Kings of Israel

This article is an overview of the kings of the United Kingdom of Israel as well as those of its successor states.

According to the Bible, the Tribes of Israel lived as a confederation under ad hoc charismatic leaders called judges. In around 1020 BCE, under extreme threat from foreign peoples, the tribes united to form the first United Kingdom of Israel. Samuel anointed Saul from the Tribe of Benjamin as the first king.

After Rehoboam reigned three years, the United Kingdom of Israel was divided in two – the northern Kingdom of Israel under Jeroboam, with its capital, first in Shechem, then Penuel, Tirzah, and finally Samaria, and ruled by a series of dynasties beginning with Jeroboam; and the southern Kingdom of Judah with its capital still in Jerusalem and ruled by the House of David. Under Hezekiah rule in the Kingdom of Judah, the Neo-Assyrian Empire conquered and destroyed the northern kingdom 722 BCE leaving only the southern kingdom of Judah.