Editing Tel Megiddo (section)

==History==
{{further|Bronze Age#Near East timeline}}
Megiddo was important in the ancient world. It guarded the western branch of a narrow pass on the most important [[trade route]] of the ancient [[Fertile Crescent]], linking Egypt with [[Mesopotamia]] and [[Anatolia]] and known today as [[Via Maris]]. Because of its strategic location, Megiddo was the site of several battles. It was inhabited approximately from 5000 to 350 BCE,<ref name="Cline, Eric" /> or even, as Megiddo Expedition archaeologists suggest, since around 7000 BCE.<ref>[https://megiddoexpedition.wordpress.com/introducing-megiddo/ Introducing Megiddo] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200810213508/https://megiddoexpedition.wordpress.com/introducing-megiddo/ |date=10 August 2020 }}, in ''Megiddo Expedition'', retrieved on 21 March 2020.</ref>

===Neolithic===
====Yarmukian Culture====
Archaeological Stratum XX in Tel Megiddo began around [[5000 BCE]] during the [[Neolithic]].<ref name="Cline, Eric">Cline, Eric, (2020). [https://www.degruyter.com/database/EBR/entry/MainLemma_2744/html "Megiddo"], in Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception, Vol. 18, De Gruyter.</ref> The first [[Yarmukian culture]] remains were found at this level in 1930s excavations, but they were not recognized as such then. These remains, found in Area BB, were pottery, a figurine, and flint items.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Garfinkel |first=Yosef |date=1993 |title=The Yarmukian Culture in Israel. |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/paleo_0153-9345_1993_num_19_1_4587 |journal=Paléorient |language=en |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=115, 117 |doi=10.3406/paleo.1993.4587 |issn= |doi-access=free}}</ref>

===Chalcolithic===
====Wadi Rabah culture====
The [[Chalcolithic]] period came next, with significant content around 4500–3500 BCE, as part of the [[Wadi Rabah culture]], at the following base level of Tel Megiddo, as other large tell sites in the region, was located near a spring.<ref>Issar, A., & Mattanyah Zohar, (2004). [https://books.google.com/books?id=ekIUhiJee3wC&dq=megiddo+wadi+rabah&pg=PA70 "Climate Change: Environment and Civilization in the Middle East"], Springer Science & Business Media, p. 70.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nativ |first1=Assaf |last2=Rosenberg |first2=Danny |last3=Nadel |first3=Dani |title=The Southern tip of the Northern Levant? The Early Pottery Neolithic assemblage of Tel Ro'im West, Israel |journal=Paléorient |date=2014 |volume=40 |issue=1 |page=99 |doi=10.3406/paleo.2014.5618 |jstor=24672271 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24672271 |issn=0153-9345|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

===Early Bronze Age===
====Early Bronze I====
Megiddo's Early Bronze Age I (3500–2950 BCE) was originally worked in 1933–1938 by the Oriental Institute, now the [[Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures]]. Decades later, a temple from the end of this period was found and dated to Early Bronze Age IB (ca. 3000 BCE) and described by its excavators, [[Matthew J. Adams|Adams]], Finkelstein, and Ussishkin,<ref>Adams, Matthew J., Israel Finkelstein, and David Ussishkin, (2014). [https://www.ajaonline.org/field-report/1766 "The Great Temple of Early Bronze I Megiddo"], in ''American Journal of Archaeology'' Vol. 118, No. 2, April, pp. 285–305.</ref> as "the most monumental single edifice so far uncovered" in the early Bronze Age [[Levant]] and among the largest structures of its time in the [[Ancient Near East|Near East]].<ref name="Wiener, Noah">Wiener, Noah." [http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-israel/early-bronze-age-megiddos-great-temple-and-the-birth-of-urban-culture-in-the-levant/ Early Bronze Age: Megiddo's Great Temple and the Birth of Urban Culture in the Levant]" ''Bible History Daily'', [[Biblical Archaeology Society]], 2014.</ref>

