BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

The Chariots of Israel

Stables illuminate northern kingdom’s greatest strength

Early eighth-century BCE Megiddo is famous for two massive stable complexes, thought by early excavators to be the stables of Solomon. Covering a large portion of the city, these stables were central to daily life at Megiddo and reflect the city’s intensive interest in breeding and keeping horses. In Near Eastern Archaeology, archaeologist Israel Finkelstein sets out to explain the role these stables played in both the city and the powerful Northern Kingdom of Israel.

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Horses for Sale

Located within the strategic Jezreel Valley, Megiddo played an important role in the northern Israelite kingdom. However, the city was largely destroyed during the campaign of Hazael, king of Aram-Damascus, in the mid-ninth century BCE. When it was rebuilt a few decades later, the city was entirely different in size and character. The eighth-century city featured a massive inset-offset wall, a new city layout, and two massive complexes that, together, occupied a significant portion of the city. The rebuilt city also sprang up at a time when the northern kingdom was once again asserting its authority. As an ally and vassal of the mighty Assyrian Empire, Israel was beginning to expand and develop economically, becoming a powerhouse in the southern Levant.

The purpose of the two massive complexes has long been a subject of debate; however, recent work has connected these complexes with similar contemporary buildings known to have been horse stables. One such stable, discovered at Nabi Yunus in Iraq, even included inscriptions from the Assyrian king Sennacherib II that explicitly identified the complex as a construction for horses. So, why was one of the most strategically important cities in ancient Israel seemingly dedicated to the singular purpose of stabling horses? According to Israel Finkelstein, director of the current Megiddo excavations, the answer is trade.

Although expansion brought prosperity to the Assyrian Empire, it also required gaining access to strategic resources. One such resource was cavalry and chariot horses. While the best horses came from Egypt and Nubia, the distance between Assyria and Egypt presented a golden opportunity for Israel to serve as an intermediary in this trade network. Thus, as suggested by Finkelstein, “Israel could have imported Nubian horses from Egypt via the services of the cities of Philistia and established a horse breeding and training center at Megiddo. The horses were then sold to Assyria and other clients in the region.”

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Finkelstein’s proposal is based on more than just the presence of stables at Megiddo, however. It also finds support in both biblical and Assyrian sources. Throughout Assyrian records from the ninth and eighth centuries, Israelite forces are often described as charioteers, who both served alongside the Assyrian army and also fought against it. The Kurkh monolith, which records a campaign of Shalmaneser III, king of Assyria, against several Levantine and Syrian kingdoms, mentions Israelite forces led by King Ahab. According to the inscription, Ahab was able to muster 2,000 chariots to fight against the Assyrians. This number would have matched what the Assyrian Empire itself could have mustered, although scholars assume the troop numbers were inflated to make it seem as though Shalmaneser achieved a great victory. Several prophetic books in the Hebrew Bible also make passing mention of the horses of Israel (Amos 4:10; Hosea 14:4).

Although this period of history at Megiddo ended when the city was captured by Tiglath-Pileser III in 732 BCE, the stables of Megiddo provide a window into the northern kingdom’s commercial and military strategy. Indeed, it was likely a strategy that relied on trade with the very empire that would eventually destroy it. Nevertheless, the chariots of Israel were a formidable, if short-lived, force in the biblical world.

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Related reading in Bible History Daily

Ceremonial Chariot Found in Pompeii

Israelite Chariots in the Assyrian Period

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The Mystery of the Horses of the Sun at the Temple Entrance

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