Omri (King of Israel)

Omri
King of Israel (Samaria)
Omri from Guillaume Rouillé's Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum
Reign	884 BC – 873 BC
Predecessor	Zimri, Tibni
Successor	Ahab
Issue	Ahab
House	House of Omri

Omri (Hebrew: עמרי, Modern Omri, Tiberian ‘Ɔmrî) (fl. 9th century BC) was, according to the Bible, the sixth king of Israel. However, a "substantial" modern hypothesis maintains that, as founder of the House of Omri, an Israelite royal house, his kingdom formed the first state in the Land of Israel, and that Judah only achieved statehood later. He was a successive military campaigner who extended the northern kingdom of Israel. Other monarchs from the House of Omri are Ahab, Ahaziah, Joram, and Athaliah. Along with his predecessor king Zimri who ruled for only seven days, Omri is the first king mentioned in the Bible without a statement of his tribal origin: although some scholars speculate that Omri was from the tribe of Issachar, this is not yet confirmed by any scientific or historical evidence. Although the Hebrew Bible is silent about his actions during his reign, he is called more wicked than all the kings who preceded him.

Other than the Hebrew Bible, extrabiblical sources such as the Mesha stele and the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III mention his name. A minor thesis, argued by Thomas Thompson and Niels Peter Lemche suggests that Omri may be a dynastic name indicating the apical founder of the Kingdom of Israel rather than one denoting an actual historical king. Omri is also credited with the construction of Samaria and establishing it as his capital.