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Divided Kingdoms
c. 722 BC · one of the six stops on the atlas era rail
Slide the atlas to the Divided Kingdoms era and the map redraws itself as the world stood about 722 BC: cities rise to their height, fall to ruin, or have not yet been built. Every change below comes from the era notes written for this stop.
Painted vignettes
The map at this stop
- Jerusalem · standing. Capital of Judah alone; it outlived Sennacherib’s siege in 701 BC.
- Jericho · rebuilt. Hiel of Bethel rebuilt it, at the cost of both his sons, as Joshua had sworn.
- Shiloh · in ruins. A byword for ruin; Ahijah the prophet still lived among its remnant.
- Samaria · at its height. Omri’s hill, capital of the northern kingdom; it fell in 722 BC after three years of siege, begun by Shalmaneser and claimed by Sargon.
- Nineveh · at its height. Jonah preached in this great city; soon after these years Sennacherib made it Assyria’s capital, at its height about 700 BC.
- Babylon · standing. Merodach-baladan seized this city from Assyria and sent envoys to Hezekiah.
- Hazor · in ruins. Destroyed by Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria in 732 BC; Galilee was carried away.
- Damascus · in ruins. Aram’s chief city and Israel’s great rival, until Tiglath-Pileser took it in 732 BC; Rezin was slain and its people carried to Kir.
- Dan · in ruins. Jeroboam’s golden calf stood here until Tiglath-Pileser destroyed the city in 732 BC.
- Bethel · at its height. Jeroboam’s other golden calf made this small town the king’s sanctuary, chief shrine of the north.
- Megiddo · standing. Ahaziah king of Judah died here fleeing Jehu; after 732 Assyria governed its province from Megiddo.
- Lachish · at its height. Judah’s second city, ringed with walls; Sennacherib stormed it in 701 BC and carved the siege on his palace at Nineveh.
- Tyre · at its height. Queen of the sea trade; her ships planted colonies across the Great Sea.