Egypt, Philistia, and other countries made an attempt to oppose this new Assyrian king, which is reflected in Isaiah 19-20 and in Assyrian accounts (ANET, 284-86; Tadmor 1966, 90f.; Yadin 1963, 2:417-18). The destruction of Israel is also described in Sargon's own records, as are the various assaults on Philistia, namely Ashdod, Gaza, and Ekron. Sargon II proclaimed his conquest of

Assyria, by controlling Gaza and other parts of Philistia, would control and develop the north-south trade routes linking Egypt and Arabia with Europe and Asia. Sargon II evidently had to make repeated forays into Philistia, with Ashdod perhaps being the ringleader in opposition to him. At the time that the fortunes of Israel were declining after its division, the fortunes of Ashdod had been generally improving. In the late tenth century, Ashdod had grown in power and expanded so much that it moved off the tell. It had grown from twenty to one hundred acres. From the tenth century to Sargon II's day it had experienced and survived one partial destruction, perhaps by King Uzziah (ca. 750 B.C.).

Gaza and final references to Gath are also mentioned in a few of the Assyrian inscriptions (ANET, 284-86), and one inscription, dated to after 716 B.C., notified Sargon II that foreign chieftains from Egypt, Judah, Gaza, Ashdod, Ekron, and Ashkelon, among others, had arrived with their tributes (Tadmor 1966, 92-93).

Still another Assyrian document -- a letter that may have been sent by Sennacherib, the crown prince -- describes in detail the fixed annual tribute from two Philistine cities. The tribute, as well as additional gifts, came from Ashdod and perhaps Ashkelon or Gaza (the letter is broken). Besides the usual precious metals, textiles again figured importantly, as well as dried fish (Tadmor 1966, 92-93).⁶ Sargon II assaulted Ashdod and its neighbors in 713 and 712 B.C. Ashdod, in preparation for the attack, constructed a moat (ANET, 287). The assault is referred to in Isaiah 20:1-2: "In the year that the commander-in-chief, who was sent by King Sargon of Assyria, came to Ashdod and fought against it and took it -- at that time the Lord had spoken to Isaiah son of Amoz. . . . " A fragment of an Assyrian cuneiform tablet also refers to an attack on Azekah (southeast of Ekron), which, if dated to this assault, may have been launched to keep King Hezekiah in check (Tadmor 1966, 94). To commemorate the conquest, Sargon II erected a stele, pieces of which have been found in the Ashdod excavations. Ashdod became an Assyrian province, ruled by an Assyrian governor and a local prince (Tadmor 1966, 94; Oded 1979, 243-44).

One of Sargon II's wall reliefs in his palace at Khorsabad not only shows the siege of Ekron but also names the city (Porten 1981, 46-47; Tadmor 1966, 90, 94; Yadin 1963, 2:418-19). Discussion of these military campaigns into Philistia brings us to the close of the eighth century B.C. and into the reign of King Hezekiah, who also had important encounters with the Philistines. Ashdod had become an important city-state for Assyria, but as the excavations at Ekron show, the sun would also rise on Ekron and its olive oil industry.

The destructive military campaign of Sargon II through Philistia and down into Egypt led Isaiah to make his warning to Judah in chapter 20 not to look to Egypt for aid against Assyria. Both Ashkelon and Gaza were crushed, but Ashdod and Ekron survived to become powerful city-states for Assyria in the seventh century B.C. Ashdod would even have its own king again by the time of Sennacherib (ca. 700 B.C.).

The city revived after Sargon II's conquest. The excavated areas show that the streets, houses, and courtyards were rebuilt, and commerce resumed and continued down through the first half of the seventh century. Inscriptions as well as inscribed weights have been excavated, dating to the end of the eight and into the seventh centuries. The recovery of a pim weight (see pp. 142-43) as well as others has led scholars to ponder whether the Ashdod inscriptions are in Hebrew (Negev 1986, 42), due to contacts with people of Judah, or Canaanite/West Semitic, again indicative of Philistine adaptation to the local culture (Oded 1979, 238). Some of this material might date to the time of Josiah, who may have taken over the area following the destruction of Ashdod by Pharaoh Psamtik I.

Tell Qasile lies to the north of Tel Ashdod. As described earlier, Qasile was uninhabited during the Iron II period, except perhaps for a brief revival in the late seventh century (according to Judean ceramics), when King Josiah may have used it as a port.

When last we looked to the south at Tels Sera` and Halif, we noted that Tel Halif flourished during the late tenth or early ninth through the eighth centuries B.C. This city did not survive the Assyrian period. Tel Sera`, on the other hand, was abandoned for approximately 150 years beginning around 850 B.C. and was revived, evidently by the Assyrians, circa 700 B.C. That was the final fortified city at this site, and its citadel contained Assyrian "palace ware" ceramics and Assyrian bronzes, indicating to Oren, the excavator, that the citadel was occupied by Assyrian troops, perhaps during the reign of Esarhaddon (681-669).

Some of the interesting artifacts at Tel Sera` include a crescent-shaped bronze standard, which may symbolize the Asyrian moongod, Sin, and a socketed bronze spearhead. This type of spearhead can be seen on Assyrian palace reliefs. The Egyptian goddess Sekhmet was also found on a faience (a fine grade of painted and glazed pottery) statuette, and East Greek pottery and both Hebrew and Aramaic ostraca were uncovered as well. The ceramic repertoire at Tel Sera` corresponds to the seventh-century repertoire found at Ashdod, Mesad Hashavyahu (see pp. 230-34), and Ekron. The late seventh-century B.C. destruction of Tel Sera` may have been due to either the Babylonian Nebuchadnezzar, the Egyptian pharaoh Neco, or Judah's King Josiah.