The Battle of Mount Zemaraim was a battle in the Bible reported to have been fought in Mount Zemaraim, when the army of the Kingdom of Israel led by the king Jeroboam I encountered the army of the Kingdom of Judah led by the king Abijah I.

[1] About 500,000 Israelites were said to have lain dead after this single engagement, though most modern commentators consider the numbers to be either wildly exaggerated or symbolic, and some have even questioned its fundamental historicity.

[2] According to the scripture, the friction all began when the late king Rehoboam increased the royal taxes throughout the Kingdom of Israel after Solomon died in about 931 BCE.

Abijah succeeded to the throne after the death of his father Rehoboam, and attempted to reunite all of Israel, including Judah, under his rule.

8 “So now you intend to resist the kingdom of the LORD through the sons of David, being a great multitude and having with you the golden calves which Jeroboam made for gods for you.

Most modern historians consider the numbers to be either wildly exaggerated or symbolic, and some have even questioned the battle's fundamental historicity.

[citation needed] Yohanan Aharoni, in his book The Carta Bible Atlas, claims that the battle of Mount Zemariam was actually part of the fratricidal war that lasted throughout the reigns of Rehoboam, Abijah, and Asa.

The Rabbinical text interpreted "a great blow" (2 Chronicles 13:17) to mean that Abijah was not satisfied with killing the Israelite warriors, but also ensured that the bodies could not be identified.