A simplified chronology of ancient Israel

Introduction

From 931 BC, two neighboring kingdoms coexisted, with Samaria and Jerusalem as their respective capitals.. Several of their kings appear outside the Bible: around 852 BC, the monolith of Kurkh (below) mentions king «Ahab» (1 Kings 16-22), of the kingdom of ’Israel«; around 827, the Black Obelisk represents king »Jehu« (2 Kings 9-10), of the »house (royal) of Omri« (1 Kings 16), prostrate before the Assyrian king Salmanazar III, to whom he pays tribute. According to the Bible, these two kingdoms were once one, with Jerusalem as their capital and a dynasty founded by David.
In 1993/94, archaeological excavations at Tel Dan unearthed an Aramaic stele dating from the late 9th century BC, which mentions two defeated kings: that of ’Israel«, and that of the »house of David«. Not only is King »David« named for the first time, but he is also reputed to have founded a »royal house«, i.e. a dynasty or kingdom, just like Omri in the previous example: in the Bible, the latter founded the city of Samaria, capital of the northern kingdom (Israel), while David established his capital in Jerusalem in the southern kingdom (Judah).

Image opposite : lhe Kurkh monolith.
Assyrian monument, 2.2 meters high, containing a description of the battle of Qarqar in its final section © British Museum, London/Théo Truschel.
The monolith tells the story of Salmanazar III's campaigns in western Mesopotamia and Syria, during which he fought against the countries of Bit Adini and Karkemish.
The final part of the narrative inscribed on the monolith contains a countdown of the belligerents in the battle of Qarqar, in which a «alliance of twelve kings» fought Salmanazar III in the Syrian town of Qarqar. This alliance, comprising eleven kings, was led by Irhuleni, king of Hamah, and Hadadezer, king of Damascus, but it also mentions a strong contingent led by Ahab, king of Israel.