-
130
Jewish independence under Hasmonean monarchy.
Under the Hasmonean dynasty, which lasted about 80 years, the kingdom regained boundaries not far short of Solomon's realm, political consolidation under Jewish rule was attained and Jewish life flourished. -
132
Bar Kokhba uprising against Rome.
Bar Kokhba uprising against Rome. -
166
Maccabean (Hasmonean) revolt against restrictions on practice of Judaism and desecration of the Temple
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 rose in revolt (166 BCE). 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 (164 BCE). -
210
Codification of Jewish oral law (Mishnah) completed.
Codification of Jewish oral law (Mishnah) completed. -
313
ROMAN RULE
ROMAN RULE -
313
BYZANTINE RULE
By the end of the 4th century, following Emperor Constantine's adoption of Christianity (313) and the founding of the Byzantine Empire, the Land of Israel had become a predominantly Christian country. Churches were built on Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Galilee, and monasteries were established in many parts of the country. The Jews were deprived of their former relative autonomy, as well as of their right to hold public positions, and were forbidden to enter Jerusalem except -
332
Land conquered by Alexander the Great; Hellenistic rule.
As part of the ancient world conquered by Alexander the Great of Greece (332 BCE), the Land remained a Jewish theocracy under Syrian-based Seleucid rulers. -
Dec 10, 614
Persian invasion
The Persian invasion of 614 was welcomed and aided by the Jews, who were inspired by messianic hopes of deliverance. In gratitude for their help, they were granted the administration of Jerusalem, an interlude which lasted about three years. Subsequently, the Byzantine army regained the city (629) and again expelled its Jewish population. -
Dec 10, 722
crushed
Israel crushed by Assyrians; 10 tribes exiled (Ten Lost Tribes). -
Dec 10, 1000
jerusalem
Jerusalemmade capital of David's Kingdom. -
Dec 10, 1020
Jewish Monarchy established.
Jewish Monarchy established.
The first king, Saul (c. 1020 BCE), bridged the period between loose tribal organization and the setting up of a full monarchy under his successor, David. King David (c.1004-965 BCE) established Israel as a major power in the region by successful military expeditions, including the final defeat of the Philistines, as well as by constructing a network of friendly alliances with nearby kingdoms. David was succeeded by his son Solomon (c.965-930 BCE) who further streng -
Dec 10, 1099
CRUSADER DOMINATION
For the next 200 years, the country was dominated by the Crusaders, who, following an appeal by Pope Urban II, came from Europe to recover the Holy Land from the infidels. In July 1099, after a five-week siege, the knights of the First Crusade and their rabble army captured Jerusalem, massacring most of the city's non-Christian inhabitants. Barricaded in their synagogues, the Jews defended their quarter, only to be burnt to death or sold into slavery. During the next few decades, the Crusaders e -
Dec 10, 1200
setelment
The Israelites settle the Land of Israel. -
Dec 10, 1291
MAMLUK RULE
The Land under the Mamluks became a backwater province ruled from Damascus. Akko, Jaffa (Yafo) and other ports were destroyed for fear of new crusades, and maritime as well as overland commerce was interrupted. 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 -
Dec 10, 1300
2
Moses leads the Israelites from Egypt, followed by 40 years of wandering in the desert.
The Torah, including the Ten Commandments received at Mount Saini.
Moses was chosen by God to take his people out of Egypt and back to the Land of Israel promised to their forefathers. They wandered for 40 years in the Sinai desert, where they were forged into a nation and received the Torah (Pentateuch), which included the Ten Commandments and gave form and content to their monotheistic faith. During the -
Dec 10, 1517
OTTOMAN RULE
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. -
Dec 10, 1564
Code of Jewish law (Shulhan Arukh) published.
Orderly government, until the death (1566) of Sultan Suleiman the Magificent, brought improvements and stimulated Jewish immigration. Some newcomers settled in Jerusalem, but the majority went to Safad where, by mid-16th century, the Jewish population had risen to about 10,000, and the town had become a thriving textile center as well as the focus of intense intellectual activity. During this period, the study of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) flourished, and contemporary clarifications of Jewish -
Famine forces the Israelites to migrate to Egypt
The Patriarchs of the Israelites, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob bring the belief in One God to the Promised Land where they settle.
