Excerpts from Books and Wikipedia
"The rift between King Solomon's sons after his death caused the Jewish Kingdom to split into Israel and Judah. Israel was the larger and more powerful of the two, having access to the most important trading routes in the Middle East. . . . The Jewish Kingdom split into two c. 925 BCE. Israel and Judah co-existed for about 200 years until 722 BCE when the Israelite capital of Samaria fell to the Assyrians. Judah survived for another 135 years until Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians." [Historical Atlas of Judaism, p. 66-7] "Solomon was a southern king, from the large and powerful southern tribe of Judah; as far as the cluster of little northern tribes was concerned, he had overbuilt, overtaxed, and overworked his people, and then tried to fix his troubles by giving away twenty northern towns while refusing to touch his own native land. . . . Rehoboam made what may have been the most tactless political speech in history: “My father put a heavy yoke on you,” he told them, “but I will make it heavier.” The political results were immediate: the northern tribes, already unhappy, seceded and proclaimed their northern leader Jeroboam as king." [Bauer: Ancient World, p. 324-5]