Assyrian destruction of the Kingdom of Israel and fall of Samaria
- Date
- 722/720 BCE
- Category
- Military & conflict
- Region
- Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)
- Era
- Classical Antiquity
- Significance
After a multi-year siege begun by Shalmaneser V, the Assyrian capture of Samaria around 722 BCE ended the northern Kingdom of Israel; Sargon II later claimed completion of the conquest and consolidation in 720 BCE.
Following Assyrian imperial practice, the population was deported, with Sargon's inscriptions recording 27,290 Israelites resettled across the empire, and foreign populations were brought in to replace them. The northern kingdom ceased to exist, giving rise to the tradition of the 'Ten Lost Tribes' and leaving Judah as the sole surviving Israelite state. The catastrophe drove refugees and northern religious traditions south to Jerusalem, contributing to the literary and theological consolidation of biblical texts and to the trajectory toward exclusive monotheism. The event is documented in both the Hebrew Bible (2 Kings 17) and Assyrian royal annals, making it one of the better-corroborated episodes of the period.
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Empires active in 722/720 BCE
- Neo-Assyrian Empire911 BCE – 609 BCE
- Roman Kingdom753 BCE – 509 BCE
- Zhou Dynasty1046 BCE – 256 BCE
- Scythians800 BCE – 300 BCE
- Kingdom of Kush1070 BCE – 350 CE
- Phoenician City-States1200 BCE – 539 BCE
Related military & conflict events
- Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and the start of the Exile587/586 BCE
- Tiglath-Pileser III's Military and Administrative Reformsc. 745 BCE
- Death of Cyrus the Great in Battle Against the Massagetaec. 530 BCE
- Fall of Nineveh and Collapse of Assyrian Power612 BCE
- Battles of Thermopylae and Salamis480 BCE
- Darius I's Scythian Campaign North of the Black Seac. 513 BCE
Further reading
The wider story
Ancient Assyria: A Very Short Introduction
A leading Assyriologist's concise, authoritative primer.
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