Archaeology and Material Culture of the Kingdom of Israel and the Israelites (C. 1000 – 722/21 BCE)

Biblical texts describe the foundation of the kingdom of Israel (also known as the “northern kingdom”) as a secession, in which the northern tribes revolted against the installation of Rehoboam son of Solomon and appointed Jeroboam son of Nebat as their king (1 Kgs 12). The resultant kingdom of Israel is described as enduring for some two hundred years reigned by twenty kings from nine dynastic houses (though some “dynasties” are only represented by ephemeral reigns of a single king), a portrayal broadly corroborated by ancient inscriptions, Neo-Assyrian annals, and archaeology for the later 9th and 8th centuries bce, though archaeological debate surrounds the origins of the kingdom. Its end was ushered in by the devastating 733–732 bce campaigns of Tiglath-Pileser III that resulted in the annexation of the Upper Galilee, with the final blow coming in 722 or 721 in the conquest of the capital of Samaria following a siege by Shalmanesser V and then Sargon II. The geographical boundaries of the region are described in the Hebrew Bible in terms of cities affiliated with varying degrees of centralization and those boundaries fluctuated some throughout the period. The extent of the kingdom at any given time is difficult to identify archaeologically, but the heartland of the northern central hills remained stable as the capital moved from Shechem to Tirzah and eventually to Samaria under the Omrides (cf. 1 Kgs 12:25; 15:33; 16:24). The kingdom reached its first peak of power and broad geographic extent under the Omrides encompassing the Galilee, the Sharon plain, the Jezreel Valley, and the Jordan Valley as well as regions of the Transjordan. There is also biblical and extrabiblical evidence for northern control of southern regions as far as the Gulf of Aqaba that would have included important caravan routes through the Sinai. Archaeological surveys and site excavations demonstrate the regional prominence of the kingdom, although debate remains regarding the appearance of monumental architecture and other material remains as part of a larger discussion surrounding the end of the Iron Age I and the beginning of the Iron Age II. Expansion under the Omrides in the 9th century bce brought the kingdom into conflict with other regional kingdoms and the Neo-Assyrian empire, as attested in a number of significant epigraphic discoveries including the Moabite Mesha stela, the Aramean Tel Dan stela, and many neo-Assyrian inscriptions. A second and perhaps more expansive peak of power occurred under the Nimshides in the 8th century bce, especially during the reign of Jeroboam II, due to the Neo-Assyrian domination of the rival kingdom of Aram Damascus before Assyria set its sights on Samaria. Archaeological discoveries have also shed light on the wealth and economy of the Israelite kingdom and have proved essential in reconstructing religious practices, social structures, and the activities of everyday life.