Word Hazor, from the original Hebrew, means an enclosure; the term may have been used to imply that the settlement was had defensive walls around it.

In the Middle Bronze Age (around 1750 BCE) and the Israelite period (ninth century BCE), Hazor was the largest fortified city in the country and one of the most important in the Fertile Crescent.

The first settlement excavated in Tel Hazor is dated to the Early Bronze Age II and III periods, existing at around the 28th and 24th centuries BCE. It was part of a system of settlements around the Hula Valley, including Abel Beth Maachah, ancient Dan and Kedesh.

The Intermediate Bronze Age period, at the end of the 3rd millennium BCE, is a period of urban decline, separating the Early Bronze Age, which is the Levant's first urban era, from the re-urbanization of the region in the Middle Bronze Age.

circa 3000-2000 BCE

Early Bronze Age
The first settlement excavated in Tel Hazor is dated to the Early Bronze Age II and III periods, existing at around the 28th and 24th centuries BCE. Back then it was part of a system of settlements around the Hula Valley, including Abel Beth Maachah, Dan and Kedesh. Early Bronze Age Hazor was not a significant settlement. A large monumental structure dated to the following Middle Bronze Age period seems to have already been erected in the Early Bronze Age, sometime after the 27th century BCE. If this is true it implies that already in its beginnings, Hazor was a well-planned settlement that served as an urban center. Large part of Hazor's pottery from that time belongs to the Khirbet Kerak type.

circa 2000-1550 BCE

Middle Bronze Age
During the Middle Bronze IIA (MBIIA; 1820-1550), Hazor was a vassal of Ishi-Addu of Qatna. During this period the settlement of Chatsôr was also mentioned in the Execration texts (also known as the proscription lists; the ancient Egyptian hieratic texts, listing enemies of the pharaoh). At Mari (Syria), on the Euphrates river, letters mention Hazor during the reigns of Yasmah-Adad and Zimri-Lim. Hazor is part of a trade route Hazor-Qatna-Mari.

circa 1550-1200 BCE

Late Bronze Age
During the Egyptian Second Intermediate Period and early New Kingdom (together running between 18th and 13th century BCE), Canaan was an Egyptian vassal state. The 14th century BCE documents, from the el-Amarna, describe the king of Hazor (in Amarna letters called Hasura), Abdi-Tirshi, as swearing loyalty to the Egyptian pharaoh. According to the biblical Books of Joshua and Judges, Hazor was the seat of Jabin, a powerful Canaanite king who led a Canaanite confederation against Joshua, and subsequently defeated. One archaeological stratum dating from around 1200 BCE shows signs of catastrophic fire. The city also show signs of having been a magnificent Canaanite city prior to its destruction.

circa 1200-539 BCE

Iron Age (Israelite Hazor)
Also known as the Israelite period, the archaeological remains from this period suggest that after its destruction, the city of Hazor was rebuilt as a minor village within "the territory of Naphtali" (Joshua 19:36). According to the Book of Kings, the town, along with Megiddo, and Gezer, was substantially expanded and fortified by Solomon.

Like Megiddo and Gezer, the remains at Hazor show that during the Early Iron Age the town gained a highly distinctive six chambered gate, as well as a characteristic style to its administration buildings; archaeologists determined that these constructions at Hazor were built by the same leadership as those at Megiddo and Gezer. Some archaeologists conclude that they were constructed in the tenth century BCE by the King Solomon; others date these structures to the early 9th century BCE, during the reign of the Omrides.

Archaeological remains indicate that towards the later half of the 9th century BCE, when the king of Israel was Jehu, Hazor fell into the control of Aram Damascus. Some archaeologists suspect that subsequent to this conquest Hazor was rebuilt by Aram, probably as an Aramaean city. When the Assyrians later defeated the Aramaeans, Hazor seemingly returned to Israelite control; Assyrian records indicate that Joash, king of Israel at the time, had paid tribute to Assyria and Israel had become an Assyrian vassal. Subsequently, the town, along with the remainder of the kingdom of Israel, entered a period of great prosperity, particularly during the rule of Jeroboam II. Some archaeologists attribute the later large scale constructions at Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer, including the rock cut water supply systems, to this era.

Israel's attempted rebellion against Assyrian domination resulted in an invasion by the forces of the Assyrian ruler, Tiglath-Pileser III; the evidence on the ground suggests that hasty attempts were made to reinforce the defenses of Hazor. Despite the defences, in 732 BCE Hazor was captured, its population deported, and the city was burnt to the ground.

circa 1000 BCE

Upper City
The Upper City of Hazor, situated approximately 40 meters above the southern edge of the Huleh Valley, represents the fortified acropolis and administrative nucleus of the ancient city. Covering an area of roughly 100 dunams (about 10 hectares), this elevated sector served as the political, religious, and ceremonial heart of Hazor during the Middle and Late Bronze Ages. It was enclosed by massive fortification walls, the remnants of which still outline the perimeter of the tell. Archaeological excavations have revealed monumental structures, including the well-known Solomonic six-chambered gate complex dated to the 10th century BCE, which parallels those found at Megiddo and Gezer, indicating a unified architectural program under the early Israelite monarchy.

