Kurkh Monolith

The Kurkh Monolith of Assyrian King Shalmaneser III records the Battle of Qarqar in −853, when a coalition of Levantine kingdoms resisted Assyrian expansion.

The inscription names "Ahab the Israelite," referring to King Ahab of the northern Kingdom of Israel, and credits him with contributing 2,000 chariots and 10,000 soldiers, although these figures may be exaggerated. It provides one of the earliest independent references to an Israelite king outside the Bible, demonstrating that the Kingdom of Israel was an established regional military power during the 9th century before the common count.