Class 2: September 16, 2015
Kevin Nicolin
Historical timeline
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(Note: dates marked “c.” are approximate.)
Pre-Biblical and early Biblical times
BC
c. 7000:
c. 5000-4000:
c. 2000:
c. 1500:
c. 1260:
c. 1200:
c. 1000:
c. 970:
Jericho is a walled settlement
Land of Canaan is occupied by Canaanites, then Amorites and Jebusites.
Founding patriarch Abraham and his tribe settle in what becomes Judea (Genesis 12–13).
Abraham’s descendants, led by Joseph, settle in Egypt (Genesis 37–50).
Moses leads Israelites in Exodus from Egypt (Exodus).
Israelites, under Joshua, enter Promised Land (Joshua).
David captures Jebusite city of Jerusalem and makes it his capital (2 Samuel 5).
Solomon builds First Temple (1 Kings 6–8)
Two kingdoms
c. 930:
c. 720:
c. 700:
701:
597:
587:
Israel splits into northern kingdom of Israel and southern kingdom of Judah (1 Kings 12).
Northern kingdom conquered by Assyria and its 10 tribes sent into exile (2 Kings 17).
Southern kingdom’s King Hezekiah cuts tunnel from Gihon Spring to Pool of Siloam (2 Chronicles 32).
Assyrians conquer much of southern kingdom; Jerusalem is besieged but survives (2 Chronicles 32).
Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon captures southern kingdom and Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 36).
Following rebellion, Nebuchadnezzar destroys Jerusalem and First Temple, deporting most of
population to Babylon (in present-day Iraq).
Persian rule
539:
515:
444:
Cyrus the Great of Persia conquers Babylon and allows Jews to return from captivity (Ezra 1–2).
Second Temple is completed (Ezra 6).
Nehemiah rebuilds city walls of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1–6).
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Class 2: September 16, 2015
Kevin Nicolin
Hellenistic (Greek) rule
332:
323:
168:
167:
Alexander the Great conquers Persian Empire, including all of Palestine.
Alexander dies and his kingdom is divided into four parts; Palestine falls under Ptolemaic Dynasty of
Egypt, then under Seleucid Empire of Syria.
King Antiochus IV of Syria bans traditional Jewish practices and desecrates Temple.
Judas Maccabeus leads successful revolt against Seleucid Empire, rededicates Temple and restores
religious freedom.
Hasmonean (Maccabaen) rule
140:
63:
37:
Simon Maccabeus, a brother of Judas, establishes Hasmonean Dynasty, which rules an independent
Jewish kingdom for 103 years.
Rivalry between Simon Maccabeus’ great-grandsons, Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II, brings civil war
that ends with Roman general Pompey controlling the kingdom.
Rome proclaims Herod as King of Israel, now a Roman client state, ending the Hasmonean Dynasty.
Roman rule
20:
c. 6:
4:
Herod expands Temple Mount and rebuilds Temple.
Jesus Christ is born in Bethlehem.
Herod dies and his kingdom is divided among his sons, Philip, Antipas and Archelaus.
AD
26:
c. 27:
c. 30:
c. 32:
c. 34:
41-44:
c. 50:
c. 45-120:
67:
70:
Pontius Pilate becomes procurator of Roman province of Judea.
Jesus is baptized by his cousin John the Baptist and begins his public ministry (Matthew 3).
Jesus is condemned to death and crucified (Matthew 26–28).
Stephen, first Christian martyr, is stoned to death (Acts 7).
Paul is converted on the way to Damascus (Acts 9).
Jerusalem’s “Third Wall” is built by King Agrippa I.
Council of Jerusalem, first recorded council of Christian leaders, is held.
Books of the New Testament are written.
During First Jewish-Roman War, Christians in Palestine flee to Pella in Jordan.
Romans destroy Jerusalem and Second Temple.
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Class 2: September 16, 2015
Kevin Nicolin
73:
130:
135:
301:
313:
325:
326-7:
Masada falls to Romans.
