Omer Sergi – författare

Archaeological exploration in the Central Highlands of the Southern Levant conducted during the 1970s and 1980s dramatically transformed the scholarly understanding of the early Iron Age and led to the publication of From Nomadism to Monarchy: Archaeological and Historical Aspects of Early Israel, by Israel Finkelstein and Nadav Na’aman. This volume explores and reassesses the legacy of that foundational text. Using current theoretical frameworks and taking into account new excavation data and methodologies from the natural sciences, the seventeen essays in this volume examine the archaeology of the Southern Levant during the early Iron Age and the ways in which the period may be reflected in biblical accounts. The variety of methodologies employed and the historical narratives presented within these contributions illuminate the multifaceted nature of contemporary research on this formative period.Building upon Finkelstein and Na’aman’s seminal study, this work provides an essential update. It will be welcomed by ancient historians, scholars of early Israel and the early Iron Age Southern Levant, and biblical scholars. In addition to the editors, the contributors to this volume are Eran Arie, Erez Ben-Yosef, Cynthia Edenburg, Israel Finkelstein, Yuval Gadot, Assaf Kleiman, Gunnar Lehmann, Defna Langgut, Aren M. Maeir, Nadav Na’aman, Thomas Römer, Lidar Sapir-Hen, Katja Soennecken, Dieter Vieweger, Ido Wachtel, and Naama Yahalom-Mack.

Recent studies have demonstrated that ancient Near Eastern societies considered themselves as part of one social fabric, divided not by mode of life or place of residence, but according to traditional associations of kin. Kinship relations appear to maintain their essential integrity over long periods of time, even within complex political organizations. In the past it was common to view state formation as an evolutionary process – from tribe to state – during which former kinship relations and tribal identities dissolve in face of the political identity imposed by the "state". Today, however, it seems that there were no evolutionary relations between the tribe and the state, as they both represent identities that coexist at the same time. It is against this background that a common structural element of ancient Levantine polities emerges: their fragmented nature, mostly based on an overarching concept of kinship. This book presents studies of different polities and societies from the Bronze and Iron Ages Levant and beyond, highlighting their kin-based social and political structures, interactions, and ultimate formations, as may be gleaned from both material and textual sources.

Das Königreich Israel stand während seiner gesamten Geschichte in Verbindung zu den aramäischen Königreichen. Der ständige Wechsel von Beziehungen - von Rivalität und militärischen Konflikten zu Bündnissen und militärischer Kooperation - beeinflusste die Geschichte der gesamten Levante und hinterließ Spuren sowohl in biblischen als auch außerbiblischen Quellen. Des Weiteren entstand Israel gemeinsam mit den aramäischen Stadtstaaten während des 11. bis 9. Jahrhunderts v.Chr. und das Tal des Jordan (sowie seine Ausdehnung ins Tal von Libanon) war ein Grenzgebiet, das andauernd zwischen verschiedenen Stadtstaaten der Eisenzeit wechselte. In Anbetracht dessen ist es notwendig, die Geschichte des antiken Israel nicht nur aus der "kanaanitischen" Perspektive, sondern auch im politischen und kulturellen Kontext der aramäischen Welt zu untersuchen. Dieser Band vereint Wissenschaftler aus verschiedenen Bereichen, die sich mit den Beziehungen und Interaktionen zwischen Aram und Israel während der frühen Eisenzeit (12.-8. Jahrhundert v.Chr.) befassen.