Samples, obtained by Israel Finkelstein's Megiddo Expedition, at the temple-hall in the year 2000, provided calibrated dates from the 31st and 30th century BCE.<ref>[https://megiddoexpedition.wordpress.com/2004-results/ Megiddo Expedition 2004], in Area J of Tel Megiddo.</ref> The temple is the most monumental Early Bronze I structure known in the Levant, if not the entire Ancient Near East. Archaeologists' view is that "taking into account the manpower and administrative work required for its construction, it provides the best manifestation for the first wave of urban life and, probably, city-state formation in the Levant".<ref name="auto">[https://megiddoexpedition.wordpress.com/2006-results/ Megiddo Expedition 2006], in Area J of Tel Megiddo.</ref>

To the South of this temple there is an unparalleled monumental compound. It was excavated by the Megiddo Expedition in 1996 and 1998, and belongs to the later phase of Early Bronze IB,<ref name="in Area J" /> ca. 3090–2950 BCE.<ref>Sapir-Hen, Lidar, Deirdre N. Fulton, Matthew J. Adams, and Israel Finkelstein, (2022). [https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/718777 "The Temple and the Town at Early Bronze Age I Megiddo: Faunal Evidence for the Emergence of Complexity"], in Bulletin of ASOR, Volume 387, May 2022, Abstract: "...faunal assemblages from...Megiddo, a cult site, and Tel Megiddo East, a town site...are dated to the Early Bronze Age IB (EB IB; 3090–2950 b.c.e.), at the dawn of urbanization in the Near East."</ref> It consists of several long, parallel stone walls, each of which is 4 meters wide. Between the walls were narrow corridors, filled hip-deep with the remains of animal sacrifice. These walls lie immediately below the huge ‘megaron’ temples of the Early Bronze III (2700–2300 BCE).<ref name="in Area J">[https://megiddoexpedition.wordpress.com/1994-1998-results/ Megiddo Expedition 1994-1998], in Area J of Tel Megiddo.</ref> The megaron temples remained in use through the Intermediate Bronze period.<ref>David Ussishkin. “The Sacred Area of Early Bronze Megiddo: History and Interpretation.” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, no. 373, 2015, pp. 69–104</ref>

Magnetometer research, before the 2006 excavations, found that the entire Tel Megiddo settlement covered an area of ca. 50 hectares, being the largest known Early Bronze Age I site in the Levant.<ref name="auto" /> In 2014, Pierre de Miroschedji stated that Tel Megiddo had around 25 hectares in the Early Bronze IA and IB periods, when most settlements in the region only covered a maximum area of 5 hectares, but that excavations suggest large sites like Tel Megiddo were "sparsely built, with dwellings disorderly distributed and separated by open spaces."<ref>De Miroschedji, Pierre, (2014). [https://www.academia.edu/44928645/The_Southern_Levant_Cisjordan_during_the_Early_Bronze_Age "The Southern Levant (Cisjordan) during the Early Bronze Age"], in M.L. Steiner and A.E. Killebrew (eds.), ''The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the Levant c.8000–332 BCE'', Oxford University Press, pp. 309, 310.</ref>

====Early Bronze II–III====
Tel Megiddo was still among the large fortified sites, between 5 and 12 hectares, during the Early Bronze II–III period, when its palace testifies that it was a real city-state "characterized by a strong social hierarchy, a hereditary centralized power, and the functioning of a palatial economy."<ref>De Miroschedji, Pierre, (2014). [https://www.academia.edu/44928645/The_Southern_Levant_Cisjordan_during_the_Early_Bronze_Age "The Southern Levant (Cisjordan) during the Early Bronze Age"], in M.L. Steiner and A.E. Killebrew (eds.), ''The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the Levant c.8000–332 BCE'', Oxford University Press, pp. 314, 319, and Fig. 22.1.</ref>

