The Royal Archives of Tel al-Amarna, Egypt, contained 350 letters written in cuneiform script. This clay tablet is one of six letters
written to Egyptian kings by the ruler of Jerusalem shortly after 1400 BC. Jerusalem is called “Urusalim” in these Amarna Letters. Joshua had recently killed a king of Jerusalem (Joshua 12:7-10). The city name “Urusalim” means “foundation of Shalem”. The deity’s name, “Shalem,” means “complete,” “prosperous,” and “peaceful” as seen in the text of Hebrews 7:2, “‘king of Salem’ means ‘king of peace.’”
The original tablet is preserved in the Vorderasiatisches Museum in Berlin. Recently (June 2010) Eilat Mazar found a clay fragment from this same time period in the area of the Ophel in Jerusalem written
in the same cuneiform on Jerusalem clay by a royal scribe. This find confirms Egypt’s opinion of Jerusalem, as portrayed in the Amarna Letters, as a major city centuries before it was conquered by David.

CHALCOLITHIC PERIOD (4500-3200)-

• 3500 BC - Jerusalem is first settled on the Ophel above the Gihon Spring

BRONZE AGE (3200-1200) -

• 2000 BC - Abraham meets with the Melchizedek, the king of Jerusalem, which is called Salem
• 1800 BC - Jerusalem is mentioned in Egyptian Texts and called Rasalimum
• 1400 BC - Joshua kills Adoni-zedek, the Jebusite king of Jerusalem but does not capture the the city of Jerusalem which is also called Jebus.
• 1400 BC - Jerusalem appears in diplomatic correspondences called the Amarna Letters as Urusalim

IRON AGE (1200-539 BC) -

• 1000 BC - David takes Jerusalem from the Jebusites
• 960 BC - Solomon builds the First Temple
• 712 BC - Hezekiah cuts the tunnel through the bedrock under the City of David from the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam
• 586 BC - Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians destroy Jerusalem and the Temple. Jews taken captive to Babylon.

PERSIAN AGE (539-322) -

• 537 BC - Cyrus the Persian allows Jews to return to rebuild Jerusalem.
• 516 BC - Second Temple, or Zerubbabel's Temple, is completed
• 445 BC - Nehemiah rebuilds the walls

HELLENISTIC PERIOD (332-141 BC) -

• 332 BC - Alexander the Great and the Greeks conquers Israel from the Persians and takes Jerusalem peacefully
• 320 BC - Ptolemy I captures Jerusalem and Egyptian rule of Jerusalem begins
• 198 BC - Seleucids in Syria capture Jerusalem and Syrian rule of Jerusalem begins
• 168 BC - Antiochus IV Epiphanes desecrates the Temple in Jerusalem and the Maccabean revolt soon begins
• 164 BC - Judas Maccabeus recaptures Jerusalem

HASMONEAN PERIOD (141-37 BC) -

• 141 BC - Simon Maccabeus (Judas' brother) establishes Judea as an independent state. The Maccabee family, called Hasmoneans, begin to rule as kings in Jerusalem

HERODIAN PERIOD (37 BC - 70 AD) -

• 63 BC - Roman General Pompey captures Jerusalem for Rome
• 40 BC - Herod the Great is appointed king in Jerusalem by Rome
• 18 BC- Herod begins the rebuilding of the Temple
• 10 BC - Temple is dedicated, but construction continues on Temple until 63 AD
• 66 AD - Jewish revolt against Rome begins

ROMAN PERIOD (70-324) -

• 70 AD - Jerusalem falls to Romans and the city and Temple are destroyed and burnt
• 132 AD - Second Jewish revolt against Rome begins - Bar Kochba takes Jerusalem from Rome
• 135 AD - Roman Emperor Hadrian puts down the second Jewish revolt and rebuilds the city calling it Aelia Capitolina. A pagan temple for Jupiter (Zeus) was built on the Temple Mount and Jews were forbidden to enter the city.

