Hazael

Related Category: Ancient History, Middle East: Biographies

(hăz´āĕl, həzā´əl), fl. 840 B.C., king of Damascus; successor and murderer of Benhadad. In the Bible he appears as the ally of the party of Elisha in Israel and later as the conqueror, taking all the Hebrew possessions E of the Jordan, ravaging Judah, and rendering Israel impotent. From inscriptions of Shalmaneser III of Assyria it appears that Hazael withstood an attack by the Assyrian army and kept Damascus, Syria, and Palestine independent. He was succeeded by his son Benhadad (fl. 800 B.C.).