centuries BCE Israelites settle in the Land of Israel
c.1020 BCE Jewish monarchy established; Saul, first king.
c.1000 BCE Jerusalem made capital of David's kingdom.
c.960 BCE First Temple, the national and spiritual center of the Jewish people, built in Jerusalem by King Solomon.
c. 930 BCE Divided kingdom: Judah and Israel
722-720 BCE Israel crushed by Assyrians; 10 tribes exiled (Ten Lost Tribes).
586 BCE
Judah conquered by Babylonia; Jerusalem and First Temple destroyed; most Jews exiled.
THE SECOND TEMPLE PERIOD
538-142 BCE Persian and Hellenistic periods
538-515 BCE Many Jews return from Babylonia; Temple rebuilt.
332 BCE Land conquered by Alexander the Great; Hellenistic rule.
166-160 BCE
Maccabean (Hasmonean) revolt against restrictions on practice of Judaism and desecration of the Temple
142-129 BCE Jewish autonomy under Hasmoneans.
129-63 BCE Jewish independence under Hasmonean monarchy.
63 BCE Jerusalem captured by Roman general, Pompey.
63 BCE-313
CE
Roman rule
63-4 BCE
Herod, Roman vassal king, rules the Land of Israel;
Temple in Jerusalem refurbished
(CE - The Common Era)
c. 20-33 Ministry of Jesus of Nazareth
66 Jewish revolt against the Romans
70 Destruction of Jerusalem and Second Temple.
73 Last stand of Jews at Masada.
132-135 Bar Kokhba uprising against Rome.
c. 210 Codification of Jewish oral law (Mishna) completed.
FOREIGN DOMINATION
313-636 Byzantine rule
c. 390 Commentary on the Mishna (Jerusalem Talmud) completed.
614 Persian invasion
636-1099 Arab rule
691 On site of First and Second Temples in Jerusalem, Dome of the Rock built by Caliph Abd el-Malik.
1099-1291 Crusader domination
(Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem)
1291-1516 Mamluk rule
1517-1917 Ottoman rule
1564 Code of Jewish law (Shulhan Arukh) published.
1860 First neighborhood built outside walls of Jerusalem's Old City.
1882-1903 First Aliya (large-scale immigration), mainly from Russia.
1897
First Zionist Congress convened by Theodor Herzl in Basel, Switzerland; Zionist Organization founded.
1904-14 Second Aliya, mainly from Russia and Poland.
1909 First kibbutz, Degania, and first modern all-Jewish city, Tel Aviv, founded.
1917 400 years of Ottoman rule ended by British conquest;
British Foreign Minister Balfour pledges support for establishment of a "Jewish national home in Palestine"
1918-48
British rule
1919-23 Third Aliya, mainly from Russia
1920 Histadrut (General Federation of Labor) and Haganah (Jewish defense organization) founded.
Vaad Leumi (National Council) set up by Jewish community (Yishuv) to conduct its affairs.
1921 First moshav (cooperative village), Nahalal, founded.
1922 Britain granted Mandate for Palestine (Land of Israel) by League of Nations; Transjordan set up on three-fourths of the area, leaving one fourth for the Jewish national home.
Jewish Agency representing Jewish community vis-a-vis Mandate authorities set up.
1924
Technion, first institute of technology, founded in Haifa.
1924-32 Fourth Aliya, mainly from Poland.
1925 Hebrew University of Jerusalem opened on Mount Scopus.
1929 Hebron Jews massacred by Arab terrorists.
1931 Etzel, Jewish underground organization, founded.
1933-39 Fifth Aliya, mainly from Germany.
1936-39 Anti-Jewish riots instigated by Arab terrorists.
1939 Jewish immigration severely limited by British White Paper.
1939-45 World War II; Holocaust in Europe.
1941 Lehi underground movement formed; Palmach, strike force of Haganah, set up.
1944 Jewish Brigade formed as part of British forces.
1947 UN proposes the establishment of Arab and Jewish states in the Land.