Chronology of Jerusalem

  • 19 -18 centuries BC:  Jerusalem is mentioned in the Egyptian papyri as Ur Shalimum.
  • The Bronze Age (3330 BC to 2300 BC) In the Bible, Jerusalem (Ir Shalem) and the city’s ruler and priest, Melchizedek, are found in Genesis 14.
  • 13-12 centuries BC: The city of Jerusalem (Ur Shalem) is found in Al-Amarna's manuscripts.
  • 14th century BC: In the biblical book of Joshua, Adonizedek, the king of Jerusalem enters into battle with the Israelites and is defeated.
  • 12th century BC:  The tribe of Judah conquers Jerusalem and sets it on fire. 
  • 1000 BC:  Famous King David conquers Jerusalem by defeating the Jebusite people (II Kings 5: 7).
  • 950 BC: Solomon, son of King David, fulfills the dream of his father and all the people when he builds the Temple.
  • 925 BC: The Kingdom of Israel is split and Jerusalem becomes the capital of Judea.
  • 701 BC:  Sennacherib (Sancherib), the king of Assyrian, besieges Jerusalem, but does not conquer it.
  • 587-586 BC: Tragedy strikes the Jewish people when Nebuchadnezzar, the king of the Babylonian Empire, conquers Jerusalem, destroys the Temple and takes the Jews into captivity. According to tradition, this occurred on 9th of the month of Av.
  • 536 BC: The return of the Jewish captives led by Zerubbabel and the restoration of the city.
  • 515 BC: The restoration and construction of the Second Temple.
  • 332 BC:  Jerusalem falls under the rule of Alexander the Great.
  • 321 – 301 BC:  The reign of the Ptolemaic dynasty.
  • 203 BC: King Antiochus the Third begins the process of Hellenization of Judea which leads to a split among the people.
  • 167 BC: King Antiochus the Fourth desecrates the Temple and bans religious traditions (including circumcision) which leads to the Hasmonean rebellion.
  • 165 BC: Hasmonean rebels conquer Jerusalem.
  • 141-37 BC: Jerusalem becomes the capital of the Hasmonean kings, the religious and national capital of Judea.
  • 63 BC: There is strife between Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, brothers and heirs to the throne of the Hasmonean dynasty and Jerusalem is conquered by Roman general, Pompey the Great.
  • 37 BC: Herod the Great and the Roman army conquer Jerusalem.
  • 37-4 BC: Herod strengthens Jerusalem, reconstructs the Temple, expands the Temple Square, builds Anthony's fortress (a palace and a fortified citadel) on the site of the modern Citadel of David and builds a hippodrome and a theater.
  • 4-56 AD: Jerusalem is ruled by Roman henchmen.
  • 28-32 AD: Crucifixion of Jesus in Jerusalem.
  • 41-44 AD: Reign of Agrippa I, the last Jewish king.
  • 45-66 AD: Reign of Roman governors.
  • 70 AD:  Suppression of the anti-Roman uprising causes destruction of the Temple and city.
  • 132-135 AD:  The Bar-Kokba revolt, led by ideological leadership of Rabbi Akiva fails, Jerusalem is destroyed and Jews were exiled from Judea. The ruler, Tinnius Rufus, opened the city's borders as a sign of its colonization. Emperor Hadrian rebuilds it in the Roman manner and renames it Aelia Capitolina
  • 335 AD: Jerusalem becomes a Christian center due to the initiative of Emperor Constantine and his mother, Helen. The first Christian churches were built in Jerusalem, including the Church of the Resurrection of Christ - the Church of the Sepulcher.
  • 361-363 AD: Emperor Julian the Apostate allows Jews to return to Jerusalem and prepares for rebuilding of the Temple.
  • 614 AD: Jerusalem is conquered by Persia.
  • 628 AD: Byzantine emperor, Heraclius, returns to Jerusalem and organizes a massacre of the Jewish population of the city.
  • 638 AD: Jerusalem submits to the army of the Muslim Caliph Omar al-Khattab.
  • 7th century AD:  The Jewish sect, the Karaites, are in Jerusalem.
  • Late 7th century AD:  Return of Jews to Jerusalem (70 families). Caliph Abd Al-Malik builds the Dome over the Rock mosque and his son, Al-Walid, builds the Distant Mosque (Al-Aqsa) on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
  • 969 AD: Jerusalem falls under the rule of the Fatimid caliphs.
  • 1012 AD: Fatimid ruler, Al-Hakim B'Imr Allah, destroys the houses of prayer of Jews and Christians in Jerusalem and the Church of the Sepulcher is completely destroyed.
