The Southern Levant and Northern Arabia in the Iron Age

During the first millennium BCE, arid regions of the southern Levant and northern Arabia experienced significant societal transformation, marked by the emergence of independent polities with varying social complexities. These societies, often overlooked through the lens of Near Eastern empires' written records, were primarily organized around nomadic semi-pastoralism and limited agriculture, heavily influenced by environmental factors like aridity. The study reveals how these regions became integrated into broader Near Eastern economic systems, particularly through trade networks involving mineral resources such as copper from Wadi Arabah and incense from South Arabia. Neighboring empires, notably the Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian, sought to dominate these routes and co-opt tribal groups controlling them, though with mixed success. The research leverages local epigraphic and archaeological evidence to elucidate this pivotal period of political and economic organization.

Tebes, J. M. (2023). The Southern Levant and Northern Arabia in the Iron Age. The Oxford History of the Ancient near East Volume V, 231–298. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190687663.003.0052