
Hazor was a Canaanite city-state that existed from 1750 BC to the mid-10th century BC. Hazor was founded in the Hula Valley in c. 2800 BC, and Hazor developed into a Bronze Age Canaanite city by 1750 BC and became a vassal of Ishi-Addu of Qatna. In 1446 BC, King Jabin I of Hazor led a Canaanite confederation against the Israelite leader Joshua at the Battle of the Waters of Merom, only to be slain in battle and for Hazor to be destroyed. From 1305 to 1285 BC, King Jabin II of Hazor oppressed the Israelites until his army was defeated at the Battle of Mount Tabor. The city was rebuilt as a minor village within the Tribe of Naphtali and was fortified and expanded by King Solomon, but it was conquered by Aram Damascus during the reign of King Jehu of Israel (r. 884-856 BC). When the Assyrians defeated the Arameans, the Israelites reconquered Hazor, with King Joash (r. 841-825 BC) becoming an Assyrian tributary. Hazor thrived during the reign of Jeroboam II, but the Assyrian ruler Tiglath-Pileser III conquered Hazor in 732 BC during an Israelite rebellion, and Hazor's population was deported and the city burned to ground.