The History of the Area between Ramat Raḥel and Jerusalem during the Hundred Years of Assyrian Rule in Judah

In this contribution, I draw a distinction between the developmental processes in Jerusalem during the 8th and 7th centuries BCE and the completely separate processes that took place in the rural areas surrounding the city, focusing on the Armon ha-Natziv – Ramat Raḥel ridge, located south of the city. It seems that in the entire area, but especially in the ridge south of Jerusalem, economic, administrative, and political processes took place, that did not coincide with what was happening in the city itself, and perhaps, in many respects, were even disconnected from what was happening in the capital of the kingdom. It can be assumed that the processes in the areas around Jerusalem enabled the continuation of life in the city itself under the rule of the Assyrian empire: The House of David continued to rule, the temple and its cult were maintained, and the elite class survived and preserved its socioeconomic and political status.