failed to push the Philistines to the coastal plain and tension grew between Saul and the prophet Samuel. Saul not performing up to par to the word of the lord according to Samuel; Saul was ousted and a new king to be named. Saul would die in battle a short while after his dethroning against the Philistines on Mt. Gilboa. The Israelites would need a new king to rule the newly formed kingdom so Samuel chose David of Bethlehem, the slayer of Goliath. For seven years a civil war was fought between the tribes controlled by David the new king and Ish-Bosheth son of Saul. The civil war ended when Ish-Bosheth was murdered and the people asked David to save them from the Philistines. David not only maintained the empire left to him by Saul but fortified it to a major political and religious power in that area. The new king defeated the Arameans and annexed Aram-Damascus in the east he routed the Moabites, subjugated the state of Edom, and defeated the Ammonites. In order to keep a secure northern border David made a pact with Hiram, King of Tyre. David would not stop there he would go on to abolish all Canaanite enclaves and took the city of Jerusalem from the Jebusites fortifying a capital for the strongest kingdom on the Fertile Crescent. David was getting old and his declining health started to cause fighting between the sons and priests who the next king would be. The next king was Solomon who was appointed by David before his death in 967 BCE. Solomon to show every one in the kingdom he was a serious leader he began to strike out against all his enemies. Some were banished some exiled. Solomon built temples and permanent towns. Solomon’s kingdom did not outlive his death. The kingdom was immediately split in two Rehoboam ruled the south and Jeroboam ruled the north. The two kingdoms fought a war for decades over land, culture, and religion. The Israelites lost most of the kingdom due to the internal fighting. Samiaria was founded in...
