שֹׁמְרוֹן (Hebrew) | |
 Ruins of Samaria | |
  Samaria Shown within the West Bank | |
| Region | Samaria (historical) |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 32°16′35″N35°11′42″E / 32.27639°N 35.19500°E /32.27639; 35.19500 |
| History | |
| Builder | Omri,Ahab,Herod |
| Founded |
|
| Cultures | Israelite Samaritan Hellenistic |
Samaria (Hebrew:שֹׁמְרוֹןŠōmrōn;Akkadian:𒊓𒈨𒊑𒈾Samerina;Greek:ΣαμάρειαSamareia) was the capital city of the northernKingdom of Israel betweenc. 880 BC andc. 720 BC.[1][2] The city gave its name to the surrounding region ofSamaria, a historical region bounded byJudea to the south and byGalilee 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 thecoastal plain.
Samaria was founded as Israel's royal capital by KingOmri (884–873 BC), replacingTirzah. According to thebiblical account, which was composed inJudah 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 theOmride dynasty, Samaria developed into a major royal and administrative center. Excavations reveal a massive palace complex, one of the largest in theLevant 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 byPhoenician art, and theSamaria Ostraca, Hebrew-inscribed potsherds recording transactions such as shipments of wine and oil, which provide insight into the kingdom's bureaucratic organization.
After theAssyrian conquest of Israel c. 720 BC, Samaria was annexed by theNeo-Assyrian Empire and continued as an administrative centre. It retained this status in theNeo-Babylonian Empire and theAchaemenid Persian Empire before being destroyed during theWars of Alexander the Great. The town was re-established as a military colony populated byMacedonian settlers, a status it retained until its conquest by theHasmoneans. Later, under the hegemony of theRoman Republic and the subsequentRoman Empire, the city was rebuilt and expanded by the Jewish kingHerod the Great, who also fortified it and renamed it "Sebastia" in honour of the Roman emperorAugustus.[3][4]
The ancient city's hill is where themodern Palestinian village, retaining the Roman-era name Sebastia, is situated. The local archeological site is jointly administered byIsrael and thePalestinian Authority,[5] and is located on the hill's eastern slope.[6] The remains are situated on the eastern part of the hill, and include the Omride palace, fortifications, the HerodianAugusteum, a stadium, and other public structures.
Samaria's biblical name,Šōmrōn (שֹׁמְרוֹן), means "watch" or "watchman" inHebrew.[7] TheHebrew Bible derives the name from the individual (or clan)Shemer (Hebrew:שמר), from whomKing Omri (ruled 880s–870s BC) purchased the hill in order to build his new capital city (1 Kings 16:24).[8]
In earliercuneiform inscriptions, Samaria is referred to as "Bet Ḥumri" ("the house of Omri"); but in those ofTiglath-Pileser III (ruled 745–727 BC) and later it is called Samirin, after itsAramaic name,[9] Shamerayin.[10] The city of Samaria gave its name to the mountains ofSamaria, the central region of theLand of Israel, surrounding the city ofShechem. This usage probably began after the city became Omri's capital, but is first documented only after its conquest bySargon II ofAssyria, who turned the kingdom into the province of Samerina.[11]
Samaria is strategically situated on a steep, high hill in a fertile region, commanding key trade routes and offering a commanding view of the surrounding countryside, which enhanced its defensive and administrative significance.[12][13] In antiquity, the city was situated northwest ofShechem, near a major road leading westward to theSharon Plain on the coast, and another heading northward through theJezreel Valley toPhoenicia. This advantageous position likely played a role in Omri's foreign policy.[13] The city lies approximately 50 kilometres (31 mi) north of Jerusalem.[12]
Archaeological evidence indicates that the hill of Samaria was already occupied and cultivated in the Iron Age I, several centuries before Omri purchased the site in the 9th century BC. Bedrock installations, including oil and wine presses as well as bell-shaped cisterns, point to intensive agricultural activity during this period, particularly inviticulture and olive production.[14] Pottery from Samaria's earliest phases includes forms datable no later than the 11th century BC, with close parallels atMegiddo,Taanach, andTell Qasile.[15] This material demonstrates continuous activity on the site from at least the 11th century until the establishment of Omri's capital in the early 9th century.[15]
