Misplaced Pages

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 58.97.248.187 (talk) at 18:05, 29 January 2013. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Part of a series on the
History of Israel
Early historyPrehistoric Levant Kebaran Mushabian Natufian Harifian Yarmukian Lodian Nizzanim Ghassulian Canaan Retjenu Habiru Shasu Late Bronze Age collapse
Ancient Israel and Judah Iron Age I Israelites, Philistines 12th–10th centuries BCE United Monarchy 10th century BCE Kingdom of Israel 10th century BCE–720 BCE Kingdom of Judah 10th century BCE–587 BCE Babylonian rule 587–538 BCE
Second Temple period Persian Yehud 538–333 BCE Hellenistic period 333–164 BCE Hasmonean dynasty 164–37 BCE Herodian dynasty Kingdom Tetrarchy 37 BCE–6 CE Roman Judaea (Jewish-Roman Wars) 6 CE–136 CE
Late Antiquity and Middle Ages Late antiquity (Rabbinic period) 70–638 Syria Palaestina 136–395 Byzantine Palaestina Prima Secunda 395–638 Early Islamic period (Filastin, Urdunn) 638–1099 Kingdom of Jerusalem 1099–1291 Ayyubid dynasty 1174–1260 Mamluk Sultanate 1260–1517
Modern historyModern history (1517–1948) Ottoman rule Eyalet Mutasarrifate Old Yishuv Zionism OETA British Mandate Yishuv State of Israel (1948–present) Timeline Years Independence Arab–Israeli conflict Austerity Silicon Wadi Iran–Israel conflict
By topic Historical maps Historical population Historical literature Economic history Judaism Jerusalem Zionism Jewish leaders Jewish warfare
Related Jewish history Yahwism Hebrew calendar Archaeology Museums
Israel portal
v t e

The history of Israel encompasses the history of the modern State of Israel, as well as that of the Jews in the Land of Israel. The area of modern Israel is small, about the size of Wales or half the size of Costa Rica, and is located roughly on the site of the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah. It is the birthplace of the Hebrew language spoken in Israel and of the Abrahamic religions, first as Judaism and later of Christianity. It contains sites sacred to Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Druze and Bahá'í Faith.

Although coming under the sway of various empires and home to a variety of ethnicities, the area was predominantly Jewish until the Jewish–Roman wars after which Jews became a minority in most regions, except Galilee. The area became increasingly Christian after the 3rd century and then largely Muslim from the 7th century conquest up until the 20th century. Since the Roman conquest, the area became more widely known as the Holy Land or Palestine. It was a focal point of conflict between Christianity and Islam between 1096 and 1291 and from the end of the Crusades until the British conquest in 1917 was part of the Syrian province of first the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt and then (from 1517) the Ottoman Empire.

In the late-19th century, persecution of Jews in Europe followed by the creation of the Zionist movement led to international support for the establishment in Palestine of a homeland for the Jewish people on the site of the ancient kingdoms. Following the British conquest of Syria and the Balfour Declaration in World War I and the formation of the Mandate of Palestine, Aliyah (Jewish immigration to the Land of Israel) increased and gave rise to Arab–Jewish tensions and a collision of the Arab and Jewish nationalist movements. Israeli independence in 1948 was marked by massive migration of Jews from both Europe and the Muslim countries to Israel, and of Arabs from Israel leading to the extensive Arab–Israeli conflict. About 42% of the world's Jews live in Israel today.

Since about 1970, the United States has become the principal ally of Israel. In 1979 an uneasy Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty was signed, based on the Camp David Accords. In 1993 Israel signed Oslo I Accord with the Palestine Liberation Organization and in 1994 Israel–Jordan Treaty of Peace was signed. Despite efforts to establish peace between Israel and Palestinians, many of whom live in Israel or in Israeli-occupied territories, the conflict continues to play a major role in Israeli and international political, social and economic life.

The economy of Israel was initially primarily socialist and the country dominated by social democratic parties until the 1970s. Since then the Israeli economy has gradually moved to capitalism and a free market economy, partially retaining the social welfare system.

Ancient times

Prehistory

Between 2.6 and 0.9 million years ago, at least four episodes of hominine dispersal from Africa to the Levant are known, each culturally distinct. The flint tool artifacts of these early humans have been discovered on the territory of the current state of Israel, including, at Yiron, the oldest stone tools found anywhere outside Africa. Other groups include 1.4 million years old Acheulean industry, the Bizat Ruhama group and Gesher Bnot Yaakov.

