Omrides in the context of "Ahaziah of Israel"

The Kingdom of Israel (Biblical Hebrew: מַמְלֶכֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל, romanized: Mamleḵeṯ Yiśrāʾēl), also called the Kingdom of Samaria or the Northern Kingdom, was an Israelite kingdom that existed in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. Its beginnings date back to the first half of the 10th century BCE. It controlled the areas of Samaria, Galilee and parts of Transjordan; the former two regions underwent a period in which a large number of new settlements were established shortly after the kingdom came into existence. It had four capital cities in succession: Shiloh, Shechem, Tirzah, and the city of Samaria. In the 9th century BCE, the House of Omri ruled it, whose political centre was the city of Samaria.

According to the Hebrew Bible, the territory of the Twelve Tribes of Israel was once amalgamated under a Kingdom of Israel and Judah, which was ruled by the House of Saul and then by the House of David. However, upon the death of Solomon, who was the son and successor of David, there was discontent over his son and successor Rehoboam, whose reign was only accepted by the Tribe of Judah and the Tribe of Benjamin. The unpopularity of Rehoboam's reign among the rest of the Israelites, who sought Jeroboam as their monarch, resulted in Jeroboam's Revolt, which led to the establishment of the Kingdom of Israel in the north (Samaria), whereas the loyalists of Judah and Benjamin kept Rehoboam as their monarch and established the Kingdom of Judah in the south (Judea), ending Israelite political unity. While the existence of Israel and Judah as two independent kingdoms is not disputed, some historians and archaeologists reject the historicity of a United Monarchy of Israel and Judah.

Samaria (Hebrew: שֹׁמְרוֹן Šōmrōn; Akkadian: 𒊓𒈨𒊑𒈾 Samerina; Greek: Σαμάρεια Samareia) was the capital city of the northern Kingdom of Israel between c. 880 BC and c. 720 BC. The city gave its name to the surrounding region of Samaria, a historical region bounded by Judea to the south and by Galilee to the north. Strategically situated on a high hill, Samaria commanded views of the surrounding fertile countryside and was located near key trade routes connecting the highlands with the coastal plain.

Samaria was founded as Israel's royal capital by King Omri (884–873 BC), replacing Tirzah. According to the biblical account, which was composed in Judah but likely preserves records from Israel (possibly from Samaria itself), Omri purchased the hill from its previous owner, Shemer, for two talents of silver. Under the Omride dynasty, Samaria developed into a major royal and administrative center. Excavations reveal a massive palace complex, one of the largest in the Levant from this period, constructed in two main phases corresponding to the reigns of Omri and his successor, Ahab. Notable finds from the Israelite period include the Samaria Ivories, intricately carved ivory fragments inspired by Phoenician art, and the Samaria Ostraca, Hebrew-inscribed potsherds recording transactions such as shipments of wine and oil, which provide insight into the kingdom's bureaucratic organization.

Omri (Hebrew: עָמְרִי‎, ‘Omrī; Akkadian: 𒄷𒌝𒊑𒄿 Ḫûmrî [ḫu-um-ri-i]; fl. 9th century BCE) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the sixth king of Israel. He was a successful military campaigner who extended the northern kingdom of Israel. Other monarchs from the House of Omri are Ahab, Ahaziah, Joram, and Athaliah. Like his predecessor, king Zimri, who ruled for only seven days, Omri is the second king mentioned in the Bible without a statement of his tribal origin. One possibility, though unproven, is that he was of the tribe of Issachar.

Nothing is said in Scripture about the lineage of Omri. His name may be Amorite, Arabic, or Hebrew in origin. Omri is credited with the construction of Samaria and establishing it as his capital. Although the Bible is silent about other actions taken during his reign, he is described as doing more evil than all the kings who preceded him. An alternative modern hypothesis maintains that, as founder of the House of Omri, an Israelite royal house, his kingdom formed the first state in the Land of Israel, and that the Kingdom of Judah only achieved statehood later.