5. =The Fall of Judah=, B.C. 721-587. The kingdom of Judah lasted more than a hundred years after that of Israel, though most of the time as a subject-nation to the "great king" of Assyria, to whom Ahaz and most of the kings of Judah after him paid tribute. The most important events of this period were: (1.) The reforms of King Hezekiah, and the deliverance of Jerusalem from the Assyrians under Sennacherib. (2 Chron. 30-32.) (2.) The captivity of King Manasseh among the Assyrians, and his return. (2 Chron. 33.) (3.) The attempt at reformation by King Josiah, and his death at the battle of Megiddo. (2 Chron. 34, 35.) (4.) The rise of the power of Babylon, and Nebuchadnezzar's first invasion of Judah, in the reign of Jehoiakim, B.C. 606. From this date Judah was subject to Babylon, and the "seventy years' captivity" began. (5.) The rebellion of Zedekiah, the last king, against Nebuchadnezzar, the siege of Jerusalem, the destruction of the kingdom, and the final carrying of Judah into captivity to Babylon, B.C. 587. [Illustration: THE RESTORATION OF ISRAEL, B.C. 800.] We notice the most important wars, sieges and battles of this period, indicated upon the map of the Division of Solomon's Empire, by flags. 1. The battle of =Zemaraim=, near Bethel, fought between Jeroboam and Abijah, the second king of Judah, B.C. 917, and resulting in the defeat of Israel, and the ruin of Jeroboam's plans of ambition. (2 Chron. 13.) 2. The battle of =Mareshah=, in Judah, on the border of the mountain region, in which King Asa defeated Zerah, the Ethiopian king of Egypt, and an immense host, B.C. 900. (2 Chron. 14.) 3. The siege of =Samaria=, by Ben-hadad, king of Syria, in the reign of Ahab, who was able to repel the invaders. (1 Kings 20.) We notice, that from this time, for a century, the principal wars of Israel are with Syria. 4. The victory at =Aphek=, won by Ahab over Ben-hadad and the Syrians. Ahab, however, allowed the fruits of the victory to be lost, when he might have made it decisive in its results. (1 Kings 20:26-43.) 5. The battle of =Ramoth-gilead=, in which the Syrians, under Ben-hadad, were victorious over allied Israel and Judah, and Ahab was slain. (1 Kings 22.) 6. The slaughter of the allied Moabites, Ammonites and Edomites, at =Berachah=, "the valley of blessing," in the reign of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. (2 Chron. 20.) 7. The war of Israel, Judah and Edom, against the Moabites, in which a great battle took place at =Kir-haraseth=, in the land of Moab, when the king of Moab offered his own son as a sacrifice in presence of the contending armies. (2 Kings 3.) This was during the reign of Jehoshaphat in Judah, and of Jehoram in Israel. 8. A second siege of =Samaria=, by the Syrians, under Ben-hadad, in the reign of Jehoram; and a miraculous deliverance. (2 Kings 6, 7.)