View source for Samaria

{{Short description|Region of ancient Israel}}
{{Distinguish|Samarium|Samarra|Samara|Shimron|Sumeria|Simeria}}
{{About|the geographic region|the city|Samaria (ancient city)|the Israeli administration over West Bank settlements|Judea and Samaria Area|other uses}}
{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{Infobox landform
| name = Samaria
| type = [[Region]]
| designation = 
{{Nobold|
{{lang|ar|السامرة}}, {{Script/Hebrew|שֹׁומְרוֹן}}}}
| highest_point = [[Tall Asur]] (Ba'al Hazor)
| photo = File:Views from Sebastia 18.jpg
| photo_caption = Hills near the ruins of [[Samaria (ancient city)|Samaria]]
| map = 
| coordinates = {{Coord|32.275|N|35.190|E|display=inline,title}}
| range = 
| part_of = {{hlist|[[Israel]]|[[West Bank]], [[Palestine]]}}
| highest_elevation = {{cvt|1,016|m}}
| age = 
| length = 
| width = 
| area = <!-- {{cvt|NN|ha|acres}} -->
| depth = 
| drop = 
| formed_by = 
| geology = <!-- or |type = -->
}}

'''Samaria''' ({{IPAc-en|s|ə|ˈ|m|æ|r|i|ə|,_|-|ˈ|m|ɛər|i|ə}}), the [[Hellenized]] form of the Hebrew name '''Shomron''' ({{langx|he|{{Script/Hebrew|שֹׁמְרוֹן|translit=Šōmrōn}}}}),<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Samaria |encyclopedia=The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language |year=2022 |publisher=HarperCollins Publishers |location= |id= |url=https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=Samaria |access-date=23 November 2022 |archive-date=23 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221123235652/https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=Samaria |url-status=live }}</ref> is used as a historical and [[Hebrew Bible|biblical]] name for the central [[region]] of the [[Land of Israel]]. It is bordered by [[Judea]] to the south and [[Galilee]] to the north.<ref name="Britannica">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Samaria-historical-region-Palestine |title=Samaria - historical region, Palestine |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=31 May 2018 |archive-date=18 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221218101044/https://www.britannica.com/place/Samaria-historical-region-Palestine |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="War">{{cite web |url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/josephus-wara.html |author=Josephus Flavius |title=''Jewish War'', book 3, chapter 3:4-5 |via=Ancient History Sourcebook: Josephus (37 – after 93 CE): Galilee, Samaria, and Judea in the First Century CE |publisher=Fordham.edu |access-date=31 December 2012 |archive-date=29 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230429124644/http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/josephus-wara.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The region is known in Arabic under two names, '''Samirah''' ({{langx|ar|السَّامِرَة‎}}, ''as-Sāmira''), and '''Mount Nablus''' (جَبَل نَابُلُس, ''Jabal Nābulus'').

The first-century historian [[Josephus]] set the [[Mediterranean Sea]] as its limit to the west, and the [[Jordan Rift Valley|Jordan River]] as its limit to the east.<ref name="War" /> Its territory largely corresponds to the [[Hebrew Bible|biblical]] allotments of the [[tribe of Ephraim]] and the western half of [[Tribe of Manasseh|Manasseh]]. It includes most of the region of the ancient [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Kingdom of Israel]], which was north of the [[Kingdom of Judah]]. The border between Samaria and Judea, while historically fluid, is set at the latitude of [[Ramallah]].<ref>''The New Encyclopaedia Britannica'': Macropaedia, 15th edition, 1987, volume 25, "Palestine", p. 403</ref>

The name "Samaria" is derived from the [[Samaria (ancient city)|ancient city of Samaria]], capital of the northern Kingdom of Israel.{{sfn|Mills|Bullard|1990}}<ref name="etym">{{cite web |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=Samaria |title=Online Etymology Dictionary |website=www.etymonline.com |access-date=2014-01-28 |archive-date=2023-02-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208141232/https://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=Samaria |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/expeditions/reisner.html |title=Open Collections Program: Expeditions and Discoveries, Harvard Expedition to Samaria, 1908–1910 |website=ocp.hul.harvard.edu |access-date=2012-02-25 |archive-date=2023-02-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208141226/http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/expeditions/reisner.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The name Samaria likely began being used for the entire kingdom not long after the town of Samaria had become Israel's capital, but it is first documented after its conquest by the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]], which incorporated the land into the province of [[Samerina]].{{sfn|Mills|Bullard|1990}}

Samaria was used to describe the northern midsection of the land in the [[United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine|UN Partition Plan for Palestine]] in 1947. It became the administrative term in [[Six-Day War|1967]], when the [[West Bank]] was [[Hebraization of Palestinian place names|defined by Israeli officials]] as the [[Judea and Samaria Area]],<ref name="Judea and Samaria4">{{cite book |title=International Law and the Administration of Occupied Territories: Two Decades of Israeli Occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip |author=Emma Playfair |year=1992 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=41 |quote=On 17 December 1967, the Israeli military government issued an order stating that "the term 'Judea and Samaria region' shall be identical in meaning for all purposes ... to the term 'the West Bank Region'". This change in terminology, which has been followed in Israeli official statements since that time, reflected a historic attachment to these areas and rejection of a name that implied Jordanian sovereignty over them.}}</ref> of which the entire area north of the [[Jerusalem District]] is termed as Samaria. In 1988, [[State of Jordan|Jordan]] ceded its claim of the area to the [[Palestine Liberation Organization]] (PLO).<ref name="jordan">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/08/01/world/hussein-surrenders-claims-west-bank-plo-us-peace-plan-jeopardy-internal-tensions.html |title=Hussein surrenders claims on West Bank to the P.L.O.; U.S. peace plan in jeopardy; Internal Tensions |first=John |last=Kifner |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=1 August 1988 |access-date=12 February 2017 |archive-date=6 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111206001844/http://www.nytimes.com/1988/08/01/world/hussein-surrenders-claims-west-bank-plo-us-peace-plan-jeopardy-internal-tensions.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1994, control of Areas 'A' (full civil and security control by the [[Palestinian National Authority|Palestinian Authority]]) and 'B' (Palestinian civil control and joint Israeli–Palestinian security control) were transferred by Israel to the Palestinian Authority. The Palestinian Authority and the international community do not recognize the term "Samaria"; in modern times, the territory is generally known as part of the West Bank.<ref name="Caplan2011">{{cite book |author=Neil Caplan |title=The Israel-Palestine Conflict: Contested Histories |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JyAgn_dD43cC&pg=PT18 |date=19 September 2011 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4443-5786-8 |pages=18–}}</ref>

