

well as gaining direct access to

16:34

the copper mines of the Arab Valley.

16:37

As discussed a few episodes back, After

16:40

Egypt's withdrawal, regional copper

16:42

production actually increased under

16:44

the semi nomadic edomites. It's

16:47

likely that the newly emergent twenty

16:49

second dynasty wanted to take advantage

16:52

of this burgeoning source of copper.

16:55

Consequently, the southern prong

16:57

may have been tasked with securing local

16:59

copper mines or instituting some

17:01

sort of Egyptian control over regional

17:04

copper Even

17:07

if this was the campaign's main goal,

17:09

it's the northern prong that gets

17:11

most of the press. because

17:13

this is the force that the bible tells

17:15

us plundered the city of Jerusalem. The

17:19

biblical account also gives us a political

17:21

motivation. In the

17:23

latter years of King Solomon's reign,

17:26

a senior official named Jared Boam,

17:28

was getting an earful of widespread Israelite

17:31

discontent. with Solomon's many

17:33

extravagancies. Nudged

17:36

by a prophecy, Jarrodome started

17:38

intriguing to split the kingdom

17:41

and make himself king of the ten

17:43

northern tribes. When

17:45

his conspiracy was discovered, he

17:47

was forced to flee from Israel Egypt

17:50

in the Court of Shoshank the first.

17:53

When Solomon died a few years

17:55

later, his son, Reah Balam,

17:58

ascended the throne. Jera

18:00

boom came back north to petition

18:02

the new king for tax relief

18:05

for the ten northern tribes. When

18:07

Rayabome decided to go all contrarian

18:10

and raise their taxes instead, the

18:13

ten tribes withdrew their allegiance to

18:15

the House of David and proclaimed Jared

18:18

Boam their king. According

18:21

to the bible, this event resulted in

18:23

creation of the northern kingdom of

18:25

Israel with its capital at shechem.

18:28

Only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin

18:31

stayed loyal to Reh barefoot forming

18:34

the new southern kingdom of Judah

18:36

with its capital at Jerusalem. And

18:39

spoiler alert the kingdoms will spend

18:41

the next few centuries in almost

18:43

perpetual war. In

18:46

the biblical account, Shoshank or

18:48

Shishak, arrived at Jerusalem

18:51

in Rehavam's fifth year with

18:53

an army of sixty thousand. The

18:56

city surrendered without a fight.

18:58

and Shoshank carried off the treasures

19:01

of the temple of the lord and the

19:03

treasures of the royal palace. including

19:06

Allah, Indiana Jones, the

19:09

legendary arc of the covenant. Interestingly,

19:12

Jerusalem is not included in

19:15

the list cities inscribed on the

19:17

Bubastite portal at Karnak. But

19:20

Steinmaier highlights archaeological evidence

19:23

that the nearby agricultural settlement

19:26

of Telmoza along

19:28

Shoshank's likely path to Jerusalem

19:30

was destroyed at around this time.

19:33

So really, it's hard to say.

19:36

Going by the other cities listed

19:38

on the portal, Show Shape proceeded

19:40

north from Jerusalem to the Israelite

19:43

capital of Shechem,

19:45

now ruled by his former house

19:47

guest, Jeremiah. then

19:49

to Tearza and east of the Jordan.

19:52

And following the river North,

19:54

he soon arrived at the cities of Telre

19:56

Haav and Beth Sheehan.

19:58

While both cities

19:59

are listed on the portal and

20:02

were therefore considered part of the campaign,

20:05

neither city shows evidence of contemporary

20:08

construction. In fact, it

20:10

seems highly likely that the northern

20:12

prong of Shoshin's campaign was

20:14

less about conquest and devastation and

20:17

more about collecting tribute. In

20:20

a similar fashion to Tigler Polaser

20:22

and his swing through Northern Syria.

20:26

Either way, after visiting few more

20:28

northern cities, recorded as

20:30

Shunem, Tanak, and Megadou,

20:33

Shooshink likely returned back home.

20:36

Though it isn't included in the portal list,

20:38

the discovery of a statue base bearing

20:41

his name from the Phoenician city

20:43

of Biblos suggest that Shoshank

20:45

may have visited the city, most

20:47

likely by Ship. The

20:49

inscription in the Phoenician script

20:52

records that this is the statue

20:54

that Shoshank brought Abi Bal,

20:57

king of Biblos from Egypt

20:59

for Balat Gebal, his lady.

21:03

Along with reasserting Egyptian power

21:05

in Kainan, a major outcome

21:07

of shoshin' campaign was increased

21:10

Egyptian involvement or at least

21:12

interest in the Levantine metals

21:14

trade. And in that

21:16

vein, there's one last topic I wanted

21:19

to touch on. Masar

21:21

notes that shortly after Shoshan's

21:23

campaign, the citizens of Tel

21:25

Rehav began construction of a

21:28

new well planned and densely

21:30

built urban corridor of the city.

21:32

conventionally known as Stratum five.

21:36

Right in the heart of this newly built

21:38

district, archaeologists uncovered

21:40

something entirely unexpected. The

21:43

remains of a hundred and eighty b

21:46

hives. I know

21:48

what you're saying, Scott, enough with

21:50

the b's. What is it with you and the b's?

21:53

I'm joking. I've never mentioned b's on this

21:55

podcast before. but I am totally

21:57

going to right now.

21:59

So

21:59

let me start with a few stats.

22:02

Mazor details that each of the

22:04

one hundred and eighty cylindrical clay

22:06

beehives had volume of

22:08

around fifty six liters. One

22:11

end of each cylinder was enclosed by

22:13

a clay wall with a small flying

22:16

hole that allowed the bees to enter

22:18

and exit the hive, while the

22:20

opposite end was fitted with a portable

22:22

clay lid that allowed for a honey extraction.

22:27

The Telrejov Apiary or

22:29

B Yard remains unparalleled

22:32

elsewhere in the archaeology of ancient

22:34

near east or the Mediterranean world.

22:38

It's estimated that this amount of highs could

22:40

produce around five hundred kilograms

22:43

of honey and fifty to seventy

22:45

kilograms of beeswax per

22:47

year. And somewhat

22:49

surprisingly beeswax rather

22:51

than honey was the morics expensive

22:54

and in demand product. Why

22:57

you may ask? Well, several

22:59

reasons. beeswax was

23:01

used for medical purposes sealing

23:04

and wax writing boards. But

23:06

above all, it was an indispensable

23:09

part of the metal casting process

23:11

called the Lost Wax Method.

23:14

In fact, it's likely for this very reason

23:17

that Tel Rehav beeswax may

23:19

have been exported to the Venetian coast,

23:22

south into Egypt, or north

23:24

to the cities of Syria. One

23:27

of the oddest things about the APA

23:29

was that it was situated smack dab

23:31

in the middle of a newly built, densely

23:34

populated suburb. Because

23:37

based on the number of hives, we

23:39

are literally talking about over

23:41

a million bees. Oh

23:43

my god. Can you imagine the buzzing?

23:46

It must have been literally insane.

23:49

I mean, I guess you could get

23:51

used to it at least theoretically,

23:55

Lazar also speculates that a

23:57

powerful local family dripping

23:59

with B money may have forced the

24:01

situation. Either

24:03

way, there's another super interesting

24:05

aspect that served to mitigate things,

24:08

at least somewhat. because

24:11

the bees, they weren't from

24:13

the local neighborhood. The

24:16

Syrian honey bee your apis

24:18

melifera cireica is

24:20

fairly aggressive and not particularly

24:22

productive. But Mazar

24:25

notes that the recovered remains from the

24:27

Tel Rehav a period didn't come

24:29

from this type of b. Instead,

24:32

they came from Apes Melifera and

24:34

autologa, the anatolian

24:36

honey bee, which is both more

24:38

productive and less aggressive than

24:41

its Levantine cousin. Now,

24:43

here's the rub. The latter bee's

24:45

acclimation to the Anatolian climate

24:48

makes it unlikely that these b's

24:50

migrated into canon, which

24:53

raises the possibility that telre

24:55

hold beekeepers imported

24:57

bee swarms from Anatolia, a

25:00

minimal distance of about five hundred

25:02

miles.

25:04

I know right It

25:06

may sound crazy, but it's actually not.

25:09

There are records of a local governor

25:11

a century or two later discussing

25:13

the import of bees.

25:15

And again, if you're dropping a b yard

25:17

in the center of your town, it's

25:19

worth paying the premium for the mellow

25:22

bees. Trust me. Now,

25:25

there is kind of a sad code of the story,

25:27

which is that sometime around the turn

25:29

of the ninth century BC, the

25:32

APiary at Tel Raha was

25:34

violently destroyed. Not

25:36

the whole town, just the APiary

25:39

district. We don't know

25:41

who, we don't know how, we

25:43

don't know why. Though

25:45

I might suggest that the constant buzzing

25:48

of a million b's might give

25:50

anyone a few bad ideas. Next

25:54

episode, it's back up north to

25:56

car cam ish. where I'll refocus

25:58

on the political situation of northern

26:00

Syria in the last few decades

26:02

of the tenth century BC. This

26:05

is the era when we begin to see a

26:07

gradual increase in the number

26:10

and variety of royal monuments

26:12

royal inscriptions and other generally

26:15

helpful information. As

26:17

we continue to progress through the dark

26:19

age tunnel, toward the very bright

26:21

light at the end. The light,

26:24

of course, of an oncoming train

26:26

by the name of Neo Assyria.

26:45

The ancient world podcast is part

26:47

of the Airwave Media podcast network.

26:50

Along with my history can beat up your

26:52

politics, the explorers podcast.

26:54

and other great shows.

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