Towards the end of the eighth century BCE, Judah was at the peak of its development as a mature and developed kingdom. It was based on a fairly dense hierarchy of settlements, which was spread throughout all parts of the kingdom, and included farms, villages, secondary settlements and central towns. The lowlands were the most populated and fertile region of the kingdom, and Lachish served as the secondary capital. Standing at the top of the pyramid was unquestionably Jerusalem, the largest and most important governmental center in the kingdom, the seat of the king and his home, the priests of the central temple and a large part of the elite class. This was the end of a long development process that took place in the 9th and 8th centuries BCE. Judah enjoyed long years of peace, culminating ...