The Upper Galilee during the Persian Period

Over the years, scholars have claimed that the transition from Assyrian to Babylonian and eventually Achaemenid rule entailed no significant changes to the borders of the provinces in the Upper Galilee and that the region was characterized by an administrative and habitation continuum from the late eighth century to the late fourth century bce. In order to examine this assumption, I shall use the longue durée approach to examine the Upper Galilees status from the Assyrian conquest of the region to the end of the Persian period. Using both historical sources and archaeological data will allow us to reconstruct the geo-political status of the region during the Persian period. A comparison of the data through time indicates that unlike the regions geo-political status during the late Iron Age, when it was divided between the Phoenicians controlling the west and Assyria and later Babylon controlling the east, in the Persian period the entire Upper Galilee was part of the Phoenician administrative system. This administrative change was accompanied by a settlement wave consisting of migrating Phoenician populations arriving from the coastal region, which represents another expression of Phoenician rule over the Upper Galilee throughout the Persian period.