Inside BAR

Even though the Phoenicians exercised autonomous rule in Dor only from about 1050 to 1000 B.C., their culture dominated the city for approximately 800 years. Ephraim Stern explores the Phoenician remains at the site and considers the question, “How Bad Was Ahab?” in the second installment of his three-part article, “The Many Masters of Dor.” The title question arises because although the Bible excoriates Ahab, king of the northern kingdom of Israel (874–853 B.C.), he initiated many great construction projects, probably including the rebuilding of Dor as a major Israelite seaport.