King Hoshea of Israel

King Hoshea of Israel: Assassinated King Pekah and usurped his throne. Reigned from 574-566 BCE, as a vassal of King Shalmaneser of Assyria to whom he paid a yearly tribute. In the eighth year of his reign, Hoshea aligned himself with King So of Egypt and refused to pay the yearly tribute to Assyria. The Assyrians imprisoned Hoshea and conquered all of Israel, exiling its inhabitants. The whereabouts of these exiles – known as the “Lost Ten Tribes” – remains unknown.