After the death of King Solomon, two kingdoms emerged in the territory of the formerly united Israel: Judah (the tribes of Judah and Benjamin) and the Northern Kingdom of Israel (the remaining ten tribes of Israel) – Aseret Hashavatim.
These ten tribes of Israel were exiled from their land by the Assyrian conquerors in 555 BCE, long before the destruction of the First Temple (422 BCE).
Faithful to the "Migration of Nations" policy, tens of thousands of Jews were taken into exile, and Assyria sent other settlers in their place. These were primarily Cutheans, who were resettled in Shomron and who were later called Shomronim (Samaritans). The people of the former Kingdom of Israel (Aseret Hashavatim), mostly resettled in the lands of the Assyrian Empire, seemed to have completely disappeared and left no real trace of their fate.
There is a tradition that when the Almighty gathers the Jews of the Diaspora from all corners of the world, the lost tribes of Israel will also return to their homeland under the leadership of the Messiah, a descendant of the House of David. Israel will then be a united people once again, one nation in its homeland, with a common faith in the One God.