Stager interprets these finds as evidence not of a "phantom" village, as earlier scholars had suggested, but of a substantial agricultural estate.[15] He proposes that this was the estate of the clan ofShemer (orShomron) mentioned in 1 Kings 16:24, and suggests that it likely included vineyards and olive groves on the surrounding slopes.[15] The identification of these agricultural installations with the biblical estate of Shemer is also supported by Israel Finkelstein.[16] The earliest reference to a settlement at this location may be the town of Shemer, or Shamir, which according to the Hebrew Bible was the home of thejudgeTola in the 12th century BC (Judges 10:1–2).[17] Stager further suggests a link between the estate and families of thetribe of Issachar, possibly the lineage of Tola, whose ancestral seat at Shamir may be connected linguistically and historically to Samaria's early name. The 'sons of Issachar' recorded in the genealogy of1 Chronicles 7:1 relate Tola, the firstborn, to a brother named Shimron (according to theMasoretic Text) or Shomron (in theSeptuagint), a name that likely gave rise to Samaria.[18]
Samaria was established as the royal capital of Israel by Omri (884–873 BC), replacingTirzah as the kingdom's political center.[19] According to the biblicalBooks of Kings, Omri purchased the hill from its previous owner,Shemer, for twotalents of silver and constructed a city on its broad summit, naming itŠōmrōn (Shomron), which later became known asSamaria in Greek.[20] The biblical record of the purchase for two talents of silver suggests that the hill was already a productive and established estate rather than a barren site.[21] The relocation of the capital may have been motivated by a desire to strengthen connections with thecoastal plain and the port ofDor.[19][22]
Under the Omride dynasty (a period archaeologically referred to as late Iron Age II), a massive royal complex was constructed in Samaria, including a casemate wall and a palace considered one of the largest Iron Age structures in theLevant.[23] Remains from the early Iron Age II (IIA) are missing or unidentified;[24] Franklin believes this phase consisted of merely an agricultural estate.[25] Excavations indicate that the palatial complex was built in two primary phases, corresponding to the reigns of Omri and Ahab.[16] According to archaeologist Israel Finkelstein, the construction of the first palace marked the start of Israel's evolution into a more complex kingdom.[19] A subsequent phase of urban development in the capital and across the kingdom reflects a more advanced stage of the dynasty, probably occurring during the reign of Ahab (873–852 BC).[19]Omri is thought to have granted theArameans the right to "make streets in Samaria" as a sign of submission (1 Kings 20:34).
It was the only great city of Israel created by the sovereign. All the others had been already consecrated by patriarchal tradition or previous possession. But Samaria was the choice of Omri alone. He, indeed, gave to the city which he had built the name of its former owner, but its especial connection with himself as its founder is proved by the designation which it seems Samaria bears in Assyrian inscriptions, "Beth-Khumri" ("the house or palace of Omri"). (Stanley)[26]
Samaria is frequently the subject of sieges in the biblical account. During the reign ofAhab, it says thatHadadezer ofAram-Damascus attacked it along with thirty-two vassal kings, but was defeated with a great slaughter (1 Kings 20:1–21). A year later, he attacked it again, but he was utterly routed once more, and was compelled to surrender to Ahab (1 Kings 20:28–34), whose army was no more than "two little flocks of kids" compared to that of Hadadezer (1 Kings 20:27).
According to2 Kings, Ben Hadad of Aram-Damascus laid siege to Samaria during the reign ofJehoram, but just when success seemed to be within his reach, his forces suddenly broke off the siege, alarmed by a mysterious noise of chariots and horses and a great army, and fled, abandoning their camp and all its contents. The starving inhabitants of the city feasted on the spoils from the camp. As ProphetElisha had predicted, "a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures ofbarley for a shekel, in the gates of Samaria" (2 Kings 6–7).