==Etymology==
[[File:Samaria, George Adam Smith.jpg|thumb|300px|Map of Samaria by [[John George Bartholomew|J.G. Bartholomew]] in 1894 book by [[George Adam Smith]]]]According to the [[Hebrew Bible]], the Hebrew name "Shomron" ({{langx|he|שֹׁומְרוֹן|translit=|link=no}}) is derived from the individual (or clan) ''Shemer'' ({{langx|he|שֶׁמֶר|translit=|link=no}}), from whom [[Omri|King Omri]] (ruled 880s–870s BCE) purchased the hill on which he built his new capital city of ''[[Samaria (ancient city)|Shomron]]''.<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Kings|16:24}}</ref><ref name="Philologos">{{cite web |url=http://www.forward.com/articles/131482/ |title=This Side of the River Jordan; On Language |publisher=Forward |work=Philologos |date=22 September 2010 |access-date=26 September 2010 |archive-date=18 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111018190001/http://www.forward.com/articles/131482/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The fact that the mountain was called Shomeron when Omri bought it may indicate that the correct etymology of the name is to be found more directly in the [[Semitic languages|Semitic]] root for "guard", hence its initial meaning would have been "watch mountain". In the earlier [[cuneiform]] inscriptions, Samaria is designated under the name of "Bet Ḥumri" ([[Omrides|"the house of Omri]]"); but in those of [[Tiglath-Pileser III]] (ruled 745–727 BCE) and later it is called Samirin, after its [[Aramaic]] name,<ref>{{Cite Jewish Encyclopedia |wstitle=Samaria}}</ref> Shamerayin.<ref name="etym" />

==Historical boundaries==
===Northern kingdom to Hellenistic period===
In [[Nelson's Encyclopaedia]] (1906–1934), the Samaria region in the three centuries following [[History of ancient Israel and Judah|the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel]], i.e. during the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire|Assyrian]], [[Neo-Babylonian Empire|Babylonian]], and [[Achaemenid Empire|Persian]] periods, is described as a "province" that "reached from the [Mediterranean] sea to the Jordan Valley".<ref name="Nelson">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Samaria |page=550 |editor-last=Finley |editor-first=John H. |editor-link=John Huston Finley |encyclopedia=[[Nelson's Encyclopaedia|Nelson's perpetual loose-leaf encyclopaedia: an international work of reference]] |publisher=Thomas Nelson & Sons |location=New York |volume=X |date=October 1926 |via=HathiTrust Digital Library |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=iau.31858033993563&view=1up&seq=756 |access-date=13 December 2020 |archive-date=7 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407142305/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=iau.31858033993563&view=1up&seq=756 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Roman-period definition===
The classical Roman-Jewish historian [[Josephus]] wrote:{{quote|(4) Now as to the country of Samaria, it lies between Judea and Galilee; it begins at a village that is in the great plain called [[Jenin|Ginea]], and ends at the [[Aqraba, Nablus|Acrabbene]] [[Toparches|toparchy]], and is entirely of the same nature with Judea; for both countries are made up of hills and valleys, and are moist enough for agriculture, and are very fruitful. They have abundance of trees, and are full of autumnal fruit, both that which grows wild, and that which is the effect of cultivation. They are not naturally watered by many rivers, but derive their chief moisture from rain-water, of which they have no want; and for those rivers which they have, all their waters are exceeding sweet: by reason also of the excellent grass they have, their cattle yield more milk than do those in other places; and, what is the greatest sign of excellency and of abundance, they each of them are very full of people. (5) In the limits of Samaria and Judea lies the village Anuath, which is also named Borceos. This is the northern boundary of Judea.<ref name="War" />}}

During the first century, the boundary between Samaria and Judea passed eastward of [[Antipatris]], along the deep valley which had Beth Rima (now [[Bani Zeid al-Gharbia]]) and Beth Laban (today's [[al-Lubban al-Gharbi]]) on its southern, Judean bank; then it passed Anuath and Borceos, identified by [[Charles William Wilson]] (1836–1905) as the ruins of [[As-Sawiya|'Aina and Khirbet Berkit]]; and reached the [[Jordan Valley]] north of [[Aqraba, Nablus|Acrabbim]] and [[Alexandrium|Sartaba]].<ref>James Hastings (editor), ''A Dictionary of the Bible'', Volume III: (Part II: O - Pleiades), "Palestine: Geography", p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=PJoFV6Et_0oC&pg=PA565 652], University Press of the Pacific, 2004, {{ISBN|978-1-4102-1727-1}}</ref> [[Tall Asur]] also stands at that boundary.

==Geography==
The area known as the hills of Samaria is bounded by the [[Jezreel Valley]](north); by the [[Jordan Rift Valley]] (east); by the [[Mount Carmel, Israel|Carmel]] Ridge (northwest); by the [[Sharon plain]] (west); and by the [[Jerusalem]] mountains (south).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Samaria {{!}} historical region, Palestine {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Samaria-historical-region-Palestine |access-date=23 March 2022 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en |archive-date=18 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221218101044/https://www.britannica.com/place/Samaria-historical-region-Palestine |url-status=live }}</ref>{{dubious|Changed "Samaria" to "the hills of Samaria", becaause elsewhere it's stated that according to Josephus, a segment of the Jordan Valley, as well as all of Mount Carmel and the Sharon Plain, DID belong to Samaria.|date=June 2018}}

The Samarian hills are not very high, seldom reaching the height of over {{convert|800|m|abbr=on}}. Samaria's climate is more hospitable than the climate further south.

There is no clear division between the mountains of southern Samaria and northern Judea.<ref name="Britannica" />

==History==
[[File:גבעות יצהר.JPG|thumb|300px|Hills of Samaria, near [[Yitzhar]]]]
[[File:Dothan, where Joseph was sold by his brethren American Colony, Jerusalem.jpg|thumb|300px|Site of [[Tel Dothan|Dothan]] where, according to the [[Book of Genesis]], [[Joseph (son of Jacob)|Joseph]] was sold by his brethren]]Over time, the region has been controlled by numerous different civilizations, including [[Canaan#Canaanites|Canaanites]], [[Israelites]], [[Neo-Assyrian Empire|Neo-Assyrians]], [[Babylonians]], [[Achaemenid Empire|Persians]], [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucids]], [[Hasmoneans]], [[Ancient Rome|Romans]], [[Byzantine Palestine|Byzantines]], [[Arabs]], [[Kingdom of Jerusalem|Crusaders]], and [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Turks]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/expeditions/reisner.html |title=Open Collections Program: Expeditions and Discoveries, Harvard Expedition to Samaria, 1908–1910 |website=ocp.hul.harvard.edu |access-date=2012-02-25 |archive-date=2023-02-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208141226/http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/expeditions/reisner.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===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>

