Return to Timeline of Jewish History: Table of Contents

538-333 B.C.E.	Persian Period.
538 B.C.E.	Edict of Cyrus (first return from Exile).
520-515 B.C.E.	Jerusalem ("Second") Temple rebuilt.
520 B.C.E.	Judean Prophet Haggai.
500 B.C.E.	The notion of a Messiah, a political/military-religious/moral leader, develops.
450-400 B.C.E.	Reformation led by Ezra and Nehemiah.
ca. 450 B.C.E.	Torah (Pentateuch = first division of Jewish Scriptures) begins to gain recognition as Scripture.
438 B.C.E.	Achashverosh becomes king of Persia.
426 B.C.E.	First decrees by Haman; fast ordered by Esther, Haman's downfall and execution.
425 B.C.E.	Haman's ten sons executed; Purim celebration.
424 B.C.E.	Megillah recorded.
411 B.C.E.	Bagoas, a Persian, is made governor of Jerusalem.
333-63 B.C.E.	Hellenistic (Greek) period.
333/331 B.C.E.	Alexander the Great conquers the Land of Israel.
ca. 320-168 B.C.E.	Judaism under Greek Ptolemies & Seleucids.
ca. 250 B.C.E.	"Septuagint" translation of Torah into Greek.
ca. 230-146 B.C.E.	Coming of Rome to the east Mediterranean.
ca. 201 B.C.E.	Prophets (second division of Jewish Scriptures) recognized by some as Scripture
ca. 200 B.C.E.-135 C.E.	Jewish Qumran community.
175 B.C.E.	Selicid, king of Syria, plunders Jerusalem, murdering many.
166-160 B.C.E.	Jewish Maccabean revolt against restrictions on practice of Judaism and desecration of the Temple.
142-129 B.C.E.	Jewish autonomy under Hasmoneans.
63 B.C.E.	Rome (Pompey) annexes the land of Israel.
66-73 C.E.	First Jewish Revolt against Rome.
69 C.E.	Vespasian gives Yochanan ben Zakkai permission to establish a Jewish center for study at Yavneh that will become the hub for rabbinic Judaism.
70 C.E.	Destruction of Jerusalem and the second Temple.

Timeline of Jewish History

3800 B.CE - 2001 BCE - The Dawn of “History”
2000 B.C.E. - 587 BCE - Context of Ancient Israelite Religion
538 BCE - 70 CE - Judaism After the Babylonian Exile
230 BCE-400 CE - Rule of Rome
70 - 500 - Rabbinic Jewish Period of Talmud Development
325 - 590 - Consolidation & Dominance of Classical Christianity
600 - 1500 - “Medieval” Period in the West
570 - 1258 - Reception & Classical Development of Muhammad's Islamic Message
1095-1258 - Crusades
1258-1500 - Further Transitions and Rebuilding of Political Islam
1291-1516 - Mamluk Rule
1517-1569 - Reformation and Post-Reformation Christian Period
1500-1920 - Dominance of Ottoman Muslim Empire in Turkey
1700-1917 - Jewish Modern and Contemporary Periods
1914-1918 - Islamic Unrest and Realignment in the Middle East
1918-1947 - British Rule in Palestine
1947-Present - Modern Israel & the Diaspora

Timeline for the History of Jerusalem - 4500 B.C.E.-Present

Timeline of Judaism after the Babylonian Exile (538 BCE-70 CE)