The story starts way back with Abraham and his two sons Ishmael and Isaac. Ishmael, born 2080BC, is regarded by Arabs as their ancestor and according to Muslim legend is buried in Mecca. Isaac is born 2066BC and later becomes the father of Jacob (who later changes his name to Israel). Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are the great patriarchs of the Jewish faith. Jacob marries Rachel and they have a son Joseph (of multi-coloured coat fame). Rachel dies giving birth to her second son Benjamin and is buried near Bethlehem about 6 miles SW of Jerusalem. In 1010BC David (famous for Goliath, Bathsheba and the Psalms) is born in Bethlehem. Around 5BC Mary and Joseph (being a descendent of David) are forced to go to Bethlehem for a Roman census decreed by Caesar Augustus. Mary and Joseph normally lived in Nazareth in Galilee and Jesus eventually grows up there. It is a culturally mixed area with more non-Jews than Jews living in Galilee. Jesus was probably tri-lingual speaking Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek.
Jerusalem, meaning 'city of peace', has a long history riddled with capture, destruction and counter-capture. This leaves it with Christianity, Judaism and Islam regarding it as a Holy City. Initially known as "Salem" it home of the priest-king Melchizedek in Abraham's time.
| 1406BC | Known as "Jebus" it is held by the Jebusites (a Canaanite tribal group) when Joshua (of wall-of-Jericho fame) invades Palestine and kills almost every single person. Jerusalem is eventually captured by the Israelites |
| c980BC | Jebus on the south-east hill (Mount Zion) in Jerusalem is captured by King David and made his capital - city of David/city of Zion. Over time the term 'Zion' came to include the whole of Jerusalem and then the whole Israelite people. |
| 967 to 960BC | Solomon (famous for his wisdom, 700 wives and 300 concubines) builds 1st Temple |
| c930BC | Kingdom is divided into Judah and Israel |
| 917BC | Shishak of Egypt strips Jerusalem of its wealth and it is besieged 7 more times including c700BC by the Sennacherib (Assyrian) and 597BC by Babylonians before its captured and destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar II (Babylonian) in 586BC |
| 538 to 432BC | Jews are allowed to return |
| 515BC | 2nd Temple built on original site by Zerubbabel |
| 332BC | Land conquered by Alexander the Great (Hellenist) |
| 198BC | Under control of the Syrian Seleucid kings (part of the Greek Empire) the temple was plundered and destroyed |
| 167 to 165BC | Antiochus IV sacks Jerusalem and profanes the temple |
| 164BC | Temple is rededicated |
| 128 to 63BC | Jewish independence under Hasmonean monarchy |
| 63BC | Pompey (Roman) conquers Palestine and enters Jerusalem killing 12,000 Jews |
| 37 to 4BC | Herod the Great: King of Judea, on behalf of the Romans, Procurator of Judea, governor of Galilee. Herod is known for murdering members of the Jewish Hasmonaean family, ordered the murder of all male children in Bethlehem under the age of 2, murdering his wife and two of his sons |
| 19BC to AD9 | Jerusalem repaired and the 2nd Temple is expanded and beautified by Herod - worked continued to 62AD |
| 5BC | Jesus born in nearby Bethlehem and to avoid the massacre there moves with Mary and Joseph to Egypt as refugees, later returning to Nazareth |
| AD66 | Jews revolt against the Roman occupation. |
| AD70 | Titus (Roman) captures and destroys Jerusalem and the temple, killing 600,000 Jews. Little is left apart from what's now known as the 'Western Wall', this was known as the 'Wailing Wall' until 1967. |
| AD 4th c. | City becomes Christian and many churches built under the Roman Emperor Constantine |
| AD571 to 632 | Mohammed born in Arabia |
| AD638 | Caliph Umar (Muslim) captures Jerusalem, but signs a treaty ensuring Christians safety and 'no compulsion in matters of faith'. |
| AD691 | Dome of the Rock is built on top of the 1st and 2nd Temples by Caliph Abd el-Malik. Muslims claim that the angel Gabriel carried Mohammed to heaven from here. |
| AD1099 | Captured by the Crusaders (Christian) who slaughter the Muslims |
| AD1187 | Re-captured by Saladin (Muslim) |
| AD1517 to 1917 | Ottoman Rule |
| AD1917 to 1948 | British occupation of Palestine and administer it under a League of Nations mandate (1922) |
| AD1948 | 14-May State of Israel formed. 15-May Israel invaded by 5 Arab countries; Jerusalem is besieged |
| AD1949 | Armistice signed. Jerusalem is split between the Jews (Israel) and Arabs (Jordan). Jordan is also given Bethlehem/Beit-Lahm |
| AD1949 | The western New City proclaimed as the Israeli capital |
| AD1967 | Jews win control of whole city by capturing the eastern Old City in the Six-Day War. They also occupy Bethlehem/Beit-Lahm on what's now known as 'The West Bank' |
| AD1980 | Israel affirms that the united City, Jerusalem, is the countries capital. This is not recognised by the UN who hold it is Tel Aviv |
| AD1988 | Palestine Liberation Organization declare Jerusalem the capital of the independent state of Palestine |
| AD1999 | Hundreds of Christians apologise for the Crusades 900 years earlier |
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