=== Assyrian period ===
{{main|Samerina}}
[[File:Deportation of Jews by Assyrians.svg|thumb|The [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] under [[Shalmaneser V]] and the deportation of peoples from Samerina by [[Sargon II]] (and possibly Shalmaneser V)]]
In the 720s, the [[conquest of Samaria]] by [[Shalmaneser V]] of the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]], which culminated in the three-year siege of the [[Samaria (ancient city)|capital city of Samaria]], saw the territory annexed as the Assyrian province of [[Samerina]].{{Sfn|Yamada|Yamada|2017|p=|pp=408–409}} The siege has been tentatively dated to 725 or 724 BC, with its resolution in 722 BC, near the end of Shalmaneser's reign.{{Sfn|Yamada|Yamada|2017|p=|pp=408–409}} The first documented mention of the province of Samerina is from the reign of Shalmaneser V's successor [[Sargon II]]. This is also the first documented instance where a name derived from "Samaria", the capital city, was used for the entire region, although it is thought likely that this practice was already in place.{{sfn|Mills|Bullard|1990}}

Following the Assyrian conquest, [[Sargon II]] claimed in Assyrian records to have deported 27,280 people to various places throughout the empire, mainly to [[Guzana]] in the Assyrian heartland, as well as to the cities of the [[Medes]] in the eastern part of the empire (modern-day Iran).{{sfn|Reid|1908}}{{Sfn|Elayi|2017|p=50}}{{sfn|Radner|2018|loc=0:51}} The deportations were part of a standard [[resettlement policy of the Neo-Assyrian Empire]] to deal with defeated enemy peoples.{{Sfn|Mark|2014|p=}} The resettled people were generally treated well as valued members of the empire and transported together with their families and belongings.{{Sfn|Radner|2017|p=210}}{{Sfn|Dalley|2017|p=528}}{{Sfn|Frahm|2017|pp=177–178}} At the same time, people from other parts of the empire were resettled in the depopulated Samerina.{{sfn|Gottheil|Ryssel|Jastrow|Levias|1906}} The resettlement is also called the [[Assyrian captivity]] in [[Jewish history]] and provides the basis for the narrative of the [[Ten Lost Tribes]].{{Sfn|Mark|2014|p=}}

=== Babylonian and Persian periods ===
[[File:Achaemenid coin minted in Samaria, dated c. 375-333 BC.jpg|thumb|right|Persian Achaemenid coin minted in Samaria, dated {{circa|375}}–333 BC. Left; Persian [[satrap]] holding lance and reins on horseback, Aramaic inscription ''BDYḤBL'' below. Right; satrap and driver in [[chariot]] drawn by two horses]]
[[File:Achaemenid coin, minted in Samaria, dated c. 375-333 BC.jpg|thumb|right|Persian [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid]] coin minted in Samaria, dated {{circa|375}}–333 BC. Left; a seated Persian wearing [[tiara]] and holding bird. Right; Persian king standing, holding dagger and bull by its horn, flanked by an [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] inscription which reads ''ŠMRY'']]

According to many scholars, archaeological excavations at Mount Gerizim indicate that a [[Mount Gerizim Temple|Samaritan temple]] was built there in the first half of the 5th century BCE.<ref>{{cite book |last=Magen |first=Yitzhak |title=Judah and Judeans in the Fourth Century BC |publisher=Eisenbrauns |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-57506-130-6 |editor1=Oded Lipschitz |chapter=The Dating of the First Phase of the Samaritan Temple on Mount Gerizim in the Light of the Archaeological Evidence |editor2=Gary N. Knoppers |editor3=Rainer Albertz |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6NsxZRnxE70C&q=Lipschits+Yehud&pg=PA75 |access-date=2022-01-18 |archive-date=2023-11-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231129223857/https://books.google.com/books?id=6NsxZRnxE70C&q=Lipschits+Yehud&pg=PA75#v=snippet&q=Lipschits%20Yehud&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> The date of the [[schism]] between Samaritans and Jews is unknown. Much of the anti-Samaritan polemic in the Hebrew Bible and extra-biblical texts (such as Josephus) originate from this point and on.<ref name="EJ">{{cite EJ |author=L. Matassa, J. Macdonald |display-authors=etal |title=Samaritans |pages=718-740}} As quoted by [https://ancient-world-project.nes.lsa.umich.edu/tltc/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Encyclopedia-Judaica_sv_Samaritans.pdf Department of Near Eastern Studies, University of Michigan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920000514/https://ancient-world-project.nes.lsa.umich.edu/tltc/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Encyclopedia-Judaica_sv_Samaritans.pdf |date=2021-09-20 }} and [https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/samaritans Encyclopedia.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220118182836/https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/samaritans |date=2022-01-18 }}</ref>

===Hellenistic period===
During the [[Hellenistic Palestine|Hellenistic period]], Samaria was largely divided between a Hellenizing faction based around the town of Samaria and a pious faction in Shechem and surrounding rural areas, led by the High Priest.

Samaria was a largely autonomous province nominally dependent on the [[Seleucid Empire]]. However, the province gradually declined as the [[Maccabees|Maccabean]] movement and [[Hasmonean dynasty|Hasmonean Judea]] grew stronger.<ref name=":2">{{Citation |last=Dušek |first=Jan |title=Samaria, Samarians, Samaritans |chapter=Administration of Samaria in the Hellenistic Period |date=27 October 2011 |chapter-url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110268201.71/html |pages=76–77 |access-date=11 April 2023 |publisher=De Gruyter |language=en |doi=10.1515/9783110268201.71 |isbn=978-3-11-026820-1 |archive-date=11 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230411195358/https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110268201.71/html |url-status=live }}</ref> The transfer of three districts of Samaria— [[Taybeh, Ramallah|Ephraim]], [[Lod]] and [[Deir 'Ammar|Ramathaim]]—under the control of Judea in 145 BCE as part of an agreement between [[Jonathan Apphus]] and [[Demetrius II Nicator|Demetrius II]] is one indication of this decline.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Raviv |first=Dvir |date=3 July 2019 |title=Granting of the Toparchies of Ephraim, Ramathaim and Lod to Hasmonean Judea |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/03344355.2019.1650500 |journal=Tel Aviv |volume=46 |issue=2 |pages=267–285 |doi=10.1080/03344355.2019.1650500 |s2cid=211674477 |issn=0334-4355|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Around 110 BCE, the decline of Hellenistic Samaria was complete, when the Jewish [[Hasmonean dynasty|Hasmonean ruler]] [[John Hyrcanus]] destroyed the cities of Samaria and Shechem, as well as the city and temple on Mount Gerizim.<ref name=":2" /><ref>See: Jonathan Bourgel, "[https://www.academia.edu/42119968/The_Samaritans_during_the_Hasmonean_Period_The_Affirmation_of_a_Discrete_Identity The Destruction of the Samaritan Temple by John Hyrcanus: A Reconsideration] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318162438/https://www.academia.edu/42119968/The_Samaritans_during_the_Hasmonean_Period_The_Affirmation_of_a_Discrete_Identity|date=2022-03-18}}", ''JBL'' 135/3 (2016), pp. 505-523; [https://www.academia.edu/34049422/The_Destruction_of_the_Samaritan_Temple_by_John_Hyrcanus_A_Reconsideration] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190620130651/https://www.academia.edu/34049422/The_Destruction_of_the_Samaritan_Temple_by_John_Hyrcanus_A_Reconsideration|date=2019-06-20}}. See also idem, [https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/11/628/htm "The Samaritans during the Hasmonean Period: The Affirmation of a Discrete Identity?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220119013131/https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/11/628/htm|date=2022-01-19}} Religions 2019, 10(11), 628.</ref> Only a few stone remnants of the Samaritan temple exist today.

