Israel's History
Why it’s so important to understand a brief overview of the historical periods of Israel.
The Holy Land is an old place, about the oldest in the world! While in the Holy Land, you’ll be seeing things as old as 6,000 years. That’s old! Different periods of history will be referred to when describing Israel’s holy sites and places. Please realize that there will likely be several key events at a particular site that have taken place there. Each event will have happened during a specific period in Israel’s history. If you can understand the different periods a little, you’ll get much more out of your experience.
Chronology of Time Used by Archaeologists and Historians
Early Bronze Age 4000–2000 BC
Middle Bronze Age 2000–1500 BC
Late Bronze Age 1500–1200 BC
Iron 1 Age 1200–1000 BC
Iron 2 Age 1000–586 BC
Canaanite Period 4000–1875 BC
4000 BC – Canaanites inhabit the land of Israel.
2500 BC – Noah and the Great Flood.
2100 BC – Tower of Babel
2095 BC – Abraham moves to the land of Canaan from Ur of the Chaldeans.
1880 BC – Jacob and his family move to Egypt to live with Joseph.
Israelite Period 1450–965 BC
1450 BC – Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt.
1406 BC – Nation of Israelenters the Promised Land.
1012 BC – King Saul unifies the 12 Hebrew tribes into the United Kingdom of Israel.
1004–965 BC – King David's reign.
First Temple Period 965–586 BC
965–925 BC – King Solomon’s reign; glory years of the Kingdom of Israel.
950 BC – Solomon builds the magnificent temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem (same place Abraham intended to sacrifice Isaac).
926 BC – Kingdom of Israel divides because of Solomon’s sins. Jeroboam reigns over the northern Kingdom of Israel from Samaria. Rehoboam reigns over the southern Kingdom of Israel from Jerusalem.
722 BC – Assyrians conquer and deport most of the northern Kingdom of Israel to Assyria.
586 BC – Babylonians conquer Jerusalem and Judah under Nebuchadnezzar and deport most of the southern Kingdom of Judah to Babylon.
Second Temple Period 538–444 BC
538 BC – Many Jews return from Babylon; Second Temple began to be rebuilt under the leadership of Zerubbabel.
515 BC – Completion and Dedication of the Temple
458 BC – Ezra returns to Jerusalem with a second wave of Jews and teaches all Israelites about the Bible.
444 BC – Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem to rebuild the city walls.
Hellenistic Period (Greek Rule) 333–167 BC
333 BC – Alexander the Great defeats the Persian Empire and sets out to conquer the world. After his sudden death in 323 BC, the Greek Empire is divided. During this period, the Bible is translated into Greek (the Septuagint).
Hasmonean Period (Maccabean Rule) 167–63 BC
167 BC – When the Jews were prohibited from practicing Judaism, and their temple was desecrated as part of an effort to impose Greek-oriented culture and customs on the entire population, the Jews revolted. First led by Mattathias of the priestly Hasmonean family and then by his son Judah the Maccabee, the Jews subsequently entered Jerusalem and purified the temple. This purification of the temple is remembered by the Jewish Holiday, Hanukkah (164 BC).
Roman Period (Roman Rule) 63 BC–313 AD
63 BC – Jerusalem is captured by Roman general Pompey.
37 BC–4 BC – Herod, Roman vassal king, rules the Land of Israel. He enlarges the Temple Mount and rebuilds the temple. He also builds other monumental projects, including Caesarea, Herodian, Cave of the Patriarchs, and Masada.
4 BC – Jesus is born in Bethlehem.
27–30 AD – Ministry of Jesus.
30 AD – Jesus crucified.
66 AD – Jewish revolt against the Romans.
70 AD – Destruction of Jerusalem and Second Temple.
74 AD – Fall of Masada.
132 AD – Bar Kokhba Revolt. Roman Emperor Hadrian destroys Jerusalem and builds Aelia Capitolina, a pagan city in its place. Many holy sites are preserved, but with pagan shrines on them.
Byzantine Period (Eastern Roman Empire Rule) 313–614 AD
313 – Emperor Constantine recognizes Christianity, later becoming a Christian himself.
