The Fall of Samaria: An Historical and Archaeological Study

2 Kings 17 narrates the fall of Samaria. The cuneiform inscriptions dealing with this event are prima facie contradictory: the conquest is ascribed to both Shalmaneser V and Sargon II. This work investigates the surmise of H. Tadmor that Samaria was conquered twice, and interprets events in their socio-historical framework. In the view of Bob Becking, Tadmor’s assumption cannot be falsified, although his theory should be modified on the date of the first conquest: 723 BCE. The fall of Samaria can be interpreted as an inevitable result of the expansion of the Assyrian Empire in combination with internal strifes in Israel. Traces of deportation make it clear that deportees were treated as normal citizens.