====Early Bronze IV====
The town declined in the Early Bronze Age IV period (2300–2000 BCE) as the Early Bronze Age political systems collapsed at the last quarter of the third millennium BCE.<ref>Golden, Jonathan M., 2004. [http://www.amas.hk/pdf/shengjingshenxue/Ancient%20Canaan%20and%20Israel%20New%20Perspectives%20(Jonathan%20M.%20Golden)%20(z-lib.org).pdf Ancient Canaan and Israel: New Perspectives], ABC-CLIO, Library of Congress, Santa Barbara-California, p. 144.</ref>

===Middle Bronze Age===
====Middle Bronze I====
Early in the second millennium BCE, at the beginning of the [[Middle Bronze Age]] (ca. 1950 BCE), urbanism once again took hold throughout of the southern Levant. Large urban centers served as political power in city-states.

====Middle Bronze II====
By the later Middle Bronze Age, the inland valleys were dominated by regional centers such as Megiddo, which reached a size of more than 20 hectares, including the upper and lower cities.<ref>Golden, Jonathan M., 2004. [http://www.amas.hk/pdf/shengjingshenxue/Ancient%20Canaan%20and%20Israel%20New%20Perspectives%20(Jonathan%20M.%20Golden)%20(z-lib.org).pdf Ancient Canaan and Israel: New Perspectives], ABC-CLIO, Library of Congress, Santa Barbara-California, pp. 144–145.</ref> A royal burial was found in Tel Megiddo, dating to the later phase of the Middle Bronze Age, around 1700–1600 BCE, when the power of Canaanite Megiddo was at its peak and before the ruling dynasty collapsed under the might of Thutmose's army.<ref>Bohstrom, Phlippe, (13 March 2018). [https://web.archive.org/web/20190803114716/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2018/03/megiddo-armageddon-dna-royal-burial-canaan-archaeology/ "Exclusive Royal Burial in Ancient Canaan May Shed New Light on Biblical City"], in ''National Geographic''.</ref>

In mortuary contexts, in a dental calculus of individual MGD018 (c. 1630–1550 BCE), at Tel Megiddo, [[turmeric]] and [[soybean]] proteins were found, which are South Asian products, suggesting he may have been a merchant or trader who "consumed foods seasoned with turmeric or prepared with soy oil in the Levant, in South Asia, or elsewhere," indicating the possible existence of an Indo-Mediterranean trade.<ref>Scott, Ashley, et al., (2020). [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/347765726_Exotic_foods_reveal_contact_between_South_Asia_and_the_Near_East_during_the_second_millennium_BC "Exotic foods reveal contact between South Asia and the Near East during the second millennium BCE"], in: ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences'' 118(2), pp. 7–8, and Table 1.</ref> Sesamum protein ([[sesame]]), another South Asian product, was found in individual MGD011 (c. 1688–1535 BCE).<ref>Scott et al. (2020), Table 1, p.4.</ref>

===Late Bronze Age===
[[File:Megido City Gate1.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Late Bronze Age city gate]]
Late Bronze age, as per radiocarbon datings in areas H and K of Tel Megiddo, began in the first half of the 16th century BCE (c. 1585–1545 BCE).<ref>The Megiddo Expedition, (March 17, 2024). "Megiddo: News from the Bronze Age," Webinar Session 1.</ref>

====Late Bronze II – Egyptian Period====
At the [[Battle of Megiddo (15th century BCE)|Battle of Megiddo]] the city was subjugated by [[Thutmose III]] (r. 1479–1425 BCE), and became part of the Egyptian Empire. The city still prospered, and a massive and elaborate government palace was constructed in the Late Bronze Age.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.penn.museum/sites/Canaan/LateBronzeAge.html |website=University of Penn Museum |title=Merchants and Empires. Late Bronze Age. 1539-1200 BCE}}</ref> Thutmose III's campaign is attested in Stratum IX at Tel Megiddo, a well fortified site in Late Bronze Age I.<ref>Finkelstein, Israel, (2024). [https://www.austriaca.at/?arp=0x003ed9ca "Megiddo and Thutmose III: An Update"], in: Egypt and the Levant XXXIII, pp. 255–262, Abstract: "The work shows that it was the city of Stratum IX of LB I that confronted the pharaoh. And, contrary to conventional wisdom, it also demonstrates that in the Stratum IX era, Megiddo was better protected than it was in the Middle Bronze Age, as the old brick wall was still in use, and houses that created a continuous outer stone wall were constructed on top of it."</ref>