Famine forces the Israelites to migrate to Egypt
Documents unearthed in Mesopotamia, dating back to 2000- 1500 BCE, corroborate aspects of their nomadic way of life as described in the Bible. The Book of Genesis relates how Abraham was summoned from Ur of the Chaldeans to Canaan to bring about the formation of a people with belief in the One God. When a famine spread thr -
First neighborhood, Mishkenot Sha'ananim, built outside Jerusalem's walls.
First neighborhood, Mishkenot Sha'ananim, built outside Jerusalem's walls. -
First Aliya (large-scale immigration), mainly from Russia.
First Aliya (large-scale immigration), mainly from Russia. -
First Zionist Congress convened by Theodor Herzl in Basel, Switzerland; Zionist Organization founded.
First Zionist Congress convened by Theodor Herzl in Basel, Switzerland; Zionist Organization founded. -
Second Aliya, mainly from Russia and Poland.
Second Aliya, mainly from Russia and Poland. -
First kibbutz, Degania, and first modern all-Jewish city, Tel Aviv, founded.
First kibbutz, Degania, and first modern all-Jewish city, Tel Aviv, founded. -
400 years of Ottoman rule ended by British conquest;British Foreign Minister Balfour pledges support for establishment of a "Jewish national home in Palestine".
400 years of Ottoman rule ended by British conquest;
British Foreign Minister Balfour pledges support for establishment of a "Jewish national home in Palestine". -
BRITISH RULE
BRITISH RULE -
Third Aliya, mainly from Russia
Third Aliya, mainly from Russia -
Adolf Eichmann tried and executed in Israel for his part in the Holocaust.
Adolf Eichmann tried and executed in Israel for his part in the Holocaust. -
Histadrut (Jewish labor federation) and Haganah (Jewish defense organization) founded.Vaad Leumi (National Council) set up by Jewish community (yishuv)to conduct its affairs.
Histadrut (Jewish labor federation) and Haganah (Jewish defense organization) founded.
Vaad Leumi (National Council) set up by Jewish community (yishuv)to conduct its affairs. -
First moshav, Nahalal, founded.
First moshav, Nahalal, founded. -
Britain granted Mandate for Palestine (Land of Israel) by League of Nations
Transjordan set up on three-fourths of the area, leaving one-fourth for the Jewish national home
Jewish Agency representing Jewish community vis-a-vis Mandate authorities set up. -
Ministry of Jesus of Nazareth
Ministry of Jesus of Nazareth -
Technion, first institute of technology, founded in Haifa.
Technion, first institute of technology, founded in Haifa. -
Fourth Aliya, mainly from Poland.
Fourth Aliya, mainly from Poland. -
End of British Mandate (14 May)
End of British Mandate (14 May)
State of Israel proclaimed (14 May).
Israel invaded by five Arab states (15 May)
War of Independence (May 1948-July 1949)
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) established -
Mass immigration from Europe and Arab countries.
Mass immigration from Europe and Arab countries. -
Armistice agreements signed with Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon.
Armistice agreements signed with Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon.
Jerusalem divided under Israeli and Jordanian rule.
First Knesset (parliament) elected.
Israel admitted to United Nations as 59th member. -
Sinai Campaign
In the course of an eight-day campaign, the IDF captured the Gaza Strip and the entire Sinai peninsula, halting 10 miles (16 km.) east of the Suez Canal. A United Nations decision to station a UN Emergency Force (UNEF) along the Egypt-Israel border and Egyptian assurances of free navigation in the Gulf of Eilat led Israel to agree to withdraw in stages (November 1956 - March 1957) from the areas taken a few weeks earlier. Consequently, the Straits of Tiran were opened, enabling the development o -
Israel becomes an associate member of the European Common Market.
Israel becomes an associate member of the European Common Market. -
Jerusalem captured by Roman general, Pompey.
Jerusalem captured by Roman general, Pompey. -
Herod, Roman vassal king, rules the Land of Israel;Temple in Jerusalem refurbished
Herod, Roman vassal king, rules the Land of Israel;
Temple in Jerusalem refurbished -
National Water Carrier completed, bringing water from Lake Kinneret in the north to the semi-arid south.
