A New Historical Reconstruction of the Fall of Samaria Although the date of the fall of Samaria has been discussed by numerous scholars, it still remains as one of the perennial issues in the Bible. The goal of this paper is to introduce briefly three widely held interpretations regarding the fall of Samaria, to evaluate critically the two-conquest model, the most popular view, and to suggest a new historical recon- struction of this significant event in the history of Israel. The biblical references (2 Kgs 17,3-6; 18,9-11) and the Babylonian Chronicle support one conquest of Samaria by Shalmaneser V, whereas eight other Assyrian inscriptions affirm the conquest of the sacred city by Sargon II 1. Scholars have proposed various hypotheses to solve this rid- dle, but there is yet no consensus. These hypotheses are categorized mainly into three groups: 1) Only one conquest of Samaria either by Shalmaneser V or by Sargon II 2. 2) Multiple conquests (four conquests) by these two Assyrian kings 3. 3) Two conquests: the first one by Shalmaneser V at the very end of his reign (probably the autumn of 722 BCE) and the second one by Sargon II in his second regnal year (720 BCE) 4. 1 For evidence supporting Shalmaneser V’s conquest, see the Babylonian Chronicle ― A.K. GRAYSON, Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles (Texts from Cuneiform Sources 5; New York 1975) 69-87. The conquest by Sargon II of Sa- maria appears in eight inscriptions: the Khorsabad Annals (ARAB, II §4-5), the Assur Charter (H.W.F. SAGGS, “Historical Texts and Fragments of Sargon II of Assyria, 1. The ‘Aššur Charter’”, Iraq 37 [1975] 11-20), the Great Display In- scription (ARAB, II §55), the Nimrud Prism (C.J. GADD, “Inscribed Prisms of Sargon II from Nimrud”, Iraq 16 [1954] 179-180; H. TADMOR, “The Campaigns of Sargon II of Assur: A Chronological-Historical Study”, JCS 12 (1958) 34, the Cylinder inscription (ARAB, II §118), the Bull inscription (ARAB, II §92), the Small Display Inscription (ARAB, II §80), and the Palace Door (ARAB, II §99). 2 For preference for Sargon II, see N. NA’AMAN, “The Historical Background to the Conquest of Samaria (720 BC)”, Bib 71 (1990) 206-225; M.C. TETLEY, “The Date of Samaria’s Fall as a Reason for Rejecting the Hypothesis of Two Conquests”, CBQ 64 (2002) 59-77. For preference for Shalmaneser V whose feat was usurped by Sargon II, see J.E. READE, “Sargon’s Campaigns of 720, 716, and 715 B.C.: Evidence from the Sculptures”, JNES 35 (1976) 100-101. 3 J.H. HAYES – J.K. KUAN, “The Final Years of Samaria (730-720 B.C.)”, Bib 72 (1991) 153-181. 4 TADMOR, “Campaigns”, 33-40; B. BECKING, The Fall of Samaria. An His- torical and Archeological Study (SHANE 2; Leiden 1992) 21-60; K.L. YOUNGER, “The Fall of Samaria in Light of Recent Research”, CBQ 61 (1999) 461-482. BIBLICA 93.1 (2012) 98-106