  • 1016 AD: A strong earthquake damages the Dome over the Rock.
  • 1033 AD: Strong earthquake.
  • 1063 AD: The walls around the city are rebuilt by the Egyptian sultan, Fatimid caliph al-Mustansir. 
  • 1071 AD: Seljuk Turks conquer Jerusalem.
  • 1096 AD: Egyptians restore power over the city.
  • 1099 AD: The Crusaders conquer Jerusalem and destroyed the entire population of the city.
  • 1187 AD: Sallah ad-Din (Saladin) drives out the crusaders and returns the Jewish population to Jerusalem.
  • 1129 -1239 AD: Frederick II the Great of Germany conquers the city.  
  • 1244 AD:  Khorezm Turks conquer the city.
  • 1260 AD: Turkish Tatars destroy the city.
  • 1267 AD: The Mameluke dynasty establishes power over Jerusalem and all the land of Israel. Rabbi Nahmanides (also known as Ramban), Talmudist, teacher and biblical scholar from Spain, finds two Jews living among the 2000 inhabitants of the city. He rebuilds the destroyed building of the Crusaders into a synagogue which attracts pilgrims from all over the country.
  • 1480 AD: Tatar-Mughals of Genghis Khan destroy Jerusalem.
  • 1517 AD: Turkish Sultan Salim ו conquers the city and country.
  • 1538-1541 AD: Turkish Sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent, rebuilds the walls around Jerusalem, which have survived to this day.
  • 1622 AD:  Ishayahu from Gorovich (modern Mongolia) arrives in Jerusalem, the beginning of the return of Jews to Jerusalem.
  • 1663 AD: Shabtai Zvi, a kabbalist from Symrna arrives in Jerusalem, causing a split in the Jewish community.
  • 1700 AD: Rabbi Yehuda Ha-Hasid arrives in Jerusalem from Europe.
  • 1721 AD: European Ashkenazi Jews expelled from the city.
  • 1812: Ashkenazi Jews return to Jerusalem.
  • 1819: Jewish population of Jerusalem - 3000 people.
  • 1832: Ibraim Pasha, ruler of Egypt, conquers Jerusalem.
  • 1839: British Consulate opens in the city.
  • 1841: Turkish authorities return to Jerusalem.
  • 1842: The Anglican Church of Christ is founded, the first Protestant church in the Middle East.
  • 1854:  construction of the first hospital funded by Edmond Rothschild, French banker and Zionist.
  • 1866: Church of St. Mary Magdalene, the first Russian Orthodox Church is built on the Mount of Olives by Russian Czar Alexander III as a memorial to his mother, Empress Maria Alexandrovna.
  • 1888: Czar Alexander III visits Jerusalem.  Church of St. Mary Magdalene on the Mount of Olives was consecrated to the 900th anniversary of the Christianization of Kievan Rus people through mass baptism in 988 AD when Orthodox Christianity was accepted by Grand Prince Vladimir.
  • 1880-1900:  Jerusalem’s majority population is Jewish (17,000 out of 31,000 residents).
  • 1883: General Charles Gordon created an archaeological sensation when he found a tomb and mistook it for the true tomb of Jesus which was found later.
  • 1892: Construction of the railway line to Jerusalem is completed.
  • 1898: Historical visit to Jerusalem of German Kaiser Wilhelm II who meet with Zionist ideologist T. Herzl.
  • 1910: Jewish population of Jerusalem is 40,000 out of 65,000.
  • 1914-1917: World War I causes hunger and deprivation in Jerusalem.
  • 10/12/1917:  The city of Jerusalem is surrendered to the British Army.
  • 1918: British commander Sir Ronald Storrs issues a decree prohibiting the demolition of buildings of historical value. The new municipal law (still in effect today) requires all city buildings to be faced with Jerusalem stone.
  • 06/18/1918:  Public water supply system starts operation, supplying water to Jerusalem from the Solomon pools.
  • 1920: The beginning of the civil administration of the city.
  • 1/04/1925: Hebrew University of Jerusalem opens.
  • 1927: A powerful earthquake in Jerusalem and causes extensive damage to Church of the Sepulcher, Church of August Victoria on Mount of Olives, Al-Aqsa Mosque and others.
  • 1931: Jewish population of Jerusalem is 51,000 out of 90,000.
  • 1946: Jewish population of Jerusalem is 99,004 out of 164,004.
  • 07/22/1947: Explosion at the King David Hotel, British Mandate, organized by Jewish resistance activists, 90 people are killed. 
  • (to be continued...)