Ancient Israel and Judah

The Iron Age kingdoms whose scriptures became the Hebrew Bible.

Capital: Jerusalem, Samaria · Middle East (West Asia)

Overview

Emerging in the highlands of Canaan around 1200 BCE, the united and divided monarchies of Israel and Judah produced the biblical corpus, which became foundational for Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Timeline

c. 1000 BCETraditional reign of David
c. 950 BCESolomon's Temple
722 BCEAssyrian destruction of Israel
586 BCEBabylonian destruction of the First Temple
70 CERoman destruction of the Second Temple

Rulers

David

c. 1000 BCE

Traditional founder of unified monarchy

Solomon

c. 970 – 931 BCE

Temple builder

Hezekiah

c. 715 – 686 BCE

Reformer king of Judah

Wars & conflicts

Assyrian conquest of Israel
Babylonian conquest of Judah
Jewish-Roman wars

Architecture

First and Second Temples, Herodian fortifications, ritual baths.

Religion

Yahwistic monotheism codified through prophetic tradition.

Economy

Terrace agriculture, olive oil, Mediterranean and caravan trade.

Technology

Advanced water tunneling (Hezekiah's Tunnel), scribal culture.

Art

Iconoclastic; artistic energy channeled into liturgy, poetry and scripture.

Influence

The Hebrew Bible is foundational to three world religions.

Decline

Two temple destructions; Diaspora and Rabbinic reformation.

Key sites

Jerusalem
Megiddo
Hazor
Masada

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