Timeline
| 17th-6th C. BCE |
Biblical Times
|
| c.17th century BCE |
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob – patriarchs of the Jewish people and bearers of a belief in One GOD – settle in the present-day Land of Israel. Famine forces Israelites to migrate to Egypt. |
| c.13th century BCE |
Exodus from Egypt: Moses leads the Israelites from Egypt, followed by 40 years of wandering in the desert. The Torah (GOD’s Law), including the Ten Commandments, received at Mount Sinai. |
| 13th-12th centuries BCE |
Israelites settle in the Promised Land |
| c. 1020 BCE |
Jewish monarchy established; Saul, first king. |
| c. 1000 BCE |
Jerusalem becomes the capital of the kingdom of David, the second king of Israel after Saul. |
| c. 960 BCE |
Construction of the First Holy Temple, the national and spiritual center of the Jewish people, built in Jerusalem by King Solomon (third king and son of David). |
| c. 930 BCE |
The Kingdom is divided: Judah: in the South, including the territory of the tribe of Judah, the territory of the tribe of Simeon (disappeared and absorbed by the other two) and most of the tribe of Benjamin, as well as numerous members of the tribe of Levi) Israel: in the North of the Holy Land, composed of most of the tribes |
| 722-720 BCE |
Israel defeated by the Assyrians; 10 tribes are exiled (The Ten Lost Tribes). |
| 586 BCE |
Judah conquered by Babylon; Jerusalem and the First Holy Temple destroyed; most Jews exiled. |
Second Temple Period
|
|
| 538-142 BCE |
Persian and Hellenistic periods |
| 538-515 BCE |
Many Jews return from Babylon; the Holy Temple is rebuilt. |
| 332 BCE |
Holy Land is 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 CE |
Ministry of the Rabbi Jesus the Nazarene |
| 66 CE |
Jewish revolt against the Romans |
| 70 CE |
Destruction of Jerusalem and Second Temple. |
| 73 CE |
Last stand of Jews at Masada. |
| 132-135 CE |
Bar Kokhba uprising against Rome. |
| c. 210 CE |
Codification of Jewish oral law (Mishna) completed. |
Foreign Domination
|
|
| 313-636 CE |
Byzantine rule |
| c. 390 CE |
Commentary on the Mishna (Jerusalem Talmud) completed. |
| 614 CE |
Persian invasion |
| 636-1099 CE |
Arab rule |
| 691 CE |
On site of First and Second Temples in Jerusalem, Dome of the Rock built by Caliph Abd el-Malik. |
| 1099-1291 CE |
Crusader domination(Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem) |
| 1291-1516 CE |
Mamluk rule |
| 1517-1917 CE |
Ottoman rule |
| 1564 CE |
Code of Jewish law (Shulhan Arukh) published. |
| 1860 CE |
First neighborhood built outside walls of Jerusalem’s Old City. |
| 1882-1903 CE |
First Aliya (large-scale immigration), mainly from Russia. |
| 1897 CE |
First Zionist Congress convened by Theodor Herzl in Basel, Switzerland; Zionist Organization founded. |
| 1904-14 CE |
Second Aliya, mainly from Russia and Poland. |
| 1909 CE |
First kibbutz, Degania, and first modern all-Jewish city, Tel Aviv, founded. |
| 1917 CE |
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 CE |
British rule |
| 1919-23 CE |
Third Aliya, mainly from Russia |
| 1920 CE |
Histadrut (General Federation of Labor) and Haganah (Jewish defense organization) founded. Vaad Leumi (National Council) set up by Jewish community (Yishuv). |
| 1921 CE |
First moshav (cooperative village), Nahalal, founded. |
| 1922 CE |
Britain granted Mandate for Palestine 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 CE |
Technion, first institute of technology, founded in Haifa. |
| 1924-32 CE |
Fourth Aliya, mainly from Poland. |
| 1925 CE |
Hebrew University of Jerusalem opened on Mount Scopus. |
| 1929 CE |
The Hebron Massacre refers to the killing of sixty-seven or sixty-nine Jews on August 24, 1929 in Hebron, then part of Mandate Palestine, by Arabs incited to violence by rumors that Jews were planning to take control of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. |