===Roman period===
In 6 CE, Samaria became part of the Roman province of [[Judea (Roman province)|Iudaea]], following the death of King [[Herod the Great]].

Southern Samaria reached a peak in settlement during the early Roman period (63 BCE–70 CE), partly as a result of the [[Hasmonean dynasty]]'s settlement efforts. The impact of the [[Jewish–Roman wars]] is archaeologically evident in Jewish-inhabited areas of southern Samaria, as many sites were destroyed and left abandoned for extended periods of time. After the [[First Jewish–Roman War|First Jewish-Roman War]], the Jewish population of the area decreased by around 50%, whereas after the [[Bar Kokhba revolt]], it was completely wiped out in many areas. According to Klein, the Roman authorities replaced the Jews with a population from the nearby provinces of [[Roman Syria|Syria]], [[Phoenicia under Roman rule|Phoenicia]], and [[Arabia Petraea|Arabia]].<ref>קליין, א' (2011). ''היבטים בתרבות החומרית של יהודה הכפרית בתקופה הרומית המאוחרת'' ''(135–324 לסה"נ)''. עבודת דוקטור, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן. עמ' 314–315. (Hebrew)</ref><ref>שדמן, ע' (2016). ''בין נחל רבה לנחל שילה: תפרוסת היישוב הכפרי בתקופות ההלניסטית, הרומית והביזנטית לאור חפירות וסקרים''. עבודת דוקטור, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן. עמ' 271–275. (Hebrew)</ref> An apparent new wave of settlement growth in southern Samaria, most likely by non-Jews, can be traced back to the late Roman and [[Byzantine Palestine|Byzantine eras]].<ref>Finkelstein, I. 1993. The Southern Samarian Hills Survey. In E. Stern (ed.). The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, Carta, Vol. 4, pp. 1314.</ref><ref name=":0" />

====New Testament references====
{{religious text primary|section|date=April 2023}}
The [[New Testament]] mentions Samaria in [[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] 17:11–2,<ref>{{bibleverse|Luke|17:11–20|KJV}}</ref> in the miraculous [[Cleansing ten lepers|healing of the ten lepers]], which took place on the border of Samaria and Galilee. [[Gospel of John|John]] 4:1-26<ref>{{bibleverse|John|4:1–26|KJV}}</ref> records Jesus' encounter at [[Jacob's Well]] with the woman of Sychar, in which he declares himself to be the Messiah. In Acts 8:1,<ref>{{bibleverse|Acts|8:1|KJV}}</ref> it is recorded that the early community of disciples of Jesus began to be [[Persecution of Christians|persecuted]] in Jerusalem and were 'scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria'. [[Philip the Evangelist|Philip]] went down to the [[Samaria (ancient city)|city of Samaria]] and preached and healed the sick there.<ref>{{bibleverse|Acts|8:4–8|KJV}}</ref> In the time of [[Jesus]], ''Iudaea'' of the Romans was divided into the [[toparchy|toparchies]] of Judea, Samaria, Galilee and the [[Paralia (Palestine)|Paralia]]. Samaria occupied the centre of ''Iudaea''.<ref>{{bibleverse|John|4:4|KJV}}</ref> (''Iudaea'' was later renamed ''Syria Palaestina'' in 135, following the [[Bar Kokhba revolt]].) In the [[Talmud]], Samaria is called the "land of the Cuthim".

===Byzantine period===
Following the bloody suppression of the [[Samaritan revolts|Samaritan Revolts]] (mostly in 525 CE and 555 CE) against the [[Byzantine Empire]], which resulted in death, displacement, and [[conversion to Christianity]], the Samaritan population dramatically decreased. In the central parts of Samaria, the vacuum left by departing Samaritans was filled by nomads who gradually became [[Sedentism|sedentarized]].<ref name=":Ellenblum20102">{{Cite book |last=Ellenblum |first=Ronnie |title=Frankish Rural Settlement in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. |date=2010 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-511-58534-0 |oclc=958547332 |quote=From the data given above it can be concluded that the Muslim population of Central Samaria, during the early Muslim period, was not an autochthonous population which had converted to Christianity. They arrived there either by way of migration or as a result of a process of sedentarization of the nomads who had filled the vacuum created by the departing Samaritans at the end of the Byzantine period [...] To sum up: in the only rural region in Palestine in which, according to all the written and archeological sources, the process of Islamization was completed already in the twelfth century, there occurred events consistent with the model propounded by Levtzion and Vryonis: the region was abandoned by its original sedentary population and the subsequent vacuum was apparently filled by nomads who, at a later stage, gradually became sedentarized }}</ref>

The [[Byzantine Palestine|Byzantine period]] is considered the peak of settlement in Samaria, as in other regions of the country.<ref>זרטל, א' (1992). ''סקר הר מנשה''. קער שכם, כרך ראשון. תל-אביב וחיפה: אוניברסיטת חיפה ומשרד הביטחון. (Hebrew) 63–62.</ref> Based on historical sources and archeological data, the [[Manasseh Hill Country Survey|Manasseh Hill surveyors]] concluded that Samaria's population during the Byzantine period was composed of Samaritans, Christians, and a minority of Jews.<ref>זרטל, א' (1996). ''סקר הר מנשה. העמקים המזרחיים וספר המדבר, כרך שני''. תל-אביב וחיפה: אוניברסיטת חיפה ומשרד הביטחון. 93–91 (Hebrew)</ref> The Samaritan population was mainly concentrated in the valleys of Nablus and to the north as far as [[Jenin]] and [[Legio|Kfar Othenai]]; they did not settle south of the Nablus-Qalqiliya line. Christianity slowly made its way into Samaria, even after the Samaritan revolts. With the exception of Neapolis, Sebastia, and a small cluster of monasteries in central and northern Samaria, most of the population of the rural areas remained non-Christian.<ref>די סגני, ל' (2002). מרידות השומרונים בארץ-ישראל הביזנטית. בתוך א' שטרן וח' אשל (עורכים), ''ספר השומרונים''. ירושלים: יד יצחק בן-צבי, רשות העתיקות, המנהל האזרחי ליהודה ושומרון קצין מטה לארכיאולוגיה, עמ' 454–480. (Hebrew)</ref> In southwestern Samaria, a significant concentration of churches and monasteries was discovered, with some of them built on top of citadels from the late Roman period. Magen raised the hypothesis that many of these were used by Christian pilgrims, and filled an empty space in the region whose Jewish population was wiped out in the Jewish–Roman wars.<ref>מגן, י' 2002 .השומרונים בתקופה הרומית – הביזנטית. בתוך א' שטרן וח' אשל (עורכים), ''ספר השומרונים''. ירושלים: יד יצחק בן-צבי, רשות העתיקות, המנהל האזרחי ליהודה ושומרון קצין מטה לארכיאולוגיה, עמ' 213–244. (Hebrew)</ref><ref name=":0" />

