city state · Anatolia and the Levant
Kingdom of Hazor
Origins
Hazor grew north of the Sea of Galilee on the road from Egypt to Syria. In the 18th century BCE a huge lower city was added to the old mound, creating a city of some 80 hectares. With Laish, it is one of the only Canaanite cities named in the Mari letters, which mention tin sent to its king.
Rule and society
Its kings ruled from a palace on the upper city with basalt orthostats and temples in Syrian style, and controlled much of northern Canaan. In the Amarna age King Abdi-Tirshi was a vassal of the Egyptian Empire New Kingdom, though neighbours accused him of disloyalty. Excavations by Yigael Yadin and Amnon Ben-Tor uncovered statues and cuneiform tablets.
Decline and legacy
In the 13th century BCE the Canaanite city was destroyed by fire, and its statues deliberately defaced. The Book of Joshua credits its destruction to the Israelites; scholars still debate who was responsible. A smaller fortified town later belonged to the Kingdom of Israel.
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (1)
- Kingdom of Hazor was a vassal of Egyptian Empire New Kingdom1457 BCE – 1250 BCE
More states of Anatolia and the Levant →
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Kingdom of Hazor. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-hazor
- MLA
- “Kingdom of Hazor.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-hazor. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Kingdom of Hazor.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-hazor.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Kingdom of Hazor’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-hazor (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