Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, caused the split of the tribes of Israel by refusing to lighten the heavy taxation and labor demands imposed by his father. When the northern tribes approached him seeking relief, he listened to the advice of his young peers rather than the wise counsel of his older advisors. His harsh response led to the rejection of his rule by ten of the twelve tribes, ultimately resulting in the division of the kingdom into Israel in the north and Judah in the south.
The people complained to the next king (Rehoboam) about the rate of taxation, and he ignored them, so some of the tribes seceded into a separate kingdom.
Why did the Israelite tribes rebel against Rehoboam ? Because the people wanted to avoid higher taxes and harsh treatment.
The king was king Solomons son Rehoboam.
Rehoboam
Rehoboam was a son of King Solomon. He inherited the throne when Solomon died in 997 B.C.E. He was also the last king over all the twelve tribes of Israel. During his reign, the kingdom broke into two separate ones, with ten tribes defecting from his kingdom. Unlike his father, Rehoboam was arrogant and oppressed his people. When they split, they became known as the Kingdom of Judah and the Kingdom of Israel. See the attached link for more information.
After King Solomon died his son Rehoboam became king. The ten tribe leaders came to Rehoboam and said (I Kings 12:1-17), "Your father made our yoke heavy; now therefore lighten the burdensome service of your father, and his heavy yoke, which he put on us and we will serve you." To make a long story short Rehoboam refused and so the ten tribes broke away from the full kingdom of Israel and made a new kingdom of the northern ten tribes.
Rehaboam split the kingdom. He wanted to raise taxes and Solomon's advisers advised against it. He did not listen to them instead listening to young advisers. Jeroboam came to him and asked him to lower the taxes or he would split the kingdom. Rehoboam did not listen and the kingdom was split.
Rehoboam lost the northern ten tribes almost immediately (within the first two years of his reign). He remained the King of Judah for an additional fifteen years.
Solomon's death resulted in the "divided kingdom". The Israelites weren't entirely happy with Solomon's extravagances, and upon his death they petitioned his son Rehoboam to institute reforms. When Rehoboam refused, the ten northern tribes (that is, all except the tribes of Judah and Benjamin) revolted and chose Jeroboam as their new king.
Rehoboam (Rechav'am).Rehoboam's father, King Solomon, had levied relatively heavy taxes, which had been used for such large-scale endeavors as building the First Temple. After Solomon's death, the people approached his son Rehav'am (Rehoboam) and asked that he lower the taxes. He ignored the counsel of his elder advisers and refused the people's request. This led the Ten Tribes to turn away from him (1 Kings ch.12).The background reason was because King Solomon had been less than perfectly righteous. This led God to punish him by diminishing his dynasty in the lifetime of his son (Rehoboam). 1 Kings ch.11.A deeper reason is that God wanted the more righteous people of Judah to be influenced by the Ten Tribes as little as possible.See also:Solomon's errorsJewish history timeline
Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, ruled over the Kingdom of Judah, which was one of the two kingdoms that emerged after the united monarchy of Israel split. The northern kingdom, known as Israel, was ruled by Jeroboam. Therefore, Rehoboam had control over one kingdom, Judah, while the northern kingdom was separate and independent.
No, they split into the Northern Kingdom of Israel (ten tribes) under Jeroboam, and the Southern Kingdom of Judah. After Solomon's death, the people approached his son Rehav'am (Rehoboam) and asked that he now lower the tax. He ignored the counsel of his elder advisers and refused the people's request. This led the Ten Tribes to turn away from him (1 Kings ch.12).