326 – Constantine’s mother, Helena, goes to the Holy Land and builds many churches and basilicas on holy sites.
Persian Period 614–628 AD
614 – Persian conquest of the Holy Land. Many churches and monasteries destroyed.
628 – Holy Land recaptured by the Byzantines.
Muslim/Arab Period 638–1099 AD
638 – Muslim/Arab conquest of the Holy Land completed. Rule is by Caliphs from Damascus, then from Baghdad, and then Egypt.
691 – Where the First and Second Temples were located on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, the Dome of the Rock was built by Caliph Abd el-Malik.
Crusader Period 1099–1291 AD
1099 – Crusaders (Catholic armies from Rome) conquer Jerusalem and many parts of Israel.
1147 – Second Crusade arrives in the Holy Land.
1187 – Destruction of the Crusader army by Muslim leader Saladin. Collapse of Crusader Kingdom begins.
1265 – Mamelukes, led by Sultan Beybars, conquer the Holy Land.
1270 – Final Crusade arrives, and all its participants are massacred.
1291 – Last Crusader stronghold of Acco taken, ending Crusader rule.
Mamluk (Muslim) Period 1291–1517 AD
1291 – Mamluk rule begins.
1333 – Franciscan Order established in Jerusalem. Its members care for holy places and pilgrims.
By the end of the Middle Ages, the country’s urban centers were virtually in ruins, most of Jerusalem was abandoned, and the small Jewish community was poverty-stricken. The period of Mamluk decline was darkened by political and economic upheavals, plagues, locust invasions, and devastating earthquakes.
Ottoman (Muslim) Period 1517–1917 AD
1517 – Following the Ottoman conquest in 1517, the land was divided into four districts and attached administratively to the province of Damascus and ruled from Istanbul.
1520 – Suleiman the Magnificent rebuilds the city walls of Jerusalem.
1799 – Napoleon Bonaparte invades Israel but fails to capture it and is forced to leave.
1860 – The first neighborhood, Mishkenot Sha'ananim, is built outside of Jerusalem’s city walls.
1882 – First large-scale immigration to Israel, mainly from Russia.
1904 – Second large-scale immigration from Russia and Poland.
British Period 1917–1948 AD
1917 – British Foreign Minister Lord Balfour issued on November 2, 1917, the so-called Balfour Declaration, which gave official support for the “establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people” with the commitment not to be prejudiced against the rights of the non-Jewish communities.
1947 – The United Nations approved the partition of Israel into separate Jewish and Arab states on November 29, 1947.
State of Israel Period 1948 to Present
1948 – On the day when the British Mandate in Palestine expired, the State of Israel was instituted on May 14, 1948, by the Jewish National Council under the presidency of David Ben Gurion.
1948–1949 – The Arab-Israeli War; the Arabs refused to accept the newly established State of Israel. Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, Lebanon, and Iraq attack Israel, but within a year, Israel defeated its attackers.
1950 – Western Jerusalem was proclaimed the capital city of Israel on January 23, 1950.
1956 – The Suez Crisis: Israelis invade Egyptian territory in October of 1956.
1956 – After Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the company that administered the Suez Canal, a joint attack by the French and British was launched. Egypt suffered military disaster in November 2, 1956. Israel captured the Sinai Peninsula, but after international condemnation, Israel was forced to withdraw.
1967 – Six-Day War: after Egypt closed the Straits of Tiran on May 22, 1967, Israel launched an attack on Egyptian, Jordanian, Syrian, and Iraqi airports on June 5, 1967. After six days, Israel conquered Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, Sinai, and the West Bank.
1973 – Yom Kippur War: on October 6, 1973, on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, Syria and Egypt launched a surprise attack against Israel. After initial success of the attackers, Israel managed to cross the Suez into Egypt and endangered Cairo. After the intervention of the USA and USSR, military operations ended on October 25, 1973.
1978 – The Camp David Accord was signed by Israeli Prime Minister Menahen Begin, and Egyptian President Anvar as Sadat in September 1978, in Camp David, USA. Israel agreed to withdraw from the occupied Sinai Peninsula.
1979 – The Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty was signed on March 26, 1979, in Washington.
