Kingdom of Israel
Israel, 930–720 BCE. Draft, not yet reviewed
The Kingdom of Israel, also called the Kingdom of Samaria or the Northern Kingdom, was an Israelite kingdom that existed in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. It controlled the areas of Samaria, Galilee and parts of Transjordan. It had four capital cities in succession: Shiloh, Shechem, Tirzah, and the city of Samaria. Around 720 BCE, Israel was conquered by the Neo-Assyrian Empire.
Seat of power: Shechem
Rulers
Jeroboam I
King of Israel, 931–910 BCE
He was the first king of the northern Kingdom of Israel following a revolt of the ten tribes against Rehoboam that put an end to the United Monarchy. According to the book of 1 Kings, he reigned for 22 years and "there was war continually between Rehoboam and Jeroboam".
Portrait of Jeroboam I: Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Public domain, file
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Nadab
King of Israel, 910–909 BCE
He was the second king of the northern Israelite Kingdom of Israel. He was slain by one of his own captains, Baasha, who then made himself king of Israel.
Portrait of Nadab: Guillaume Rouille, Public domain, file
Baasha
King of Israel, 909–886 BCE
He was the third king of the northern Israelite Kingdom of Israel. Baasha came to power by murdering the previous king, Nadab, at Gibbethon, followed by the entire House of Jeroboam (Nadab's father and predecessor).
Portrait of Baasha: Guillaume Rouille, Public domain, file
Omri
King of Israel, 885–874 BCE
He was a successful military campaigner who extended the northern kingdom of Israel. Other monarchs from the House of Omri are Ahab, Ahaziah, Joram, and Athaliah.
Portrait of Omri: Guillaume Rouille, Public domain, file
Tibni
King of Israel, 885–880 BCE
He was a claimant to the throne of Israel and the son of Ginath.
Portrait of Tibni: Philip Galle / Maarten van Heemskerck, Public domain, file
Ahab
King of Israel, 874–853 BCE
He was the 7th king of Israel, the son and successor of King Omri, and the husband of Jezebel of Sidon. The contemporary Kurkh Monolith inscription of king Shalmaneser III from the Neo-Assyrian Empire documented in 853 BC that Shalmaneser III defeated an alliance of a dozen kings in the Battle of Qarqar, and one of these was Ahab.
Portrait of Ahab: Guillaume Rouille, Public domain, file
Jehoram
King of Israel, 852–841 BCE
He was the ninth king of the northern Kingdom of Israel according to 2 Kings 8:16 and 2 Kings 8:25-28. He was the son of King Ahab and Jezebel and brother to Ahaziah and Athaliah.
Portrait of Jehoram: Guillaume Rouille, Public domain, file
Jehu
King of Israel, 841–814 BCE
He was the tenth king of the northern Kingdom of Israel since Jeroboam I, noted for exterminating the house of Ahab.
Portrait of Jehu: Steven G. Johnson, CC BY-SA 3.0, file
Jehoahaz
King of Israel, 814–798 BCE
He was the eleventh king of Israel and the son of Jehu. The kings of the Arameans, Hazael and Ben-hadad, prevailed over him (2 Kings 13:1-3).
Portrait of Jehoahaz: Guillaume Rouille, Public domain, file
Jehoash
King of Israel, 798–782 BCE
He was the twelfth king of the ancient northern Kingdom of Israel (Samaria) and the son of Jehoahaz in 2 Kings 14:1. When he ascended the throne, the Kingdom of Israel was suffering from the predations of Aram-Damascus, whose king Hazael was conquering land controlled by Samaria.
Portrait of Jehoash: Guillaume Rouille, Public domain, file
Jeroboam II
King of Israel, 782–753 BCE
He was the thirteenth king of the ancient Kingdom of Israel, over which he ruled for forty-one years in the eighth century BC. Jeroboam is the fourth king of the House of Jehu and the longest-reigning king of the kingdom of Israel in Samaria.
Portrait of Jeroboam II: Guillaume Rouille, Public domain, file
Menahem
King of Israel, 752–742 BCE
He was the sixteenth king of the northern Israelite Kingdom of Israel. He was the son of Gadi, and the founder of the dynasty known as the House of Gadi or House of Menahem.
Portrait of Menahem: Guillaume Rouille, Public domain, file
Pekahiah
King of Israel, 742–740 BCE
He was the seventeenth and third-from-last king of Israel and the son of Menahem, whom he succeeded, and the second and last king of Israel from the House of Gadi. He ruled from the capital of Samaria.
Portrait of Pekahiah: Guillaume Rouille, Public domain, file
Pekah
King of Israel, 740–732 BCE
He was the eighteenth and penultimate king of Israel. He was a captain in the army of king Pekahiah of Israel, whom he killed to become king.
Portrait of Pekah: Guillaume Rouille, Public domain, file
Hoshea
King of Israel, 732–722 BCE
He was the nineteenth and last king of the northern Kingdom of Israel (or a puppet king) and son of Elah. As the Assyrian Empire invaded Israel's eastern territories, Pekah's grip on the throne began to slip.
Portrait of Hoshea: Guillaume Rouille, Public domain, file
Culture
- In the 9th century BCE, the House of Omri ruled it, whose political centre was the city of Samaria.
- According to the Hebrew Bible, the territory of the Twelve Tribes of Israel was once amalgamated under a Kingdom of Israel and Judah, which was ruled by the House of Saul and then by the House of David.
- While the existence of Israel and Judah as two independent kingdoms is not disputed, some historians and archaeologists reject the historicity of a United Monarchy of Israel and Judah.
- The records of Assyrian king Sargon II indicate that he deported 27,290 Israelites to Mesopotamia.
Picture
Tel Megiddo is the site of the ancient city of Megiddo, which became a royal city in the Kingdom of Israel in the Iron Age.
Image: AVRAMGR, CC BY-SA 4.0, file
Sources
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.