Mt. Carmel: Great Show Down Between Elisha & the 850 False Prophets - Full Video in Description

Location
1. Tel Jezreel was a biblical fortified city located on the southern ridge of the beautiful Jezreel Valley in the Lower Galilee region of northern Israel.
2. The tel sits 100 meters above the valley and covers approximately 22 acres. It is strategically located close to the ancient Via Maris trade route running from north to south and was an important stop along the way.
3. Its strategic location on the entrance to the north-south trade route made the city a gatekeeper like Lachish, Gezer, Megiddo, and Hazor, which were located on the international highway known as the Via Maris (way of the sea).

Historical Background
1. Tel Jezreel was a major Biblical city in the northern Kingdom of Israel. The capital of Israel was Samaria, but Jezreel is often presented as the Israelite king’s second or winter capital.
2. The Bible tells about many events associated with the city.
3. Excavations reveal that the city was inhabited in the Canaanite/Late Bronze period in around the 15th Century BC, and then later in the Israelite/Iron period.
4. The city belonged to the region of the tribe of Issachar.
5. Archaeological findings dating to the Iron Age include a large enclosure surrounded by a moat, a gate with six chambers, and large towers. These findings are dated to around 880 BC, which would have been during the reign of King Omri and Ahab.
6. In 722 BC, the Jezreel and the northern Kingdom of Israel were conquered by the Assyrians, and many of the