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BILL SCHLEGEL/BIBLEPLACES.COM
BETWEEN NORTH AND SOUTH. In the eighth century, Gezer was a prominent city of the Northern Kingdom. Built directly atop the remains of an earlier gate and administrative complex dated to the time of King Solomon (preserved ruins depicted here), the Israelite city boasted a casemate wall, a four-chamber gate, and a monumental residence (Palace 8000). Next to the residence stood a four-room house, which likely served the city’s governor. Perhaps anticipating the Assyrian threat, Gezer’s engineers reinforced the city’s gate with an outer fortified entryway and tower. But it was all to no avail. In the spring of 732 BCE, the army of Tiglath-Pileser III attacked and destroyed Gezer, leaving it in ruins and slaughtering most of its people. In the years following the Assyrian conquest, however, Gezer recovered and became a significant town of the Southern Kingdom of Judah.