In the [[Amarna Period]] (c. 1353–1336 BCE), Megiddo was a [[vassal]] of the [[Egyptian Empire]]. The [[Amarna letter EA 245|Amarna Letter E245]] mentions local ruler [[Biridiya]] of Megiddo. Other contemporary rulers mentioned were [[Labaya]] of [[Shechem]] and Surata of Akka, nearby cities. This ruler is mentioned in the corpus from the city of 'Kumidu', the Kamid al lawz. This indicates that there were relations between Megiddo and Kumidu.

Megiddo's Stratum VIIB lasted until slightly before or in the reign of [[Ramesses III]] (c. 1184–1153 BCE).<ref name="journals.uchicago.edu">Levy, Eythan, et al., (2021). [https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/719048 "The Date of Appearance of Philistine Pottery at Megiddo: A Computational Approach"], in ''Bulletin of ASOR'', Ahead of Print.</ref>

===Iron Age===
====Iron Age I====
Iron Age I (c. 1150–950 BCE) began in Tel Megiddo around 1150 BCE.<ref>Langgut, Dafna, and Israel Finkelstein, (May 24, 2023). [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/371010349 "Environment, subsistence strategies and settlement seasonality in the Negev Highlands (Israel) during the Bronze and Iron Ages: The palynological evidence"], in: PLoS ONE 18(5): e0285358, pp. 5–6: "Based on [L]ake Kinneret [Sea of Galilee] and Dead Sea high-resolution, well-dated palynological-climatological investigation, [...] Iron I (ca. 1150–950 [BCE]) and the Iron IIA (ca. 950–780 BCE), [t]he Iron IIB (ca. 780–680 BCE) and Iron IIC (ca. 680–586 BCE)[...]"</ref> Egypt's control of this Canaanite region ended around 1130 BCE,<ref>Pioske, Daniel, (2022). [https://www.academia.edu/104986860 "The Historian and the Assemblage: On the Interpretation of Texts and Artifacts for the History of Ancient Israel"], in: The Ancient Israelite World, p. 61: "But around 1130 BC Egyptian control of Canaan comes to an end."</ref> as Stratum VIIA was destroyed around this date or shortly thereafter,<ref>Arie, Eran, (2023). [https://books.google.com/books?id=ugDkEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA120 "Canaanites in a Changing World: The Jezreel Valley during the Iron Age I"], in: From Nomadism to Monarchy, p. 120: "The destruction of Tel Megiddo VIIA has traditionally been dated to 1130 BC, due to several Egyptian objects bearing names of Pharaohs of the Twentieth Dynasty, the latest of whom is Ramesses VI, [but] recent excavations in area H, [o]nly some 30 meters from the palace, [in] the only destruction [a]ssociated with the nearby burnt palace, [uncovered] two complete Philistine strainer jugs [...]"</ref> attested in the palace and adjacent Level H-11 building.<ref name="Finkelstein, Israel, et al., (2017)">Finkelstein, Israel, et al., (2017). [https://www.academia.edu/44266410 "New Evidence on the Late Bronze/Iron I Transition at Megiddo: Implications for the End of the Egyptian Rule and the Appearance of Philistine Pottery"], in Egypt and the Levant 27, p. 277: "[T]he destruction of Stratum VIIA in the palace and adjacent Level H-11 building – took place in the early Iron I, in the middle decades of the 11th century BCE [''sic'']."</ref> A Canaanite dynasty still controlled the city after the Egyptians abandoned the region.<ref>Arie, Eran, (2023). [https://books.google.com/books?id=ugDkEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA120 "Canaanites in a Changing World: The Jezreel Valley during the Iron Age I"], in: From Nomadism to Monarchy, p. 120: "[I]t appears that the Canaanite dynasty ruling Megiddo successfully continued to control the city for some decades after the Egyptians had withdrawn from the region, until local factors led to the destruction of the city around 1080 BCE or shortly thereafter."</ref> The beginning of [[Philistine Bichrome ware|Philistine Bichrome pottery]] at Megiddo was after 1124 BCE, or in the period (c. 1128–1079 BCE), based on radiocarbon datings with a confidence of 95.4%.<ref name="journals.uchicago.edu" />

