MIDDLE BRONZE AGE_____________________________________2000-1500
B.C.E.
MB I (2000-1800 B.C.E.)
The time of Abraham
MB II (1800-1650 B.C.E.)
The time of Jacob and Joseph
MB III (1650-1550 B.C.E.)
LATE BRONZE AGE________________________________________1550-1200
B.C.E.
LB I (1550-1400 B.C.E.)
Egypt controls most towns and cities in Palestine during this
time
LB IIA (1400-1300 B.C.E.)
LB IIB (1300-1200 B.C.E.)
Rameses II rules Egypt. Many scholars believe the Exodus from
Egypt under Moses took place during this period. Joshua completes
his conquest of Canaan
IRON AGE__________________________________________________1200-539
B.C.E.
IRON I (1200-930 B.C.E.)
* The Philistines establish themselves on the coast of Palestine
(ca. 1180)
* The time of Samuel (ca. 1050)
* Saul rules Israel (ca. 1020)
* David conquers Jerusalem and makes it his capital (ca. 1000)
* Solomon rules Israel (ca. 965)
* Solomon dedicates his Temple in Jerusalem (ca. 954)
* The death of Solomon and the break-up of Israel into two kingdoms,
the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah
(ca. 930).
IRON IIA (930-721 B.C.E.)
* Pharoah Shishonk raids Judah and Israel, sacking Solomon's
Temple in Jerusalem (ca. 917)
* Jehoshaphat rules Judah, Ahab and Jezebel rule Israel, the time
of Elijah (ca. 870)
* The time of Elisha (ca. 849)
* The death of Elisha (ca. 790)
* Ahaz rules Judah, the time of Isaiah (ca. 734)
* Sargon II of Assyria conquers the northern kingdom of Israel,
the inhabitants are carried off to exile in Assyria (the ten lost
tribes) their land now occupied by Samaritans (ca. 722)
IRON IIB (721-605 B.C.E.)
* Hezekiah rules Judah (ca. 715)
* Sennacherib rules Assyria (ca. 705)
* Sennacherib lays siege to Jerusalem, but Jerusalem under Hezekiah,
does not fall (ca. 701)
* Assyria conquers Egypt, Judah remains unconquered (ca. 671)
* Assyria enters steep decline after the death of Ashurbanipal
(ca. 627)
* Nebuchadnezzar rules Babylon, the time of Jeremiah (ca. 605)
IRON IIC (605-539 B.C.E.)
* Nebuchadnezzar lays siege to Jerusalem after King Joachim
attempts an uprising, Jerusalem falls, Joachim is deported to
Babylon, and Zedekiah becomes king of Judah (597)
* Time of Ezekiel, beginnings of Judaism (ca. 590)
* Nebuchadnezzar lays siege to Jerusalem again, Jerusalem falls,
Solomon's Temple is destroyed (marking the end of the First Temple
Period), King Zedekiah and most of the population of the surrounding
area are carried off into captivity to Babylon. This is the beginning
of the Babylonian Exile and the end of Judah as an independent
kingdom (587)
* Cyrus King of Persia takes Babylon; end of Babylonian Empire;
Cyrus allows exiled Jews to return to Judea (539)
PERSIAN PERIOD____________________________________________539-332
B.C.E.
* The Second Temple (replaces First Temple - Solomon's) is dedicated
in Jerusalem (ca. 519)
* Nehemiah arrives in Jerusalem (440)
* The walls of Jerusalem are rebuilt (437)
* Alexander the Great rules Macedon (Greece)
* Alexander the Great takes Syria, Palestine, and Egypt from the
Persians (331). A period of Hellenization (adoption of Greek culture
and language) begins through out the lands he conquers
HELLENISTIC PERIOD________________________________________332-63
B.C.E.
EARLY HELLENISTIC (332-198 B.C.E.)
