ted. Pekah, their king, they slew, Hoshea to rule over them
appointed. Ten talents of gold, a thousand talents of silver, I
received {136} as tribute." Ahaz of Judah is also mentioned in an
inscription of Tiglath-pileser, as paying tribute, but it is not clear
to what year this refers.

Tiglath-pileser died in 727, and was succeeded by Shalmaneser V, who in
turn gave place in 722 to Sargon II. Shalmaneser is mentioned as the
king who attacked the northern kingdom, and the Old Testament narrative
leaves the impression that he was the king who finally captured the
city of Samaria. The inscriptions show that it was Sargon who overcame
the city soon after the beginning of his reign. In one of his
inscriptions he calls himself, "the brave hero ... who overthrew the
House of Omri." In another he says: "Samaria I besieged, I took.
27,290 of its inhabitants I carried away; 50 chariots I gathered from
them; the rest of them I permitted to retain their possessions. Over
them I appointed my governor, and upon them I imposed the tribute of
the former king." The annals of Sargon, which give an account of the
events during his reign in chronological order, give the date of the
capture of Samaria. After the introduction, he continues: "In the
beginning of my reign and in the first year of my reign, ... Samaria I
besieged and took.... 27,290 inhabitants I carried away; 50 chariots
as my royal portion I collected there.... I restored and made as it
was before.... People from all countries, my captives, I settled
there. My {137} official I appointed as governor over them. Tribute
and taxes like the Assyrian I imposed upon them." After the
destruction of the northern kingdom the life of the Hebrews became
centered in Judah and Jerusalem. The fall of Samaria made an
impression on the South that was remembered for some time.
Nevertheless, the states along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean
Sea bore impatiently the Assyrian yoke, and in most cities there arose
a party which, relying on the promised help of Egypt, was eager to free
itself from Assyria. That this party gained a foothold also in
Jerusalem is seen from the prophecy in Isa. 20, in which the prophet
warns the people against trusting in Egypt and rebelling against
Assyria. In the same direction points an inscription of Sargon
describing an expedition against Ashdod: "The people of Philistia,
_Judah_, Edom, and Moab, dwelling beside the sea, bringing tribute a