Timeline of early Jewish history - from about 1200 B.C.E. to 70 C.E.B.C.E. (Before Common Era = B.C.); C.E. (Common Era = A.D.).| ca. 1280 | Exodus from Egypt | 1020-922
| First Israelite kingdoms – under King David and his son Solomon; Temple is built in Jerusalem. After Solomon’s death, the kingdom splits into northern and southern kingdoms.
| 722
| Destruction of the northern kingdom by invaders from Assyria (northern Mesopotamia).
| | 586 | Fall of Jerusalem and destruction of the First Temple by the Babylonian empire; exile to Babylonia; beginning of Jewish diaspora in Babylon and Egypt. | 539
| Rise of the Persian Empire under King Cyrus, and conquest of the Babylonian Empire. Cyrus decrees the restoration of the Judean community and cult; the exiles are permitted to return.
| | 520-515 | building of Second Temple | ca. 450
| Priest and scribe Ezra brings the completed Torah from Babylonia to Jerusalem, where the leaders of the people accept it as the ruling law of the land.
| 332
| Alexander the Great conquers Egypt and Palestine
| ca. 275
| Torah translated into Greek (in Alexandria, for the Greek-speaking Jewish community there).
| 175-163
| Antiochus IV Epiphanes rules Syria (this includes Palestine)
| | 172 | Jerusalem becomes a Greek city, renamed Antiochia | | 167 | Antiochus IV outlaws the practice of Judaism, profanes the Temple. Beginning of revolt against Greek rule, led by a family of priests from the town of Modi’in, Mattathias and his five sons. The dynasty they eventually found is known as the Hasmonean dynasty. The eldest son is Judah, known as the Maccabee ("Hammer").
| 164
| Judah rededicates the Temple
| 161
| Judah completes conquest of Jerusalem; treaty between Judah and Rome
| | 63 | Roman army takes Jerusalem and Palestine becomes a Roman province.
| 37 B.C.E. - 4 B.C.E.
| Rule of Herod the Great, Jewish king ruling with Roman authority
| | ca. 30 | death of Jesus at the hands of the Romans
| | 66-73 | First Revolt against Rome; Jerusalem and the Temple are destroyed in 70 C.E. | 115
| Revolt against Roman rule in Egypt and Libya - leading to the destruction of most of the Egyptian Jewish community
| | 135-138 | Bar Kochba revolt in Palestine against Roman rule - the goal was to capture Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple. The revolt was crushed by the armies of the emperor Hadrian, Jerusalem was completely destroyed, Judea was depopulated of Jews and the Galilee became the new Jewish center. Jerusalem was rebuilt by the Romans with the new name of Aelia Capitolina, and in place of the Jewish Temple, a temple to Jupiter was built on the Temple Mount.
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A note on the Samaritans The Bible traces their origins back to people settled in Samaria (north-central Israel, the hill country) after the Assyrian conquest. They themselves trace their history back to a split between priestly families during the First Temple period. There is still a small Samaritan community in existence, part of which lives near Mt. Gerizim, a mountain next to the city of Nablus (also called Shechem), in Samaria (now part of the West Bank), which they consider to be holy and where their temple used to stand. The other part of the community lives in the city of Holon, Israel. Unlike other Jews, they still offer sacrifices on Passover, slaughtering lambs, eating them, and putting their blood on the doorposts of their houses. For a vivid account of the Samaritan Passover sacrifice, go to the Oligopistos blog.
| Palestine during the First Temple periodPalestine in the First Century C.E. |
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