=== Early Muslim, Crusader, Mamluk and Ottoman periods ===
Following the [[Muslim conquest of the Levant]], and throughout the [[Bilad al-Sham|early Islamic period]], Samaria underwent a process of [[Islamization]] as a result of waves of conversion among the remaining Samaritan population, along with the migration of Muslims into the area.<ref name=":10">{{Cite journal |last1=לוי-רובין |first1=מילכה |last2=Levy-Rubin |first2=Milka |date=2006 |title=The Influence of the Muslim Conquest on the Settlement Pattern of Palestine during the Early Muslim Period / הכיבוש כמעצב מפת היישוב של ארץ-ישראל בתקופה המוסלמית הקדומה |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23407269 |journal=Cathedra: For the History of Eretz Israel and Its Yishuv / קתדרה: לתולדות ארץ ישראל ויישובה |issue=121 |pages=53–78 |jstor=23407269 |issn=0334-4657 |access-date=2023-02-05 |archive-date=2023-02-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230205140101/https://www.jstor.org/stable/23407269 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="autogenerated257">M. Levy-Rubin, "New evidence relating to the process of Islamization in Palestine in the Early Muslim Period - The Case of Samaria", in: ''Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient'', 43 (3), pp. 257–276, 2000, [[Springer Science+Business Media|Springer]]</ref><ref name="Fattal, A. 1958 p. 72-73">Fattal, A. (1958). ''Le statut légal des non-Musulman en pays d'Islam'', Beyrouth: Imprimerie Catholique, pp. 72–73.</ref> Evidence implies that a large number of Samaritans converted under [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasid]] and [[Tulunids|Tulunid]] rule, as a result of droughts, earthquakes, religious persecution, high taxes, and anarchy.<ref name="autogenerated257" /><ref name=":12">{{Cite book |last=לוי-רובין |first=מילכה |title=ספר השומרונים |publisher=יד יצחק בן צבי, רשות העתיקות, המנהל האזרחי ליהודה ושומרון: קצין מטה לארכיאולוגיה |year=2006 |isbn=978-965-217-202-0 |editor-last=שטרן |editor-first=אפרים |edition=2 |location=ירושלים |pages=562–586 |language=Hebrew |trans-title=Book of the Samaritans; The Continuation of the Samaritan Chronicle of Abu l-Fath |editor-last2=אשל |editor-first2=חנן}}</ref> By the mid-[[Middle Ages]], the Jewish writer and explorer [[Benjamin of Tudela]] estimated that only around 1,900 Samaritans remained in [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] and [[Syria (region)|Syria]].<ref>Alan David Crown, Reinhard Pummer, Abraham Tal (eds.), [https://books.google.com/books?id=_iMnzhSSbowC&pg=PA70 ''A Companion to Samaritan Studies,''] Mohr Siebeck, 1993 pp.70-71.</ref>

==== Ottoman Period ====
During the [[Ottoman period|Ottoman Period]], the northern part of Samaria belonged to the
[[Turabay dynasty|Turabay]] Emirate (1517–1683), which encompassed also the [[Jezreel Valley]], [[Haifa]], [[Jenin]], [[Beit She'an Valley]], northern [[Jabal Nablus]], [[Manasseh Hills|Bilad al-Ruha/Ramot Menashe]], and the northern part of the [[Sharon plain]].<ref>{{Cite web |last1=al-Bakhīt |first1=Muḥammad ʻAdnān |last2=al-Ḥamūd |first2=Nūfān Rajā |title=Daftar mufaṣṣal nāḥiyat Marj Banī ʻĀmir wa-tawābiʻihā wa-lawāḥiqihā allatī kānat fī taṣarruf al-Amīr Ṭarah Bāy sanat 945 ah |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/28579982 |access-date=15 May 2023 |website=www.worldcat.org |publisher=Jordanian University |pages=1–35 |language=en |publication-place=Amman |publication-date=1989}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Marom |first=Roy |title=Lajjun: Forgotten Provincial Capital in Ottoman Palestine |url=https://www.academia.edu/101515579 |journal=Levant |year=2023 |volume=55 |issue=2 |pages=218–241 |doi=10.1080/00758914.2023.2202484 |s2cid=258602184 |access-date=2023-05-10 |archive-date=2023-07-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230718032959/https://www.academia.edu/101515579 |url-status=live }}</ref> The areas south of Jenin, including [[Nablus]] itself and its hinterland up to the [[Yarkon River]], formed a separate district called the District of Nablus.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Doumani |first=Beshara |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K6QwDwAAQBAJ |title=Rediscovering Palestine: Merchants and Peasants in Jabal Nablus, 1700–1900 |date=12 October 1995 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-20370-9 |language=en |access-date=10 May 2023 |archive-date=10 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230510152920/https://books.google.com/books?id=K6QwDwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===British Mandate===
During the [[Great War]], Palestine was wrested by the armies of the [[British Empire]] from the [[Ottoman Empire]] and in the [[aftermath of World War I|aftermath of the war]] it was entrusted to the [[United Kingdom]] to administer as a [[League of Nations]] [[Mandate for Palestine|mandated territory]]<ref>The Mandate for Palestine. (24 July 1922). League of Nations Council. Retrieved 23 June 2021 from [https://mfa.gov.il/mfa/foreignpolicy/peace/guide/pages/the%20mandate%20for%20palestine.aspx the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624203804/https://mfa.gov.il/mfa/foreignpolicy/peace/guide/pages/the%20mandate%20for%20palestine.aspx |date=2021-06-24 }}</ref> Samaria was the name of one of the [[Districts of Mandatory Palestine|administrative districts]] of Palestine for part of this period. The [[United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine|1947 UN partition plan]] called for the Arab state to consist of several parts, the largest of which was described as "the hill country of Samaria and Judea."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/un/res181.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061029150108/http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/un/res181.htm |url-status=dead |title=UN partition resolution |archive-date=29 October 2006}}</ref>[[File:Samaria from the Minaret of Mosque (4879149239).jpg|thumb|250px|The village of Samaria, c. 1915]]

===Jordanian period===
As a result of the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]], most of the territory was unilaterally incorporated as [[Jordan]]ian-controlled territory, and was administered as part of the West Bank (west of the Jordan river).

===Israeli administration===
The Jordanian-held West Bank was captured and [[Israeli occupation of the West Bank|has been occupied by Israel]] since the 1967 [[Six-Day War]]. [[Jordan]] ceded its claims in the West Bank (except for certain prerogatives in Jerusalem) to the [[Palestine Liberation Organization|PLO]] in November 1988, later confirmed by the [[Israel–Jordan Treaty of Peace]] of 1994. In the 1994 [[Oslo accords]], the [[Palestinian National Authority|Palestinian Authority]] was established and given responsibility for the administration over some of the territory of West Bank (Areas 'A' and 'B').

