The Kingdom of Israel, also known as the Kingdom of Samaria, was an Israelite kingdom in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age, controlling Samaria, Galilee, and parts of Transjordan. In the 10th century BCE^[53], these regions saw a surge in settlements, with Shechem and then Tirzah as capitals. The kingdom was ruled by the Omride dynasty in the 9th century BCE, whose political center was the city of Samaria. The existence of this Israelite state in the north is documented in 9th century inscriptions.^[54] The earliest mention is from the Kurkh stela of c.853 BCE, when Shalmaneser III mentions "Ahab the Israelite", plus the denominative for "land", and his ten thousand troops.^[55] This kingdom would have included parts of the lowlands (the Shephelah), the Jezreel plain, lower Galilee and parts of the Transjordan.^[55]

Ahab's military participation in an anti-Assyrian coalition indicates a sophisticated urban society with temples, scribes, mercenaries, and an administrative system, similar to neighboring kingdoms like Ammon and Moab.^[55] Archaeological evidence, such as the Mesha Stele from around 840 BCE, attests to the kingdom's interactions and conflicts with neighboring regions, including Moab. The Kingdom of Israel exerted control over significant areas during the Omride dynasty, as evidenced by archaeological findings, ancient Near Eastern texts, and the biblical record.^[56]

In Assyrian inscriptions, the Kingdom of Israel is referred to as the "House of Omri".^[55] Shalmanesser III's "Black Obelisk" mentions Jehu, son of Omri.^[55] King of Assyria Adad-Nirari III did an expedition into the Levant around 803 BCE mentioned in the Nimrud slab, which comments he went to "the Hatti and Amurru lands, Tyre, Sidon, the mat of Hu-um-ri (land of Omri), Edom, Philistia and Aram (not Judah)."^[55] Rimah Stele, from the same king introduces a third way of talking about the kingdom, as Samaria, in the phrase "Joash of Samaria".^[57] The use of Omri's name to refer to the kingdom still survived, and was used by Sargon II in the phrase "the whole house of Omri" in describing his conquest of the city of Samaria in 722 BCE.^[58] It is significant that the Assyrians never mention the Kingdom of Judah until the end of the 8th century, when it was an Assyrian vassal: possibly they never had contact with it, or possibly they regarded it as a vassal of Israel/Samaria or Aram, or possibly the southern kingdom did not exist during this period.^[59]