Samaria
 
 A watch-mountain or a watch-tower. In the heart of the mountains of
 Israel, a few miles north-west of Shechem, stands the "hill of
 Shomeron," a solitary mountain, a great "mamelon." It is an oblong
 hill, with steep but not inaccessible sides, and a long flat top.
 Omri, the king of Israel, purchased this hill from Shemer its owner
 for two talents of silver, and built on its broad summit the city to
 which he gave the name of "Shomeron", i.e., Samaria, as the new
 capital of his kingdom instead of Tirzah 1Ki 16:24 As such it
 possessed many advantages. Here Omri resided during the last six
 years of his reign. As the result of an unsuccessful war with Syria,
 he appears to have been obliged to grant to the Syrians the right to
 "make streets in Samaria", i.e., probably permission to the Syrian
 merchants to carry on their trade in the Israelite capital. This
 would imply the existence of a considerable Syrian population. "It
 was the only great city of Palestine created by the sovereign. All
 the others had been already consecrated by patriarchal tradition or
 previous possession. But Samaria was the choice of Omri alone. He,
 indeed, gave to the city which he had built the name of its former
 owner, but its especial connection with himself as its founder is
 proved by the designation which it seems Samaria bears in Assyrian
 inscriptions, Beth-khumri ('the house or palace of Omri').", Stanley.
 Samaria was frequently besieged. In the days of Ahab, Benhadad II.
 came up against it with thirty-two vassal kings, but was defeated
 with a great slaughter 1Ki 20:1-21 A second time, next year, he
 assailed it; but was again utterly routed, and was compelled to
 surrender to Ahab 1Ki 20:28-34 whose army, as compared with that of
 Benhadad, was no more than "two little flocks of kids." In the days
 of Jehoram this Benhadad again laid siege to Samaria, during which
 the city was reduced to the direst extremities. But just when success
 seemed to be within their reach, they suddenly broke up the seige,
 alarmed by a mysterious noise of chariots and horses and a great
 army, and fled, leaving their camp with all its contents behind them.
 The famishing inhabitants of the city were soon relieved with the
 abundance of the spoil of the Syrian camp; and it came to pass,
 according to the word of Elisha, that "a measure of fine flour was
 sold for a shekel, and two measures of barely for a shekel, in the
 gates of Samaria" 2Ki 7:1-20 Shalmaneser invaded Israel in the days
 of Hoshea, and reduced it to vassalage. He laid siege to Samaria
 (B.C. 723) which held out for three years, and was at length
 captured by Sargon, who completed the conquest Shalmaneser had begun
 2Ki 18:9-12 17:3 and removed vast numbers of the tribes into
 captivity.
   See SARGON 26227 
 This city, after passing through various vicissitudes, was given by
 the emperor Augustus to Herod the Great, who rebuilt it, and called it
 Sebaste (Gr. form of Augustus) in honour of the emperor. In the New
 Testament the only mention of it is in Ac 8:5-14 where it is
 recorded that Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached
 there. It is now represented by the hamlet of Sebustieh, containing
 about three hundred inhabitants. The ruins of the ancient town are all
 scattered over the hill, down the sides of which they have rolled. The
 shafts of about one hundred of what must have been grand Corinthian
 columns are still standing, and attract much attention, although
 nothing definite is known regarding them.  (Comp.) Mic 1:6 In the
 time of Christ, Western Palestine was divided into three provinces,
 Judea, Samaria, and Galilee. Samaria occupied the centre of Palestine
 Joh 4:4 It is called in the Talmud the "land of the Cuthim," and
 is not regarded as a part of the Holy Land at all. It may be noticed
 that the distance between Samaria and Jerusalem, the respective
 capitals of the two kingdoms, is only 35 miles in a direct line.