History of ancient Israel and Judah

==Iron Age II (950–587&nbsp;BCE)==
{{see also|Kingdom of Judah|Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Capital (architecture)#Proto-Aeolic}}
According to [[Israel Finkelstein]], after an emergent and large polity was suddenly formed based on the [[Gibeon (ancient city)|Gibeon]]-[[Gibeah]] plateau and destroyed by [[Shoshenq I]], the biblical [[Shishak]], in the 10th century BCE,<ref name="Saul">{{cite book|last=Finkelstein|first=Israel|title=Saul, Benjamin, and the Emergence of Monarchy in Israel: Biblical and Archaeological Perspectives|publisher=SBL Press|year=2020|isbn=978-0-88414-451-9|editor=Joachim J. Krause|location=Atlanta, GA|page=48|chapter=Saul and Highlands of Benjamin Update: The Role of Jerusalem|quote=...Shoshenq I, the founder of the Twenty-Second Dynasty and seemingly the more assertive of the Egyptian rulers of the time, reacted to the north Israelite challenge. He campaigned into the highlands and took over the Saulide power bases in the Gibeon plateau and the area of the Jabbok River in the western Gilead. The fortified sites of Khirbet Qeiyafa, Khirbet Dawwara, et-Tell, and Gibeon were destroyed or abandoned. Shoshenq reorganized the territory of the highlands - back to the traditional situation of two city-states under his domination... (p. 48)|author-link=Israel Finkelstein|editor2=Omer Sergi|editor3=Kristin Weingart|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wH3-DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA33}}</ref> a return to small [[city-state]]s was prevalent in the [[Southern Levant]], but between {{BCE|950 and 900}} another large polity emerged in the northern highlands with its capital eventually at [[Tirzah (ancient city)|Tirzah]], that can be considered the precursor of the Kingdom of Israel.<ref name="Core">{{cite journal|last=Finkelstein|first=Israel|author-link=Israel|year=2019|title=First Israel, Core Israel, United (Northern) Israel|url=https://www.academia.edu/42018894|journal=[[Near Eastern Archaeology (journal)|Near Eastern Archaeology]]|publisher=[[American Schools of Oriental Research]] (ASOR)|volume=82|page=12|access-date=22 March 2020|quote=...the emergence of the 'Tirzah polity' (the first fifty years of the Northern Kingdom) in the middle of the tenth century BCE...|number=1| doi=10.1086/703321 | s2cid=167052643 }}</ref> The Kingdom of Israel was consolidated as an important [[regional power]] by the first half of the 9th century BCE,<ref name="Finkelstein, Israel, (2020)"/> before falling to the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] in 722&nbsp;BCE, and the Kingdom of Judah began to flourish in the second half of the 9th century BCE.<ref name="Finkelstein, Israel, (2020)" /> [[File:Israelite pillared house.jpg|thumb|Model of Levantine four-roomed house from {{circa|{{BCE|900}}}}]]

Unusually favourable climatic conditions in the first two centuries of Iron Age II brought about an expansion of population, settlements and trade throughout the region.<ref name="thompson408">Thompson (1992), p. 408.</ref> In the central highlands this resulted in unification in a kingdom with the [[Samaria (ancient city)|city of Samaria]] as its capital,<ref name="thompson408" /> possibly by the second half of the 10th century&nbsp;BCE when an inscription of the Egyptian pharaoh [[Shoshenq I]] records a series of campaigns directed at the area.<ref name="mazar163">Mazar in Schmidt, p. 163.</ref> Israel had clearly emerged in the first half of the 9th century&nbsp;BCE,<ref name="Saul" /> this is attested when the Assyrian king [[Shalmaneser III]] names "[[Ahab]] Sir'lit" among his enemies at the [[battle of Qarqar]] (853 BCE) on the [[Kurkh_Monoliths#"Ahab_of_Israel"|Kurkh Monoliths]]. This "Sir'lit" is most often interpreted as "Israel". At this time Israel was apparently engaged in a three-way contest with Damascus and Tyre for control of the [[Jezreel Valley]] and Galilee in the north, and with [[Moab]], [[Ammon]] and [[Aram Damascus]] in the east for control of [[Gilead]];<ref name="thompson408" /> the [[Mesha Stele]] ({{circa|{{BCE|830}}}}), left by a king of Moab, celebrates his success in throwing off the oppression of the "House of [[Omri]]" (i.e., Israel). It bears what is generally thought to be the earliest extra-biblical reference to the name "[[Yahweh]]".<ref name="Miller2000">{{cite book |last=Miller |first=Patrick D. |author-link=Patrick D. Miller |title=The Religion of Ancient Israel |year=2000 |publisher= Westminster John Knox Press |isbn=978-0-664-22145-4 |pages=40– |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=JBhY9BQ7hIQC&pg=PA40}}</ref> A century later Israel came into increasing conflict with the expanding [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]], which first split its territory into several smaller units and then destroyed its capital, Samaria ({{BCE|722}}). Both the biblical and Assyrian sources speak of a massive deportation of people from Israel and their replacement with settlers from other parts of the empire{{snd}} such [[Population transfer|population exchanges]] were an established part of Assyrian imperial policy, a means of breaking the old power structure{{snd}} and the former Israel never again became an independent political entity.<ref>Lemche 1998, p. 85.</ref>

