Shalmaneser V (Assyria)

Shalmaneser V was king of Assyria before Sargon II. According to the Bible, he attacked Hoshea, the last king of the northern Kingdom of Israel, after Hoshea stopped paying tribute and tried to seek help from Egypt. Shalmaneser besieged Samaria, Israel’s capital, for about three years. This siege led directly to the fall of the northern Kingdom of Israel and the Assyrian deportations associated with the “Lost Tribes of Israel.”

There is a historical debate over whether Shalmaneser V or Sargon II should be credited with the final capture of Samaria. The Bible and the Babylonian Chronicle point to Shalmaneser, while Sargon II’s own inscriptions claim that he captured Samaria and deported 27,290 people. So the cleanest timeline wording is: Shalmaneser began/besieged Samaria; Sargon II completed or claimed the conquest.