| king |
Notes |
reference |
approx. year BC |
| Josiah |
640 - 609 | ||
| Jehoahaz |
609 |
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| Jehoiakim | 609 - 596 |
||
| Jehoiachin |
596 | ||
| Zedekiah |
596 - 585 |
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| Nebuchadnezzar | 605 - 562 | ||
| Evil-Marduk | 562- 560 | ||
| Neriglissar | 560 - 552 | ||
| Nabonidus & Belshazzar | Fall of Babylon ca. 540 |
552 - 540 | |
| Cyrus | Persian (was Darius a Median co-regent during this era? or was Cyrus the Persian also known as Darius the Mede?) Daniel 9 prayer (Thompson Chain suggests with uncertainty 538BC) Cyrus' decree for rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem (Ezra 1) |
540? till 532 | |
| Cambyses | Persian conquest of Egypt ca 522 | 532 - 522 | |
| Darius I | There seems a case for Darius the Mede as co-regent with Cyrus the Persian. Haggai & Zechariah (Ez 5) (Thompson 520BC) Darius' decree regarding the temple (Ez 6) (Thompson 519BC) Esther (Es 2) (Thompson 518BC) |
522? - 488 |
|
| Xerxes | 488 - 467 | ||
| Artaxerxes I | Arrival of Ezra (Ez 7) (Thompson 457BC) Arrival of Nehemiah in 20th year of Artaxerxes (Ne 2) Rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls in 52 days (Ne 6:15) Nehemiah in 30th year of Artaxerxes (Ne 13) A. issues decree for the rebuilding of Jerusalem ca 445BC |
467 - 424 |
|
| Darius II | 424 - 403 | ||
| Artaxerxes II |
Malachi (Thompson suggests with uncertainty 397BC) |
403 - 360 |
|
| Artaxerxes III |
360 - 338 |
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| Darius III |
338 - 333 |
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| Alexandar | The Empire Turns Greek - military exploits bring Greek language and culture to the world empire descended from Babylon - defeated Darius at the Battle of Issus (near Tarsus) 333 - took the island of Tyre following a 7 month siege during which he built a causeway 332 - declared the son of the Egyption god Amon 331 - Josephus records an incident where the high priest reads the prophecies of Daniel to him - Ptolemy left in charge of Egypt, A. heads up the Euphrates, once again challenged by Darius III - Darius meets A. near Gaugalmela, and is defeated again; D. escapes A. only to be murdered by an ally. - A. continues his exploits, conquering land as far as India's Indus valley - A. died suddenly at the age of 32, 323 - since there was no designated heir, the period between 323 and 301 was one of controversy and war - following the Battle of Ipsus in 301, the empire was split into four regions: -> Ptolemy in the south, Palestine, Egypt -> Seleucid in the north-east, Syria, Mesopotamia -> Lysimachus in the north-west, Asia Minor -> Antipater and Cassander in the north, Greece and Macedonia |
333 - 323 | |
| Ptolemy I | Alexandar's General in Egypt - Ptolemy I buries Alexandar in Alexandria - Old Testament and Apocrypha are translated into Greek ca 285BC -- translation known as Septuagint - line of kings which control Egypt until 30BC - numerous Ptolemy or Cleopatra entities - Ptolemaic Dynasty controls Palestine until the Battle of Panias in 198BC when it falls to Seleucids |
304 - 282 | |
| Seleucid I | Alexandar's General in Syria - long line of kings which control Syria until the arrival of Pompey ca 64BC - many entities by the names of Seleucus and Antiochus - for centuries the middle eastern calendar was based on the ascension of Seleucid I in 312 - numerous skirmishes with the Ptolemies, many fought in Palestine - Battle of Panias in 198 marked the beginning of Seleucid domination of Palestine - by 190BC Seleucid power was beginning to wane |
312 - 280 | |
| Antiochus IV | Assassinates Seleucus IV to gain the throne. - the growing threat of Rome - A. attempts to consolidate hold on power by encouraging the adoption of Greek language and religion by his subjects - this Hellenization is promoted in Jerusalem when Jason bribes A. to have himself appointed high priest - in 171 Jason is in turn deposed by Menelaus who offered a yet larger bribe to A. and had the rightful high priest Onias murdered - while A. is rumoured to have been killed in Egypt, Jason attempts to depose Menelaus by force, which fails when A. returns from his exploits - A. takes Jerusalem, plunders the temple treasury, and enters the Holy of Holies - Jews are commanded to worship Zeus and to burn their copies of the Torah; - Jews are forbidded to observe the sabbath, feasts, sacrifices, and even circucision. - part of the Jerusalem wall is torn down - a pig was sacrificed in the temple in 167BC - the Maccabean revolt begins in that same year |
|
174 - 164 |