'''Stratum VIB''' (Iron IA; Early Iron I) can be aligned with the late [[Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt|20th Dynasty]] of Egypt. The Transitional Iron IA/IB may reflect the end of the Egyptian Empire in the Southern Levant.

'''Stratum VIA''' (Iron IB; Late Iron I) correspond with the [[Twenty-first Dynasty of Egypt|21st Dynasty]] in Egypt and ends with destruction at the transitional Iron I/II.

====Iron Age I/II transition====
The Iron I/II transition saw a fierce conflagration that consumed Stratum VIA.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kleiman |first1=Assaf |first2=Erin |last2=Hall |first3=Rachel |last3=Kalisher |first4=Zachary C. |last4=Dunseth |first5=Lidar |last5=Sapir-Hen |first6=Robert S. |last6=Homsher |first7=Matthew J. |last7=Adams |first8=Israel |last8=Finkelstein |display-authors=1 |year=2023 |title=Crisis in Motion: The Final Days of Iron Age I Megiddo |journal=Levant |volume=56 |issue=1 |pages=66–93 |doi=10.1080/00758914.2023.2230039|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>Arie 2011:89–94</ref><ref>Ussishkin 2018:309–15</ref><ref>Ilan et al. 2000:97–99</ref> The transition saw the end of the old culture which had lingered since the Late Bronze and the beginning of a new culture forming the Northern Kingdom. Scholars debate the exact timing of this transition.

The city represented by Stratum VI is considered completely Canaanite by [[Israel Finkelstein]]. It is thought to have a mixed Canaanite and [[Philistine]] character by archaeologists [[Yigael Yadin]] and [[Amihai Mazar]] (2005).<ref>{{Cite book |title="And in Length of Days Understanding" (Job 12:12): Essays on Archaeology in the Eastern Mediterranean and Beyond in Honor of Thomas E. Levy |last=Bruins |first=Hendrik J. |publisher=Springer Nature |year=2023 |isbn=978-3-031-27330-8 |pages=811–837 |editor-last=Ben-Yosef |editor-first=Erez |chapter=Time and Paradigm at Tel Megiddo: David, Shoshenq I, Hazael and Radiocarbon Dating |editor-last2=Jones |editor-first2=Ian W. N. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NcPOEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA811|quote=See Fig. 2, p. 813.}}</ref> It fell victim to fire,<ref name="Wiener, Noah" /> when the earliest fragmentary Gate 3165 from Stratum VIA in the Late Iron Age I (c. 1050–950 BCE) was destroyed along with the whole city at the end of this period,<ref name="Finkelstein, Israel, et al., (2019)">{{cite journal |last1=Finkelstein |first1=Israel |first2=Matthew J. |last2=Adams |first3=Erin |last3=Hall |first4=Eythan |last4=Levy |display-authors=1 |year=2019 |doi=10.1080/03344355.2019.1650492 |title=The Iron Age Gates of Megiddo: New Evidence and Updated Interpretations |journal=Tel Aviv |volume=46 |issue=2 |page=167}}</ref> marking the end of Iron I in the Jezreel Valley and of Canaanite culture there.<ref>Arie, Eran, (2023). [https://books.google.com/books?id=ugDkEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA120 "Canaanites in a Changing World: The Jezreel Valley during the Iron Age I"], in: ''From Nomadism to Monarchy'', p. 120: "The massive and complete destruction of Tel Megiddo VIA and Tel Yoqne'am XVII mark the end of the Iron I in the valley [of Jezreel] and have been considered the end of Canaanite culture in the northern valleys, since the region's material culture in the subsequent Iron IIA is remarkably different in most respects[...]"</ref> This destruction was "caused by the growing proto-Israelite power in the central hill country, out of which [emerged] the [[Northern Kingdom of Israel]] [that] should be dated to the first half of the 10th century BCE," related to "the biblical narrative of the war led by Deborah and Barak in Judges 4–5."<ref>Arie, Eran, (2023). [https://books.google.com/books?id=ugDkEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA120 "Canaanites in a Changing World: The Jezreel Valley during the Iron Age I"], in: From Nomadism to Monarchy, p. 120: "[P]reserved in the biblical narrative of the war led by Deborah and Barak in Judges 4–5, [t]he only possible background for this story is the battles [b]etween the Israelites from the hill country and the Canaanites who lived in the valley during the Iron I [...]"</ref>

