Ben Hadad I

Ben-Hadad I (Hebrew: בן הדד‎‎ bn hdd; Aramaic: בר הדד‎‎, br hdd) was the king of Aram Damascus between 885 BC and 865 BC. He was the son of Tabrimmon and grandson of Hezion and a contemporary of Kings Baasha and Ahab of the Kingdom of Israel (Samaria) and Asa of the Kingdom of Judah. Asa called on Ben-Hadad I to aid him in attacking northern Israel while Baasha was restricting access to Jerusalem through border fortifications. The plan worked for Asa as Ben-Hadad took the towns of "Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maachah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali" (1 Kings 15:20). This acquisition gave Aram Damascus control of the trade route to southern Phoenicia. By the reign of Ahab the area was back in Israelite hands. Ben-Hadad I is known only from the Old Testament.