Assyria was a powerful nation during the time the Israelites were living in the land of Canaan. The Assyrian Empire was a group of nations ruled by an Assyrian king.
* The nation of Assyria was located in a region that is now the northern part of Iraq.
* The Assyrians fought against Israel at different times in their history.
* In the year 722 BC, the Assyrians completely conquered the kingdom of Israel and forced many of the Israelites to move to Assyria.
* The remaining Israelites intermarried with foreigners that the Assyrians had brought into Israel from Samaria. The descendants of those people who intermarried were later called the Samaritans.
__*[20:02](en/tn/obs/help/20/02)__ So God punished both kingdoms by allowing their enemies to destroy them. The kingdom of Israel was destroyed by the __Assyrian Empire__, a powerful, cruel nation. The __Assyrians__ killed many people in the kingdom of Israel, took away everything of value, and burned much of the country.
__*[20:03](en/tn/obs/help/20/03)__ The __Assyrians__ gathered all the leaders, the rich people, and the people with skills and took them to __Assyria__.
__*[20:04](en/tn/obs/help/20/04)__ Then the __Assyrians__ brought foreigners to live in the land where the kingdom of Israel had been.
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