Ben-Dor Evian and Finkelstein (2023), based on an updated Bayesian model and recent [[radiocarbon dating]]s, proposed that Stratum VIA ended sometime between 999 and 974 BCE,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ben-Dor Evian |first1=Shirley |first2=Israel |last2=Finkelstein |doi=10.1086/727430 |title=The Sheshonq Fragment from Megiddo: A New Interpretation|url=https://www.academia.edu/112554867 |journal=Bulletin of ASOR |volume=390 |date=2023 |pages=97–111 |quote=An updated Bayesian model for Megiddo (with additional dates for the Iron IIA) places [the end of Stratum VIA] in the 999–974 B.C.E. range (989–953 B.C.E. if the nearby Tel Rehov dates are incorporated in the model —for both, see Finkelstein and Piasetzky in press).}}</ref> not due to the conquest of [[Shoshenq I]] but by "the expansion of the highlanders into the valley, a development that soon brought about the emergence of the [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Israelite Northern Kingdom]]."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kleiman |first1=Assaf |first2=Erin |last2=Hall |first3=Rachel |last3=Kalisher |first4=Zachary C. |last4=Dunseth |first5=Lidar |last5=Sapir-Hen |first6=Robert S. |last6=Homsher |first7=Matthew J. |last7=Adams |first8=Israel |last8=Finkelstein |display-authors=1 |year=2023 |title=Crisis in Motion: The Final Days of Iron Age I Megiddo |journal=Levant |volume=56 |issue=1 |pages=66–93 |doi=10.1080/00758914.2023.2230039 |quote=As for the destruction of Stratum VIA, a radiocarbon study published a few years ago, which was based on a larger quantity of samples, suggested that the event occurred in the range of 985–935 BCE (Toffolo et al. 2014). A more recent model puts it in the early 10th century BC (Finkelstein and Piasetzky in press) ...|doi-access=free }}</ref> Applying Bayesian model inference (OxCal v.4.4 software), archaeologist Enrique Gil Orduña (2024) considers this destruction took place sometime around 986 to 983 BCE.<ref>Gil Orduña, Enrique, (June 29, 2024). [https://revistas.uam.es/cupauam/article/view/19541/17355 "A Bayesian Statistical Reassessment of Levantine Late Iron Age I Radiocarbon Data"], in: ''Cuadernos de Prehistoria y Arqueología de la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid'', 50(1), p. 151.</ref>

====Iron Age II====
There have been several contradictory proposals for the political history of the Early Iron Age excavation layers.<ref>Thomas, Z., "The Political History of Megiddo in the Early Iron Age and the Ambiguities of Evidence", ''Journal of Ancient Near Eastern History'', 9(1), pp. 69–94, 2022</ref> The destruction of Stratum V was attributed, by Yadin and Mazar, to [[Shoshenq I]], the first pharaoh of the [[22nd Dynasty of Egypt]], who would have taken Megiddo sometime around 926 BCE,<ref>Bruins, Hendrik J., (2023), (Fig. 2, p. 812).</ref> which is attested in a [[cartouche]] on a stele fragment, found in a spoil heap of the Shumacher excavation by the Oriental Institute team, and in a partial and damaged list of toponyms at the [[Temple of Karnak]].<ref name="Megiddo Expedition">Megiddo Expedition, [https://megiddoexpedition.wordpress.com/history-of-megiddo/ "History of Megiddo"], Tel Aviv University.</ref> However, recalibration of radiocarbon datings, using calibration curve (IntCal20), supports Finkelstein's view that the destruction of Stratum V was due to [[Hazael]]'s campaign, c. 835 BCE (9th century BCE).<ref>Bruins, Hendrik J., (2023): "...the destruction layer of Stratum VA-IVB dates to the ninth century BC, supporting Finkelstein who related this devastation to Hazael's Campaign..." (p. 811, and Fig. 2).</ref>