Within the upper city lies a restored Late Bronze Age temple, distinguished by its basalt orthostats and cultic installations, reflecting Hazor’s role as a major Canaanite religious and administrative center prior to its destruction in the 13th century BCE. Biblical tradition reinforces this prominence, describing Hazor as “And Joshua at that time turned back and took Hazor and smote the king thereof with the sword, for Hazor beforetime was the head of all those kingdoms.” (Joshua 11:10), conquered and burned by Joshua. Excavated palatial structures and public buildings attest to the city’s significance and wealth during this era. Today, the Upper City forms the main accessible portion of the archaeological park, where visitors can view the acropolis, gate complex, and portions of the ancient citadel that once dominated the landscape of northern Canaan.

circa 1000 BCE

Lower City
The lower city extends north of the acropolis, sprawling across the Hazor Valley and forming by far the largest portion of the ancient urban complex. Encompassing an estimated 700 dunams (approximately 70 hectares), it was surrounded by a broad earthen rampart with stone reinforcements and a narrow eastern extension that once overlooked the trade routes linking the inland valleys to the Huleh Basin and beyond to Mesopotamia and Syria. This immense lower settlement developed primarily during the Middle and Late Bronze Ages, when Hazor reached the height of its influence as one of the largest and most powerful Canaanite city-states in the southern Levant. Archaeological evidence indicates that the lower city contained dense domestic quarters, administrative buildings, temples, and industrial areas that supported its population and economy.

Excavations in this sector have uncovered several significant cultic and architectural remains, including a major Canaanite temple complex dated to the 14th–13th centuries BCE, notable for its basalt statues, offering installations, and carved orthostats. Earlier strata, ranging from the 18th to 13th centuries BCE, have revealed additional religious structures, burial installations, and occupational layers illustrating continuous urban development. Particularly noteworthy are the remains of a sequence of defensive gates—four superimposed and a possible fifth beneath—indicating successive rebuilding phases corresponding to different periods of destruction and renewal. The scale and planning of the Lower City attest to Hazor’s exceptional status as a regional capital controlling extensive agricultural lands and commanding vital trade and military routes across northern Canaan until its final destruction in the late 13th century BCE.

circa 1000 BCE

Solomonic Gate
The Solomonic gate is located in the center of the upper city, allowing entry in to the citadel from south-east direction. The gate is symmetric on both sides of the entrance, and is composed of two towers, three rooms within each tower, and two bastions projecting on both side. Dated to the 10th century BCE, this gate has six chambers and two towers. Similar gates have been uncovered at Megiddo, Lachish and Gezer.

circa 1300-1500 BCE

Bronze Statuettes of Enthroned God and King
The statue on the left depicts one of the major Canaanite gods - either El, head of the pantheon, or the storm god, responsible for fertility and growth. The god's divine status is indicated by his tall headdress, decorated in relief with a tree of life flanked by two horned animals. The smaller statue on the right depicts an enthroned king wearing a broad-hemmed cloak.

circa 1300-1500 BCE

Head of an Ivory Figurine
Head made of ivory, found in the Ceremonial Precinct, Building 7050. Only part of this head, which may have belonged to an anthropomorphic statuette, remains, including the face, the left ear, the neck and part of the headdress. Its fragmentary state makes it difficult to establish whether it belonged to a standing or seated figure or perhaps even to a composite creature, such as a sphinx. It is most likely dated to the Late Bronze Age.

circa 1000 BCE

Fragment of Egyptian Statue
In a historic find, a large fragment of an Egyptian statue measuring 45 X 40 centimeters, made of lime-stone, was discovered In the course of the current season of excavations at Tel-Hazor, north of the Sea of Galilee in Israel. Only the lower part of the statue survived, depicting the crouching feet of a male figure, seated on a square base on which a few lines in the Egyptian hieroglyphic script are inscribed.

circa 900 BCE

Hazor Fortress Gate
Made out of limestone, it may have belonged to a royal structure, possibly a fortress. Dated to the Iron Age (II), it was excavated in-situ at Tel Hazor, today displayed at the Israel Museum. This is the right half of a double gate that stood at the entrance to the fortress of Hazor in the time of King Ahab. It is built of finely hewn blocks and adorned with two carved capitals, which support a massive lintel.