In the Hebrew Bible the name Samaria refers to the capital city of Israel, the northern kingdom. Omri (ruled c. 876-869 B.C.E.) purchased a hill from a man named Shemer. After fortifying the hill, Omri constructed the city of Samaria, naming it after Shemer (1 Kings 16:24). Omri's actions in securing a city on his own and constructing a capital were much like those of David when he captured and added to Jerusalem. David made Jerusalem his religious as well as political capital which Omri did not do.
After the city was destroyed by the Assyrians in 722/721 B.C.E., the name referred to the land around the city. The Assyrian destruction of Samaria, the city, was not total. The city was rebuilt and during the Babylonian and Persian periods seems to have been an administrative center having responsibility for and control over Judea. The city was rebuilt again by the Greeks but was destroyed by the Maccabean ruler John Hyrcanus in 108/107 B.C.E. Herod the Great rebuilt the city ca. 30 B.C.E. naming it Sebaste in honor of Caesar Augustus (the Greek word Sebastos was equivalent to the Latin Augustus).
Photograph from the Bible Picture Library of Photo Art (c) Christian Computer Art, 1994-97