Jerusalem, history of
Archeological findings tell that Jerusalem has been inhabited
since 4,000 BCE. The city of Shalem is mentioned in ancient scrolls as early as
2,500 BCE.
Approximately 1250 BCE - Joshua fights Adoni-Zedek king of
Jerusalem.
1005 BCE - King David conquers Yevus [Jebus], builds a wall
around it and transfers the holy ark to it.
950 BCE - King Solomon builds the first temple.
722 BCE - Kingdom of Israel falls.
586 BCE - Jerusalem is conquered by the Babylonian commander
Nevuzraden [Nebuzaradan] and is destroyed by orders of King Nevuhadnezar
[Nebuchadnezzar].
536 BCE - Fall of Babylon and the declaration of Koresh
[Cyrus] king of Persia allowing the exiles to return to Jerusalem.
520 BCE - Governor Zrubavel [Zerubabel] finishes the building
of the second temple. The city itself is still mostly ruins.
458 BCE - Period of Ezra and Nehamia [Nehemiah]: Nehamia
rebuilds the walls of the city. Ezra founds the 'Great Knesset' (Assembly) - an
institute that handled the governmental, religious and legal decisions of the
country.
332 BCE - Alexander the Great conquers the land of
Israel.
175 BCE - Antioch IV decides to turn the country Greek. The
temple is defiled and its treasures confiscated. The reaction: a rebellion led
by the house of Hashmonai - the priest Matityahu [Mattaniah] and his five
sons.
164 BCE - Yehuda [Judah] the Maccabi conquers Jerusalem and
cleanses the Temple.
133 BCE - A peace treaty with the Greeks sets Jerusalem as
capital of the Hashmonai kingdom.
63 BCE - Conflicts within the royal family bring on Roman
intervention. Pompeus besieges temple mount and conquers it.
40 BCE - Herod rules Judea. A king by Roman grace, he rebuilds
the temple.
63 AD - As reaction to the harsh policy of the Roman
governors, the great rebellion starts. Thanks to the walls and forts Herod
built, the rebels withstand a siege for a long time.
70 AD - On Tisha be Av (9th of Av), after heavy battles, the
Temple and most of the city are destroyed by orders of Titus Plavius.
130 AD - After the visit of emperor Adrian, the Roman colony
of Elia Capitolina is established on the ruins of the city.
132 - The Bar Kohva rebellion. The rebellion lasts three years
and Jerusalem remains a Roman colony.
324 - Emperor Constantine the great declares Christianity the
official empire religion and builds many churches and monasteries in
Jerusalem.
335 - Helen, mother of the emperor, builds the church of the
holy sepulcher. Jews are prohibited from entering the city till the fifth
century.
638 - Jerusalem is conquered by Muslim khalif Omar.
691 - Abed El-Malik, khalif of the house of Omaia, builds the
Dome of the Rock mosque on temple mount. Jews live peacefully throughout the
period of Omaian halifs, but the city is mostly Muslim.
1099 - Conquest of Jerusalem by the crusaders establishes it
as the capital of the crusader kingdom.
1256 - Conquest of the city by the Mameluks.
1516 - Conquest of the city by the Ottomans -- Muslim Turk
rulers from the house of Ottoman.
1538 - Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent builds the Jerusalem
wall -- the city prospers. After his death the city is neglected and declines in
status.
End of the 18th century - European powers' interests in the
Middle East grow, especially so in Israel. The weak Turkish government grants
'capitulation' rights to the foreign powers -- giving them extra privileges in
Jerusalem. Consulates are established in the city and a wave of building begins
-- public buildings, hospitals, guesthouses and churches.
1855 - English-Jewish minister Moses Montefiore buys some land
outside the walls and establishes the first neighborhood outside the walls --
'Mishkenot Shaananim'. This foreshadowed the beginning of a process to leave the
walls of the old city. By 1900 there were 60 Jewish neighborhoods outside the
walls.
1917 - General Alenbi [Allenby] enters Jerusalem without
battle and the city is transferred from the Turks to British rule.
1920 - The British select Jerusalem as their local center of
government. The British governor, General Storm, decides that buildings in
Jerusalem will use only local stones. This resolution still remains.
1947 - The UN decides on internationalizing Jerusalem, a move
that evoked immediate Arab aggression. The Jewish quarter is cut off and the new
city is under siege.
1948 - In May the Jewish Quarter falls to the Jordanian legion
and 1,300 soldiers are transferred to the new city.
1949 - In December the Israeli cabinet announces Jerusalem as
the eternal Capital of Israel. The Knesset moves to Jerusalem. Jordanian and
Israeli objections brings about the cancellation of the decision to
internationalize Jerusalem. East Jerusalem is declared as the second capital of
the Jordanian kingdom.
1967 - The Six Day War - The city is reunited after three days
of fighting.
