assyrians
A:Assyria destroyed Israel in 722 BCE.
Assyria destroyed the northern kingdom, Israel. The final destruction occurred in 722 BCE, after which it became the Assyrian province of Samaria.
There are two different empires at play here. The empire that destroyed the Northern Kingdom of Israel was Assyria in 722 BCE. The empire that took the Jews into captivity (and destroyed the Southern Kingdom of Judah) was Babylonia in 586 BCE.
The northern kingdom was destroyed by the assyrian empire raised up by God.
A:Ancient historical records show that the Assyrians destroyed Israel in 722 BCE.
722 BC
The Northern Kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Assyrian Empire in 722 B.C.E. effectively ending its independence.
721 BC was the final exile.
It was called Israel
The Kingdom of Israel was finally destroyed by the Assyrians in 722 BCE and many of the people who did not flee to Judah or Egypt deported, never to return. So, in the time of Jesus, there was no Kingdom of Israel and there had not been for over seven centuries. The land of the Israelites had become Samaria, the land of the Samarians, or Samaritans. Judea and Samaria were under Roman rule.
Simple answer because the Southern Kingdom had a handful of "good" kings, those who sought to turn the hearts of the people back to God, while the Northern kingdom had none! The times of the good kings simply prolonged the inevitable destruction which ultimately came.
There was no Israel in 587 BCE. Israel was destroyed by the Assyrians in 722 BCE.If perhaps the question was referring to the Kingdom of Judah which would be destroyed one year later by the Babylonians, the King of Judah at that time was King Zedekiah son of Josiah.