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Kingdoms of Israel and Judah
c. 1000–586 BC (a united kingdom under David and Solomon is debated)· Empire, kingdom or state· Middle East & Africa
DebatedHistorians or scientists disagree about what happened, when, or why.
Two related Hebrew kingdoms in the southern Levant: Israel in the north and Judah, with its capital Jerusalem, in the south.
See it on the History map →What happened
The Bible describes a united kingdom under David and Solomon about 1000–930 BC that then split in two. Archaeologists debate how large and powerful it was; some see only a modest chiefdom. The northern kingdom of Israel, with its capital at Samaria, was larger and richer, and fell to Assyria in 722 BC. Judah survived until Babylon destroyed Jerusalem and its temple in 586 BC and exiled many of its people.
Why it matters
Their history, defeats and exile shaped the Hebrew Bible and Jewish identity, and through them Christianity and Islam.
How we know
The Tel Dan stele (800s BC) names the 'House of David'; the Mesha stele and Assyrian records name kings of Israel and Judah; excavations in Jerusalem and Samaria.
Still debated
Whether David and Solomon ruled a large united kingdom, as the Bible says, or a small one is among archaeology's sharpest debates.
Connections (5)
▸Bronze Age collapse made room for Kingdoms of Israel and JudahMostly agreed
The connection
With Egypt withdrawing from Canaan and the Hittites gone, no great power controlled the Levant for a few centuries. Smaller peoples filled the gap: Philistines on the coast, Phoenician cities, Aramaeans in Syria, and highland villagers who became Israel. Those villages grew into the kingdoms of Israel and Judah by the 900s–800s BC.
When and how
The highlands of Canaan (today's Israel and the West Bank), about 1200–900 BC.
How sure are we?
Surveys show hundreds of new small highland villages after 1200 BC; Egypt's Merneptah Stele (about 1208 BC) first names 'Israel' as a people.
Debates and open questions
Where the early Israelites came from (mostly local Canaanites, newcomers, or both) is debated; the Exodus story lacks direct archaeological support.
▸Kingdoms of Israel and Judah produced Hebrew prophets and the Hebrew BibleMostly agreed
The connection
The prophets were products of the two kingdoms' crises. Amos and Hosea spoke in Israel before its fall to Assyria; Isaiah and Jeremiah advised Judah's kings as first Assyria and then Babylon threatened. After Judah's defeat and exile, its scribes preserved and edited these words, together with royal histories and laws, into the core of the Hebrew Bible.
When and how
Israel and Judah about 750–586 BC, then in Babylonian exile and Persian-era Jerusalem, about 586–400 BC.
How sure are we?
The prophetic books name kings and events that match Assyrian and Babylonian records, such as Sennacherib's siege of Jerusalem in 701 BC.
Debates and open questions
How much of each prophetic book comes from the prophet himself versus later editors is debated; the book of Isaiah seems to combine several authors.
▸Persian (Achaemenid) Empire allowed the return of exiles from Kingdoms of Israel and JudahMostly agreed
The connection
After Cyrus captured Babylon in 539 BC, Persia let deported peoples return home and rebuild their temples. Many Judean exiles returned to Jerusalem, rebuilt the temple by about 515 BC, and lived as a self-governing Persian province called Yehud. The Bible praises Cyrus as God's 'anointed', the only non-Israelite given that title.
When and how
From 538 BC, from Babylon to Jerusalem; later waves came under Persian-appointed leaders such as Ezra and Nehemiah in the 400s BC.
How sure are we?
The Cyrus Cylinder describes returning gods and peoples to their homes, though it doesn't name Jews; the books of Ezra and Isaiah; Persian-era coins stamped 'Yehud'.
Debates and open questions
How far the Bible's decree of Cyrus reflects actual Persian policy is debated; many exiles chose to stay in Babylon, which became a major Jewish center.
▸Founding of Israel and the 1948 Arab–Israeli war invoked ancient ties to the Kingdoms of Israel and JudahMostly agreed
The connection
Zionism, the movement for a Jewish state, based its claim partly on the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah and the continuing Jewish bond with the land. Israel's 1948 Declaration of Independence opens with that history. Palestinian Arabs, the majority in 1948, rejected ancient history as grounds for a state, citing their own centuries of continuous residence.
When and how
Tel Aviv, May 14, 1948, in the declaration read by David Ben-Gurion; the argument built on Zionist thinking from the 1890s onward.
How sure are we?
The Declaration begins 'The Land of Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people'; revived Hebrew, place names and state symbols draw on that ancient past.
Debates and open questions
How ancient history should bear on modern claims is politically disputed, and archaeology in Jerusalem and the West Bank is itself contested.
▸Assyrian Empire and Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon conquered Kingdoms of Israel and JudahWell documented
The connection
Assyria conquered the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 BC and deported much of its population, the origin of the 'ten lost tribes' tradition. Judah survived as a tribute-paying vassal, even through Sennacherib's siege of Jerusalem in 701 BC. Babylon's Nebuchadnezzar II then took Jerusalem in 597 BC, destroyed it and its temple in 586 BC, and deported its elite.
When and how
Samaria in 722 BC (Shalmaneser V and Sargon II); Jerusalem besieged in 701 BC (Sennacherib), captured in 597 and destroyed in 586 BC (Nebuchadnezzar II).
How we know
Sargon II claims 27,290 deportees from Samaria; Sennacherib's Prism boasts of shutting Hezekiah in Jerusalem 'like a bird in a cage'; the Babylonian Chronicles record 597 BC.
Debates and open questions
Why Jerusalem survived in 701 BC (tribute, disease or, as the Bible says, a miracle) is unresolved; the destruction date, 587 or 586 BC, is debated.