Editing Kingdom of Judah (section)

=== Jerusalem ===
[[File:עיר_דוד_2.JPG|thumb|[[Stepped Stone Structure]] seen from the [[Large Stone Structure]]]]
The status of Jerusalem in the 10th century BCE is a major subject of debate.<ref name="mazar" /> The oldest part of Jerusalem and its original urban core are the [[City of David (archaeological site)|City of David]], which does show evidence of significant Israelite residential activity around the 10th century.{{sfn|Sergi|2023|p=197}} Some unique administrative structures such as the [[Stepped Stone Structure]] and the [[Large Stone Structure]], which originally formed one structure, contain material culture dated to Iron I.<ref name="mazar" /> On account of an alleged lack of settlement activity in the 10th century BCE, Israel Finkelstein argues that Jerusalem was then a small country village in the Judean hills, not a national capital, and Ussishkin argues that the city was entirely uninhabited. [[Amihai Mazar]] contends that if the Iron I / Iron II A dating of administrative structures in the City of David are correct, which he believes to be the case, "Jerusalem was a rather small town with a mighty citadel, which could have been a center of a substantial regional polity."<ref name="mazar" /> [[William G. Dever]] argues that Jerusalem was a small and fortified city, probably inhabited only by the royal court, priests and clerks.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Dever|first=William G.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=39HoDwAAQBAJ|title=Has Archaeology Buried the Bible?|date=2020-08-18|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|isbn=978-1-4674-5949-5|language=en}}</ref> [[Avraham Faust]] and Zev Farber argue that Jerusalem was significantly large when compared with most highland sites in ancient Israel, and contained fortifications and public buildings.{{sfn|Faust|Farber|2025|p=83|ps=: "There is now no question that pottery from this period (Iron IIA) was found in practically every excavation area in the City of David, including down the (eastern) slopes toward the Kidron, as well as in the Ophel.<sup>52</sup> And since the Ophel was not only fortified but probably also had public buildings, the Temple Mount must have been incorporated within the boundaries of the city – otherwise the Ophel would be defenseless. This means that Jerusalem’s area was some 16.5 hectares, suggesting that it was very large when compared with other sites in Judah at the time. In fact, it was quite large in comparison to most highland sites in Israel throughout history.<sup>53</sup>"}}