Israel's history is divided into periods largely based on which civilisation had conqered and was ruling them. Reference is often made to these periods. If a building is "Byzantine" how old is it and what might have been the motivation for building it? If something is from the "Second Temple" period, when was that?
The folowing is based on the "Brief History Of The Land" in The Holy Land For Christian Travelers by John A. Beck, supplemented with other information.
Bronze became the main metal for tools and weapons
Writing developed
Fortified cities, compelte with temples and palaces, developed in Canaan by about 3,000 B.C.
Abraham's forebears lived in Mesopotamia.
Larger urban centes collapsed and were replaced by ununified settlements and camps used by those migrating in rhythm to their animals' needs.
Abraham's family lived in Canaan.
Larger, walled cities and signs of wealth returned to Canaan along with a nomadic people, the Amorites.
Abraham's family lived in Canaan until famine drove them into Egypt
Egypt's power was extended over the Canaanite city-states.
Moses led Israelites out of Egypt to Mt Sinai and then to the edge of the Promised Land
Joshua led Israel in the conquest of Canaan.
The time of the judges began.
The Philistines arrived in Canaan and dominated the lowland using iron technology and chariots.
The time of the judges continued and concluded.Â
Philistine dominance caused the Iaraelite tribes to seek unification under a king.
Samuel anointed Saul and then David as kings.
Solomon was the thrid king.
Solomon built the first Temple.
By 930 B.C. the kingdom had divided into two.
Two kingdoms: israel in the north with Samaria as its capital and Judah in the south where Jerusalem was te capital.
Both were, for long periods, disobedient to God.
Prophets like Elijah and Elishafailed to bring changes in israel.
722 B.C. Assyria captures Samaria. The people wer eexiled, scattered around the Assyrian Empire
Judah was also exhorted by prophets to make necessary changes. It survived the Assyrian assault.
605 B.C. a series of deportations began
586 B.C. Jerusalem and the Temple were beseiged and destroyed.
Daniel and Ezekiel prophesied to the exiled Jews in Babylon.
A small remnant remained in the land.
All awaited a return that had been prophesied after 70 years of exile.
The Persian Empire displaced Babylon.
Esther became queen of Persia and rescued the Jews from annihilation.
Judah was known as the province of Yahud.
Cyrus, the Persian King allowed the Jews to return to their homeland.
Zerubbabel, Ezra and Nehemiah worked to rebuild the Temple, the Jerusalem city walls and the faithfulness of the people. This began the Second Temple Period.
Alexander the Great displaced Persia. His empire stretched from macedonia to India.
Greek became the international language of commerce.
Greek culture spread throughout the known world.
323 B.C. Alexander died. His generals and their families took over.
The Ptolemies in Egypt and the Seleucids in Syria battled for domnance and the Jews were repeatedly caught in the middle.
Antichus IV Epiphanes sought to eradicate Jewish worship practices with a programme of radical Hellenisation.
Jewish revolutionaries, led by the Maccabee family, fought against the radical Hellenisation.
they re-established Jewish autonomy, cleansed the Temple and liberated Jews so that they could practice their religion without penalty.
Jewish kings (the Hasmoneans) ruled Israel and expanded the land.
The Samaritan Temple on Mt Gerazim was destroyed creating enmity between the Jews and Samaritans that lingered into the times of Jesus.
Hasmonean succession problems led to Rome's presence. In 63 B.C. Jewish autonomy was lost.
Ptolemaic Egypt retained its autonomy until defeated by Rome in the Battle of Actium (31 B.C.)
40 B.C. the Roman senate appointed Herod the Great as king od Judea
Herod oversaw a massive building programme which included building the Temple Mount and greatly expanding the Second Temple.
c 4 B.C. Jesus was born.
4 A.D. Herod died. His three sons ruled
Herod Antipas in Galilee and Perea.
Herod Philip in Iturea, Traconitis and Gaulanitis
Archeelaus in Judah
6 A.D. Archelaus was removed and Roman Governors ruled Judah directly.
Jesus' ministry and death and resurrection.
The expansion of the church.
66-73 A.D. - the First Jewish Revolt
70 A.D. - The Temple was destroyed by Titus
73 A.D. - Masada fell.
132-135 A.D. - the Second Jewish Revolt led to widespread destruction
Jerusalem was renamed Aelia Capitolina
Judea was renamed Palestina
c 200 A.D. - the Mishnah, the Jewish oral law, was put into writing.
With the conversion of Constantine (306-337 A.D.) Christianity became the officla religion of the empire.
313 A.D. - Edict of Milan granted tolerance and led to growth of Christianity.
Helena, Constantine's mother, visited the Holy Land and led a vigorous programme of building churches on sites associated with the life of Jesus.
Pilgrims flocked to the Holy Land and some remained setting up monastic communities.
Frequent destruction and rebuilding of Christian compounds especially related to the Samaritan uprising (529 A.D.) and the Persian invasion (614 A.D.).
The Persian invasion weakened the Byzantine rule.
638 A.D. - Arabian invaders captured Jerusalem.
These Muslim rulers were respectful of both Judaism and Christianity
They protected and enhanced Jerusalem with new architecture that celebrated the city's relationship with islam.
691 A.D. - the Dome of the Rock was built
715 A.D. - the El-Aqsa Mosque was built.
under the rule of Caliph Hakim Christians were persecuted and their churches destroyed.
1009 A.D. - the tomb of Jesus in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was destroyed.
Christians faced increased restrictions as they tried to visit the holy sites.
Pope Urban II called for military action to remove the restrictions allowing Christians to again visit the holy sites.
There were five crusades
Access for European pilgrims was restored.
Churches were built or rebuilt.
Hospitals were established.
Castles were built.
the Crusaders atacked and killed many Muslims and Jews
The Crusaders were defeated and driven from the land, largely by Saladin, the first sultan of Egypt and Syria.
The Mamluks (slave soldiers) rose to power onEgypt and Syria.
They paid little attention to Palestone other than to destory all of the fortifications. Palestine became a remote outpost.
Ottoman Turks dominated the region
Suleiman the Magnificent (1520-66) built the walls and gates of the "Old City" of Jerusalem that are seen today.
Late in this epriod, increasing geographical and archeological enquiry led to new understanding of biblical history and culture.
1914-18, the Ottomans allied themselves with Germany.
1917 - the Balfour Declaration stated britain's intention to establish a Jewish "national home" within the Palestinian Mandate.
1917 - Britain conquered Palestine. General Allenby entered the Old City of Jerusaem on December 11, 1917.
1922 - Britain became the ruling authority in Palestine.
Britain's ability and passion for managing the rgion waned.
the desire to establish a modern Jewish state was on the rise.
1947 United Nations Partition Plan called for a joint Jewish-Arab state.
1948 - The state of Israel was formed.
Israel consisted of West Jerusalem and the Coastal Plain.
The Old City of jerusalem and the West Bank were given to the modern state of Jordan.
Israel was immediately attacked leading to the Israeli War of Independeance (or the Arab-Israeli War)
The independent Jewish state was confirmed but continued unrest followed.
1967 - The 6-Day War. Israel seized the Old City of Jerusalem and much of modern Sinai. Israel militarily occupied the Golan Heights and the West Bank.