Samaria is a land of hills.
It sits in a big place called Israel. The sea is to the west. The river is to the east. It is a very old place.
Do you want to see the hills?
Samaria is a land of hills.
It sits in the middle of Israel. The sea is to the west. The river is to the east.
Long ago, a king built a city there. He named it Samaria. The land is named after that city. It is a very old place.
The hills are not very high. The air is nice there. Most of the big forests are gone now. People use the land for farms instead.
Many groups of people lived there. They came and went over many years. Some lived in small towns. Others lived in big cities.
Today, many people call it the West Bank. It is still a place of history. You can see old ruins there.
Samaria is a central region in the land of Israel.
It sits between many places. To the north is Galilee. To the south is Judea. The Mediterranean Sea is to the west. The Jordan River is to the east.
The land is known for its hills. These hills are not very high. The weather there is nice and pleasant. Long ago, most of the forests were cut down. Now, people use the land for farms.
The name Samaria comes from an ancient city. This city was the capital of the northern Kingdom of Israel. A king named Omri built it. The name might mean "watch mountain." Many different groups have ruled this land over time. This includes the Romans, Persians, and many others.
In the past, many people lived in small villages or forts. There were also big cities like Shechem and Samaria. Today, many people call this area the West Bank. It is a place full of history and old ruins.
Samaria is a central region located in the Land of Israel.
It sits in a special spot between several other areas. To the north, you will find Galilee. To the south lies Judea. The Mediterranean Sea marks the western edge of the region. To the east, the Jordan River acts as a boundary.
The land is mostly made of hills. These hills are not very tall and rarely rise above 2,500 feet. The weather here is often more pleasant than in the south. Long ago, most of the oak forests were cut down. Today, many people use the land for farms and plantations instead.
The name Samaria comes from an ancient city. This city was the capital of the northern Kingdom of Israel. A king named Omri built this capital around 880 BCE. He bought a hill to build his new home. The Hebrew name for the area is Shomron. Some think this name means "watch mountain."
This name might come from a word that means to guard. In very old writings, the area was also called Bet Humri. This name means "the house of Omri." This shows how closely the land was linked to its famous king.
Many different groups have ruled this land throughout history. The Canaanites and Israelites lived here first. Later, the Neo-Assyrian Empire took control in the 720s BCE. They held a long siege against the capital city.
After the conquest, the Assyrians moved many people away. They moved about 27,280 people to other parts of the empire. This included places like modern-day Iran. Other groups like the Babylonians, Persians, and Romans also ruled the region. Even the Ottoman Turks held power here in later years.
Archaeologists have found many clues about life in ancient Samaria. They found about 400 different sites from the Iron Age.
People lived in small villages, farms, and strong forts. They also lived in large cities like Shechem and Tirzah. Some people lived on hills called tells. Before the Assyrians arrived, about 52,000 people lived in the northern hills. The region was also famous for its luxury palaces. Some ancient prophets even wrote about the "ivory houses" found there.
Samaria is a place that connects many famous stories. The New Testament mentions the area in several accounts. For example, it tells of Jesus meeting a woman at Jacob's Well.
It also mentions the healing of ten lepers near the border of Galilee. In modern times, the names for this land can change. Many people today call this territory part of the West Bank. Others use the name Samaria for the area north of the Jerusalem District. It remains a land filled with deep history and old ruins.
Samaria is a central region within the Land of Israel.
It serves as a historical and biblical name for this specific area. The region is surrounded by several distinct geographic features. To the north lies Galilee, while Judea sits to the south. The Mediterranean Sea forms the western boundary of the territory. To the east, the Jordan River marks the edge of the land.
This area corresponds largely to the ancient territories of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.
The geography of Samaria is defined by its hilly terrain. These Samarian hills are not exceptionally high. They seldom reach heights exceeding 2,500 feet. The climate in this region is often more hospitable than the climate found further south. Historically, the landscape was much greener. During the Iron Age II, most of the original forests were cleared. These forests were replaced by agricultural fields and various plantations. Today, very few oak forests remain in the region. The hills are bounded by the Jezreel Valley to the north and the Jordan Rift Valley to the east. To the northwest lies the Carmel Ridge, while the Sharon plain sits to the west. The Jerusalem mountains form the southern border.
The name Samaria is derived from the ancient city of Samaria. This city was the capital of the northern Kingdom of Israel. The Hebrew name for the region is Shomron. According to the Hebrew Bible, King Omri purchased a hill in the 880s BCE. He built his new capital city on this site. Some scholars suggest the name Shomron comes from a Semitic root meaning "guard." This would make the original meaning "watch mountain."
In ancient cuneiform inscriptions, the area was called Bet Ḥumri. This translates to "the house of Omri." Later inscriptions used the name Samirin, which comes from the Aramaic name Shamerayin.
History shows that many civilizations have controlled this territory. The Canaanites and Israelites were among the first groups to inhabit the land. Following the death of King Solomon around 931 BCE, the northern tribes established the Kingdom of Israel. This kingdom used Samaria as its capital until the 720s BCE. The Neo-Assyrian Empire eventually conquered the region. The Assyrians conducted a three-year siege of the capital city.
This siege likely ended around 722 BCE. Following the conquest, the land became the Assyrian province of Samerina. This is the first time the name of the city was used for the whole region.
The Assyrian period involved significant population changes. Sargon II, the successor to Shalmaneser V, claimed to have deported 27,280 people. These people were sent to different parts of the empire, such as Guzana and the lands of the Medes. This resettlement was a standard policy used by the Neo-Assyrian Empire. While the original inhabitants were moved, new people from other parts of the empire were settled in Samerina. This event is known in Jewish history as the Assyrian captivity. It is also the basis for the narrative of the Ten Lost Tribes.
Archaeological evidence provides a detailed look at ancient life. During the Iron Age II, there was a major increase in settlement. Archaeologists have identified approximately 400 sites from this period. This was an increase from the 300 sites found in the previous Iron Age I.
People lived in various ways, including on tells, in small villages, or in forts. Major urban centers included Shechem, Samaria, and Tirzah. Before the Assyrian deportations, an estimated 52,000 people lived in the Manasseh Hill area. The region was also known for its wealth, with prophets mentioning luxury "ivory houses."
In later centuries, the region saw continued shifts in power and identity. During the Persian period, Samaria issued its own coins.
The Hellenistic period saw a division between different social factions. Eventually, the Jewish Hasmonean ruler John Hyrcanus destroyed the cities of Samaria and Shechem in 110 BCE. During the Roman period, the population changed again. Following the Jewish-Roman wars, the Jewish population in southern Samaria decreased significantly. Roman authorities replaced many residents with people from Syria, Phoenicia, and Arabia. In modern times, the term Samaria is used in different ways. It was used in the 1947 UN Partition Plan. In 1967, Israeli officials used the term "Judea and Samaria Area." Today, much of the territory is known as the West Bank.
Where will your curiosity go next?
🖼️ Images & Media (9)
More to explore
✨ What else?
Related topics you might enjoy
🪜 Step back
Simpler topics to build understanding
What is Nepedia?
A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.