The year 732 BC saw the first Assyrian invasion of Israel. This event is well documented in the Bible, albeit not from the viewpoint of Israel but of its southern neighbour, the kingdom of Judah.

When did Assyria destroy Israel?

In 721 BCE, the Assyrian army captured the Israelite capital at Samaria and carried away the citizens of the northern Kingdom of Israel into captivity. The virtual destruction of Israel left the southern kingdom, Judah, to fend for itself among warring Near-Eastern kingdoms.

Did Assyria conquer Israel?

In 721 B.C. Assyria swept out of the north, captured the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and took the ten tribes into captivity. From there they became lost to history. Assyria, named for the god Ashur (highest in the pantheon of Assyrian gods), was located in the Mesopotamian plain.