Towards the end of the 8th century BC, possibly in 722 BC, Samaria was captured by theNeo-Assyrian Empire.[27][28][29][30]
Finkelstein has suggested that the biblical accounts of the northern Israelite kings may have been composed in Samaria or at the sanctuary ofBethel.[31] Following the fall of the northern kingdom in the eighth century BC, these records were transmitted toJudah, where they wereeventually incorporated into the Hebrew Bible.[31]
Samaria became an administrative center under Assyrian,Babylonian, andPersian rule.[32]
During the Persian period, Samaria appears to have been a prosperous city. Excavations indicate that much of the site from this period was later destroyed or built over during the Hellenistic period, so surviving evidence is limited.[33] Finds include coins, someGreek pottery, seal impressions, limestone altars, and Aramaic-inscribed sherds.[33] A building with plastered floors and circular basins may have served as an industrial facility.[33] Archaeological layers reveal extensive leveling and preparation of the summit, with fertile soil spread over a broad area, possibly for aPersian-style garden or park.[33]
During the Hellenistic period, Samaria underwent a significant demographic transformation. According toCurtius Rufus,[34] writing several centuries later, theSamaritans staged a revolt againstAlexander the Great, during which they burned the new Macedonian governor ofCoele-Syria alive.[35] Alexander traveled to Samaria and executed those responsible, who had been handed over to him.[35] According toEusebius'sChronicon, he also razed the city before establishing it as a military colony.[35] Later, Eusebius notes that in 296 BC, Samaria was destroyed once more byDemetrius Poliorcetes during a military campaign conducted in opposition toPtolemaic control of the region.[36]
Following the Hellenistic conquest, the city was settled byMacedonian colonists, displacing the localSamaritan population. The Samaritans instead settled at the nearby, then abandoned site of Shechem.[37][38] Archaeological evidence from this period indicates a transition from indigenous, informal housing to more structured Hellenistic-style homes, as well as the development of an urban layout organized around a main street with secondary streets branching from it.[39] Around 200 BC, the Macedonian settlers repaired and reinforced the existing Israelite fortifications of the upper city:[40] the corners of the ramparts were flanked by strong round towers, three of which have been excavated: two at the southwest corner and one at the northeast corner, described as "the finest monument of the Hellenistic age" in the region.[41][40] Archaeological remains from the third century BC on the northern slope of the tell include two reliefs depicting symbols associated with theDioscuri and a dedication to the Egyptian deitiesIsis andSerapis, indicating the practice of Hellenistic religion by the Greek colonists.[42]
During theHasmonean Revolt, the Seleucid general Apollonius raised an army that included Macedonian troops from Samaria to fight against theJewish rebels led byJudas Maccabeus; this force was defeated at theBattle of the Ascent of Lebonah in 167/6 BC.[43] By the mid-second century BC, in response to the expansion of the JewishHasmonean state, the inhabitants rebuilt the upper city wall. The new wall incorporated numerous salient projections, measured approximately 4 meters thick, and reused material from the earlier Israelite rampart.[37] In the beginning, the older towers were kept to strengthen the wall, but they were soon replaced with protruding quadrangular bastions.[37] The lower town was also fortified, combining reused Israelite masonry with new Hellenistic construction.[37]
In the late second century BC, Samaria was captured by the Hasmoneans underJohn Hyrcanus following a siege led by his sons, Antigonus andAristobulus, which began sometime between 111 and 107 BC.[44] According to Josephus, Hyrcanus' aimed to punish the inhabitants for attacks they had carried out against the city ofMaresha, which was allied with the Jews.[45] The defenders appealed toAntiochus IX for assistance, including a force of 6,000 troops supplied byPtolemy IX, but these reinforcements were defeated.[44] According toMegillat Taanit 25, "Samaria-wall" fell on 25 Marheshvan.[46] Josephus reports that John Hyrcanus razed the city, digging channels so that rainwater would gradually erase the ruins.[46] This act was probably intended to fulfill a prophecy mentioned in Micah 1:6.[46]
The Romans, who conquered Judaea in 63 BC, generally favored restoring or enhancing Hellenized cities as centers of local administration. In 55 BC, the Roman governor of SyriaAulus Gabinius reportedly ordered the rebuilding of several towns, including Samaria.[12]
In 30 BC, EmperorAugustus granted Samaria and its surrounding territory toHerod the Great, king of Judaea, as part of hisclient kingdom. Herod had already shown interest in Samaria before this, having repaired parts of the city in 43 BC, and transferred his family there during his conflict with Antigonus.[12] In 37 BC, he marriedMariamne, the Hasmonean princess, in the city.[12] Herod refounded the city as Sebaste (from GreekSebastos, the feminine equivalent of the LatinAugustus), in tribute to the emperor.[12][47] This made Sebaste one of the first cities to adopt the title shortly after theRoman Senate bestowed the nameAugustus upon him in January of that year.[47] Herod's building program transformed Samaria into a Greco-Roman city. He populated it with a loyal population, settling around 6,000 colonists, many of whom were former soldiers from his army.[48] On the southern side of the acropolis, Herod built a grand pagan temple dedicated to Augustus (theAugusteum) at the city's highest point.[49] A monumental staircase and podium from this temple are still visible among the ruins. Herod also restored and extended the city's walls, fortifying them with defensive towers, and a city gate was constructed on the western side, supported by round towers.[50] Additionally, Sebaste was equipped with entertainment and civic facilities: archaeology confirms the presence of a large rectangular structure on the northeastern side of the city, likely a stadium, which appears to date to Herod's time.[51] Lastly, Herod significantly restored and extended the fortifications of Samaria, enclosing an area of approximately 75 hectares, the largest in the city's history.[52]