[[File:Jehu-Obelisk-cropped.jpg|thumb|Depiction of [[Jehu]] King of Israel giving tribute to the  [[Neo-Assyrian Empire|Assyrian]] king [[Shalmaneser III]] on the [[Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III]] from [[Nimrud]] ({{circa|BCE|841–840}})]]
Judah emerged as an operational kingdom somewhat later than Israel, during the second half of 9th century&nbsp;BCE,<ref name="Saul" /> but the subject is one of considerable controversy.<ref>Grabbe (2008), pp. 225–26.</ref> There are indications that during the 10th and 9th centuries&nbsp;BCE, the southern highlands had been divided between a number of centres, none with clear primacy.<ref>Lehman in Vaughn 1992, p. 149.</ref> During the reign of [[Hezekiah]], between {{circa|{{BCE|715 and 686}}}}, a notable increase in the power of the Judean state can be observed.<ref>David M. Carr, ''Writing on the Tablet of the Heart: Origins of Scripture and Literature'', Oxford University Press, 2005, 164.</ref> This is reflected in archaeological sites and findings, such as the [[Broad Wall (Jerusalem)|Broad Wall]]; a defensive city wall in Jerusalem; and the [[Siloam tunnel]], an aqueduct designed to provide Jerusalem with water during an impending siege by the Neo-Assyrian Empire led by [[Sennacherib]]; and the [[Siloam inscription]], a lintel inscription found over the doorway of a tomb, has been ascribed to comptroller [[Shebna]]. [[LMLK seal]]s on storage jar handles, excavated from strata in and around that formed by Sennacherib's destruction, appear to have been used throughout Sennacherib's 29-year reign, along with [[Bulla (seal)|bullae]] from sealed documents, some that belonged to Hezekiah himself and others that name his servants.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lmlk.com/research/lmlk_ahoh.htm|title=LAMRYEU-HNNYEU-OBD-HZQYEU|website=www.lmlk.com}}</ref>
[[File:LMLK,_Ezekiah_seals.jpg|thumb|"To [[Hezekiah]], son of [[Ahaz]], king of Judah" – royal [[Seal (emblem)|seal]] found at the [[Ophel]] excavations in Jerusalem]]
Archaeological records indicate that the Kingdom of Israel was fairly prosperous. The late Iron Age saw an increase in urban development in Israel. Whereas previously the Israelites had lived mainly in small and unfortified settlements, the rise of the Kingdom of Israel saw the growth of cities and the construction of palaces, large royal enclosures, and fortifications with walls and gates. Israel initially had to invest significant resources into defence as it was subjected to regular [[Arameans|Aramean]] incursions and attacks, but after the Arameans were subjugated by the Assyrians and Israel could afford to put less resources into defending its territory, its architectural infrastructure grew dramatically. Extensive fortifications were built around cities such as [[Dan (ancient city)|Dan]], [[Tel Megiddo|Megiddo]], and [[Tel Hazor|Hazor]], including monumental and multi-towered city walls and multi-gate entry systems. Israel's economy was based on multiple industries. It had the largest olive oil production centres in the region, using at least two different types of olive oil presses, and also had a significant wine industry, with wine presses constructed next to vineyards. By contrast, the Kingdom of Judah was significantly less advanced. Some scholars believe it was no more than a small tribal entity limited to Jerusalem and its immediate surroundings. In the 10th and early 9th centuries BCE, the territory of Judah appears to have been sparsely populated, limited to small and mostly unfortified settlements. The status of Jerusalem in the 10th century BCE is a major subject of debate among scholars. Jerusalem does not show evidence of significant Israelite residential activity until the 9th century BCE. On the other hand, significant administrative structures such as the [[Stepped Stone Structure]] and [[Large Stone Structure]], which originally formed part of one structure, contain material culture from earlier than that. The ruins of a significant Judahite military fortress, [[Tel Arad]], have also been found in the Negev, and a collection of military orders found there suggest literacy was present throughout the ranks of the Judahite army. This suggests that literacy was not limited to a tiny elite, indicating the presence of a substantial educational infrastructure in Judah.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Israelite_Technology/|title=Ancient Israelite Technology|first=William|last=Brown|website=World History Encyclopedia}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/2011-05-06/ty-article/the-keys-to-the-kingdom/0000017f-f749-d47e-a37f-ff7ddabf0000|title=The Keys to the Kingdom|newspaper=Haaretz}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.academia.edu/2503754|title=Archaeology and the Biblical Narrative: The Case of the United Monarchy|first=Amihai|last=Mazar|date=19 September 2010|journal=One God – One Cult – One Nation|pages=29–58|doi=10.1515/9783110223583.29 |isbn=978-3-11-022357-6 |via=www.academia.edu}}</ref><ref>Moore, Megan Bishop; Kelle, Brad E. (17 May 2011). [https://books.google.com/books?id=Qjkz_8EMoaUC&pg=PA302 Biblical History and Israel S Past: The Changing Study of the Bible and History]. {{ISBN|978-0-8028-6260-0}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/new-look-at-ancient-shards-suggests-bible-even-older-than-thought/|title=New look at ancient shards suggests Bible even older than thought|website=Times of Israel}}</ref>[[File:Shiloach.jpg|thumb|[[Siloam inscription]] found in the [[Siloam tunnel]], Jerusalem (c. 700 BCE)]]In the 7th century Jerusalem grew to contain a population many times greater than earlier and achieved clear dominance over its neighbours.<ref name="thompson410">Thompson 1992, pp. 410–11.</ref> This occurred at the same time that Israel was being destroyed by the Neo-Assyrian Empire, and was probably the result of a cooperative arrangement with the Assyrians to establish Judah as an Assyrian vassal state controlling the valuable olive industry.<ref name="thompson410" /> Judah prospered as a vassal state (despite a [[Sennacherib#War with Judah|disastrous rebellion against Sennacherib]]), but in the last half of the 7th century&nbsp;BCE, Assyria suddenly collapsed, and the ensuing competition between Egypt and the [[Neo-Babylonian Empire]] for control of the land led to the destruction of Judah in a series of campaigns between 597 and 582.<ref name="thompson410" />
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