12-History of Jerusalem
Bible 101
c. 3500 Canaanite Kingdom (Pagan)
Abraham travels from Chaldea to settle in Canaan.
Melchizedek is ruling in Salem (Jerusalem) as king and
priest, God promises the land to Abraham and his
descendants and provides a substitute for Isaac on Mt.
Moriah.
c. 1700 Egyptian Kingdom (Pagan)
Famine brings Jacob’s family down into Egypt. After
400 years of slavery, Moses leads the Israelites back to
Canaan.
c. 1300 Jebusite Kingdom (Pagan)
When Joshua conquers the promised land, the
Jebusites maintain the walled city they call Jebus.
1050 Kingdom of Israel (Hebrew)
King David takes the city and renames it Jerusalem. He
purchases the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite,
on Mt. Moriah, as a resting place for the Ark of the
Covenant. His son King Solomon builds the first temple
around it as the center or worship (970).
930 Kingdom of Judah (Hebrew)
After Solomon, the ten tribes in the north become
Israel with Samaria as its capital, and the two tribes in
the south become Judah with Jerusalem its capital.
722 Assyrian Kingdom (Akkadian)
Shalmanesar V conquers the northern Kingdom of
Israel, and Hebrew refugees flood to Judah. Assyrians
populate Samaria with conquered peoples, intermarry
with the remaining Israelites, adopt their own brand of
Judaism to keep peace, and make Aramaic the
common language.
586 Babylonian Kingdom (Akkadian)
Nebuchadnezzar II conquers Judah in the south and
destroys Solomon’s temple. Hebrew inhabitants are
exiled to Babylon.
538 Medo-Persian Empire
(Achaemenid)
King Cyrus the Persian invites the Hebrew exiles to
return to Judah. King Darius the Mede commissions
Zerubbabel to rebuild temple, the Samaritans offer to
help but are denied (516). King Artexerxes I
commissions Nehemiah to rebuild the walls around
Jerusalem, the Samaritans oppose his efforts (445).
332 Macedonian Empire (Greek)
Macedonian General Alexander the Great conquers the
Persians and brings Greek Hellenistic culture,
philosophy and language to the known world.
305 Ptolemaic Empire (Egyptian Greek)
Alexander’s kingdom is divided among his generals and
Jerusalem changes hands numerous times, finally
coming under the dynasty of Ptolemy I of Egypt.
198 Seleucid Empire (Syrian Greek)
Judea is eventually annexed by the Seleucids of Syria.
Antiochus Epiphanes IV tries to Hellenize Judea by
forbidding worship and desecrating the temple with a
statue of Zeus (174). Judas Maccabeus leads a Jewish
army in defeating the Seleucids and rededicating the
temple (164).
164 Hasmonian Kingdom (Hellenistic Jewish)
Jews enjoy self rule for 100 years, with a High Priest as
king, and the Pharisees, Sadducees and Essenes as
ruling parties. Pompey the Great of Rome captures
Jerusalem during a Hasmonian civil war (64).
64 BC Roman Empire (Western Pagan)
Caesar Augustus appoints Herod the Great as a client
king over the Roman province of Judea. Herod expands
the Second Temple and builds fortresses in Caesarea,
Masada and Jerusalem (10 BC). Jesus is tried and
crucified in Jerusalem and the Christian Church is born
(33 AD). The Jews revolt against Rome and Titus
destroys Jerusalem and the Second Temple (70 AD).
Emperor Hadrian renames the city Aelia Capitolina and
builds a temple to Venus over the assumed tomb of
Christ and a temple to Jupiter on the Temple Mount
(133 AD).
306 Byzantine Empire (Eastern Orthodox)
Emperor Constantine I converts to Christianity and
moves the Roman capital to Constantinople in the East.
He tears down the pagan temples commissions his
Christian mother Helena to and build numerous
Christian holy sites throughout Israel, most notably the
Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and the Church of
the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem to commemorate the
death and resurrection of Jesus (326). Jews are
banned from Jerusalem.
614 Sassanid (Persian)
Sha Khosrau II takes Jerusalem with the help of the
Palestinian Jews. From Mecca, the Arab prophet
Muhammad has a vision in which he takes a spiritual
night journey to Jerusalem and ascends to heaven from
Mt. Moriah along with Abraham, Moses, John the
Baptist and Jesus (620). For 16 months he instructs
Muslims to pray toward Jerusalem, and it becomes the
3rd holiest place in the new religion of Islam.
629 Byzantine Empire (Eastern Orthodox)
Emperor Heraclius recaptures Jerusalem and
corresponds with Muhammad, but is soon overcome by
the rising tide of Islam which unites the Arab tribes.
