AHAB (ā'hăb, Heb. ’ah’āv, father’s brother). 1. Son of Omri and seventh king of the northern kingdom of Israel. He reigned twenty-two years, 873-851 b.c. Politically, Ahab was one of the strongest kings of Israel. In his days Israel was at peace with Judah and maintained her dominion over Moab, which paid a considerable tribute (2Kgs.3.4). He went into battle on three different occasions in later years against Ben-Hadad, king of Syria. While he had great success in the first two campaigns, he was defeated and mortally wounded in the third. Not mentioned in the Bible is Ahab’s participation in the Battle of Karkar in 854. The “Monolith Inscription” of the Assyrian king Shalmanezer III contains a description of this battle that the Assyrians fought against a Syrian coalition of twelve kings. Of these, “Hadad-ezer,” king of Damascus, is named first. Irhuleni of Hamath follows and in third place is “Ahab, the Israelite.” The inscription states that Ahab commanded two thousand chariots and