The Lost Tribes of Israel
Around 926 b.c., the kingdom of Israel split in two. Up to that
point, all twelve tribes of Israel (plus the priestly tribe of
Levi) had been united under the monarchies of Saul, David, and
Solomon. But when Solomons son Rehoboam ascended to the throne,
the ten Northern tribes rebelled and seceded from the union. This
left only two tribesJudah and Benjamin (plus much of Levi)under
the control of the king in Jerusalem. From that time on, the tribes
were divided into two nations, which came to be called the House of
Israel (the Northern ten tribes) and the House of Judah (the
Southern two tribes).
This situation continued until around 723 B.C., when the Assyrians
conquered the Northern kingdom. To keep conquered nations in
subjection, it was Assyrian policy to break them up by deporting
their native populations to other areas and resettling the land
with newcomers. When the House of Israel was conquered, most people
belonging to the ten Northern tribes were deported and settled
elsewhere in the Assyrian kingdom, including places near Nineveh,
Haran, and on what is now the Iran-Iraq border. They were replaced
by settlers from locations in or near Babylon and Syria.
These settlers intermarried, together with the remaining
Israelites, and became the Samaritans mentioned in the New
Testament (a few hundred of whom still survive today). The
Israelites who had been deported also intermarried with the peoples
of the places where they had been resettled. They eventually lost
their distinct identity, disappeared, and their culture was lost to
history. Some refer to them as "the lost tribes of Israel."
http://www.catholic.com/library/Lost_Tribes_of_Israel.asp
