Samarian Hills
(I Kings 16:24)
Large hilly region in the center of the country. Bounded in the north by the Jezreel Valley, in the northwest by the Iron Valley, in the west by the Sharon Plain, in the south by the Judean Hills and in the east by the Jordan Valley.
History: Inhabited since ancient times. Its capital Shechem is mentioned in the Tell el ‘Amarna letters. After the Israelite conquest it fell to the tribe of Ephraim. After the division of Solomon’s kingdom, it was the heart of the Kingdom of Israel. In 887 BCE King Omri built the city of Shomeron as capital of his kingdom which persisted till its destruction in 721 by Sargon II, King of Assyria, who deported large numbers of its population replacing them with people from other lands. These newcomers eventually developed a separate national entity – the Samaritans. Today, it is inhabited mainly by Arabs.
