Editing Samaria (section)

===Israelite tribes and kingdoms===
{{further|Israelite highland settlement|Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)}}
According to the [[Hebrew Bible]], the [[Israelites]] captured the region known as Samaria from the [[Canaan]]ites and assigned it to the [[Tribe of Joseph]]. The southern part of Samaria was then known as [[Mount Ephraim]]. After the death of [[Solomon|King Solomon]] (c. 931 BC), the northern tribes, including [[Tribe of Ephraim|Ephraim]] and [[Tribe of Manasseh|Menashe]], separated themselves politically from the southern tribes and established the separate [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Kingdom of Israel]]. Initially its capital was [[Tirzah (ancient city)|Tirzah]] until the time of King Omri (c. 884 BC), who built the city of [[Samaria (ancient city)|Samaria]] and made it his capital. Samaria functioned as the capital of the Kingdom of Israel (the "Northern Kingdom") until its fall to the Assyrians in the 720s. Hebrew prophets condemned Samaria for its "ivory houses" and luxury palaces displaying pagan riches.<ref name="research-projects.uzh.ch">{{cite web |url=http://www.research-projects.uzh.ch/p4012.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180321193020/http://www.research-projects.uzh.ch/p4012.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 March 2018 |title=The Ivories from Samaria: Complete Catalogue, Stylistic Classification, Iconographical Analysis, Cultural-Historical Evaluation |website=www.research-projects.uzh.ch}}</ref>

The archaeological record suggests that Samaria experienced significant settlement growth in Iron Age II (from {{circa}} 950 BC). Archaeologists estimate that there were 400 sites, up from 300 during the previous Iron Age I ({{circa}} 1200 BC onwards). The people dwelt on [[Tell (archaeology)|tell]]s, in small villages, farms, and forts, and in the cities of [[Shechem]], Samaria and Tirzah in northern Samaria. [[Adam Zertal|Zertal]] estimated that about 52,000 people inhabited the Manasseh Hill in northern Samaria prior to the Assyrian deportations. According to botanists, the majority of Samaria's forests were torn down during the Iron Age II, and were replaced by plantations and agricultural fields. Since then, few oak forests have grown in the region.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=דר, שמעון |date=2019 |title=הכלכלה הכפרית של השומרון בימי קדם |url=https://www.ariel.ac.il/wp/judea-and-samaria-research-studies/2019/07/17/%d7%94%d7%9b%d7%9c%d7%9b%d7%9c%d7%94-%d7%94%d7%9b%d7%a4%d7%a8%d7%99%d7%aa-%d7%a9%d7%9c-%d7%94%d7%a9%d7%95%d7%9e%d7%a8%d7%95%d7%9f-%d7%91%d7%99%d7%9e%d7%99-%d7%a7%d7%93%d7%9d/ |journal=Judea and Samaria Research Studies |issue=28 |pages=5–44 |doi=10.26351/JSRS/28-1/1 |s2cid=239322097 |access-date=2023-02-25 |archive-date=2023-02-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230225193451/https://www.ariel.ac.il/wp/judea-and-samaria-research-studies/2019/07/17/%D7%94%D7%9B%D7%9C%D7%9B%D7%9C%D7%94-%D7%94%D7%9B%D7%A4%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%AA-%D7%A9%D7%9C-%D7%94%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%9E%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%9F-%D7%91%D7%99%D7%9E%D7%99-%D7%A7%D7%93%D7%9D/ |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref>