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Israelite Tribes
According to tradition, the Israelites were Semitic émigrés from southern
Mesopotamia who left the
city of Ur during the reign of Hammurabi, when the Amorite
Babylonian empire was
at its height. A confederation of tribes, they initially settled on the
coast of the Dead Sea, before being forced to emigrated to Egypt, only to
return centuries later to form small kingdoms in
Canaan during the period of
unrest after 1200 BC.
In their early years they were more usually known as habiru (which became Hebrew) when they
migrated into Canaan from Mesopotamia and when they invaded
Canaan in the twelfth century BC through Edom and
Moab, penetrating as far
north as Amurru in Syria.
This term seems first to have been used for a range of outsiders, from unemployed
farm labourers and vagrants to mounted mercenary archers. The context
differed depending upon where the references were found. Although this term
originally seems to have been used for any marginal people who lived outside
state controls, there is nothing to preclude one such group
becoming the later Hebrews.
While the Bible's Old Testament is the primary source for much of the
information on the second and first millennium BC Israelites, the Jewish
historian, Flavius Josephus, also provides a highly interesting
interpretation in Greek for his predominantly
Roman
audience in his massive work, Jewish Antiquities. The early parts of
this list are largely made up of a combination of incidents from both
sources. |
c.1752 - 1750 BC |
Terah |
Began the exodus
from Ur. |
c.1750 BC |
Terah
leads his people to settle in Harran, a city far up and to the east
of the Euphrates, near the Hatti,
where he dies.
His son, Abraham, inherits the leadership, and begins to formulate his
theories of a single God of which he determines to persuade all others,
unless they can come up with a better theory that persuades him otherwise.
Abraham also adopts his brother's son,
Lot, as his own (presumably as his potential successor in light of his own
failure to produce a son). They head south to
Canaan where Abraham occupies the region around the later Jebusite city of
Hebron, and Lot the plain near the River Jordan and the city of Sodom.
The Old Testament also reports on the 'five cities of the plain' in
Canaan,
which include Salem, as well as their overlords who come into conflict
with the Israelites. Lot comes to the assistance of his neighbours, the
people of Sodom. Later in his life, Abraham is credited
with introducing circumcision to the Israelites, at a time when they are
clearly still tent dwellers. |
c.1750 - 1700 BC |
Abraham / Avram /
Abram |
Son. Led the tribe to
Canaan, close to
Palestine. |
c.1750 BC |
Lot |
Nephew, and son of Harran. |
c.1740 BC |
Moab, first son of
Lot (after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah) and grandnephew of Abraham, gains the stretch of land between the River Arnon and the
Brook of Zered on the coast of the Dead Sea. This area forms the kingdom of
Moab. Ben Ammi, an illegitimate
son of Lot, gains
Ammon, east of the River Jordan and on Moab's northern
border. |
c.1740 BC |
Moab |
Son of Lot. King of
Moab. |
c.1740 BC |
Ben Ammi |
Son of Lot. King of
Ammon. |
c.1700 BC |
Aram ben Nahor |
Brother of Abraham. Ancestor figure of all
Aramaeans. |
c.1700 BC |
Ismael |
Son of Abraham.
Ancestor figure of the Nabataeans. |
c.1700 BC |
Isaac |
Son of Abraham. |
c.1700 BC |
A
late son of Abraham, Isaac is his successor as leader of the early
Israelites, living much of his life in Hebron and eventually dying there. He gives Esau his
birthright as his own eldest son: the land centered around Mount Seir from the Brook of Zered to
the Sinai Peninsula, which becomes the kingdom of Edom. |
c.1700 BC |
Esau |
Son. King of Edom. |
c.1650 BC |
Jacob |
Brother. |
c.1650 BC |
Jacob
spends some years in Harran, where he meets his wives. As he returns them
and his large family to Hebron, Jacob stops off at the
Canaanite city of Shechem where his daughter is attacked, so Jacob's sons slay all the males
within the city walls. Upon his return home, Jacob succeeds Isaac as the
leader of his people, with his twelve sons forming the basis of the later
tribes of Israel.
The
Israelites are presumed to descend into Egypt to escape famine
just as Lower Egypt is invaded and governed by the
Hyksos,
probably making their entrance and acceptance there easier. They settle in
the region of modern Cairo, at first as welcomed guests but later enduring
worsening conditions and eventually slavery. According to the available
sources, Joseph is the focus of Hebrew leadership when they first arrive
there, but their deteriorating conditions mean that the situation four
hundred years later is very different, with no apparent ruling house,
although a Hebrew nobility survives. |
c.1625 BC |
Joseph |
Son. Leader of the Israelites
in Hyksos
Egypt. |
|
Ephraim & Manasses |
Sons,
but no claims of leadership made for them in sources. |
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Levi |
Elder brother of Joseph. |
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Caath |
Son. |
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Amram |
Son. |
c.1230 BC |
By this time, four hundred years after their descent into
Egypt,
the Hebrews have multiplied from a band of seventy into a people numbering
thousands, but they have been reduced to slavery. A nobility still exists,
however, and is represented in the sources by the descendants of Levi. The
most recent of his descendants is
Moses, who now leads the loose confederation of Israelite tribes out of
Egypt. |
c.1230 - 1170 BC |
Moses |
Son. Died after
the conquest
of Moab. |
c.1170 - 1140s BC |
Joshua |
Son of Nun.
Leader during the Israelite Settlement
Period. |
|
c.1170 BC |
Joshua fights against Adonizedec (Adoni
Zedek), king of Shalem. |
|
c.1150 BC |
Joshua has to fight against an alliance of northern
Canaanite kings at Merom,
with Hazor being described as the 'head of all those kingdoms'. |
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The Israelite Settlement Period |
c.1200 - 1020 BC |
This
is the period of Israelite
settlement after the exodus from
Egypt.
At this time, there is general instability in the region: the
Hittite
empire is destroyed in Anatolia, the
Canaanites
begin to be reduced to owning the shores of
Lebanon (to eventually become the sea
traders known as the Phoenicians), the
Philistines
and other Sea Peoples are first
settling on the lower coast of the Levant, and various Neo-Hittite city states are
arising in northern
Syria, many of which come into contact with the
Israelites.
It has been strongly suggested that the Israelites themselves are
Canaanites, and that the exodus never occurs. This theory seems to be backed
up by archaeological finds. But, if the exodus is true then the Old Testament affords us an
almost unique look at the settlement of a people in the ancient Middle East.
As they arrive and settle in the region, the Israelites may be joined by
late additions to their confederation of tribes: the tribes of Asher and Dan
appear to originate from the
Weshesh and
Danya. In local politics the Israelites have various dealings with the city states in the Dead Sea region
of Canaan and southern Syria. These are mostly attempts at conquest, successful or
otherwise. |
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c.1200 BC |
The
Israelites conquer Arad the
Canaanite, and Sihon the
Amorite, 'king of
Ammon'.
|
c.1200 BC |
Arad the
Canaanite |
Ruled the south. |
|
c.1198 BC |
The
Israelites conquer
Moab, and the following kingdoms
or cities:
|
c.1198 BC |
Balaam |
A Midian king, an area of city states south of Edom. |
c.1198 BC |
Evi |
A
Midian king. |
c.1198 BC |
Rekem |
A
Midian king. |
c.1198 BC |
Zur |
A
Midian king. |
c.1198 BC |
Hur |
A
Midian king. |
c.1198 BC |
Reba |
A
Midian king. |
|
c.1190 BC |
Og the
Amorite of the
Syrian city of
Bashan
is defeated. |
c.1180 BC |
|
King
of Jericho. |
c.1180 BC |
|
King
of Ai, near Beth-el. |
|
c.1170s BC |
The
Canaanite tribes are conquered by the Israelites. All
of these are rulers of Canaanite city states situated in and around Judah
and lower Syria: |
c.1170s BC |
Horam |
King of Gezer. |
c.1170s BC |
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King of Hormah. |
c.1170s BC |
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King of Arad. |
c.1170s BC |
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King of Libnah. |
c.1170s BC |
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King of Adullam. |
c.1170s BC |
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King of Makkedah. |
c.1170s BC |
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King of Beth-el. |
c.1170s BC |
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King of Tappuah. |
c.1170s BC |
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King of Hepher. |
c.1160s BC |
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King of Aphek. |
c.1160s BC |
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King of Lasharon. |
c.1160s BC |
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King of
Shimron-meron. |
c.1160s BC |
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King of Taanach. |
c.1160s BC |
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King of Megiddo
(the Bible's Armageddon). |
c.1160s BC |
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King of Kadesh
(under control of Ashtata?). |
c.1160s BC |
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King of Carmel. |
|
c.1160s BC |
The
Israelites conquer a large number of cities in this decade, including
Dor.
|
c.1160s BC |
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King
of Gilgal. |
c.1160s BC |
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King
of Tirzah. This city was later the original capital of
Samaria. |
|
c.1150 BC |
The kings below are all allies of Hazor in the coalition of the 'kings of
Canaan' against
Joshua and the
Israelites at the 'waters of Megiddo'. Hazor itself is sacked and
burned.
|
c.1150 BC |
Jobab |
King of Madon.
Ally of Hazor. |
c.1150 BC |
Shimron |
King of Achshaph.
Ally of Hazor. |
c.1150 BC |
Hermon |
King of
the Hivites of the land of Mizpah. Ally of
Hazor. |
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Later City States of Canaan |
fl c.970? BC |
Hadadezer |
King of Zobah. Fell to David. |
c.970? BC |
A
young officer of Zobah, Rezon, son of Eliada, escapes the
Israelite conquest of the city and
establishes himself in
Aram Damascus, where he 'founds' an important
kingdom. |
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Time of the Judges
The period of the
Judges begins. These were nominal rulers who were possibly priests, and who held
authority over the twelve Israelite tribes. They were not
actually called kings, but nevertheless they did reign. The reignal lengths are as described
in the Bible and appear to overlap with the above dates by about 75 years or
so. At the time,
Canaan was nominally under the governance of
Egypt, but
it was preoccupied with repulsing incursions by the
Sea Peoples. |
c.1216 - 1213 BC |
Abimelech |
Killed by his own
people. |
c.1213 - 1208 BC |
Tola |
|
c.1208 - 1186 BC |
Jair |
|
c.1200 BC |
Israel is apparently under the rule of
Aram-Nahara'im for eight years, until
its king, Cushan-Rishataim, is defeated by Othniel. The Israelites go on to
defeat Sihon the
Amorite, taking
territory that had recently been part of
Ammon. |
c.1198 BC |
Moab is defeated and subjugated by
the Israelites, as are a number of minor city states. |
c.1190 BC |
The
Israelite tribe of Menasseh defeats Og the
Amorite and conquers the
Syrian city of
Bashan.
This victory, when combined with that over Sihon the
Amorite in
Ammon gives
them possession of the country east of the Jordan, from Arnon to the foot of
Hermon. |
c.1186 - 1168 BC |
The
region is conquered and
occupied by the Philistines. |
c.1182 - 1175 BC |
Jephthah |
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|
c.1170s BC |
The Canaanite king of
Shalem leads the fragmented
Jebusites
against Joshua, but they are defeated and conquered by the Israelites, with
their cities being incorporated into the Israelite state. Shalem becomes the
state's capital of Jerusalem with the region being occupied by the tribes of
Benjamin and Judah, although control of it appears to be lost to the
Philistines, perhaps in c.1150 BC. |
c.1175 - 1168 BC |
Ibzan |
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|
c.1160s BC |
The Israelites conquer a large number of cities in this decade, including
Dor.
|
c.1168 - 1158 BC |
Elon |
|
c.1158 - 1150 BC |
Abdon |
|
c.1150 BC |
Israel
is subdued by
Moab. Similarly, around the same
period, Israel is temporarily subdued by Jabin, 'king of
Canaan', who rules from the
northern city of Hazor. His associate, Sisera, is routed in battle by Joshua and
Hazor itself is sacked and burned, possibly by the Israelites who then annexe it
to their state. However, the Israelites are conquered by the
Philistines who maintain vassal kings in Israel.
Jerusalem is possibly freed from Israelite control at this stage, as King
David is forced to re-conquer it in 975 BC. |
c.1150? - 1130 BC |
Manoah |
|
c.1130 - 1110 BC |
Samson |
Died freeing Israel. |
c.1120 BC |
The Benjaminite Ehud ben Gera assassinates the Moabite
king and defeats his army in battle. Moab is
again subjugated by Israel. |
c.1110 BC |
The
Israelites free themselves from the control of the Philistines. |
c.1110 - 1070 BC |
Eli |
Neck broken in an accident. |
c.1097 - 1095 BC |
A civil
war is fought in Israel. |
c.1080 BC |
Israel
is subdued by the Midianites to the south. |
c.1070 - 1040 BC |
Samuel |
|
c.1040 - 1035 BC |
Joel & Abiah |
Sons of Samuel. |
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Kingdom of Israel
c.1035 - 928 BC
In circa 1035 BC the comparatively weak Israelites founded
a small kingdom under Saul which also included the captured city of
Hazor.
This is partially in response to attacks from
Ammon, which Saul realised
could only be responded to with any effectiveness if the Israelite tribes
were united. Once regained from the
Philistines,
he made their capital the small walled city of Jerusalem.
According to Professor Mario Liverani, "There are no extra-biblical sources
mentioning the united kingdom of Judah and Israel, but maybe this is due to
the fact that such sources never existed. In the tenth century BC Jerusalem
was so small that only a palace and a temple possibly existed... If we read
the biblical text critically but positively we may suggest a kingdom of
limited dimensions, whose limits were Shechem and Beersheba." |
c.1035 - 1005 BC |
Saul |
Kingdom founder.
Deposed. |
|
Saul defeats Nahash, king of
Ammon, after the citizens of the frontier city
of Jabesh-Gilead call
for assistance against the Ammonite army. He also hands
Edom a defeat and probably makes
it a vassal of Israel. |
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Ishbaal |
|
c.1005 - 965 BC |
David |
|
990s BC |
The Israelites under
David take the city state of Dor and incorporate it into the kingdom. He
also commits his parents to protect the king of
Moab, Mizpeh, a possible relation
of his, but this is the last time the two kingdoms share friendly relations. |
c.980 BC |
Ammon is conquered by Israel, despite assistance being supplied by the
northern state of Aram Damascus. |
975 BC |
David leads the Israelites to subdue the
Philistines, regaining
Jerusalem from a Jebusite king and making the city his capital. One of Israel's allies in David's
reign is the
Syrian city of Hamath, which remains a close friend for
centuries afterwards. David also permanently subdues
Edom, making it a dependency of
Israel. |
c.970? BC |
David
conquers the city of Zobah, although one
of its military officers escapes and founds an important kingdom known as
Aram Damascus.
This replaces the eclipsed Zobah as the main centre of
Aramaean power in the
Levant. |
c.966 BC |
Work starts on the construction of the First Temple in Jerusalem. |
965 BC |
Adonijah |
Attempted to steal the throne. |
965 - 928 BC |
Solomon |
Son of David. |
c.965? BC |
Solomon meets the Queen of Sheba (Saba)
and according to legend becomes the father of Menelik, founder of the
Ethiopian
empire. |
c.955 BC |
The First Temple of Jerusalem is completed, apparently by craftsmen from
Sidon under King Hiram of Tyre, and houses the Ark of the
Covenant. Solomon also enters into a matrimonial alliance with Sidon. |
c.930s BC |
Solomon's elaborate building operations and lavish personal existence have
already led to forced labour, high taxes, and increasing unrest amongst the
populace. In the later years of his reign, his enemies increase, 'divinely
raised up to chasten him'. One of these is Rezon, the son of Eliada, a
former officer of Zobah who has assumed
control of Aram Damascus. |
928 BC |
Rehoboam |
Son of
Solomon. Mother was Naamah the
Ammonite. |
928 - 925 BC |
Because he fails to heed the demands of the people to rescind Solomon's
heavy tax and labour demands, the
ten tribes of the north refuse to accept Rehoboam at the confirmation
ceremony at Shechem and civil war ensues.
Rehoboam is left with just the tribes of Judah and Benjamin in the south
as the kingdom divides into Israel &
Judah. |
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Kingdom of Israel / Samaria
928 - 723 BC
Following the civil war which divided Israel, the capital of the rebellious
north was initially Tirza (Tirzah), which the Israelites had conquered in
the 1160s BC during the settlement period, but from 881 BC it became Samaria.
The city of Bashan formed part of its northern territory at first, as did
Moab and
Ammon to the east, but
Israel's break-up allowed its enemy
Damascus to greatly increase its own
power. The situation was not helped by Samaria and
Judah continuing their
civil war, on and off, under successive rulers. To help break the northern
population's ties with Jerusalem still further, Jeroboam I created two
sanctuaries, at Bethel in the south (very close to the border with Judah),
and Dan in the north, both important cultic centres. He introduced forms of
worship which could easily be accepted by the people but which were also
easily attacked by Judah as being idolatrous. |
928 - 907 BC |
Jeroboam I |
Son of Nebat.
Former Ephramite chief of Solomon's labour gangs. |
c.925 BC |
Egyptian Pharaoh Shesonk mounts a full-scale invasion of the kingdom,
mainly ignoring Judah to the
south. Many treasures are captured but the Ark of the Covenant, contrary to
some opinion, is not taken to Egypt. |
906 - 905 BC |
Nadab |
Son. Killed by
Philistines. |
905 - 883 BC |
Baasha |
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While attacking Asa of Judah, Samaria
loses some of its northern towns to
Damascus, although this event goes
unrecorded by the Bible, and Jeroboam probably has to make important
concessions to the Damascene king, Ben-Hadad. Control over
Ammon is also
lost in about 880 BC. |
883 - 881 BC |
Elah |
Son. Murdered by
the captain of chariots. |
881 BC |
Zimri |
Ruled for seven days. Suicide. |
881 - 870 BC |
Omri |
Oppressor of the
Moabites. |
c.880 - 848 BC |
Moab is oppressed by Omri and his
son, Ahab. These two Israelite kings head a new dynasty in Samaria, and this is the first mention of Israelite rulers outside of
the Old Testament. Omri also establishes closer ties with the Phoenicians at
Tyre in an attempt to draw away some of
Damascus' wealth and prosperity. The Assyrians
make themselves known, referring to Samaria as Bit-Humri ('House of Omri'),
and his successors as Mar-Humri ('Son of Omri'). |
870 - 848 BC |
Ahab |
Son.
m Jezebal, dau of king of Tyre. Killed by Assyrians. |
855 - 854 BC |
Ahab further strengthens Samaria's position by concluding a treaty with
Tyre
which is cemented by marriage, and adding a protective alliance with
Judah, sealed with the marriage
of his daughter, Athalia, to Jehoram, the crown prince of Judah. In 855 BC,
the long-awaited attack by
Damascus arrives. After burning
Hazor, King Ben-Hadad and 32 vassal
kings suddenly appear before the gates of Samaria, but are strategically
defeated twice in two years (this attack may be a misattribution by later
editors of the Bible and may instead refer to the throwing off of Damascene
domination by Jehoash in the early eighth century BC). |
853 BC |
Ahab is a member of an alliance of states which also includes
Ammon,
Arvad,
Byblos,
Damascus, Edom,
Egypt,
and Hamath. Together they fight Shalmaneser III of
Assyria
in a battle which consists of the largest known number of combatants to
date, and is the first historical mention of the Arabs from the southern
deserts. Despite claims to the contrary, the Assyrians are defeated, since
they do not press on to their nearest target, Hamath. |
850 BC |
Damascus removes
Bashan from Samarian control. |
848 - 847 BC |
Ahaziah |
Son.
Weak and sickly.
Moab rebels during his reign. |
847 - 842 BC |
Joram/Jehoram |
Son of Ahab. Killed by Jehu. |
c.847 BC |
Joram, together with Jehoshaphat of
Judah, and the king (or governor)
of Edom, form a coalition
which attempts to retake Moab by
force, but despite some initial gains, the attempt is unsuccessful.
Despite Old Testament claims to the contrary,
Moab even invades and defeats
Samaria. |
842 - 814 BC |
Jehu |
|
c.840 BC |
Jehu puts an end to the house of Omri by massacring the entire royal family
and seizing the throne. The only known survivor is Omri's daughter, Athaliah,
who is queen in
Judah. Soon after his reign
begins,
Damascus
takes all the Hebrew possessions east of the Jordan, ravaging Judah, and rendering Israel
impotent. Later in his reign, Jehu is also represented on the Black Obelisk
of Shalmaneser III as submitting to
Assyria, the
only representation of an Israelite ruler in existence today. |
814 - 800 BC |
Jehoahaz |
Son. |
800 - 784 BC |
Jehoash / Joash |
Son. |
|
During his reign, Jehoash is able to throw off dominion by
Damascus as the
powerful kingdom weakens. His son goes one step further by making Damascus a
vassal. |
784 - 748 BC |
Jeroboam II |
Son. |
748 BC |
Zachariah |
Son. Ruled for 6
months. |
748 BC |
Shallum |
Ruled for 1 month.
Killed. |
748 - 738 BC |
Menachem |
Son of Gadi. |
|
738 BC |
Samaria becomes a vassal of
Assyria, but
its kings are allowed to continue to rule. |
738 - 733 BC |
Pekahiah |
Son. |
733 - 732 BC |
Pekah |
Son of Remaliah. |
|
734 BC |
Pekah and Rezon II of
Damascus form an anti-Assyrian
coalition. They try to force Ahaz of
Judah to join them but are stopped when Tiglath-Pileser III marches an
army into the region. Over the next two years he re-conquers all the
rebellious states, and takes Damascus. |
732 - 723 BC |
Hoshea |
Ostensibly pro-Assyrian
to assuage Tiglath-Pileser III. |
722 - 721 BC |
After
Hoshea stops paying tribute, Samaria is invaded and eventually
falls to
Assyria. The ten (of
twelve) Hebrew tribes in Israel are relocated by the Assyrians (27,290 inhabitants
in all). A proportion of them are resettled in
Media in the Zagros Mountains,
forced to walk all the way. It is often assumed that the rest may be massacred by
the Assyrians, although it now seems more likely that
they are eventually absorbed into general Assyrian society. In their place,
the residents of the rebellious city of
Hamath are shipped in, and it is
these people who form the core of the later Samaritans. The former kingdom
is divided into provinces: Megiddo (north-west), Samaria (west of the River
Jordan), and Gilead (east of the River Jordan). |
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Kingdom of Judah
928 - 586 BC
From 925 BC Jerusalem was the capital of the southern division of two of the
twelve Israelite tribes.
It kept the conquered kingdom of
Edom
as a dependency. The civil war which had divided Israel rumbled on with occasional flare-ups
over successive generations, and weakened both states. After the fall of Samaria in 721 BC and the conquests by
Assyria, Judah
became the sole surviving Israelite state,
existing only in Jerusalem, the rest of its former lands now being under
Assyrian occupation. Its population was swelled by the pouring in of
refugees escaping the Assyrian rule of Samaria.
Only then did Jerusalem swell to become a great city. |
928 - 911 BC |
Rehoboam |
Retained only the southern part of the former united kingdom. |
c.925 BC |
Egyptian Pharaoh Shesonk
mounts a full-scale invasion of
Samaria, but mainly ignores Judah. Jerusalem is relatively untouched
following a short siege by the invaders, although some Temple treasures are
looted. |
911 - 908 BC |
Abijam |
Son.
Fought against Israel. |
908 - 867 BC |
Asa |
Son. |
|
Baasha pushes
Samaria's frontier to within five miles of Jerusalem
Just like his father before him, when under pressure from Samaria, Asa calls
on Damascus for help. |
871 - 847 BC |
Jehoshaphat |
Son. Joint rule for five years. |
c.850 & c.847 BC |
The
Philistines sack Jerusalem in about 850 BC. Around three years later, Jehoshaphat, together with Joram of
Samaria and the king (or
governor) of Edom, form a
coalition which attempts to retake
Moab by force, but despite some initial gains, the attempt is
unsuccessful. |
846 - 843 BC |
Jehoram |
Son.
m Athalia, dau of Ahab of
Samaria. |
843 - 842 BC |
Ahaziah |
Son. |
842 - 836 BC |
Athaliah |
Queen. Mother of Ahaziah
& daughter of Omri of Samaria. |
c.840 BC |
Despite Old Testament claims to the contrary,
Moab defeats Israel.
Damascus
also takes all the Hebrew possessions east of the Jordan, ravaging Judah,
and rendering Israel impotent. |
836 - 798 BC |
Joash |
Son of Ahaziah of Judah. |
798 - 781 BC |
Amaziah |
Son. Murdered. |
781 - 740 BC |
Uzziah / Azariah
/ Azarias |
Son. |
740 BC |
Uzziah is struck with
leprosy in front of the Ark of the Covenant and dies soon afterwards. |
740 - 736 BC |
Jotham / Yotham |
Son. |
736 - 716 BC |
Ahaz |
Son. |
|
733 BC |
Judah becomes a vassal of
Assyria, but
the king remains on the throne. |
721 BC |
Sennacherib
of Assyria conquers all of
Israel and Judah except the city of Jerusalem
itself, to which he lays siege. As documented by Isaiah (who wrote the Book
of Isaiah chapters 1-39 himself at this time), Hezekiah addresses the Ark of
the Covenant in the Temple of Solomon and Sennacherib's forces are
decimated, whether by plague or the power of the Ark itself is unknown. With
much of the rest of the Israelite lands remaining occupied, the Jewish faith
and their god, Yahweh, survive only in this one small pocket which is now little
more than a city state. |
716 - 687 BC |
Hezekiah |
Lands reduced. |
716 - 702 BC |
Hezekiah has dealings with the usurper king of
Babylonia,
Marduk-apla-iddina II (Merodach-Baladan), between these dates. In 701,
Hezekiah's refusal to pay tribute to
Assyria leads
to Sennacherib besieging Jerusalem until the wayward king capitulates. |
687 - 642 BC |
Manasseh |
Son of Hezekiah.
Crowned at the age of twelve. |
687 - 642 BC |
The first Jewish monarch to turn his back on the established faith, Manasseh
introduces pagan idols and worship, and persecutes the prophets, leading a
sustained campaign against the worship of Yahweh.
It seems possible that the Ark of the Covenant is withdrawn from Jerusalem by
650 BC by its Levite protectors. At the same time, Israelites are known to
have settled in
Egypt, on the island of Elephantine. |
642 - 640 BC |
Amon |
Son.
Assassinated by royal household for his paganism. |
640 - 609 BC |
Josiah |
Son. Killed by
Nech of Egypt. |
640 - 609 BC |
Josiah is aged eight when he succeeds to the throne. The Bible books
Deuteronomy and I Kings are compiled during his reign, which sees a return
to established religious practices - with some modernising - but the king is
later killed fighting Egypt. |
c.626 BC |
Jeremiah composes at least part of his eponymous Biblical book at the start
of his prophetic ministry. |
609 - 608 BC |
Jehoahaz II |
Third son of Josiah. Ruled for 3 months. |
608 BC |
Necho of
Babylon deposes Jehoahaz. |
608 - 597 BC |
Jehoiakim |
Son of Josiah.
Rebellion against Babylonian rule. |
597 BC |
Jehoiachin |
Son. Ruled 3 months.
Taken into captivity in
Babylon. |
597 BC |
For its continued support of
Egypt,
Nebuchadnezzar invades and occupies Jerusalem (with the help of
Ammon), showing no hesitation in
stripping the city of its treasures. The Judeans are made vassals under
Babylonia, and 10,000 subjects are shipped to
Babylon,
including the ruling elite. |
597 - 586 BC |
Zedekiah /
Sedecias |
Son of Josiah.
Babylonian puppet king. |
587/586 BC |
Zedekiah rebels
against Babylonian overlordship and Jerusalem is sacked by
Babylonia.
Zedekiah himself is captured and forced to watch the execution of his
children before his eyes are poked out. Much of the population is moved to Babylon. Judah
becomes a province of Babylon. The First Temple is burnt to the ground after
being pillaged. |
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Babylonian Governors of Judah
586 - ? BC
The first governor, Gedaliah, appears to have served in
a high position within the Judahite royal court at least as early at 600 BC.
An inscription with his name has been found at Lachish, to the south-west of
Jerusalem. Other references to him suggest he supported a more conciliatory
approach to the Babylonians.
Gedaliah's story is told in 2 Kings 25:22-26 and Jeremiah 39:13-14; and
40:1-41:18. He is introduced as Gedaliah son of Ahikam and grandson of
Shaphan, a prominent scribe of the period and the head of a household that
supported both Josiah's religious reforms and the prophet Jeremiah. |
586 BC |
Gedaliah ben
Achikam |
Babylonian
governor of Judah. Based in Mitzpah. |
586 - 538 BC |
Gedaliah is killed by the remaining
populace during a rebellion which is instigated by Baalis of
Ammon. In
retribution, even more of the population is shipped to Babylon. Jehoiachin and his
successor are termed princes of Judah while the tribes
are held in Babylon. |
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537 - ? BC |
Zorobabel |
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Princes of Judah in Exile
597 - 539 BC
This was
a period of occupation and overlordship for Judah, firstly from
Babylonia,
then Persia, the
Greek empire, Ptolemaic
Egypt, and the
Seleucid empire
in Syria, before the Maccabaean revolt gave the Judeans a free state once again,
albeit a small one. |
597 - 560 BC |
Jehoiachin |
|
560 - after 539 BC |
Sheshbazzar |
|
539 - 538 BC |
Persia's Cyrus the Great enters
Babylon. Cyrus adopts an enlightened attitude
to his subjects and allows the Judeans to return to Jerusalem, after
officially handing over all their captured idols and treasures. He also
proclaims that they can rebuild their temple. This policy is probably to
encourage pro-Persian support in the Levant, a region which bears distinctly
pro-Egyptian
sympathies. |
537 BC |
Construction of the Second Temple begins in Jerusalem, sited over the ruins
of the First Temple. |
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Great Jews & High Priests of Judah
c.515 - 159 BC
From the time of Ezra and Nehemiah until the conquest
of the region by Alexander the Great the religious leaders and teachers of
the Jewish people were the Great Assembly and the Sopherim (the Great Jews
or Great Priests), who could trace their descent from the
Judges of pre-kingdom Israel.
The great priests disappeared under Hellenic control, and it was realised that a new
institution of a similar nature was required in order to maintain religious
unity and teach the law, so the Sanhedrin was formed (the High Priests).
However, under the
Greek empire and its Seleucid
descendant, Judean
culture and religion was under pressure to Hellenise. The chronology down to
the Greek conquest is disputed, but this version seems to be the most
reliable. |
c.517 BC |
The Second Temple is completed and the population at last know for certain
that the Ark of the Covenant has been lost when it is not available to be
re-sited inside the new temple's Holy of Holies. They already had doubts as they
had known that it had not been taken into captivity with them. |
|
c.515 - 490 BC |
Jeshua / Joshua |
Son
of High Priest Jehozadak. |
|
c.490 - 470 BC |
Joiakim |
Son. |
|
c.470 - 433 BC |
Eliashib |
Son. |
459 BC |
Ezra, a 'scribe', leads the second body of exiled Israelites back to
Jerusalem from
Babylon. He
also writes the Book of Ezra, and according to tradition collects and edits
the books of the Old Testament. |
446 - 433 BC |
Nehemiah / Nechemiah |
Governor of Judah.
Author of the Book of Nemiah. |
446 - 444 BC |
Nehemiah, probably of the house of Judah, is appointed governor of Judea by
Artaxerxes I of
Persia. Despite
hindrance from
Ammon, he commands that Jerusalem be rebuild and restored, and this process
ends with the restoration of the city's walls in 444 BC. After his period of
governorship is over, he returns to Persia, but has to revisit Judea two
years later to put right the abuses of power that have taken place in his
absence. |
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c.433 - 410 BC |
Joiada |
Son. |
431 - 413? BC |
Nehemiah / Nechemiah |
Second governorship. Governed until his death? |
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Judea is annexed to the satrapy of Coele-Syria, and is
governed by the high priest under the jurisdiction of the governor of Syria.
The internal government of the country became more and more a hierarchy. |
c.410 - 371 BC |
Jonathan /
Johanan |
Son
of Eliashib. |
410 BC |
Correspondence between the Jewish community at Elephantine in
Egypt and
Jerusalem ceases. |
c.371 - 320 BC |
Jaddua / Jaddus |
Son.
Sometimes identified as Simeon Justus. |
332 BC |
Judah
is captured by Alexander the Great's
Greek empire, and the Great Assembly and Sopherim disappear. |
|
c.320 - 280 BC |
Onias I |
Son
of Jaddua. |
312 BC |
Alexander's former
general, Ptolemy of
Egypt,
conquers Jerusalem and grants the people autonomy. |
|
c.280 - 260 BC |
Simon I the Just /
Simeon Justus |
Son. |
|
c.260 - 245 BC |
Eleazar |
Brother. |
|
c.245 - 240 BC |
Manasseh |
Son
of Jaddua. |
|
c.240 - 218 BC |
Onias II |
Son
of Simon. |
|
218 - 185 BC |
Simon II |
Son
of Onias II. |
198 BC |
Palestine passes from
Egypt to the Seleucid
empire.
The Sanhedrin is established around three years later, officiated over by
the High Priests. |
185 - 175 BC |
Onias III |
Son. Murdered near Antioch
in 170 BC. |
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Onias
III comes into conflict with the
Seleucid authorities and is replaced by his brother and later murdered.
The Seleucids believe they have the authority to appoint high priests of
their choice, breaking the hereditary nature of the position. |
175 - 172 BC |
Jason |
Brother. |
172 - 162 BC |
Menelas /
Menelaus |
Originally called Onias, according to Josephus. |
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Onias IV |
Son
of Onias III. |
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Onias
IV flees to
Egypt
and founds a temple at Leontopolis (which survives until AD 66). |
167 BC |
Jerusalem is defiled by
Antiochus IV. The Maccabaean revolt begins and a splinter state of
Judea is formed, governed by rulers who do not belong to the Israelite royal houses. |
162 - 159 BC |
Alcimus |
|
159 - 153 BC |
The
successor to the post is unknown until the accession of Jonathan Apphus of
the Hasmonaean dynasty in 159 BC. |
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Hasmonaean (Jewish Independent / Maccabaean) Dynasty
165 - 37 BC
Antiochus IV tried to introduce Hellenic culture into Jerusalem - the
Sanhedrin became heavily Hellenised itself - but the populace in general
distrusted such attempts to change their way of life. The resulting Maccabaean
revolt split Judea away from
Seleucid control, and the Jews recreated their own independent state based around Jerusalem. |
167 - 166 BC |
Mattatia Maccabeus |
|
165 - 161 BC |
Judas Maccabeus |
Freed Judea from
Seleucid rule. |
161 - 142 BC |
Jonathan Apphus |
|
c.160 BC |
Ammon is conquered and drawn into the
kingdom. |
142 - 134 BC |
Simon Thassi |
Brother. |
134 - 104 BC |
John Hyrcanus I |
Son. |
109 BC |
Idumaea is drawn into the
kingdom. |
104 - 103 BC |
Aristobulus I |
Son. |
103 - 76 BC |
Alexander Jannćus |
Brother. |
76 - 67 BC |
John Hyrcanus II |
Son. |
67 - 63 BC |
Aristobulus II |
Brother. |
63 - 40 BC |
John Hyrcanus II |
Restored. |
63 BC |
Rome invades Palestine, making it a province.