Upon Herod's death in 4 BC, Sebaste became part of theTetrarchy of his sonArchelaus,[53] and later was incorporated into the Roman province ofJudaea after 6 AD. A Roman military presence continued: units named Sebastenorum ("of Sebaste") are attested in the imperial army, including a cavalry Ala I Sebastenorum and infantry Cohors I Sebastenorum, which were recruited from or garrisoned in Sebaste. These troops even served outside Samaria: they are known to have been stationed inCaesarea Maritima, for example. Josephus mentions that under the governorship of Felix, most local recruits to the Roman military were from Caesarea and Sebaste.[54] The majority of Sebaste's residents during the Roman era were Gentiles practicing Greco-Roman religions. Tensions with neighboring Jewish communities occasionally flared; during theFirst Jewish–Roman War (66–73 AD), Jewish rebels attacked Sebaste in 66. According to Josephus, in the chaos at the war's outset, Jewish forces from the surrounding area retaliated against non-Jewish towns, and Sebaste was razed by Jewish insurgents.[55]
In the following centuries, Sebaste remained an important town, though it never surpassed the growing city ofFlavia Neapolis (modernNablus), founded in 72 AD a few miles southeast. Neapolis, located at a crossroads belowMount Gerizim, eventually became the chief city of the region of Samaria, benefiting from a new layout and imperial support. In contrast, Sebaste, while still significant, took on a more local market town role. Around 200, EmperorSeptimius Severus elevated Sebaste's status to a Romancolonia, bringing an influx of Roman veterans and their families. Archaeological evidence suggests that under Severus, a second phase of civic development occurred, including the completion of a large colonnaded street (cardo) running east-west through the city, lined with about 600 stone columns. A new basilica, possibly serving as the seat of the colonial administration or a marketplace, was also constructed during this period. The Herodian-era Augusteum appears to have been rebuilt under Severus's rule.[49]
During the Byzantine period, Sebaste served as an episcopal seat. Several churches were constructed in the city, commemorating traditions that identified Sebaste as the burial place ofJohn the Baptist. Another Christian tradition from this period also associated the site with the tomb of the prophet Elisha. The city maintained its prominence until the Arab conquest of the Levant in 636 AD, after which Sebaste was reduced in size and importance, becoming a small village. During theCrusader period, a church dedicated to John the Baptist was built within the village, preserving the Byzantine-era tradition of veneration at the site. This church was later converted into a mosque following the fall of the Crusader kingdom.
Samaria was first excavated by the Harvard Expedition, initially directed byGottlieb Schumacher in 1908 and then byGeorge Andrew Reisner in 1909 and 1910; with the assistance of architect C.S. Fisher and D.G. Lyon.[56]
Reisner's dig unearthed theSamaria Ostraca, a collection of 102 ostraca written in thePaleo-Hebrew Script.[57][58]
A second expedition was known as the Joint Expedition, a consortium of 5 institutions directed byJohn Winter Crowfoot between 1931 and 1935; with the assistance ofKathleen Mary Kenyon,Eliezer Sukenik and G.M. Crowfoot. The leading institutions were the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem, thePalestine Exploration Fund, and theHebrew University.[59][60][61]
In the 1960s, further small scale excavations directed by Fawzi Zayadine were carried out on behalf of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan.[62]
According to Israel Finkelstein, Samaria is "a highly important site for the study of the archaeology of Israel in the Iron II in general and the days of the Omride dynasty in particular."[63]
The Israelite palace complex of Samaria, situated on the city's acropolis, is one of the largest Iron Age palaces known in theLevant.[64] Excavations indicate that the complex was built in two primary phases, corresponding to the reigns of Omri and Ahab.[16] The first phase, associated with Omri, involved the construction of a palace on the scarp surrounded by agricultural installations.[16] The second phase, attributed to Ahab, saw an extension of the palace and the creation of a larger royal compound on a raised podium.[16]
The palace, constructed of massive roughly dressed blocks on a solid rock core, is comparable in size and splendor to palaces built at the same period in northernSyria.[64] Its exposed foundations measure approximately 55 by 40 meters, and it is complemented by several auxiliary buildings on the west and northeast, likely serving administrative functions.[64] Surrounding the summit was a large casemate wall, built of ashlar blocks laid in the headers-and-stretchers technique and filled with earth. This wall functioned primarily as a structural terrace supporting the podium rather than as a defensive fortification, creating a significant height difference between the inner platform and the outer slope.[65] The eastern side of the royal enclosure featured the main gate, positioned where the slope was gentler. Sixproto-Ionic capitals used asspolia discovered nearby may have originally adorned a monumental gateway to the palace.[66] This gate may have been comparable in design to a slightly later structure at Khirbet Mudeibi, east of theDead Sea.[66]
