History of Israel: Biblical Times Jewish history begins in the first 500 years of the second millennium BC with Abraham, his son Isaac, and his grandson Jacob.

A nationwide famine forced Jacob and his sons, the ancestors of the twelve tribes of Israel, to emigrate to Egypt, where their descendants were enslaved.

Centuries later, Moses led the people out of Egypt, out of slavery, toward freedom, and finally returned to the homeland of Israel.

They wandered in the Sinai Desert for 40 years, formed a nation there, and accepted the Law of Moses, including the Ten Commandments. The monotheistic religion founded by their ancestors began to take shape.

The tribes of Israel, under the command of Joshua, conquered and settled in the homeland of Israel, but they often only united under leaders called "judges" when they faced external threats.

In 1028 BC, Saul established a monarchy; his successor David unified the tribes and established the capital in Jerusalem in 1000 BC.

David's son Solomon developed the kingdom into a prosperous commercial power and built the Israelite monotheistic temple in Jerusalem.

Archaeological excavations confirm that during the reign of Solomon, important urban trading centers were established in fortified towns such as Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer.

After Solomon's death, the country was divided into two kingdoms: one was the Kingdom of Israel, with its capital in Samaria; the other was the Kingdom of Judea, with its capital in Jerusalem.

The two kingdoms existed side by side for two centuries, ruled by Jewish kings and exhorted by prophets to practice social justice and obey the law.

In 722 BC, the Kingdom of Israel was invaded by the Assyrians and its people were forced into exile (known in history as the "Ten Lost Tribes").

In 586 BC, the Jewish kingdom was conquered by the Babylonians. The invaders destroyed the temple in Jerusalem and deported most of the Jews to Babylon.

Jewish Autonomy Period (538-60 BC) In 539 BC, the Babylonian Empire was conquered by the Persians. After that, many Jews returned to Judah (the homeland of Israel) and rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem. The Jewish way of life in their homeland was also preserved.

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For the next four centuries, the Jews enjoyed a large degree of autonomy under the rule of the Persians and ancient Greeks.

As the Seleucid dynasty of Syria imposed a series of measures to prohibit Jewish religious belief, an uprising led by the Maccabees (Hasmoneans) broke out in 168 BC, and subsequently established the Hasmonean dynasty.

An independent Jewish kingdom ruled by Jewish kings that lasted about 80 years.

Alien rule (60 BC - 1948 AD) From 60 BC, the country was weakened by civil strife and increasingly came under Roman control.

In order to get rid of Roman rule, the Jews launched one uprising after another, the largest of which broke out in 66 AD.

After four years of fighting, the Romans conquered Judea (Judah) in AD 70, burned the Second Temple of Din, and deported many Jews in the country.

The last Jewish resistance to Rome was when more than a thousand people entrenched themselves in the hilltop citadel of Masada.

This rebellion ended with the mass suicide of the defenders in AD 73.

It became a symbol of the Jewish people's struggle for freedom in their own land.

Under the rule of Rome (70-313 AD) and Byzantium (313-636 AD), Jewish society continued to maintain and develop its own legal, educational and cultural systems in its homeland.

In the 2nd century AD, Jewish laws covering all aspects of life were compiled into the Mishnah, an oral law. Later, in the 3rd to 5th centuries AD, it was expanded into the Talmud.

Some of these laws were later modified according to changing circumstances, and are still observed by Jews who abide by the rules.

Another attempt by the Jews to regain national sovereignty was the Bar Kochba Revolt of 132 AD, which resulted in the establishment of an independent Jewish enclave in Judea, with Jerusalem as its capital.

However, three years later, the Romans defeated Bar Kochba and in order to sever the connection between the Jews and their homeland, Jerusalem was renamed Aelia Capitolina and the country was renamed Palestine.

Since the 7th century AD, the country has been conquered successively by the Arabs (613-1091), the Seljuks (1091-1099), the Crusaders (1099-1291), the Mamluks (1291-1516), and the Turks of the Ottoman Empire.

(1517-1917) and the British (1918-1948).

Rulers in different periods changed the boundaries and the name of the country at will.

The royal palaces built by the conquerors are historical witnesses of their rule over this homeland.

Although thousands of years of foreign rule have reduced the number of Jews, the Jews have maintained their presence in this homeland, and as Jews from various countries return to their hometowns, the Jewish population continues to increase.

By the mid-19th century, the sparse Jewish population was growing rapidly.

Zionism For centuries, the hope of one day returning to Zion (traditionally synonymous with Jerusalem and the Land of Israel) has been a mainstay of life for the Jewish diaspora around the world.