Jerusalem Countdown

THE FIRST COMMONWEALTH
(CA. 1004–586 BCE)

1004	King David captures Jerusalem from the Jebusites. Makes
	Jerusalem the capital. (As some scholars point out, King David
	did not found Jerusalem, but conquered an already inhabited
	city that had been in existence for 2,000 years.)
1010–970	Reign of King David
CA. 960	King Solomon begins to build the first temple.
928	Division of kingdom into Israel (north) and Judah (south)
722	Assyrians conquer northern kingdom of Israel.
701	Hezekiah successfully withstands Sennacherib’s attack on
	Jerusalem.
597	Babylonians capture Jerusalem.
586	Nebuchadnezzar destroys city and first temple and exiles Jews to
	Babylon.

THE PERSIAN PERIOD
(539–332 BCE)

539	Fall of Babylon
538–537	Cyrus allows Jews (about 50,000) to return to Jerusalem from
	Babylon.
520	Work begins on the building of the second temple under
	Zerubbabel.
515	Completion and rededication of the second temple
445	Nehemiah is appointed governor of Judea by Artaxerxes and
	rebuilds city walls.
397	Ezra the scribe initiates religious reforms.

THE HELLENISTIC PERIOD
(332–167 BCE)

332	Alexander the Great conquers Palestine.
323	Death of Alexander in Babylon; Wars of Succession begin.
320	Ptolemy I captures Jerusalem.
320–198	Rule of Egyptian Ptolemies
198–167	Rule of the Syrian Seleucids
167	Antiochus IV of Syria outlaws Juda and desecrates the second
	temple

THE HASMONEAN PERIOD
(167–63 BCE)

167–141	Maccabean War of Liberation
164	Judah Maccabee recaptures Jerusalem and restores temple.
166–160	Rule of Judah the Maccabee
160–143	Rule of Jonathan
143–135	Rule of Simon Maccabeus

ROMAN PERIOD
(63 BCE–324 CE)

63	General Pompey and his Roman legions conquer Jerusalem.
63–37	Hasmonean rulers continue but under protection of Rome.
40	Rome appoints Herod king of Judea.
40–4 CE	Reign of Herod the Great
37	King Herod captures Jerusalem.
18	Herod commences rebuilding of temple.
CA. 7 BCE–
31 CE	Life of Jesus of Nazareth
4 BCE	Jerusalem is governed from Caesarea by Roman procurators.
	Herod dies. New Testament period under Roman rule (first
	century CE)
26–36	Pontius Pilate, Roman procurator of Judea
27–31	The ministry of Jesus
31	Crucifixion of Jesus
63	Temple completed
66	Jews revolt against the Romans.
70	Jerusalem is demolished by Titus; survivors are exiled or sold
	into slavery.
132	Bar Kochba leads a doomed revolt against Rome.
135	Emperor Hadrian rebuilds Jerusalem; builds new walls and
	renames the city Aelia Capitolina and country Palestine; bans
	Jews from Jerusalem.

BYZANTINE PERIOD
(324–638)

313	Emperor Constantine legalizes Christianity.
324	Constantine becomes sole ruler of the empire.
326	Queen Helena discovers Golgotha and other holy sites; her
	son, Constantine, builds the Anastasia (Church of the Holy
	Sepulcher).
438	Empress Eudocia allows Jews to live in Jerusalem.
614	Persian conquest of Jerusalem
628	Emperor Heraculis recaptures the city.

EARLY MUSLIM PERIOD
(639–1099)

638	Six years after Muhammad’s death, Caliph Omar captures
	Jerusalem; Jews readmitted.
691	Dome of the Rock is built by Caliph Abd Al-Malik.
715	Al-Aqsa mosque is completed by Al-Walid Al-Malik.
750	Power shifts from the Umayyads of Damascus to the Abbasids
	of Baghdad; Abbasids continue to enhance Jerusalem.
969	Fatimid conquest is soon followed by destruction of churches
	and synagogues.
1071	Seljuks devastate Jerusalem.

CRUSADER PERIOD (1099–1187)

1099	Crusaders led by Godfrey de Bouillon capture Jerusalem;
	Baldwin I declared king; Jews and Muslims are slaughtered.
1187	Kurdish General Saladin captures Jerusalem from Crusaders;
	permits Jews and Muslims to return and settle in the city.

AYYUBID AND MAMLUK PERIOD
(1187–1517)

1229	Treaty returns Jerusalem to the Crusaders.
1244	Mamluk sultans defeat the Ayyubids and rule Jerusalem; city
	again in Muslim hands.
1260	Mamluks of Egypt rule Jerusalem from Cairo.
1267	Rabbi Moshe Ben Nahman arrives from Spain, revives Jewish
	congregation.
1275	Marco Polo stops in Jerusalem on his way to China.
1291	Acre, the last Crusader stronghold in the Holy Land, is
	captured by the Mamluks.
1348	Black Death plague hits Jerusalem.
1492	Jews arrive following Spanish Exile.

OTTOMAN PERIOD
(1517–1917)

1517	Palestine and Jerusalem become part of the Ottoman Empire.
1537–1541	Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent rebuilds the city walls.
1799	Napoleon invades Palestine but does not try to conquer
	Jerusalem.
1831	Mohammed Ali of Egypt rules the country for nine years.
1838	First consulate (British) opens in Jerusalem.
1849	Consecration of Christ Church, first Protestant Church in the
	near east.
1860	First Jewish settlement outside walls of the city.
1892	Railroad connects the city to the coast.
1898	Visit by Dr. Theodor Herzl, founder of the World Zionist
	Organization

THE BRITISH MANDATE PERIOD
(1917–1948)

1917	British conquest and General Allenby’s entry into Jerusalem
1920	The mandate for Palestine is conferred on Britain.
1921–1929	Arab–Jewish disturbances
1936–1939	Arab–Jewish disturbances
1925	Hebrew University buildings are inaugurated.
1947	United Nations resolution to create a Jewish and an Arab state
	in Palestine
1948	British withdraw from Palestine; the country is invaded by armies
	from neighboring states; the State of Israel is declared on May 14.

THE ISRAELI PERIOD
(1948 TO Present)

1948–1949	Israel War of Liberation (also known as the “1948–1949 War”)
1949	Israel–Transjordan Armistice Agreement signed; Jerusalem
	divided between two countries. Jerusalem is proclaimed capital
	of Israel; East Jerusalem is ruled by Jordan.
1967	Israelis capture old city during Six–Day War.
1973	The Yom Kippur War
1979	Egypt and Israel sign Peace Treaty.
1987	Beginning of Intifada
1993	Israel and the PLO sign the Declaration of Principles.
1995	Israel and Jordan sign Peace Treaty.¹