BYZANTINE PERIOD (324-638) -

• 326 AD - Constantine's mother, Helena, visits Jerusalem and establishes the Christian holy sites. Many churches are built.
• 335 AD - Church of the Holy Sepulcher is built
• 361 AD -Emperior Julian the Apostate announces to the Jews that they are allowed to return to Jerusalem and begin rebuilding the Temple.
• 438 AD - Jews are allowed to live in Jerusalem
• 614 AD - Persians conquer Jerusalem under General Shahrbaraz. Churches are destroyed, including the Church of the Holy Sepulcher which is burnt. The Jews driven out of Jerusalem
• 629 AD - The Byzantine Empire (Christian) recaptures Jerusalem from the Persians under Emperor Heraclius

FIRST MUSLIM PERIOD (638-1099) -

• 638 AD - The Muslim Caliph Omar, or Umar. (The caliph is the poitical leader of Islam) takes Jerusalem from the Byzantine empire six years after Mohammed's death.
• 661 - Umayyad dynasty begins and continues until 750
• 691 - Dome of the Rock completed by Caliph Abd al-Malilk
• 701 - Al-Aqsa Mosue is completed by Caliph al-Walid
• 750 - Abassid dynasty begins and contineus until 974
• 878 - The Tulunids take the city
• 904 - The Abassids retake the city
• 939 - The Ikhshidid take the city
• 969 - The Fatimids take the city under General Gawhar Al-Siqilli
• 1010 - Synagogues and churches in Jerusalem are destroyed by Caliph al-Hakim
• 1077 - Seljuk Turks conquer Jerusalem
• 1096 - Pope Urban calls for a crusade to take back the Holy Land

CRUSADER PERIOD (1099-1187) -

• 1099 - Godfrey of Bouillon captures Jerusalem for the Christians. Baldwin I is named King of Jerusalem. A great slaughter of Jews and Muslims by the Christians followed the capture of the city.

AYYUBID PERIOD (1187-1250) -

• 1187 - General Saladin takes Jerusalem from the Crusaders. Jews and Muslims return and settle in the city.
• 1192 - Crusaders fail to take Jerusalem but the Muslim General Saladin allows Christians to worship at their Holy Sites
• 1212 - Three hundred rabbis from England and France settle in Jerusalem
• 1219 - Sultan Malilk-al-Muattam razes city walls
• 1229 - Crusaders briefly recapture Jerusalem twice
• 1244 - Crusader era ends when Khawarizmian Turks capture Jerusalem.

MAMLUK PERIOD (1250-1516) -

• 1250 - Muslim caliph dismantles walls of Jerusalem
• 1260 - Mameluks of Egypt capture Jerusalem
• 1347 - Mamelukes capture Jerusalem a second time

OTTOMAN PERIOD (1516-1917)

• 1517 - Ottomans peacefully takeover Jerusalem by Sultan Selim
• 1537 - Sultan Suleiman "the Magnificent" rebuilds the city walls which had been in ruins since 1219.
• 1541 - Jerusalem's Eastern or Golden Gate is sealed to prevent the Jewish Messiah's entrance
• 1542 - Damascus gate built
• 1700 - Rabbi Yehuda He'Hassid arrives in Jerusalem and begins building the "Hurva" Synagogue
• 1705 - Restrictions imposed on the Jews in Jerusalem
• 1831 - Sultan Mehemet Ali of Egypt conquers teh city
• 1838 - First British consulate is opened in Jerusalem.
• 1840 - The Ottoman Turks retake the city
• 1844 - Census shows 7,120 Jews, 5,760 Muslims, 3,390 Christians
• 1860 - First Jewish settlement outside the walls of the city
• 1898 - World Zionist Organization founder, Dr. Theodor Herzl, visits Jerusalem. Dr. Herzl meets German Kaiser Wilhelm outside the city walls

MODERN PERIOD (1917-present) -

• 1917 - British take Jerusalem from the Ottoman Empire and General Allenby enters Jerusalem
• 1947 - United Nations Resolution recommending the partitioni of Israel
• 1948 - British Mandate and control of Jerusalem ends and the State of Israel begins
• 1948 - Israel War of Liberation, Jewish Quarter in Old City falls
• 1949 - Jerusalem is divided in the Israel-TransJordan Armistice Agreement. Jerusalem divided between two countries. Jerusalem is declared capital of Israel
• 1967 - Jerusalem reunited when Old City is captured. Jordan sends shells and mortars to begin the Six Day War which results in Israeli troops capturing the Old City