Battle of Aphek

1050 BC Philistine border Status: ended Casualties: Thirty thousand footmen of Israel; the ark of God taken

Israel carried the ark out of Shiloh as a talisman; the Philistines, terrified, fought desperately and won. Hophni and Phinehas fell, the ark was captured, Shiloh was lost, and Eli, hearing the news, fell backward and broke his neck. 1 Samuel 4.

Open on the interactive globe → Wikipedia ↗

Belligerents

Israel under Eli's sons Hophni & Phinehas
Philistines

Casualties

Thirty thousand footmen of Israel; the ark of God taken

Key events

Israel pitches at Ebenezer, Philistines at Aphek
The ark fetched from Shiloh with a shout
Ark captured; Hophni and Phinehas slain
Eli falls backward at the news; Phinehas' wife names her son Ichabod ('the glory is departed')
Dagon falls before the ark; tumours come on the Philistines; ark returned on a new cart

Aftermath

Shiloh ceased to be the cultic centre. The ark moved town to town until David brought it up to Jerusalem with shouting and trumpets.

Weapons & matériel

Bronze swords & spears
The ark of the covenant carried as a talisman

Sources

1 Samuel 4–6
Psalm 78:60–64
Jeremiah 7:12

From World at War, an interactive atlas by Jairus Pereira. Figures are approximate, drawn from Wikipedia, UCDP, ACLED and academic sources — a design artefact, not an authoritative register. Contact.