ShechemShechem (ˈʃɛkəm ), also spelled Sichem (ˈsɪkəm ; Šəḵem; Sykhém; Samaritan Hebrew: ࠔࠬࠥࠊࠝࠌ, ), was a Canaanite and Israelite city mentioned in the Amarna Letters, later appearing in the Hebrew Bible as the first capital of the Kingdom of Israel following the split of the United Monarchy. According to , it was located in the tribal territorial allotment of the tribe of Ephraim. Shechem declined after the fall of the northern Kingdom of Israel. The city later regained its importance as a prominent Samaritan center during the Hellenistic period.
SamariaSamaria (səˈmæriə,_-ˈmɛəriə; שֹׁמְרוֹן, السامرة, or جبل نابلس: romanized: Jabal Nablus, lit. "Mount Nablus") is a historic and biblical name used for the central region of Palestine, bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The first-century historian Josephus set the Mediterranean Sea as its limit to the west, and the Jordan River as its limit to the east. Its territory largely corresponds to the biblical allotments of the tribe of Ephraim and the western half of Manasseh.
NablusNablus (ˈnæbləs,_ˈnɑːbləs ; Nābulus ˈnæːblʊs, -lɪs; Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: Škem; Samaritan Hebrew: ࠔࠬࠥࠊࠝࠌ, romanized: Šăkēm; Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a commercial and cultural centre of the State of Palestine, home to An-Najah National University, one of the largest Palestinian institutions of higher learning, and the Palestine Stock Exchange.
SamaritansSamaritans (səˈmærɪtənz; ; שומרונים; السامريون) are an ethnoreligious group who originate from the ancient Israelites. They are native to the Levant and adhere to Samaritanism, an Abrahamic and ethnic religion similar to Judaism, but differing in several important aspects. Samaritan tradition claims the group descends from the northern Israelite tribes who were not deported by the Neo-Assyrian Empire after the destruction of the Kingdom of Israel.
