Beginning in the ninth century B.C.E., Assyrian armies relentlessly waged campaigns against the ancient kingdoms of Israel, Judea, Syria, and Phoenicia. At its height, the Assyrian empire encompassed the areas of present-day Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq.
Assyrian aggression could be appeased through payments of tribute, but many vassal kingdoms attempted to assert their independence by refusing to pay tribute. However, the Assyrian army defeated those who failed to meet their increasing demands and crushed all forms of resistance.
The Kurkh Monument of Shalmaneser III records a rebellion of kings, including Ahab, the king of Israel, against the Assyrian king, Shalmaneser III (who reigned from 858-824 B.C.E.). This monument from 853 B.C.E. depicts Ahab at the head of 2,000 chariots and 10,000 foot soldiers.
The Moabite Stone from 840 B.C.E. records the rebellion of Mesha, the king of Moab (located in present day Jordan), against Israelite domination. The stone mentions the tribe of Gad, King Omri, his son Ahab, and cousin Jehoram, and, perhaps most significantly, the name of the God of Israel. The Bible recounts the tributary relationship between Mesha and Ahab and describes how Mesha rebelled after Ahab's death (2 Kings 3:4).
According to the Bible, King Jehoram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judea were assassinated by Jehu, a Jewish army general. The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser II, king of Assyria, from 841 B.C.E., records the existence of Jehu as king of Israel and shows the tribute given to the Assyrian king by Jehu. On one part of the obelisk, Jehu, now king of Israel, is represented in a subservient posture before King Shalamaneser II.
On the other hand, however, a victory stela from the Israelite city of Dan in the Golan credits these deaths to an unidentified king and not Jehu. Whether it is true or not, the relevance of the Tel Dan Stela of 840 B.C.E., however, is in the Aramaic inscription of "Bayt Dawid," which is the earliest inscription outside of the Bible known to refer to King David 127 years after David's death.
 
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