| 1931 CE |
Etzel foundation of the Jewish underground organization. |
| 1933-39 CE |
Fifth Aliya, mainly from Germany. |
| 1936-39 CE |
Anti-Jewish riots instigated by Arab terrorists. |
| 1939 CE |
Jewish immigration severely limited by British White Paper. |
| 1939-45 CE |
World War II; Shoah in Europe. |
| 1941 CE |
Lehi underground movement formed; Palmach, strike force of Haganah, set up. |
| 1944 CE |
Jewish Brigade formed as part of British forces. |
| 1947 CE |
UN proposes the establishment of Arab and Jewish states in the Land. |
State of Israel |
|
| 1948 CE |
End of British Mandate (14 May) State of Israel proclaimed (14 May). Israel invaded by five Arab states (15 May). Israel Defense Forces (IDF) established. War of Independence (May 1948-July 1949). |
| 1949 CE |
Armistice agreements signed with Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon. Jerusalem divided under Israeli and Jordanian rule. First Knesset (parliament) elected. Israel admitted to United Nations as 59th member. |
| 1948-52 CE |
Mass immigration from Europe and Arab countries. |
| 1956 CE |
Sinai Campaign |
| 1962 CE |
Adolf Eichmann tried and executed in Israel for his part in the Holocaust. |
| 1964 CE |
National Water Carrier completed, bringing water from Lake Kinneret in the north to the semi-arid south. |
| 1967 CE |
Six-Day War; Jerusalem reunited. |
| 1968-70 CE |
Egypt’s War of Attrition against Israel |
| 1973 CE |
Yom Kippur War |
| 1975 CE |
Israel becomes an associate member of the European Common Market. |
| 1977 CE |
Likud forms government after Knesset elections, end of 30 years of Labor rule. Visit of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat to Jerusalem. |
| 1978 CE |
Camp David Accords include framework for comprehensive peace in the Middle East and proposal for Palestinian self-government. |
| 1979 CE |
Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty signed. Prime Minister Menachem Begin and President Anwar Sadat awarded Nobel Peace Prize. |
| 1981 CE |
Israel Air Force destroys Iraqi nuclear reactor just before it is to become operative. |
| 1982 CE |
Israel’s three-stage withdrawal from Sinai Peninsula completed. Operation Peace for Galilee removes Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) terrorists from Lebanon. |
| 1984 CE |
National unity government (Likud and Labor) formed after elections. Operation Moses, immigration of Jews from Ethiopia. |
| 1985 CE |
Free Trade Agreement signed with United States. |
| 1987 CE |
Widespread violence (Intifada) starts in Israeli-administered areas. |
| 1988 CE |
Likud government wins elections. |
| 1989 CE |
Four-point peace initiative proposed by Israel. Start of mass immigration of Jews from former Soviet Union. |
| 1991 CE |
Israel attacked by Iraqi Scud missiles during Gulf war. Middle East peace conference convened in Madrid; Operation Solomon, airlift of Jews from Ethiopia. |
| 1992 CE |
Diplomatic relations established with China and India. New government headed by Yitzhak Rabin of Labor Party. |
| 1993 CE |
Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements for the Palestinians signed by Israel and PLO, as representative of the Palestinian people (Oslo Accords). |
| 1994 CE |
Implementation of Palestinian self-government in Gaza Strip and Jericho area. Full diplomatic relations with the Holy See. Morocco and Tunisia interest offices set up. Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty signed. Rabin, Peres, Arafat awarded Nobel Peace Prize. |
| 1995 CE |
Broadened Palestinian self-government implemented in West Bank and Gaza Strip; Palestinian Council elected. Prime Minister Rabin assassinated at peace rally. Shimon Peres becomes prime minister. |