Emperor Hadrian rebuilds Jerusalem, renaming it Aelia Capitolina, and puts pagan temple over site of
the Crucifixion and Resurrection.
Hadrian crushes Second Jewish Revolt and expels Jews from Palestine.
Armenia becomes first nation to make Christianity its state religion.
Emperor Constantine I legalizes Christianity.
At Council of Nicaea, Bishop Macarius of Jerusalem asks Constantine to reclaim site of crucifixion and
Resurrection and build a church there.
Constantine’s mother, Helena, visits Holy Land, finds True Cross and orders churches built on sacred
sites; large-scale pilgrimages begin.
Byzantine rule
330:
335:
380:
386-420:
395:
c. 500:
570:
614:
622:
629:
Islamic rule
638:
661-1000:
692:
1009:
1048:
Constantine moves his capital from Nicomedia to Byzantium (renamed Constantinople, now Istanbul).
Church of the Holy Sepulchre is consecrated.
Emperor Theodosius I makes Christianity the religion of the Roman Empire.
Jerome produces Vulgate translation of Bible in his Bethlehem cave.
Roman Empire splits into East and West.
Jerusalem Talmud completed by rabbinic schools in Galilee.
Birth of Muhammad.
Persians capture Jerusalem, destroying many churches and burning Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Muhammad escapes assassination in Mecca and flees to Medina, his flight marking first year of
Islamic calendar.
Emperor Heraclius I re-establishes Byzantine rule in Jerusalem and recovers True Cross stolen by
Persians.
Islamic forces conquer Jerusalem, beginning rule by succession of Arab dynasties.
Palestine variously ruled by Arab caliphs in Damascus, Baghdad and Cairo.
Dome of the Rock completed on Temple Mount.
Sultan al-Hakim destroys Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Church of the Holy Sepulchre restored by Emperor Constantine Monomachus.
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Class 2: September 16, 2015
Kevin Nicolin
1054:
1071:
Great Schism splits Christian Church into Eastern (Greek) and Western (Latin) branches.
Seljuk Turks capture Jerusalem, persecuting Christians, desecrating churches and barring pilgrims.
Crusader rule
1099:
1149:
1187:
First Crusade captures Jerusalem and establishes Latin kingdom; Dome of the Rock becomes church
called Templum Domini (Temple of the Lord).
New Church of the Holy Sepulchre completed.
Sultan Saladin defeats Crusaders at Horns of Hattin above Sea of Galilee, then takes Jerusalem.
Islamic rule again
1219:
1229:
1229:
1244:
1291:
1342:
St Francis of Assisi visits Egypt and meets Sultan Melek al-Kamil.
During Sixth Crusade, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II negotiates return of Jerusalem and other
Christian sites to Crusader kingdom.
Franciscans establish themselves in Jerusalem near Fifth Station of Via Dolorosa.
Jerusalem is sacked by Khwarezmian Tartars; control quickly passes to Egyptian Ayyubids and then
Mamluks, who rule until 1517.
Crusaders’ last foothold, Acre, falls to Mamluks.
Pope Clement VI formally establishes Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land.
Ottoman rule
1517:
1517:
1538:
1757:
1808:
1812:
1839:
1842:
1849:
Ottoman Turks take control of Palestine from Mamluks.
Martin Luther begins Protestant Reformation in Europe.
Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent builds present walls of Old City of Jerusalem.
Ottoman Turkish edicts give Greek Orthodox major possession of Church of the Holy Sepulchre and
other holy places.
Fire rages in Church of the Holy Sepulchre; Tomb of Christ is severely damaged when dome falls in.
Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt rediscovers Nabatean city of Petra.
British Jew Sir Moses Montefiore proposes idea of a modern Jewish state.
First Anglican bishop of Jerusalem, Michael Solomon Alexander, a converted Jewish rabbi, arrives.
Christ Church in Jerusalem, oldest Protestant church in Middle East, is built.
