The “Golden Age” was established through the development and existence of the Temple under David and Solomon. During this era, the Northern tribes were not fond of David and Solomon and were always a bit different than the tribes of the South. After Solomon’s death, his son Rehoboam took over and was an even harsher ruler than his father. This led the Northern tribes to succeed, dividing the Kingdom into the North, “Israel” and the South, “Judah.” The North ended up establishing new places of worship which included Bethel and Tel Dan, while the South had Beer-Sheva and Tel Arad temple as well as Jerusalem included in its area. Then in 925 BCE, Pharaoh Shoshenq of Egypt invaded Jerusalem and according to 1 Kings 14: 25-26 he carried off all the treasures of Solomon’s Temple. Archaeological evidence for this occurrence can be found in an inscription in the Temple of Karnak in Egypt.
Fighting broke out between Israel and Judah. Judah teamed up with Syria while Israel joins forces with Assyria. Asa, King of Judah, and Ben-Hadad of Syria withstand assault from the north and pay for the help with gold from the Temple. Jehu, the King of Israel, becomes the vassal of Assyria and sends tribute from the Temple to Shalmaneser III in 841 BCE. This was don’t on the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III. In 754 BCE the rise of the Assyrian empire begins. Their takeover constituted of mass deportations, the expansion of Jerusalem to the Western Hill and urbanization, and the establishment of Aramaic in order to develop a global economy. This was until the Assyrians fell to the Babylonians in 609 BCE. After this, archaeological evidence proves that Hezekiah was preparing for a rebellion against Assyria. Such evidence comes from Hezekiah’s fortifying of Jerusalem, the building of Hezekiah’s tunnel for water supply, his administration and the LMLK seal impressions that taxed individuals in order to save food for preparation, and a fully walled city that must be put under siege.
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