* After completing his conquest of the Persian Empire, Alexander
dies of fever in Babylon (323)
* Ptolemy I, one of Alexander's generals, captures Jerusalem and
Judea, and annexes them to his kingdom based in Egypt (312)
* In 198 at Paneion (today Banias) Ptolemy V is defeated by the
Greek forces of the Seleucids ruling in Syria under Antiochus
III (223-187). Palestine (Judea and Jerusalem) are incorporated
into the Seleucid empire
* Antiochus III grants the Jews the right to live under the "laws
of their fathers"
LATE HELLENISTIC (198-63 B.C.E.)
* Antiochus IV desecrates the Second Temple and orders an end
to Judaism, Mattathias and his sons begin revolt against Antiochus,
this marks the beginning of the Maccabean revolt (167)
* Judas Maccabeus takes command of Jewish forces (166), and after
a series of victories against the Seleucids under Antiochus IV,
he enters Jerusalem and purifies and rededicates the Second Temple
(165)
* The emergence of the Pharisees and Sadducees as religious entities
for the first time (ca. 135)
* Alexander Jannaeus rules Judea and the Maccabean kingdom is
at the peak of its power (103)
* The Roman general Pompey takes Jerusalem and ends Maccabean
kingdom (64)
THE ROMAN PERIOD_____________________________________63 B.C.E.-324
C.E.
EARLY ROMAN (63 B.C.E.-135 C.E.)
* Herod the Great rules Judea with Roman consent (37 B.C.E.)
* Herod rebuilds Second Temple, builds Caesarea Maritima and concludes
many other important building projects throughout Judea
* Death of Herod, the birth of Jesus (4 B.C.E.)
* Pontius Pilate rules as procurator of Judea (26-36 C.E.)
* Jesus is crucified (33 C.E.)
* Conversion of Saul on the road to Damascus (35 C.E.)
* Paul's first missionary journey to the Gentiles (ca. 49 C.E.)
* Paul imprisoned at Caesarea (58-60 C.E.)
* Paul's death in Rome (64 C.E.)
* The First Jewish Revolt breaks out in Judea against the Romans
(66 C.E.)
* The Roman general Vespasian marches on Judea (67 C.E.)
* Vespasian becomes Roman emperor, his son Titus takes Jerusalem
and destroys it along with the Second Temple, the high priesthood
abolished (70 C.E.)
* The last Jewish holdout at Masada is taken and the defenders
commit mass suicide (73 C.E.)
* The Jewish historian Josephus publishes his version of the Jewish
rebellion (77 C.E.)
* Josephus writes his history of the Jewish people the "Antiquities
of the Jews" (90 C.E.)
* The emperor Hadrian visits Judea and decides to build a pagan
city "Aelia Capitolina" on the ruins of Jerusalem (130
C.E.)
* The beginning of the Second (or Bar Kochba - their leader) Jewish
Revolt. The Jews capture Jerusalem (131 C.E.)
* The Romans retake Jerusalem (134 C.E.)
* The last Jewish rebels are crushed (135 C.E.)
LATE ROMAN (135-324 C.E.)
* During this period continued the development of the Christian
church, often severely persecuted by Rome. The New Testament canon
also began its formulation during this time
* The beginnings of monasticism (monks and monasteries)
* The last and most severe persecution of the Christian church
by the Roman state (303-311 C.E.)
* The Edict of Milan, the Roman emperor Constantine the Great
establishes the toleration of Christianity (313)
* The founding of Constantinople by the emperor Constantine on
the site of the Greek colony Byzantium. A resplendent Christian
city, Constantinople becomes the capital of the eastern Roman
Empire more commonly known as the Byzantine Empire (324)
THE BYZANTINE PERIOD ______________________________________325-640
C.E.
EARLY BYZANTINE (325-491 C.E.)
* The Council of Nicea, called together by Constantine to combat
Arianism, 318 bishops attend, much of present-day New Testament
doctrine adopted at that time (325)
* Constantine the Great dies and is baptized on his deathbed (337)
* Rome again splits into two empires with two of Constantine's
sons ruling each half; Constans in the West, Constantius II in
the East (340)
* Christianity declared the official state religion by Theodosius
emperor of Eastern empire (380)
* Roman legions begin to evacuate Britian (383)
* Jerome translates the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures into Latin.
