Twelve Kings is an
Akkadian term meant to symbolize any kind of alliance. The most famous example is in the
Kurkh Monoliths, where an alliance of 11 kings are listed as 12 in the Assyrian document as fighting against Assyrian King
Shalmaneser III in the battle of Qarqar. Shalmaneser's inscription describes the forces of his opponent Hadadezer in considerable detail as follows: • King
Hadadezer himself commanded 1,200 chariots, 1,200 horsemen and 20,000 soldiers; • King
Irhuleni of Hamath commanded 700 chariots, 700 horsemen and 10,000 soldiers; • King
Ahab of
Israel sent 2,000 chariots and 10,000 soldiers; • The Kingdom of
KUR Gu-a-a identified as
Quwê-
Cilicia sent 500 soldiers; • The land of
KUR Mu-us-ra- identified as Masura, which is the outlet of the
Düden River, sent 1,000 soldiers; • The land of Irqanata (
Tell Arqa) sent 10 chariots and 10,000 soldiers; • King Matinu Baal of
Arwad sent 200 soldiers; • The land of Usannata (in the
Mount Lebanon region) sent 200 soldiers; • King Adunu Baal of
Ušnatu (in the
Syrian Coastal Mountain Range) – figures lost; • King
Gindibu of Arabia sent 1,000
camel cavalry; • King
Ba'asa, son of
Ruhubi, of the land of
Ammon sent 100 soldiers. The number of forces sent in by Ahab is a subject of controversy among scholars, since it seems unlikely that the
Kingdom of Israel could possess an army superior to that of the
Kingdom of Aram-Damascus. The number of chariots in Ahab's forces was probably closer to a number in the hundreds (based upon archaeological excavations of the area and the foundations of stables that have been found). Although some scholars have argued that Israel under king Ahab would not have been able to muster a force of 2,000 chariots, there is some archeological evidence that supports the biblical account. Archeological excavations conducted by The Oriental Institute at
Tel Meggido uncovered a large complex of stables. Some scholars suggest that these were not actually stables, but scholars such as Yadin, Finkelstein, and Ussishkin, say that they are indeed stables. The stables they uncovered housed 150 chariots and were dated to the 9th century BC, which would align with the reign of King Ahab. If Ahab had stables of this size throughout his kingdom, it would suggest that he would be able to raise a substantial force. A building complex similar to the one at Megiddo was also uncovered at the city of
Be’er Shiva. Archaeologist Nadav Na'aman believes it to be a scribal error in regard to the size of Ahab's army and suggested that he sent 200 instead of 2,000 chariots. Another possible explanation is that the forces attributed to Ahab include those belonging to his allies, such as the
Kingdom of Judah, the
Kingdom of Tyre and the
Kingdom of Moab, although those kingdoms are not named in the monolith. ==Battle==