According to Norma Franklin, there is a possibility that the tombs of Omri and Ahab are located beneath the Iron Age palace.[67]
Excavations in the palace uncovered 500 pieces of carved ivory, portraying exotic animals and plants, mythological creatures, and foreign deities, among other things.[68][69] Some scholars identified those with the "palace adorned with ivory" mentioned in the Bible (1 Kings 22:39).[69] Some of the ivories are on display at theIsrael Museum inJerusalem and in other locations across the world.[68]
TheSamaria Ostraca (SO) are a collection of more than a hundred inscribed pottery shards discovered in Samaria in 1910.[70] They primarily date to the 9th–8th centuries BC, when Israel was ruled by kingsJehoash andJeroboam II.[71] The ostraca record deliveries of commodities, includingaged wine (yn yšn) and washed oil (šmn rḥṣ),[72][73] to recipients in and around Samaria, particularly from the western region of the Shechem Syncline.[74] According to archaeologist Matthew Suriano, the texts employ StandardIsraelian Hebrew (SIH), a scribal standardization distinct from thesouthern Hebrew (SBH) used in the kingdom of Judah.[75] The inscriptions are considered one of the most significant epigraphic corpora for understanding the economics, language, and personal naming practices in ancient Israel.[70][73]
Some scholars interpret the Samaria Ostraca as evidence of a centralized state system for collecting taxes or resources, while others view them as reflecting interactions between regional clan elites and the royal residence.[71] Many entries list personal names, localities, or clans, including nearly all of the clans of theTribe of Manasseh known from biblical descriptions, with all mentioned localities situated within four to twelve kilometers of the capital, Samaria.[76] Aged wine and washed oil appear to have been prestige commodities, distributed as gifts or for competitive feasting to consolidate political alliances and maintain loyalty among clan leaders.[77]
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On the southern side of the acropolis, at the highest point of the city, lie the remains of a temple dedicated to Augustus, known as the Augusteum. This temple stood on a raised platform some 4–5 meters above its immediate surroundings, with a rectangular plan measuring approximately 33.5 by 24 meters.[78] A large forecourt, set about 4.5 meters below the temple level, was connected to the temple by a monumental staircase roughly 24 meters wide.[78] The forecourt itself was surrounded by double colonnades extending about 83 meters north–south and 72 meters east–west, while the inner faces of the colonnades were supported by an underground corridor that also provided storage space and structural support for the colonnades above.[78]
The temple complex underwent several construction phases. It was originally built during the reign of Herod the Great in the late 1st century BC and later underwent partial rebuilding, likely during the reign of Septimius Severus in the early 3rd century AD.[78] Foundations for the northern portion of the forecourt included U-shaped walls filled with soil to raise the level above the valley below, a solution that allowed the double colonnades to be erected. The interior layout of the temple remains partially speculative, but it may have featured a naos with surrounding colonnades or a naos divided into central and lateral aisles. Access to the precinct likely involved a ceremonial stairway or bridge connecting the lower city streets to the elevated forecourt, with additional secondary entrances connecting directly to the temple and associated storerooms.[78]
Excavations on the northeastern side of the ancient city revealed a large rectangular structure, believed to be the remains of a Herodian-era stadium. The structure measures 205 meters in length and 67 meters in width, with a central courtyard of 193 by 55 meters. Surrounding the courtyard wereDoric-style colonnades.[51] The inner surfaces of the colonnades were adorned withfrescoes, a characteristic feature ofHerodian architecture, with alternating red and yellow panels above a red dado.[51] The dimensions of the courtyard align with the length of one stade, suggesting the structure may have been intended for athletic events. However, its smaller size raises the possibility that it could have also served other purposes, such as training forhorse orchariot races.[51]
The Herodian-era walls partly follow the earlier Hellenistic-era lines, particularly on the southern side, while new sections on the north expanded the city to incorporate the valley chosen for the stadium. The fortifications, built largely along the terrain's contours, included straight sections interrupted by towers at key turning points; at least 30 towers have been documented, some rectangular and others round.[50] One of the round towers is particularly notable: situated north of the western gate, it has a diameter of approximately 11 meters. The western gate itself was flanked by two round towers, 12 meters in diameter and spaced 13.2 meters apart. Constructed of ashlar masonry with alternating courses of headers and stretchers, the walls and towers display the distinctive Herodian masonry style also evident atHerodium.[49]
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{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)Sargon ... named the new province, which included what formerly was Israel,Samerina. Thus the territorial designation is credited to the Assyrians and dated to that time; however, "Samaria" probably long before alteratively designated Israel when Samaria became the capital.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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