Samaria is one of several standard statistical districts utilized by the [[Israel Central Bureau of Statistics]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www1.cbs.gov.il/reader/cw_usr_view_Folder?ID=141 |title=Israel Central Bureau of Statistics |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204115550/http://www1.cbs.gov.il/reader/cw_usr_view_Folder?ID=141 |archive-date=4 February 2012}}</ref> "The Israeli CBS also collects statistics on the rest of the West Bank and the Gaza District. It has produced various basic statistical series on the territories, dealing with population, employment, wages, external trade, national accounts, and various other topics."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2002/1/Central%20Bureau%20of%20Statistics |title=Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs |access-date=2005-12-05 |archive-date=2005-12-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051208192804/http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2002/1/Central%20Bureau%20of%20Statistics |url-status=live }}</ref> The Palestinian Authority however use [[Nablus]], [[Jenin]], [[Tulkarm]], [[Qalqilya]], [[Salfit]], [[Ramallah]] and [[Tubas (city)|Tubas]] [[Governorates of the Palestinian National Authority|governorates]] as administrative centers for the same region.

The [[Shomron Regional Council]] is the local municipal government that administers the smaller Israeli towns ([[Israeli settlement|settlements]]) throughout the area. The council is a member of the network of regional municipalities spread throughout Israel.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mhh.org.il/680/288.htm |title=The Center for Regional Councils in Israel |website=Website |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080929092958/http://www.mhh.org.il/680/288.htm |archive-date=29 September 2008}}</ref> Elections for the head of the council are held every five years by Israel's ministry of interior, all residents over age 17 are eligible to vote. In special elections held in August 2015 [[Yossi Dagan]] was elected as head of the Shomron Regional Council.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://shomron.org.il/?CategoryID=1262&ArticleID=2082 |title=Shomron Regional Council Website |last=Hebrew |access-date=2015-12-28 |archive-date=2016-01-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160106064618/http://shomron.org.il/?CategoryID=1262&ArticleID=2082 |url-status=live }}</ref>[[File:Shomron map.png|thumb|200px|Map of [[Israeli settlement]]s administered by the [[Shomron Regional Council]] in the West Bank]]

Israeli settlements in the West Bank are considered by most [[International law and Israeli settlements|in the international community to be illegal under international law]], but others including the United States and Israeli governments dispute this.<ref name="BBC_GC4">{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1682640.stm |title=The Geneva Convention |work=BBC News |date=10 December 2009 |access-date=27 November 2010 |archive-date=12 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190512075554/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1682640.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> In September 2016, the Town Board of the [[United States|American]] [[Hempstead, New York|Town of Hempstead]] in the [[New York (state)|State of New York]], led by Councilman [[Bruce Blakeman]] entered into a partnership agreement with the [[Shomron Regional Council]], led by [[Yossi Dagan]], as part of an anti-[[Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions]] campaign.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lazaroff |first1=Tovah |title=In anti-BDS stand, Hempstead New York signs sister city pact with settler council |url=https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/In-anti-BDS-stand-Hempstead-New-York-signs-sister-city-pact-with-settler-council-467880 |access-date=24 July 2017 |date=16 September 2016 |archive-date=16 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316194950/https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/In-anti-BDS-stand-Hempstead-New-York-signs-sister-city-pact-with-settler-council-467880 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Archaeological sites==
===Ancient city of Samaria/Sebaste===
{{Main|Samaria (ancient city)}}
[[File:Ruins of Samaria.jpg|thumb|250px|Tel Sebastia, 1925]]

The ancient site of [[Samaria (ancient city)|Samaria]]-Sebaste covers the hillside overlooking the West Bank village of [[Sebastia, Nablus|Sebastia]] on the eastern slope of the hill.<ref name=Burgoyne>{{cite journal |title=Bayt al-Hawwari, a ''hawsh'' House in Sabastiya |author=Michael Hamilton Burgoyne and Mahmoud Hawari |journal=Levant |volume=37 |publisher=Council for British Research in the Levant, London |date=19 May 2005 |access-date=14 September 2007 |pages=57–80 |url=http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=17419792 |doi=10.1179/007589105790088913 |doi-broken-date=29 September 2025 |s2cid=162363298 |archive-date=29 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229172809/http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=17419792 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Remains have been found from the [[Canaan]]ite, [[Israelite]], [[Hellenistic]], [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] (including [[Herodian Dynasty|Herodian]]) and [[Byzantine Palestine|Byzantine]] periods.<ref name=Gwynne>{{cite web |title=Holy Land Blues |work=[[Al-Ahram Weekly]] |date=5–11 January 2006 |access-date=14 September 2007 |url=http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2006/776/feature.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060311002825/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2006/776/feature.htm |archive-date=11 March 2006}}</ref>

Archaeological finds from Roman-era Sebaste, a site that was rebuilt and renamed by Herod the Great in 30 BC, include a colonnaded street, a temple-lined acropolis, and a lower city, where [[John the Baptist]] is believed to have been buried.<ref>{{cite web |last=Wiener |first=Noah |title=Spurned Samaria: Site of the capital of the Kingdom of Israel blighted by neglect |url=http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/news/spurned-samaria/ |publisher=Biblical Archaeology Society |date=6 April 2013 |access-date=23 January 2014 |archive-date=8 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140208210849/http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/news/spurned-samaria/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Harvard excavation of Samaria, which began in 1908, was headed by Egyptologist [[George Andrew Reisner]].<ref>''The Archaeology of Palestine'', W.F. Albright, 1960, p. 34</ref> The findings included Hebrew, Aramaic, cuneiform and Greek inscriptions, as well as pottery remains, coins, sculpture, figurines, scarabs and seals, faience, amulets, beads and glass.<ref>{{cite journal |jstor=1355880 |title=Recent Progress in Palestinian Archaeology: Samaria-Sebaste III and Hazor I |first=W. F. |last=Albright |date=24 July 2017 |journal=Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research |volume=150 |issue=150 |pages=21–25 |doi=10.2307/1355880 |s2cid=163393362}}</ref> The joint British-American-Hebrew University excavation continued under [[John Winter Crowfoot]] in 1931–35, during which time some of the chronology issues were resolved. The round towers lining the acropolis were found to be Hellenistic, the street of columns was dated to the 3–4th century, and 70 inscribed potsherds were dated to the early 8th century.<ref>Albright, pp.39–40</ref>

In 1908–1935, remains of luxury furniture made of wood and ivory were discovered in Samaria, representing the Levant's most important collection of ivory carvings from the early first millennium BC. Despite theories of their [[Phoenicia]]n origin, some of the letters serving as fitter's marks are in [[Israelian Hebrew|Hebrew]].<ref name="research-projects.uzh.ch"/>