In the Carmel mountain range at el-Tabun, and Es Skhul, Neanderthal and early modern human remains were found, including the skeleton of a Neanderthal female, named Tabun I, which is regarded as one of the most important human fossils ever found. The excavation at el-Tabun produced the longest stratigraphic record in the region, spanning 600,000 or more years of human activity, from the Lower Paleolithic to the present day, representing roughly a million years of human evolution.

Early Israelites

The first record of the name Israel (as ysrỉꜣr) occurs in the Merneptah stele, erected for Egyptian Pharaoh Merneptah c. 1209 BCE, "Israel is laid waste and his seed is not." William Dever sees this "Israel" in the central highlands as a cultural and probably political entity, but an ethnic group rather than an organized state.

Ancestors of the Israelites may have included Semites who occupied Canaan and the Sea Peoples. McNutt says, "It is probably safe to assume that sometime during Iron Age I a population began to identify itself as 'Israelite'", differentiating itself from the Canaanites through such markers as the prohibition of intermarriage, an emphasis on family history and genealogy, and religion.

The first use of grapheme-based writing originated in the area, probably among Canaanite peoples resident in Egypt. All modern alphabets are descended from this writing. Written evidence of the use of Classical Hebrew exists from about 1000 BCE. It was written using the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet.

Villages had populations of up to 300 or 400, which lived by farming and herding and were largely self-sufficient; economic interchange was prevalent. Writing was known and available for recording, even in small sites. The archaeological evidence indicates a society of village-like centres, but with more limited resources and a small population.

Israel and Judah

The Hebrew Bible describes constant warfare between the Jews and other tribes, including the Philistines, whose capital was Gaza. Around 930 BCE, the kingdom split into a southern Kingdom of Judah and a northern Kingdom of Israel.

The modern state of Israel comprises part of the site of the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah, part of the old Phoenician states, and part of the old Philistine states.

An alliance between Ahab of Israel and Ben Hadad II of Damascus managed to repulse the incursions of the Assyrians, with a victory at the Battle of Qarqar (854 BCE). However, the Kingdom of Israel was eventually destroyed by Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III around 750 BCE. The Philistine kingdom was also destroyed. The Assyrians sent most of the northern Israelite kingdom into exile, thus creating the "Lost Tribes of Israel". The Samaritans claim to be descended from survivors of the Assyrian conquest. An Israelite revolt (724–722 BCE) was crushed after the siege and capture of Samaria by Sargon II. Assyrian King, Sennacherib, tried and failed to conquer Judah. Assyrian records claim he punished Judah and then left (Herodotus also described the invasion).

Babylonian rule

In 586 BCE King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon conquered Judah. According to the Hebrew Bible, he destroyed Solomon's Temple and exiled the Jews to Babylon. The defeat was also recorded by the Babylonians (see the Babylonian Chronicles). It is believed that the Jewish king, Jehoiakim, switched allegiances between the Egyptians and the Babylonians and that invasion was a punishment for allying with Babylon's principle rival, Egypt. The exiled Jews may have been restricted to the elite.

Classical era (538 BCE–636 CE)

Persian and Hellenistic rule

In 538 BCE, Cyrus the Great of Persia conquered Babylon and took over its empire. Cyrus issued a proclamation granting subjugated nations (including the people of Judah) religious freedom (for the original text see the Cyrus Cylinder). According to the Hebrew Bible 50,000 Judeans, led by [[Zerub

1. "Declaration of Establishment of State of Israel". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 14 May 1948. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
2. "The oldest human groups in the Levant". Cat.inist.fr. 2004-09-13. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
3. "Timeline in the Understanding of Neanderthals". Retrieved 2007-07-13.
4. Christopher Stringer, custodian of Tabun I, Natural History Museum, quoted in an exhibition in honour of Garrod; Callander and Smith, 1998
5. "From 'small, dark and alive' to 'cripplingly shy': Dorothy Garrod as the first woman Professor at Cambridge". Retrieved 2007-07-13.
6. "Excavations and Surveys (University of Haifa)". Retrieved 2007-07-13.
7. Stager in Coogan 1998, p. 91.
8. Dever 2003, p. 206.
9. Miller 1986, pp. 78–9.
10. McNutt 1999, p. 35.
11. McNutt 1999, p. 70.
12. Miller 2005, p. 98.
13. McNutt 1999, p. 72.
14. Miller 2005, p. 99.
15. Miller 2005, p. 105.
16. Lehman in Vaughn 1992, pp. 156–62.