Hyrcanus rules by Roman decree. |
40 - 37 BC |
Antigonus |
Son of Aristobulus. |
37 BC |
The
Herodite Dynasty, originating from
Idumaea,
is set up to control the area as a puppet state. The line of high priests
continues, but is no longer in charge of Judea. |
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Herodite Dynasty of Judea
37 BC - AD 44?
Son of the Hasmonaean official, Antipater the
Idumaean, Herod was set up as a puppet ruler by Rome.
Despite being pro-Cassius during the civil war between the supporters of
Julius Caesar and his murderers, Rome felt it was important to retain
Herod's services in order to keep the anti-Roman nobility suppressed. Herod was able to appoint the governor of Idumaea as part of his duties.
During various periods of his reign and that of his descendants,
Judea was sometimes also given control of the client kingdom of
Batanaea,
just beyond the Golan Heights. |
37 - 4 BC |
Herod the Great |
Brought in from Idumaea to rule. |
37 BC |
Herod begins the
renovation of the Temple, and the expansion of the Temple Mount. |
4 BC - AD 6 |
Herod Archelaus |
Son of Herod. Puppet
under Roman Procurator's rule. |
?6 - 34 |
Philip |
Son of Herod. Puppet.
Also governed Batanaea. |
26 - 30 |
Pontius Pilate is
appointed as the
Roman procurator of Judea in AD 26. In circa AD 33,
Jesus is crucified by the Jewish government, overseen by the Romans. |
?34 - 39 |
Herod Antipas |
Son of Herod. Puppet. |
?39 - 44 |
Agrippa I |
Grandson of Herod.
Puppet. |
40 - 43 |
Apostle Peter leads
the first Christians in Galilee in AD 40. By the following year, the expansion of Jerusalem
continues under Agrippa l. James leads the Jerusalem Christian community in AD 43. |
66 - 73 |
The First Jewish Uprising.
Revolt against
Rome
leads to the destruction of
Jerusalem and the Temple (AD 70). The Roman general Titus crushes the revolt, and many Jews
are taken as captives to Rome. In AD 68, Josephus begins his History of the Jewish War.
By AD 73, the revolt reaches its bloody conclusion at the Masada fortress near the Dead Sea,
when it is finally captured by Rome after the defenders commit mass suicide. |
132 - 135 |
The Second Jewish Uprising
is led by Simon Bar Kochba against
Roman rule.
He captures Jerusalem and establishes an independent
state. Roman armies under Hadrian raze Jerusalem and the emperor builds a new city on the site,
named Aelia Capitolina. A Roman temple dedicated to Jupiter is built on
the site of the Jewish temple itself, and the Jews are driven out of Jerusalem.
By 136, although the Romans forbid Jews to enter Jerusalem, Christian
pilgrims are permitted entrance. |
170 |
The centre of Jewish
life moves to Galilee. Rabbi Judah HaNasi presides over a reconstituted
Sanhedrin, or high
court. |
305 |
Palestine falls under
the
jurisdiction of Eastern Roman Empire. |
638 |
Jerusalem falls to
the Islamic
empire. |
1071 - 1099 |
Jerusalem
is conquered
by the Seljuq Turks. |
1096 - 1244 |
The First Crusade. The
County of Edessa is created in 1098.
Jerusalem is captured in 1099. |
1244 - 1916 |
Judah
is ruled by the
Abuyyids and then the
Ottoman empire. |
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Modern Israel & Palestine
AD 1918 - Present Day |
1916 - 1947 |
Palestine
is conquered by the
British from the crumbling Ottomans
in 1916, and the following year the British
Parliament's 'Balfour
Declaration' gives backing for 'a national home for Jewish people' in
Palestine. In 1920 Britain assumes official governance of the region. |
1937 |
On 7
July the British 'Peel Commission' recommends partitioning Palestine into
separate Jewish and Arab states. |
1948 |
As
the
British
mandate in Palestine comes to an end, the declaration of the State of Israel
takes place. |
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1967 |
The Yom Kippur War
sees
Egypt and
Jordan fighting Israel. Jordan loses the West Bank, a third of the
kingdom. Israel also gains the Golan Heights and
Bashan from
Syria. |
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1988 |
The
displaced Palestinians recognise the state of Israel. |
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1996 - Present |
The semi-autonomous
state of Palestine is set up by a joint Israeli/Palestinian/United States of America deal. |
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2006 BC |
With Lebanon more stable than at any time in a generation, Israel launches a
military attack on 12 July which lasts a month and seriously damages the
country. The Second Lebanon War is caused primarily by Palestinian militants
firing rockets at Israeli targets from inside Lebanon. The war is a military
and political disaster for Israel. |
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