[[File:Outer_opening_of_the_chambered_gate_at_Megiddo_(B)_(20693218186).jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Gate 2156, built by proto-Israelite power or during the [[Omrides|Omride dynasty]], (Late Iron Age IIA, c. 900–780 BCE).]]
Rulers of the [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Israelite Northern Kingdom]] improved the fortress from around 900 to 750 BCE. The palaces, water systems and fortifications of the site at this period were among the most elaborate Iron Age constructions found in the Levant.<ref name="Megiddo Expedition" /> There is a putative "Solomonic gate" (Gate 2156), which belongs to Stratum VA-IVB, dated by recent excavations and new radiocarbon analysis by Megiddo Expedition, led by Israel Finkelstein, during the time of the [[Omrides]], (c. 886–835 BCE), in the Late Iron Age IIA (around 900–780 BCE).<ref name="Finkelstein, Israel, et al., (2019)" />

Hendrik J. Bruins recalibrated Israel Finkelstein's radiocarbon available samples, using the latest 2020 calibration curve (IntCal20), and concluded that the initial establishment of Stratum VB belongs to the 10th century BC, during the time of the possible [[United Monarchy]], based on two radiocarbon samples.<ref>{{Cite book |title="And in Length of Days Understanding" (Job 12:12): Essays on Archaeology in the Eastern Mediterranean and Beyond in Honor of Thomas E. Levy |last=Bruins |first=Hendrik J. |publisher=Springer Nature |year=2023 |isbn=978-3-031-27330-8 |pages=811–837 |editor-last=Ben-Yosef |editor-first=Erez |chapter=Time and Paradigm at Tel Megiddo: David, Shoshenq I, Hazael and Radiocarbon Dating |editor-last2=Jones |editor-first2=Ian W. N. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NcPOEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA811}}</ref> These two samples are RTT-5498 and RTK-6755, dated to 961 cal BC (median) and 928 cal BCE (median) respectively.<ref>Bruins, Hendrik J., (2023), (p. 828).</ref> Four other samples from Stratum VA-IVB, which are RTK-6408, 6760, 6429, and RTT-3948, belong to the period of the Omrides, dated to 865, 858, 858, and 857 cal BCE (median) respectively.<ref>Bruins, Hendrik J., (2023), (Table 2, p. 828).</ref>

Tel Megiddo became an important city, before being destroyed, possibly by [[Aramaean]] raiders. The Aramean occupation was around 845–815 BCE.<ref>Shaar, Ron, et al., (2022). [https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2022JB024962 "Archaeomagnetism in the Levant and Mesopotamia Reveals the Largest Changes in the Geomagnetic Field"], in: JGR Solid Earth Volume127, Issue12, December 2022: "In addition, the Aramean occupation (845–815 BCE), which is dated using both radiocarbon and historical constraints, is also used as a useful chronological anchor."</ref> [[Jeroboam II]] (c. 789–748 BCE) reigned over Megiddo.

====Assyrian Period====
[[File:The Assyrian City in Megiddo.JPG|thumb|upright=1.1|The [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] phase, when the site was called Magiddu, c. 732–609 BCE – plan and ruins.]]
[[Tiglath-Pileser III]] of Assyria conquered Megiddo in 732 BCE, turning it to the capital of the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]]'s province of Magiddu.<ref name="Wiener, Noah" /> [[Hoshea]] (c. 732–721 BCE), the last king of the Israelite Northern Kingdom, was vassal to Tiglath-Pileser III. The site was rebuilt as an administrative center for Tiglath-Pileser III's occupation of [[Samaria]].

