01_Dubovský_321_346 28/10/14 10:32 Pagina 332 332 PETER DUBOVSKÝ dynastic instability was the rivalry between hill-based Ephraim- Manasseh and Transjordan-based Gilead. A further “redundant” detail, which caused several problems to both ancient and modern interpreters, concerns the term Tirzah, which is connected twice with king Menahem in 2 Kgs 15,14.16. Tirzah was the starting point of Menahem’s revolt and the cradle of a new, even though short-lived, dynasty of Menahem. The city of Tirzah is to be identified with Tell el-Far‘ah North 24. The site contains a palace whose size is comparable with the largest palaces of that period in Israel (Building 148 in Stratum VIId 25). This palace was destroyed at the end of the 8th c. BC, and the destruction can be safely attributed to the Assyrians 26. If this archaeological evidence is connected with the biblical account, it is possible to conclude that just before the collapse of Samaria the city of Tirzah reappeared as a new rival on the Israelite political scene. This con- clusion suggests that the Northern Kingdom was ravaged by vari- ous factions that struggled for power. One of them would be the city of Tirzah. Its revival in the 8th BC indicates that Menahem would have found enough support in the local aristocracy to usurp the throne in Samaria, and his military expansion could have satis- fied the aspiration of the magnates of Tirzah 27. In conclusion, these seemingly redundant details point to twofold tensions underlying the frequent coups d’état: the tensions between the hilled-based and Transjordanian tribes, and the ten- sions between the inhabitants of old and new capitals of Israel. IV. Gradual loss of executive power Besides the motif of coups d’état the biblical text mentions two Assyrian invasions that seriously undermined the sovereignty of the Northern Kingdom. The description of the Assyrian invasion 24 For another possible identification see ABD VI, 573-574. 25 A. CHAMBON – J. MALLET, Tell el-Fârʿah 1 (Paris 1984) pl. V. 26 M. AVI-YONAH (ed.), Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land (Englewood Cliffs, NJ 1978) II, 404. 27 DUBOVSKÝ, “Menahem’s Reign”, 30-38. H.M. Niemann drew a similar conclusion from the analysis of the Samaria ostraca; see H.M. NIEMANN, “A New Look at the Samaria Ostraca: The King-Clan Relationship”, TA 35 (2008) 249-266.