Samaria, also called Sebaste, modern Sabasṭiyah, ancient town in central Palestine. It is located on a hill northwest of Nāblus in the West Bank territory under Israeli administration since 1967. Excavations (1908–10; 1931–33; 1935) revealed that the site had been occupied occasionally during the late 4th millennium BC. The city was not founded until about 880/879 BC, when Omri made it the new capital of the northern Hebrew kingdom of Israel and named it Samaria. It remained the capital until its destruction by the Assyrians in 722.

Questions:

• Capital of ancient Samaria? Shechem
• Capital of ancient Judea? Jerusalem
• Capital of ancient Galilee? Sepphoris