HISTORY TIMELINE

Pre-Biblical and early Biblical times 

BC

7000: Jericho is a walled settlement

5000-4000: Land of Canaan is occupied by Canaanites, then Amorites and Jebusites.

2000: Founding patriarch Abraham and his tribe settle in what becomes Judea.

1500: Abraham’s descendants, led by Joseph, settle in Egypt.

1260: Moses leads Israelites in Exodus from Egypt.

1200: Israelites under Joshua enter Promised Land.

1000: David captures Jebusite city of Jerusalem and makes it his capital.

970: Solomon builds First Temple.

Two kingdoms

930: Israel splits into northern kingdom of Israel and southern kingdom of Judah (including Jerusalem).

720: Northern kingdom conquered by Assyria and its 10 tribes sent into exile.

700: Southern kingdom’s King Hezekiah cuts tunnel from Gihon Spring to Pool of Siloam.

701: Assyrians conquer much of southern kingdom; Jerusalem is besieged but survives.

597: Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon captures southern kingdom and Jerusalem.

587: Following rebellion, Nebuchadnezzar destroys Jerusalem and First Temple, deporting most of population to Babylon (in present-day Iraq).

Persian rule

539: Cyrus the Great of Persia conquers Babylon and allows Jews to return from captivity.

515: Second Temple is completed.

444: Nehemiah rebuilds city walls of Jerusalem.

Hellenistic rule

332: Alexander the Great conquers Persian Empire, including all of Palestine.

167: Judas Maccabeus leads successful revolt against Seleucid (Greek)  Empire, rededicates Temple and restores religious freedom.

Hasmonean rule

140: Simon Maccabeus, a brother of Judas, establishes Hasmonean Dynasty, which rules an independent Jewish kingdom for 103 years.

63: Rivalry between Simon Maccabeus’ great-grandsons, Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II, brings civil war that ends with Roman general Pompey controlling the kingdom.

37: Rome proclaims Herod as King of Israel, now a Roman client state, ending the Hasmonean Dynasty.

Roman rule

20: Herod expands Temple Mount and rebuilds Temple.

6: Jesus Christ is born in Bethlehem.

4: Herod dies and his kingdom is divided among his sons, Philip, Antipas and Archelaus.

AD

26: Pontius Pilate becomes procurator of Roman province of Judea.

27: Jesus is baptized by his cousin John the Baptist and begins his public ministry.

30: Jesus is condemned to death and crucified.

50: Council of Jerusalem, first recorded council of Christian leaders, is held.

45-120: Books of the New Testament are written.

70: Romans destroy Jerusalem and Second Temple.

73: Masada falls to Romans.

313: Emperor Constantine I legalises Christianity.

326-7: Constantine’s mother, Helena, visits Holy Land, finds True Cross and orders churches built on sacred sites; large-scale pilgrimages begin.

Byzantine rule

330: Constantine moves his capital from Nicomedia to Byzantium (renamed Constantinople, now Istanbul).

335: Church of the Holy Sepulchre is consecrated.

86-420: Jerome produces Vulgate translation of Bible in his Bethlehem cave.

395: Roman Empire splits into East and West.

570: Birth of Muhammad.

614: Persians capture Jerusalem, destroying many churches and burning Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Islamic rule

638: Islamic forces conquer Jerusalem, beginning rule by succession of Arab dynasties.

692: Dome of the Rock completed on Temple Mount.

1071: Seljuk Turks capture Jerusalem, persecuting Christians, desecrating churches and barring pilgrims.

Crusader rule

1099: First Crusade captures Jerusalem and establishes Latin kingdom; Dome of the Rock becomes church called Templum Domini

1149: New Church of the Holy Sepulchre completed.

1187: Sultan Saladin defeats Crusaders at Horns of Hattin above Sea of Galilee, then takes Jerusalem.

Islamic rule again

1229: During Sixth Crusade, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II negotiates return of Jerusalem and other Christian sites to Crusader kingdom.

1244: Jerusalem is sacked by Khwarezmian Tartars; control quickly passes to Egyptian Ayyubids and then Mamluks, who rule until 1517.

Ottoman rule

1517: Ottoman Turks take control of Palestine from Mamluks.

1517: Martin Luther begins Protestant Reformation in Europe.

1538: Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent builds present walls of Old City of Jerusalem.

1839: British Jew Sir Moses Montefiore proposes idea of a modern Jewish state.

1860: First Jewish immigrant neighborhood outside Old City of Jerusalem is established, funded by Sir Moses Montefiore.

1878: “Status Quo” defining possession of holy places is incorporated into international law by Treaty of Berlin.

1917: British government’s Balfour Declaration backs establishing Jewish homeland in Palestine, without prejudice to “civil and religious rights” of non-Jewish population.

British mandate

1917: British forces under General E. H. Allenby capture Palestine from Ottoman Turks.

1922: League of Nations approves British mandate of Palestine.

1946: Jordan gains independence from Britain.

1947: United Nations Partition Plan calls for a Jewish state and an Arab state in Palestine, with Greater Jerusalem (including Bethlehem) under international control; most Jewish groups accept plan but Arabs reject it.

1947: Dead Sea Scrolls are discovered at Qumran.

1948: Amid civil unrest and violence, Britain withdraws from mandate.

Israel and Palestinian Territories

1948: After Jewish provisional government declares Israel an independent state, Arab forces invade.

1949: Israel prevails in Arab-Israeli War, though Egypt holds Gaza, and Jordan the West Bank and East Jerusalem; more than 700,000 Palestinians become refugees.

1967: In Six-Day War against Egypt, Jordan and Syria, Israel occupies Sinai, Gaza, Golan Heights, West Bank and East Jerusalem.

1973: In Yom Kippur War against Egypt and Syria, Israel makes further territorial gains.

1987-93: Palestinians carry out First Intifada (uprising) against Israeli occupation.

1993: Israel gives Palestinian National Authority limited autonomy in West Bank and Gaza.

2000-05: Second Intifada follows controversial visit by Israeli politician Ariel Sharon to Temple Mount.

2002: Israel begins building 700-km West Bank separation wall.

2005: Israel withdraws settlers and military from Gaza.

2008: Responding to rocket attacks, Israel launches 22-day war against Gaza.