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Class 2: September 16, 2015
Kevin Nicolin
1852:
1853-56:
1860:
1878:
1883:
1884:
1909:
1917:
Under pressure from Russia, Ottoman Sultan Abd-ul-Mejid directs that possession of holy places
remains according to 1757 edict.
Possession of holy places is one cause of Crimean War between Russia and major European powers.
First Jewish immigrant neighborhood outside Old City of Jerusalem is established, funded by Sir
Moses Montefiore.
“Status Quo” defining possession of holy places is incorporated into international law by Treaty of
Berlin.
General Charles Gordon proposes Skull Hill as Calvary and Garden Tomb as place where Christ was
buried.
Mosaic map of Holy Land discovered in floor of 6th-century church at Madaba, Jordan.
Joseph Baratz and 11 others establish first kibbutz in Palestine, called Kvutzat Degania (“Wheat of
God”), at southern end of Sea of Galilee.
British government’s Balfour Declaration backs establishing Jewish homeland in Palestine, without
prejudice to “civil and religious rights” of non-Jewish population.
British mandate
1917:
1922:
1946:
1947:
1947:
1948:
British forces under General E. H. Allenby capture Palestine from Ottoman Turks.
League of Nations approves British mandate of Palestine.
Jordan gains independence from Britain.
United Nations Partition Plan calls for a Jewish state and an Arab state in Palestine, with Greater
Jerusalem (including Bethlehem) under international control; most Jewish groups accept plan but
Arabs reject it.
Dead Sea Scrolls are discovered at Qumran.
Amid civil unrest and violence, Britain withdraws from mandate.
Israel and Palestinian Territories
1948:
1949:
1967:
After Jewish provisional government declares Israel an independent state, Arab forces invade.
Israel prevails in Arab-Israeli War, though Egypt holds Gaza, and Jordan the West Bank and East
Jerusalem; more than 700,000 Palestinians become refugees.
In Six-Day War against Egypt, Jordan and Syria, Israel occupies Sinai, Gaza, Golan Heights, West
Bank and East Jerusalem.
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Class 2: September 16, 2015
Kevin Nicolin
1969:
1973:
1979:
1986:
1987-93:
1993:
1994:
1996:
1997:
2000-05:
2002:
2002:
2005:
2005:
2007:
2008:
2009:
2013:
2014:
2014:
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Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth, largest Christian church in Middle East, is completed.
In Yom Kippur War against Egypt and Syria, Israel makes further territorial gains.
Israel and Egypt sign peace treaty; Israel agrees to return Sinai to Egypt.
Remains of fishing boat from time of Jesus found in Sea of Galilee.
Palestinians carry out First Intifada (uprising) against Israeli occupation.
Israel gives Palestinian National Authority limited autonomy in West Bank and Gaza.
Jordan and Israel sign peace treaty.
Excavations begin at likely site of Christ’s baptism, in former minefield at Bethany Beyond the Jordan.
Interchurch co-operation completes 36-year restoration of Church of the Holy Sepulchre;
reconstruction of Tomb of Christ edicule remains to be done.
Second Intifada follows controversial visit by Israeli politician Ariel Sharon to Temple Mount.
Israel Defense Forces besiege Palestinian militants in Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, for 39 days.
Israel begins building 700-km West Bank separation wall.
Remains of early 3rd-century church found at Megiddo.
Israel withdraws settlers and military from Gaza.
Archaeologist Ehud Netzer discovers Herod the Great’s long-lost tomb at Herodium.
Responding to rocket attacks, Israel launches 22-day war against Gaza.
Archaeologists in Nazareth uncover residential building from time of Jesus.
City of David excavators find clay seal inscribed with name of Bethlehem, first reference to the city
outside the Bible.
Discovery of nine previously unknown Dead Sea scrolls announced; the tiny texts were inside
unopened tefillin (prayer cases) found at Qumran in 1952.
Responding to rocket fire, Israel launches seven-week bombardment of Gaza.
http://www.seetheholyland.net/historical-timeline/
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