National Water Carrier completed, bringing water from Lake Kinneret in the north to the semi-arid south. -
Jewish revolt against the Romans
Jewish revolt against the Romans -
Six-Day War, Jerusalem reunited.
At the end of six days of fighting, previous cease-fire lines were replaced by new ones, with Judea, Samaria, Gaza, the Sinai peninsula and the Golan Heights under Israel's control. As a result, the northern villages were freed from 19 years of recurrent Syrian shelling; the passage of Israeli and Israel-bound shipping through the Straits of Tiran was ensured; and Jerusalem, which had been divided under Israeli and Jordanian rule since 1949, was reunified under Israel's authority. -
Egypt's War of Attrition against Israel
Egypt's War of Attrition against Israel -
Yom Kippur War
Three years of relative calm along the borders were shattered on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), the holiest day of the Jewish year, when Egypt and Syria launched a coordinated surprise assault against Israel (6 October 1973), with the Egyptian army crossing the Suez Canal and Syrian troops penetrating the Golan Heights. Two years of difficult negotiations between Israel and Egypt and between Israel and Syria resulted in disengagement agreements, according to which Israel withdrew from parts of -
Destruction of Jerusalem and Second Temple.
Destruction of Jerusalem and Second Temple. -
Destruction of Jerusalem and Second Temple.
Destruction of Jerusalem and Second Temple. -
Likud forms government after Knesset elections, end of 30 years of Labor rule.
Likud forms government after Knesset elections, end of 30 years of Labor rule.
Visit of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat to Jerusalem. -
Israel celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Israel celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Israel and the PLO sign the Wye River Memorandum to facilitate implementation of the Interim Agreement. -
temple
First Temple, the national and spiritual center of the Jewish people, built in Jerusalem by King Solomon. -
kingdom divided
Kingdom divided into Judah and Israel.
After Solomon's death (930 BCE), open insurrection led to the breaking away of the ten northern tribes and division of the country into a northern kingdom, Israel, and a southern kingdom, Judah, on the territory of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. The Kingdom of Israel, with its capital Samaria, lasted more than 200 years under 19 kings, while the Kingdom of Judah was ruled from Jerusalem for 350 years by an equal number of kings of the lineage of David. -
Judah conquered by Babylonia; Jerusalem and First Temple destroyed; most Jews exiled to Babylonia.
Judah conquered by Babylonia; Jerusalem and First Temple destroyed; most Jews exiled to Babylonia.
The Babylonian conquest brought an end to the First Jewish Commonwealth (First Temple period) but did not sever the Jewish people's connection to the Land of Israel. The exile to Babylonia, which followed the destruction of the First Temple (586 BCE), marked the beginning of the Jewish Diaspora. There, Judaism began to develop a religious framework and way of life outside the Land, ultimately ensu -
Many Jews return from Babylonia; Temple rebuilt.
Following a decree by the Persian King Cyrus, conqueror of the Babylonian empire (538 BCE), some 50,000 Jews set out on the First Return to the Land of Israel, led by Zerubabel, a descendant of the House of David. Less than a century later, the Second Return was led by Ezra the Scribe. The repatriation of the Jews under Ezra's inspired leadership, construction of the Second Temple on the site of the First Temple, refortification of Jerusalem's walls and establishment of the Knesset Hagedolah ( -
Jewish autonomy under Hasmoneans.
Following further Hasmonean victories (147 BCE), the Seleucids restored autonomy to Judea, as the Land of Israel was now called, and, with the collapse of the Seleucid kingdom (129 BCE), Jewish independence was again achieved. -
arabe rule
The Arab conquest of the Land came four years after the death of Muhammad (632) and lasted more than four centuries, with caliphs ruling first from Damascus, then from Baghdad and Egypt. At the outset of Islamic rule, Jewish settlement in Jerusalem was resumed, and the Jewish community was granted permission to live under "protection," the customary status of non-Muslims under Islamic rule, which safeguarded their lives, property and freedom of worship in return for payment of special poll and l -
On site of First and Second Temples in Jerusalem, Dome of the Rock built by Caliph Abd el-Malik
On site of First and Second Temples in Jerusalem, Dome of the Rock built by Caliph Abd el-Malik