As of 1999 three series of coins have been found that confirm [[Sanballat the Horonite|Sinuballat]] was a governor of Samaria. Sinuballat is best known as an adversary of [[Nehemiah]] from the [[Book of Nehemiah]] where he is said to have sided with [[Tobiah the Ammonite]] and [[Geshem the Arabian]]. All three coins feature a warship on the front, likely derived from earlier [[Sidonian]] coins. The reverse side depicts the Persian King in his [[kandys]] robe facing down a [[lion]] that is standing on its hind legs.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Edelman |first1=Diana Vikander |title=The Origins of the Second Temple: Persian Imperial Policy and the Rebuilding of Jerusalem |publisher=Equinox |page=41}}</ref>

===Other ancient sites===
* The [[Bull Site]], an [[Iron Age#Ancient Near East|Iron I]] cult site
* [[Tel Dothan]] near [[Jenin]], identified with biblical Dothan
* [[Khirbet Kheibar]], in [[Meithalun]], ancient tell which was inhabited from the Middle Bronze Age to Medieval times
* [[Khirbet Kurkush]], site of an ancient Samaritan or Jewish settlement with a notable necropolis
* [[Khirbet Samara]], site of a notable ancient Samaritan synagogue
* [[Nablus]] area:
** [[Mount Gerizim]], the religious epicenter of [[Samaritanism]], site of an ancient Samaritan temple, and Samaritan and [[Byzantine Palestine|Byzantine]] ruins
** [[Mount Ebal site]], Iron Age remains on [[Mount Ebal]], seen by many scholars as an early Israelite cultic site
** [[Tell Balata]], identified as biblical [[Shechem]]
* Khirbet Seilun/Tel Shiloh, identified with [[Shiloh (biblical city)]]
* Tell el-Far'ah (North), identified with biblical [[Tirzah (ancient city)|Tirzah]], the third capital of the northern Kingdom of Israel.

==Samaritans==
{{main|Samaritans}}
The [[Samaritans]] (Hebrew: Shomronim) are an [[ethnoreligious group]] named after and descended from ancient Semitic inhabitants of Samaria, since the [[Assyrian captivity of Israel|Assyrian exile]] of the Israelites, according to {{bibleverse|2 Kings|17}} and first-century historian [[Josephus]].<ref>Josephus, ''Jewish Antiquities'' 9.277–91</ref> Religiously, the Samaritans are adherents of [[Samaritanism]], an [[Abrahamic religions|Abrahamic religion]] closely related to [[Judaism]]. Based on the [[Samaritan Pentateuch|Samaritan Torah]], Samaritans claim their worship is the true religion of the ancient Israelites prior to the [[Babylonian captivity|Babylonian exile]], preserved by those who remained behind. Their temple was built at [[Mount Gerizim]] in the middle of the 5th century BCE, and was destroyed under the [[Hasmonean dynasty|Hasmonean]] king [[John Hyrcanus]] of [[Judea]] in 110 BCE, although their descendants still worship among its ruins. The antagonism between Samaritans and Jews is important in understanding the Bible's [[New Testament]] stories of the "[[Samaritan woman at the well]]" and "[[Parable of the Good Samaritan]]". The modern Samaritans, however, see themselves as co-equals in inheritance to the Israelite lineage through Torah, as do the Jews, and are not antagonistic to Jews in modern times.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.israelite-samaritans.com/history/keepers-israelite-samaritan-identity/ |title=Keepers: Israelite Samaritan Identity Since Joshua bin Nun |website=Israelite Samaritan Information Institute |date=26 May 2020 |access-date=11 February 2017 |archive-date=24 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240124075930/https://www.israelite-samaritans.com/history/keepers-israelite-samaritan-identity/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Flora and fauna==
The geographical region lies on the [[Irano-Turanian Region|Irano-Turanian]] border, and its slopes support vegetation grown in that broad region. Typical for this region are ''maquis'', the dense scrub vegetation consisting of hardy evergreen shrubs and small trees, characteristic of coastal regions in the Mediterranean and which, in this area, are found on the cliffs' step-crevices.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Davis|first=P.H.|author-link=Peter Hadland Davis |title=Cliff Vegetation in the Eastern Mediterranean|journal=Journal of Ecology|volume=39 |issue=1 |page=73|publisher=British Ecological Society |jstor=2256628|date=1951 |doi=10.2307/2256628 |bibcode=1951JEcol..39...63D }}</ref> The kermes oak (''[[Quercus coccifera]]'') is common. 

In contrast to the [[Galilee]] and the [[Judaean Mountains|Judean Mountains]], there are very few remnants of natural vegetation in the Samaria Mountains. Large areas in the south and west of Samaria and in the valleys have been cultivated for many generations as agricultural land and are planted mainly with [[olive]], [[fig]], [[almond]] and [[pomegranate]] trees; the areas in the valleys are used for arable land or vegetable crops.<ref name="publisher1980">{{cite book |author-last1=Pollack|author-first1=Gad|author-last2=Cohen |author-first2=Ya'el |editor1=Shorer, Ya'akov|editor2=Grossman, David |contribution=The Vegetation (הצומח) |title=Israel Guide - The Northern Valleys, Mount Carmel and Samaria (A useful encyclopedia for the knowledge of the country)|volume=8 |publisher=Keter Publishing House |location=Jerusalem|year=1980|page=231 |language=he|oclc=745203905 }}</ref> Only on the edges of the fields and in places that have been regenerated and where damaging the plant-life is prohibited by law have remnants of natural vegetation been preserved.<ref name="publisher1980"/>

The wildlife of Samaria, as in other regions of the country, consists of populations that invaded the general area at different times and adapted to the conditions prevailing in the area.<ref name="Arbel1980">{{cite book |author-last=Arbel|author-first=Avraham|editor1=Shorer, Ya'akov|editor2=Grossman, David |contribution=The Wildlife (החי) |title=Israel Guide - The Northern Valleys, Mount Carmel and Samaria (A useful encyclopedia for the knowledge of the country)|volume=8 |publisher=Keter Publishing House |location=Jerusalem|year=1980|page=235 |language=he|oclc=745203905 }}</ref> Hunting (with the introduction of modern firearms in the 20th-century) and extensive farming have been the principal causes for a decline in the area's natural wildlife.<ref name="Arbel1980"/> The animals that dominate the general area have their origins in the [[Mediterranean basin]] and in [[Europe]], such as the [[Honey badger|badger]], the [[wild boar]], the [[red fox]], the [[hedgehog]], the [[Apodemus|field mouse]], and the [[Mole (animal)|mole]] (among mammals).<ref name="Arbel1980"/>

==See also==
* [[Archevite]]s
* [[Samaritan Revolts]]
* [[List of burial places of biblical figures]]
* [[Ahwat]]
* [[Judea and Samaria Area]]

