Yisrael

  General Description   _Short description_
The ancient kingdom of Israel 1030-722 CE was a monarchy established by Israelite people that was eventually conquered by the Assyrian Empire. Initially a monarchic union with Judah, around 930 BCE the Northern Kingdom (Israel) gained autonomy. In the 9th century Israel entered an anti-Assyria coalition but from Jehu (841 BCE) paid them tribute and thereafter were frequently a vassal of the Mesopotamian empire. After a revolt against Assyria in 727 CE the Assyrians ended the polity sending many of its inhabitants into exile.
The century authorities ruled through administrative centers and fortresses sites that had "public buildings and ... large open spaces." ^[1] Local administration may have been through tribal elders who may have been responsible for tax collection. Our image of a centralized monarchy (for some of or the whole of the period) might be tempered by the ideas of Pfoh (2008) who has argued Israel was actually a "patronage kingdom" in which a monarchy did not control a truly unitary state. Nevertheless, Israel possessed a standing army with a strong chariot corps, and used weapons of iron and bronze. Fortifications were many and imposing, and the Palace of Omri was one of the grandest in the Ancient Near East.
At its height, Israel imposed tribute on many of the surrounding kingdoms, not only Judah but Moab, Edom, and perhaps others as well. The Israelite population primarily lived in cities and towns in the hills, with fortified cities protecting the frontiers on the plains and dominating major trade routes through the region. Trade linked Israel with its northern neighbor Phoenicia, particularly through the port of Dor. At the height of its power, Israel was also a significant military force, contributing the largest contingent to the regional coalition that turned back Assyria’s first attempt to conquer the Levant.
At least some of the population was literate even before the 10th Century BCE, though the prevalence of literacy is disputed. While the majority of the populace lived in small towns and villages, a significant fraction lived in walled cities such as the capital, Samaria. Most of the economy was in agriculture and pastoral production; staples for export included grain, wine, and oil. In the eighth century BCE the population likely exceeded well over a quarter of a million people, a vast increase on the less than 100,000 people estimated for the earliest times.


_Oren’s long description_
How the Kingdom of Israel began is a matter of dispute. The Bible depicts it as originally being the greater part of the old Israelite tribal confederation, and then a part of the United Monarchy under Saul, David, and Solomon (c. 1030 BCE)—before seceding during the rule of Rehaboam, and forming its own state. This narrative is more or less accepted by some archaeologists such as Mazar, while others such as Finkelstein assert that Israel actually emerged first from a process of gradual state formation, with the southern kingdom of Judah emerging later. ^[2]
Regardless, the two kingdoms always had close interactions, and the northern kingdom of Israel was almost always the dominant one. At its height, Israel imposed tribute on many of the surrounding kingdoms, not only Judah but Moab, Edom, and perhaps others as well. The Israelite population primarily lived in cities and towns in the hills, with fortified cities protecting the frontiers on the plains and dominating major trade routes through the region. Trade linked Israel with its northern neighbor Phoenicia, particularly through the port of Dor. At the height of its power, Israel was also a significant military force, contributing the largest contingent to the regional coalition that turned back Assyria’s first attempt to conquer the Levant. Israel featured a standing army with a strong chariot corps, with weapons of iron and bronze. Fortifications were many and imposing, and the Palace of Omri was one of the grandest in the Ancient Near East.
However, starting with the assassination of the Omrid king Jehoram by Jehu (c. 841 BCE), Israel’s fortunes waned; and it spent the rest of its existence as the tributary of either Aram or Assyria, depending on which of the two empires were ascendent. Even when the economy of Israel flourished during particular periods of the next century (as attested to by the greater incidence of luxury goods in archaeological finds), Israel was still subject to the depredations of foreign powers, being invaded several times. Ultimately, following an ill-fated rebellion against Assyria, the polity of Israel was dissolved (c. 722 BCE), its people exiled, and the land turned into an Assyrian province.
Israelite politics were marked with instability. In contrast to the kingdom of Judah, which featured a single ruling dynasty that traced its beginnings to David, Israelite kings frequently met violent ends. These would typically be at the hands of rebellious military commanders who would seize the throne, though such rebels ran the risk of being deposed themselves in short order. Zimri, one rebel captain, would rule for only a single week before losing the support of the army to rival captain Omri, founder of the Omrid Dynasty.
At least some of the population was literate even before the 10th Century BCE, though the prevalence of literacy is disputed. While the majority of the populace lived in small towns and villages, a significant fraction lived in walled cities such as the capital, Samaria. Most of the economy was in agriculture and pastoral production; staples for export included grain, wine, and oil.
A word of caution is in order about coding methodology. Much of the evidence we have about this polity comes from archaeological finds. However, the brute fact of an archaeological artifact is often used as the basis for considerable interpretation and conjecture. Methods have been improving over time, but still some archaeologists tend to leap far ahead of what the evidence will support. Additionally, the meaning of many finds is hotly disputed by archaeologists, each faction insisting for its point of view.
Worse, scholars of this particular polity often operate with ideological motives - either to prove the essential historicity of the Bible, or to disprove it—which can distort their claims. Israel Finkelstein, for example, once claimed that King David never existed, before having to revise his view after the discovery of the Tel Dan Stela. ^[2] (He now believes, as National Geographic puts it, that David was "a raggedy upstart akin to Pancho Villa.") His "Low Chronology" seems to have been motivated by the attempt to disprove the early existence of the United Monarchy, and the weight of the evidence now contradicts the chronology (while still inconclusive on the matter of the United Monarchy). ^[3] In general, it seems that many archaeologists treat the absence of evidence as evidence of absence—risky to do, considering that new finds are unearthed practically every month.
In short, every data point that is backed up with archaeology must be considered provisional, and new discoveries can totally upend our picture of what happened. As can new interpretations that correct erroneous early interpretations, a constant danger with motivated archaeologists.

[1]: (Finkelstein 2013, 104)Israel Finkelstein. 2013. The Forgotten Kingdom: The Archaeology and History of Northern Israel. Society of Biblical Literature. Atlanta, GA. Available online here.

[2]: Cf. Finkelstein/Mazar (2007).

[3]: Mazar (2005)