638 Rashidun Caliphate (Arabian Sunni)
Caliph Omar, first ruler of Islam, comes from Mecca to
accept surrender and signs a treaty protecting the
Christian holy sites and allows the Jews to worship
there for the first time in 500 years. He refuses to
defile the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and builds the
Mosque of Omar across the street instead. The Temple
Mount is left barren except for a small Muslim prayer
house.
661 Umayyad Caliphate (Syrian Sunni)
Caliph al-Malik moves the capital to Damascus in Syria.
He makes Arabic the official language of the Muslim
world and establishes a uniform Muslim currency. He
builds the Dome of the Rock on Mt. Moriah to rival the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre (691). His son Caliph alWalid builds al-Aqsa Mosque (furthest mosque) on the
Temple Mount to commemorate Muhammad’s night
journey (705).
750 Abbasid Caliphate (Bagdad Sunni)
Caliph al-Mutalib moves the capital to Bagdad. Caliph
al-Ma’mun builds an army of a non-Muslim, warrior
class of Caucasian and Kipchack Turkish slaves called
Mamluks (813).
909 Fatimid Caliphate (Egyptian Shi’a)
Caliph al-Mahdi moves the capital to Egypt and builds
Cairo (969). Caliph Al-Hakim orders the destruction of
the Christian holy sites, including the Church of the
Holy Sepulchre, which is later rebuilt (1009).
1071 Seljuq Empire (Turko-Persian Sunni)
The Seljuq Turks begin to threaten the Byzantine
Empire, take Jerusalem and cut off Christian access to
the holy sites, infuriating Christians throughout Europe.
1099 Crusaders (European Catholic)
Byzantine Emperor Alexius I seeks the help of Pope
Urban II, who commissions Frankish armies to retake
the Holy Land. He declares the violence just and
promises eternal salvation for those who volunteer.
Jews and Muslims are massacred in the First Crusade,
Muslim mosques are turned into Christian churches,
and the Kingdom of Jerusalem is established.
1187 Ayyubid Dynasty (Kurdish Sunni)
Sultan Saladin the Great takes Jerusalem from the
Crusaders, using Mamluks as the backbone of his army,
and invites Jews to resettle there. After many battles
with King Richard I (The Lionheart) during the Third
Crusade, the two sign a treaty in mutual respect
allowing Christians to make peaceful pilgrimages to
Jerusalem (1192).
1250 Mamluk Sultanate (Kipchack Turkic)
After defeating King Louis the IX in the Seventh
Crusade, Mamluk commander Aybak marries the widow
of Sultan as-Salih and becomes the first Mamluk
Sultan. The Mamluks expel the remaining Crusaders
from the Holy Land and destroy most of the Christian
holy sites, ending the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
1517 Ottoman Empire (Turkish Muslim)
Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent rebuilds the modern
walls and gates around the Old City, accidentally
leaving out Mt. Zion and the City of David (1538). The
Ottoman period brings Jerusalem into the modern era
of postal delivery, wheeled carts, paved roads, and
railways. Jews, Christians and Muslims share the city
under restrictive Muslim rule. During WWI, the
Ottomans side with Germany and Jerusalem falls to
British General Edmond Allenby (1917). Captain T.E.
Lawrence (Of Arabia) convinces the Arabs to assist in
overthrowing the Ottomans in exchange for Arab
independence. After the war, Britain and France renege
on the deal and promise support for a Jewish national
home in Palestine instead.
1922 British Mandate (Secular)
The League of Nations entrusts the United Kingdom
with the administration of the Mandates of Palestine,
Transjordan, and Iraq. Jews from all over the world
flee the persecution of the Nazis and other European
countries in a Zionist movement to populate Palestine
in increasing number. The Arab Palestinians revolt,
leaving thousands dead and Palestinians and Jews in
conflict with each other, and with the British (39).
1948 Israel and Jordan (Jewish and Muslim)
The United Nations Partition Plan falls apart and Israel
declares itself an independent State of Israel, which is
not recognized by the Arab world. The resulting ArabIsraeli War ends in an armistice agreement dividing
Jerusalem between Israel on the West side and Jordan
on the East side by a Green Line on the map. The Old
City lies on the Jordanian side and remains under
Muslim rule, denying access to Jewish and Christian
holy sites, which are desecrated by Arab Muslims (49).
1967 State of Israel (Secular Jewish)
Despite pleas from Israel for Jordan to remain neutral
in the Six-Day War, Jordan sides with other Arab states
against Israel, after which Israel expands its territory
and annexes East Jerusalem, including the Old City.
Access to Jewish and Christian holy sites is restored
and the Old City is divided into Jewish, Muslim,
Christian and Armenian Quarters. The Temple Mount is
left under Muslim control, and the Western Wall is
opened to Jewish access. Arab Palestinians continue to
seek international pressure on Israel for a separate
Palestinian State and control over East Jerusalem.