== References ==
===Citations===
{{Reflist|}}

===Sources===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Dalley |first=Stephanie |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nhsmDwAAQBAJ |title=A Companion to Assyria |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-444-33593-4 |editor=E. Frahm |location=Hoboken |chapter=Assyrian Warfare |author-link=Stephanie Dalley }}
* {{Cite book |last=Elayi |first=Josette |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TsctDwAAQBAJ&q=%22Sargon+II%22&pg=PP1 |title=Sargon II, King of Assyria |publisher=SBL Press |year=2017 |isbn=978-1628371772 |location=Atlanta }}
* {{cite book |last=Frahm |first=Eckart |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nhsmDwAAQBAJ |title=A Companion to Assyria |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-444-33593-4 |editor=E. Frahm |location=Hoboken |chapter=The Neo-Assyrian Period (ca. 1000–609 BCE) }}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last1=Gottheil |first1=Richard |authorlink1= |first2=Victor |last2=Ryssel |authorlink2= |last3=Jastrow |first3=Marcus |author-link3= |first4=Caspar |last4=Levias |author-link4= |title=Captivity, or Exile, Babylonian |url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/4012-captivity |encyclopedia=[[Jewish Encyclopedia]] |year=1906 |publisher=Funk & Wagnalls Co. |location=New York |volume=3 |access-date=2023-08-15 |archive-date=2012-10-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021205656/http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/4012-captivity |url-status=live }}
* {{Cite web |last=Mark |first=Joshua J. |date=2014 |title=Sargon II |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Sargon_II/ |access-date=9 February 2020 |website=[[World History Encyclopedia]] |archive-date=24 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424032547/https://www.worldhistory.org/Sargon_II/ |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |title=Mercer Dictionary of the Bible |pages=788–789 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=goq0VWw9rGIC&q=samaria |editor1-first=Watson E. |editor1-last=Mills |editor2-first=Roger Aubrey |editor2-last=Bullard |publisher=Mercer University Press |year=1990 |isbn=978-0-86554-373-7 |quote=Sargon ... named the new province, which included what formerly was Israel,''Samerina''. Thus the territorial designation is credited to the Assyrians and dated to that time; however, "Samaria" probably long before alteratively designated Israel when Samaria became the capital. |access-date=31 May 2018 }}
* {{cite book |last=Radner |first=Karen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nhsmDwAAQBAJ |title=A Companion to Assyria |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-444-33593-4 |editor=E. Frahm |location=Hoboken |chapter=Economy, Society, and Daily Life in the Neo-Assyrian Period |author-link=Karen Radner }}
* {{cite AV media |last=Radner |first=Karen |date=2018 |title=Focus on Population Management |medium=video |url=https://www.coursera.org/learn/organising-empire-assyrian-way/lecture/6cf1C/focus-on-population-management |access-date=9 May 2018 |publisher=[[Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München]] |via=[[Coursera]] |series=Organising an Empire: The Assyrian Way |archive-date=9 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180509150926/https://www.coursera.org/learn/organising-empire-assyrian-way/lecture/6cf1C/focus-on-population-management |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Reid |first=George |title=Captivities of the Israelites |encyclopedia=[[The Catholic Encyclopedia]] |publisher=[[Robert Appleton Company]] |location=New York |year=1908 |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03315a.htm }}
* {{Cite book |last1=Yamada |first1=Keiko |title="Now It Happened in Those Days": Studies in Biblical, Assyrian, and Other Ancient Near Eastern Historiography Presented to Mordechai Cogan on His 75th Birthday |last2=Yamada |first2=Shiego |publisher=Eisenbrauns |year=2017 |isbn=978-1575067612 |editor-last=Baruchi-Unna |editor-first=Amitai |volume=2 |location=Winona Lake, Indiana |pages= |chapter=Shalmaneser V and His Era, Revisited |editor-last2=Forti |editor-first2=Tova |editor-last3=Aḥituv |editor-first3=Shmuel |editor-last4=Ephʿal |editor-first4=Israel |editor-last5=Tigay |editor-first5=Jeffrey H. |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/35496181 |access-date=2023-08-15 |archive-date=2022-02-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209215302/https://www.academia.edu/35496181 |url-status=live }}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Becking |first=B. |title=The Fall of Samaria: An Historical and Archaeological Study |publisher=E. J. Brill |year=1992 |location=Leiden; New York |isbn=978-90-04-09633-2}}
* {{cite journal |last=Franklin |first=N. |year=2003 |title=The Tombs of the Kings of Israel |journal=Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins |volume=119 |issue=1 |pages=1–11}}
* {{cite journal |last=Franklin |first=N. |year=2004 |title=Samaria: from the Bedrock to the Omride Palace |journal=Levant |volume=36 |pages=189–202 |doi=10.1179/lev.2004.36.1.189 |s2cid=162217071}}
* {{cite journal |last=Park |first=Sung Jin |year=2012 |title=A New Historical Reconstruction of the Fall of Samaria |journal=Biblica |volume=93 |issue=1 |pages=98–106}}
* {{cite journal |last=Rainey |first=A. F. |date=November 1988 |title=Toward a Precise Date for the Samaria Ostraca |journal=Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research |volume=272 |issue=272 |pages=69–74 |doi=10.2307/1356786 |jstor=1356786 |s2cid=163297693}}
* {{cite journal |last=Stager |first=L. E. |date=February–May 1990 |title=Shemer's Estate |journal=Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research |volume=277/278 |issue=277 |pages=93–107 |doi=10.2307/1357375 |jstor=1357375 |s2cid=163576333}}
* Tappy, R. E. (2006). "The Provenance of the Unpublished Ivories from Samaria", pp.&nbsp;637–56 in ''"I Will Speak the Riddles of Ancient Times" (Ps 78:2b): Archaeological and Historical Studies in Honor of Amihai Mazar on the Occasion of His Sixtieth Birthday'', A. M. Maeir and P. de Miroschedji, eds. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns.
* Tappy, R. E. (2007). "The Final Years of Israelite Samaria: Toward a Dialogue Between Texts and Archaeology", pp.&nbsp;258–79 in ''Up to the Gates of Ekron: Essays on the Archaeology and History of the Eastern Mediterranean in Honor of Seymour Gitin'', S. White Crawford, A. Ben-Tor, J. P. Dessel, W. G. Dever, A. Mazar, and J. Aviram, eds. Jerusalem: The W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research and the Israel Exploration Society.
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Samaria}}
* {{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Samaria |volume=24 |page=108 |short=x}}
* {{cite CE1913 |first=Siméon |last=Vailhé|wstitle=Samaria |volume=13 |short=x}}

{{Ancient states and regions of the Levant |state=collapsed}}
{{Judea and Samaria}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Samaria| ]]
[[Category:Geography of Palestine]]
[[Category:Geography of Israel]]
[[Category:Hebrew Bible regions]]
[[Category:Historical regions in Israel]]
[[Category:Historical regions in Palestine]]
[[Category:Land of Israel]]
[[Category:Middle East]]
[[Category:New Testament regions]]
[[Category:Samaritan culture and history]]
[[Category:Former kingdoms]]