| Judas Maccabeus | - the Seleucids tried to force Mattathias the priest to sacrifice to a pagan deity, which he refused - another Jew offers to stand in for him in compliance with the Seleucid demand -- Mattathias kills them both - Judas was the eldest of five sons - temple cleansed in 164 commemorated as the Feast of Hanukkah - power of the Maccabees was on the rise, as Seleucids were tied up with internal disputes following the death of Antiochus IV - in spite of the Maccabean successes, many of the Jews preferred the Helenistic lifestyle, and appealled to the Seleucids - the Seleucid forces prevail and the walls of Jerusalem are torn down completely - Menelaus is blamed for the uprising and is put to death; another Hellenizing priest, Alcimus, is installed in his place - Judas is killed and his forces decimated by Bacchides in 160; the remaining brothers are forced to flee into the Judean wilderness |
I & II Maccabees | 167 - 160 |
| Jonathan Maccabeus | - Alcimus the Hellenistic high priest dies in 159, and is not replaced - Simon and Jonathan beseige Bacchides in 156 and achieve compromises from the latter; the Maccabees are no longer in exile after that - Jonathan is permitted into Jerusalem in 152; subsequently is appointed high priest by weakening, squabbling rivals on the Seleucid throne; Tabernacles is observed - Jonathan's priesthood is dubbed Hasmonean, after Hasman who was a priest from the family of Jehoiarib the great-grandfather of Mattathias (1 Macc 2:1, 1 Chron 24:7) - though increasingly free from Hellenistic religion, the Maccabean hold on power always depends to some degree on the divisions within the house of Seleucid, and benevolence of one or the other claim to the throne there - Jonathan gets caught in the middle of one of these Seleucid power struggles and gets killed |
160 - 142 | |
| Simon Maccabeus | - Simon secures the full independence of Jerusalem in 142; first time she is free since 586 - Simon's son-in-law invites the family to a feast in Jericho and assissinates them in an effort to curry Seleucid favour; family member John Hyrcanus was absent from the affair |
142 - 135 |
|
| John Hyrcanus | - is forced to give in to Antiochus VII; Jerusalem's walls destroyed 134 - Hyrcanus remains as high priest - destroys Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim - establishes alliance with Rome ca 125BC |
135 - 104 | |
| Aristobulus I | - imprisons his brothers and potential contenders for the position of high priest and governor - captures Galilee and forced non-Jewish inhavitants to convert to Judaism - upon his death, his Salome Alexandra appoints Alexander Jannaeus as king and high priest; in turn she marries him; |
104 - 103 | |
| Alexander Jannaeus | - Jewish law stipulates that the high priest may marry only a virgin; in spite of this he marries his brother's widow - the conflict between the Pharisees and the Saducees come to a head; A. sides with the Saducees. - A. provokes the Pharisees by pouring water on his feet rather than on the alter during the feast of the Tabernacles; he is pelted with lemons; he retaliates by having 6000 of his countrymen killed - over his reign as king, some 50,000 Jews are killed in the conflict - eventually the Pharisees appealed to the Seleucid Demetrius III; the irony that these decendents of the Hasidim who had been at the heart of the Maccabean revolt against Antiochus IV, appealing to the enemies - A. openly engaged in an orgy with his concubines as 800 Pharisees were crucified while watching their wives and children put to death - A.'s indulgant lifestyle results in his illness and death - realizing that the Pharisees enjoyed popular support, on his deathbed instructs Salome to make peace with them |
103 - 76 | |
| Salome Alexandra |
- assumes civil leadership on the death of her second husband - as a woman she cannot assume the priesthood |
76 - 67 | |
| Hyrcanus II | - son of Alexander Jannaeus & Salome - high priest |
76 - 67 |
|
| Aristobulus II | - youngest brother to Hyrcanus II - usurps the priesthood from his brother and takes the governorship over on the death of mother, Salome - political play between the Idumeans, who had been forced to become Jews under John Hyrcanus in 125, and the Nabatean; - Antipater II the ambitious Idumean, forms an alliance with Hyrcanus who he wishes to install as puppet priest, and Aretas the Nabatean king who he encourages to attack Jerusalem - Roman Pompey defeats the Nabateans, and besieges Aristobulus in the temple for three months - Pompey had been welcomed into Jerusalem at the western hill, by Hyrcanus supporters - following the siege, in which 12,000 Jews are killed, Pompey enters the temple, including the Holy of Holies. - Aristobulus and family are taken prisoner to Rome |
67 - 63 | |
| Hyrcanus II |
- Pompey permits the cleansing of the temple and Hyrcanus is installed again as high priest - Hasmonean independent rule since 142, came to an end in 63 as Rome rose to prominence |
63 - 40 | |