Becomes known as the Vulgate Latin Text and becomes standard Western
Christian Bible (400)
* Alaric, king of Visigoths, sacks Rome (410)
* Visigoths take Spain from Rome (416)
* Franks take Gaul (France) from Rome (418)
* Vandals sack Rome (455)
* Romulus Augustulus last emperor of the western Roman empire,
the fall of the western Roman empire (476)
* Anastasius I becomes eastern (Byzantine) Roman emperor (491)
LATE BYZANTINE (491-640 C.E.)
* Justinian I becomes Byzantine emperor and tries to regain
some of the western Roman empire's old territory back (527-565)
* Procopius, famous Byzantine historian (490-562)
* Mohammed is born (570)
* The Persians briefly take Damascus and Jerusalem from the Byzantines,
and take as booty the Holy Cross (614 - won back by Byzantines
in 628)
* Upon the death of Mohammed, Abu Bakr consolidates Muslim power
in Arabia (632-633)
* Muslim forces begin a military sweep into Palestine (634)
* Jerusalem falls to Muslim forces in 638 and by 640 most of Palestineis
wrested from Byzantine Christian rule by Muslim forces, where
they will stay for many centuries
THE EARLY ISLAMIC PERIOD_________________________________640-1174
C.E.
* The Umayyad caliphate rules Palestine from Damascus (661-750)
* The golden Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem is built by Umayyad
caliph Abd el Malik (685-705)
* A disastrous earthquake devastates Palestine in 749. Tens of
thousands are reported killed. Tidal waves up and down the Mediterranean
coast severe damage at Beth Shean, Hisham's Palace near Jericho
destroyed, the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem severely damaged. The
residents of Jerusalem reportedly fled into the countryside and
remained there for 40 days.
* The Abbasid caliphate rules Palestine from Baghdad (750-935)
* The Ikhshidids rule Palestine (939-969)
* The Fatimids rule Palestine until the Crusader conquest in 1099,
they rule other parts of the region until 1174
* In response to an appeal from the Pope to liberate the Holy
Land from the infidel Muslims, the various contingents of the
European Crusader armies gather at Constantinople in preparation
for the assault on the Holy Land (1096-1097)
THE CRUSADER PERIOD____________________________________1099-1291
C.E.
* Sweeping into Palestine, the Crusaders take city after city
from the Muslims, Jerusalem falls on July 18, 1099, ending several
centuries of Muslim rule
* The reign of Saladin (1169-1193), a Kurd who disposes of the
Fatimid caliphate in 1174 and founds the Ayyubid dynasty. He recruits
an army of Turkish slaves (Mamelukes), and by 1187 begins a Jihad
(Holy War) against the Crusaders
* Saladin crushes the Crusader forces at the Battle of Hattin.
Muslim forces reoccupy much of Palestine including Jerusalem (1187)
* The Second and Third Crusades succeed in holding some of Palestine,
but Jerusalem is not recaptured
* The overthrow of the Ayyubids by the more war-like Mamelukes
(1250)
* The last of the Crusaders are driven from Palestine (1291)
THE LATE ISLAMIC PERIOD_____________________________________1174-1917
* Ayyubid (founded by Saladin) - 1174-1250
* Mameluke - 1250-1517
* Ottoman - 1517-1917. During the early part of this period Sulieman
the Magnificent (1520-66) rebuilt Jerusalem's city walls and these
walls are what are still standing today around the Old City
THE BRITISH MANDATE________________________________________1917-1948
(Palestine conquered from the Ottoman Turks in World War I)
THE STATE OF ISRAEL________________________________________1948-present
© HOLY LAND EXPEDITIONS, GREGORY S. HOBSON, PRESIDENT - Updated
Wednesday, January 14, 1998
