Abraham (ca. 2000 B.C.) “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates – the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.” (Genesis 15:18-21)
“I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the desert to the Euphrates River. I will give into your hands the people who live in the land, and you will drive them out before you. Do not make a covenant with them or with their gods. Do not let them live in your land or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you.” – Exodus 23:31–33
Israel ultimately conquered this territory under King David, but never occupied it completely – that would have required them to live in Syria and Lebanon as well.
Ca. 1445 to 1405 B.C. Exodus (alternative: 1245-1205 B.C.).
Ca. 1405 B.C. to 1385 B.C. Conquest of Canaan
Ca. 1385 B.C. to 1050 B.C.Wars of the Judges (including Samuel)
Ca. 1050 B.C. Monarchy established
722 B.C. The Assyrians sent the Israelites in the Northern Kingdom into exile. The ten northern tribes were then lost to history.
The remaining inhabitants of the Northern Kingdom are probably the forerunners of the Samaritans, who considered themselves the descendants of Israel and worshipped on Mount Gerizim. The Jews did not consider them true descendants of Israel, and there was enmity between the two peoples.
608 – 538 B.C. Babylonian Exile (alternative: 586 – 516 B.C.).
516 B.C. Rebuilt Temple dedicated
445 B.C. Walls of Jerusalem completed
332 B.C. Alexander the Great conquers Judea
167 B.C. Antiochus Epiphanes, the Seleucid (Greek) King of Syria, bans Jewish religious practices and dedicates the Jewish Temple to the Greek god Zeus. Maccabees rebel.
165 B.C. Maccabees retake Temple.
152 B.C. Hasmonean dynasty established.
67 B.C. Romans under Pompey conquer Syria and Judea.
37 B.C. Herod the Great appointed King of the Jews
66 – 73 A.D. First Jewish rebellion. Romans destroy the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D.
132 – 136 A.D. Bar Kochba revolt. Judea and Galilee devastated. Jews barred from Jerusalem.
From 4th century A.D. Christianization. Jews remain a significant minority (possibly a majority)
438 A.D. Eastern Roman Empress Eudocia removes ban against Jews praying at the Temple site.
5th century A.D. Increased Christian immigration due to collapse of Wester Roman Empire.
614 A.D. Sassanids (Persians) conquer Jerusalem with Jewish help.
628 A.D. Byzantine Emperor Heraclius retakes Jerusalem with Jewish assistance. He reneges on his promise of restoring Jewish rights and carried out a massacre of the Jewish population, devastating Jewish communities of Jerusalem and Galilee. Jews flee the area or hide in mountains.
638 A.D. Arab/Muslim conquest. Gradual Arabization of the population (many remained Christian). Jews allowed back into Jerusalem and maintained a significant presence in the region.
720 A.D. Jews banned from worshiping on the Temple Mount. Ban remained for 1000 years.
Subsequent centuries: Jewish emigration due to discrimination and persecution. Jews remained a significant minority.
1099 – 1291 A.D. Crusades. Jews often fought on the side of the Muslims. Multiple massacres of Jews.
1187 A.D. Saladin conquers Jerusalem and Palestine. Lets Jews return to Jerusalem.
1260 A.D. Egyptian Mamluks take control. Mamluks oppressed Jews (and Christians) and destroyed coastal cities, where many Jews lived. Despite this, there were waves of Jewish immigration to Palestine over the next centuries.
1517 A.D. Ottomans conquer Palestine and make it part of the province of Syria. About 5000 Jews in Palestine, many in Safed in Galilee.
17th century Decline in Jewish population due to economic and security problems.
1834 Peasants revolt in Egypt. Looting of Safed and Hebron massacre.
19th century Ashkenazi Jews immigrated from Eastern Europe and Sephardic Jews from Bulgaria, Turkey, and North Africa.
1880 The Jewish population of Palestine numbered around 20,000 to 25,000, of whom two-thirds lived in Jerusalem. About 10% of the total population.
1881-1903 First Aliyah. About 25,000 to 35,000 Jews immigrated to Palestine.
1896 A majority of the population of Jerusalem is Jewish.
1904 – 1914 Second Aliyah. 35,000 Jews immigrated, mostly from Russian Empire.
1909 Tel Aviv established as a modern Jewish city.
1914-1918 Ottomans deported many Jews as enemy aliens.
1917 Deportations of all Jews from Jaffa and Tel Aviv
1917 Balfour Declaration by the British Government, supporting a “national home” for the Jewish people in Palestine.