Thutmose’s successful campaign in Syria-Palestine establishes an Egyptian empire in southwestern Asia, secures the fealty of all the rebellious princes except its Mitanni leader, and spurs Assyria, Babylonia and the Hittites to pay tribute to Egypt.

Shechem is rebuilt and reoccupied around 1450 as a significant strategic point in Egypt’s Asiatic empire.

Shachmu (i.e., Shechem) is the center of a kingdom carved out by Labaya (or Labayu), a Canaanite warlord who recruits mercenaries from among the Habiru.

Labaya is the author of three Amarna letters from about 1350 BCE, and his name appears in eleven of the other three hundred and eighty-two letters, referred to twenty-eight times, with the basic topic of the letter, being Labaya himself, and his relationship with the rebelling, country-dwelling Habiru.

Labaya and his sons exert influence over a wide region in Samaria, and threaten many powerful Canaanite towns, including Jerusalem, Gezer, (called 'Gazru'), and Megiddo.

The Amarna letters give an incomplete look at Labaya's career.

In the first of Labaya's letters thus far discovered (EA 252), he defends himself to the Pharaoh against complaints of other city rulers about him (for example, the complaint that he has hired mercenaries from among the Habiru).

Labaya further admits to having invaded Gezer and insulting its king Milkilu.

He denies any knowledge of his son's alleged collaboration with the Habiru.

The Canaanites continue to prosper in their cities great and small but this is a time of much political unrest.

The Hittites are invading Syria; nomads from the desert support the invasion, and many of the local chiefs are ready to seize the opportunity to throw off the Egyptian yoke.

Shechem, a prosperous capital of the fertile and populous northern highlands In the hill country of central Palestine, becomes the site of the cult of the Canaanite god Ba'al-Berit, Lord of the Covenant.

The city of Shechem, including its Bronze Age temple, falls to the Hebrews and is again destroyed around 1100, according to archaeological excavations.

According to the Bible, after Gideon's death, Abimelech, his son by a Sichemite concubine, was made king (Judges 9:1-6).

Yotam, the youngest son of Gideon, made a famous speech on Mount Gerizim known as Yotam's allegory where he warned the people of Shechem about Abimelech's future tyranny (Judges 9:7-20).

Three years later, when the city had risen in rebellion, Abimelech took it, utterly destroyed it, and burnt the temple of Baal-berith where the people had fled for safety.

…Shechem, and on …

Jeroboam, according to 1 Kings 11:26-39, was born the son of Nebat an Ephrathite of Zereda whose mother's name was Zeruah (who later became a widow, and could have been leprous as her name translates).

While still young, he had been promoted by Solomon to be chief superintendent of the "burnden", i.e., the bands of forced laborers.

Influenced by the words of the prophet Ahijah, he began to form conspiracies with the view of becoming king of the ten tribes; but these having been discovered, he fled to Egypt (1 Kings 11:29-40), where he remained for a length of time under the protection of Shoshenq.

On the death of Solomon, the ten tribes, having revolted, send to invite him to become their king and he is accordingly proclaimed "king of Israel" (1 Kings 12:1-20).

He rebuilds and fortifies Shechem as the capital of his kingdom.

He at once adopts means to perpetuate the division thus made between the two parts of the kingdom, and ...

Shechem is probably the capital of Ephraim (1 Kings 4).

Rebuilt in the tenth century BCE, Shechem was the place appointed, after Solomon's death, for the meeting of the people of Israel and the investiture of Rehoboam; the meeting ended in the secession of the ten northern tribes, and Shechem, fortified by Jeroboam, became for a while the capital of the new kingdom (1 Kings 12:1; 14:17; 2 Chronicles 10:1).

Jeroboam, of the tribe of Ephraim, was the first king of the breakaway ten tribes or Northern Kingdom of Israel, over whom he has reigned twenty-two years; this is according to 1 Kings 11:26-39.

William F. Albright has dated Jeroboam’s reign to 922 BCE-901 BCE, while Edwin R. Thiele offers the dates 931 BCE-910 BCE.

He was the son of a widow of Zereda, and while still young was promoted by Solomon to be chief superintendent of the "burnden", i.e., the bands of forced laborers.

The Bible states that Jeroboam rebuilt and fortified Shechem as the capital of his kingdom, from which he waged continual war on Judah, and attempted to bring about religious and political reforms.

Perpetuating the division between the two parts of the formerly unified kingdom of Solomon, he had erected at Dan and Bethel, the two extremities of his kingdom, "golden calves," which he has set up as symbols of God, enjoining the people not any more to go up to worship at Jerusalem, but to bring their offerings to Israel’s shrines.

Israel has prospered under Jeroboam, who is succeeded by his son Nadab, who reigns for two years until, while engaged with his army in besieging Gibbethon, a town of southern Dan (Joshua 19:44), a conspiracy breaks out in his army.

Baasha overthrows Nadab and decimates the house of Jeroboam.

Baasha (who like all of the northern kings, “did what was evil in the sight of the Lord,” according to the interpretation of the Deuteronomists) reigns for twenty-three years.

Over the course of his long reign, Baasha has been at war with Asa of Judah.

Baasha had remained in power for life, but he was not without his opponents.

The prophet Jehu, the son of Hanani, had foretold the destruction of his dynasty, which comes to pass with the assassination of Baasha's son Elah, who rules only two years before he is assassinated while in a drunken state by Zimri, a chariot commander, who then exterminates all of the members of the house of Baasha.

Reigning for the brief period of seven days, Zimri is besieged in the citadel at Tirzah by Omri, commander of the army.

Finding his position untenable, Zimri sets fire to the palace and perishes.

Omri becomes king only after four years of war with Tibni, another claimant to the throne of Israel.

The capital of the northern kingdom of Israel has moved several times until King Omri in about 875 BCE finally establishes it permanently at Samaria.