The Ten Lost Tribes: Fact or Fiction?

EXISTENTIALIST MEETUP - Melbourne, Australia.

History of Religion: Our monthly online Meetup.
The presentations are followed by questions, comments and discussion. All viewpoints welcome.

Early Religion: An Alternative History
What do the historians and archaeologists think of the veracity of religious legends? Legends are an amalgamation of history and mythology. But how much of each?

"THE TEN LOST TRIBES: FACT OR FICTION?"

The notorious Assyrian Empire had developed a cunning way of destabilising rebellious vassal kingdoms. They conquered the cities (military strongholds) and swapped the inhabitants with another rebellious kingdom's cities.
As the Assyrians had realised that the prosperity of their Empire depended on agriculture, they tried not to disturb the peasantry. So 75% of the rebellious kingdoms' populations were left in place.

We will look at the implications of this behaviour by the Assyrian Empire on the legend of the Ten Lost Tribes contended by Israel Finkelstein, Professor of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University and his historian colleague, Neil Asher Silberman, in their book:
"The Bible Unearthed" - - YouTube Audiopedia summary of the book.

David Miller will present the topic and lead the discussion.

Background reading for those interested in doing so:

Biblical references: 2 Kings 17: verses 6 & 24.

Wikipedia's entry on the Neo-Assyrian Empire

Wikipedia's entry on the Ten Lost Tribes

YouTube: Historical Origin of the 12 Tribes of Israel

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Meeting ID: 857 9575 9056 - - Passcode: 251701
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