The Assyrian Evidence: A Reply to Salibi's Questions Regarding Assyrian Sources for their Campaigns in Palestine and the Existence of a Bît Ḫumria in Palestine in the Iron II

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article forms an independent revised part of an online discussion (2003) between Dr. Kamal Salibi from the American University in Berut and Prof. Dr. Thomas L. Thompson and Dr. Ingrid Hjelm from the University of Copenhagen at the initiative of publisher Dr. Ziad Muna, Cadmus Press, Beirut and Damascus. The discussion ended prematurely and will not be published. The article seeks to answer Dr Salibi's questions regarding the placement of “the Palestinian Iron Age state” that is, “also known as Bit Ḫumri.” Did the Assyrians conquer this state in Palestine as is usually agreed, or did they in fact go to Western Arabia, where the Israelites are supposed to have lived at that time. Salibi has in several works argued that Iron Age Israel should be sought in the region of ʿAsir, a stretch about 600 km long and 200 km wide north of Yemen in Western Arabia. Salibi's argument rests on similarity of place names and geographical features that correspond to some material in the Old Testament, especially the Joshua and David stories. Rather than discussing the main arguments in Salibi's thesis, this article seeks to examine a consequence thereof, namely the Assyrian identification and placement of Israel/ Bît-Ḫumria in the Iron Age. Which geo-historical circumstances do the Neo-Assyrian texts reflect when they speak about the area? Which route did the Assyrians take for their western campaigns and finally when and where did they traverse the Arabian Peninsula. The examination does not support Salibi's thesis regarding Israel of the Iron Age.