Battle of Qarqar

In 853 BCE, Assyrian king Shalmaneser III marched westward and clashed with a coalition of twelve kings at Qarqar in modern Syria. His own records mention 'Ahab the Israelite' contributing 2,000 chariots and 10,000 soldiers — the largest chariot force in the coalition. This is one of the earliest Assyrian references to an Israelite king and shows Israel was a significant military power at the time.