Shechem
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Shechem, also spelled Sichem and other variants, was an ancient city in the Southern Levant. Described in ancient Egyptian inscriptions from the 19th century BC as a part of Retjenu, it is also record
Archaeological site of Tell Balata, identified with ancient Shechem
Balata in the 1880s in the PEF Survey of Palestine. Nablus is stated as being the location of Biblical Shechem, in contrast to the modern identification with Tell Balata.
The Sebek-khu Stele, dated to the reign of Senusret III (reign: 1878–1839 BC), records the earliest known Egyptian military campaign in the Levant. The text reads "Then Sekmem fell, together with the wretched Retenu", where Sekmem (s-k-m-m) is thought to be Shechem, and the "Retunu" or "Retjenu" a people of the Levant.
Amarna letter EA 252. Letter from Labayu (ruler of Shechem) to the Egyptian Pharaoh Amenhotep III or his son Akhenaten. 14th century BC. From Tell el-Amarna, Egypt. British Museum
Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)
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The Kingdom of Israel, also called the Kingdom of Samaria or the Northern Kingdom, was an Israelite kingdom that existed in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. Its beginnings date back to the fir
Shechem
…Retjenu, it is also recorded as a Canaanite city in the 14th century BC Amarna letters. In the Hebrew Bible, it is described as the first capital of the Kingdom of Israel (Samaria) following the split of the United Monarchy. According to Joshua 21:20–21, it was located in the tribal territorial allotment of the tribe of Ephraim…
William Hughes, The Kingdoms of Judah and Israel
Ruins of the royal palace of the Omiride dynasty in the city of Samaria, which was the capital of Israel from 880 BCE to 720 BCE.
Jehu's delegation to Shalmaneser III, Black Obelisk, 841–840 BCE.
The tribute of Israel's king "Jehu of the people of the land of Omri" (Akkadian: 𒅀𒌑𒀀 𒈥 𒄷𒌝𒊑𒄿), as depicted on the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III from 841 to 840 BCE. This is "the only portrayal we have in ancient Near Eastern art of an Israelite or Judaean monarch."