====Egyptian Period====
In 609 BCE, Megiddo was conquered by [[Egyptians]] under [[Necho II]], during the [[Battle of Megiddo (609 BCE)|Battle of Megiddo]].

====Babylonian Period====
Its importance soon dwindled, and it was thought as finally abandoned around 586 BCE.<ref>Bahn, Paul. ''Lost Cities: 50 Discoveries in World Archaeology''. London: Barnes & Noble, Inc., 1997. 88–91. Print.</ref> Since that time it would have remained uninhabited, preserving ruins pre-dating 586 BCE without settlements ever disturbing them. Archaeologist [[Eric H. Cline|Eric Cline]] considers that Tel Megiddo came to an end later, around 350 BCE, during [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid times]].<ref name="Cline, Eric" /> Then, the town of al-[[Lajjun]], not to be confused with the al-Lajjun archaeological site in [[Jordan]], was built up near to the site, but without inhabiting or disturbing its remains.

===Roman Age===
====Megiddo church====
{{main|Megiddo church (Israel)}}
The [[Megiddo church (Israel)|Megiddo church]] is next to [[Megiddo Junction]], inside the precinct of the [[Israel Prison Service|Megiddo Prison]]. It was built within the ancient city of [[Legio]]. It is believed to date to the 3rd century, making it one of the oldest Christian churches in the world. It was a few hundred yards from the Roman base camp of [[Legio VI Ferrata]]. A [[centurion]] donated one of the mosaics found in the church.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zion |first=Ilan Ben |date=2023-08-15 |title=Israel may uproot ancient Christian mosaic near Armageddon. Where it could go next sparks outcry |url=https://apnews.com/article/jesus-bible-armageddon-israel-museum-mosaic-christian-2b3a1806e238e995d51d11a8acbf2935 |access-date=2023-08-15 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref>

===Modern Israel===
[[File:JPF-Jezreel Valley and Mount Tabor.JPG|thumb|upright=1.1|A view of [[Jezreel Valley]] and [[Mount Tabor]] from Megiddo]]

Megiddo is south of [[Megiddo (kibbutz)|Kibbutz Megiddo]] by {{convert|1|km}}. Today, [[Megiddo Junction]] is on [[highway 65 (Israel)|the main road]] connecting the center of Israel with lower [[Galilee]] and the north. It lies at the northern entrance to [[Wadi Ara]], an important mountain pass connecting the Jezreel Valley within Israel's coastal plain.<ref>Davies, Graham, ''Megiddo'', (Lutterworth press, 1986), pg 1.</ref>

In 1964, during [[Pope Paul VI]]'s visit to the [[Holy Land]], Megiddo was the site where he met with Israeli dignitaries, including President [[Zalman Shazar]] and the Prime Minister [[Levi Eshkol]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://megiddoexpedition.wordpress.com/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090530163848/http://megiddo.tau.ac.il/history.html|url-status=dead|title=The Megiddo Expedition|archive-date=May 30, 2009|website=The Megiddo Expedition}}</ref>

===Battles===
Famous battles include:
* [[Battle of Megiddo (15th century BC)|Battle of Megiddo (15th century BCE)]]: fought between the armies of the Egyptian [[pharaoh]] [[Thutmose III]] and a large [[Canaan]]ite coalition led by the rulers of Megiddo and [[Kadesh (Syria)|Kadesh]].
* [[Battle of Megiddo (609 BC)|Battle of Megiddo (609) BCE]]: fought between [[Necho II]], [[pharaoh]] of the [[Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt]], and the [[Kingdom of Judah]], during which King [[Josiah]] fell.
* [[Battle of Megiddo (1918)]]: fought during [[World War I]] between Allied troops, led by General [[Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby|Edmund Allenby]] and the defending [[Ottoman army]].