Timeline of Jerusalem


This is a timeline of major events in the history of Jerusalem; a city that has been fought over sixteen times over millennia. During its history, Jerusalem has been destroyed twice, besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times, and captured and recaptured 44 times.

Chalcolithic

  • 4500–3500 BC: First settlement established near Gihon Spring.

Bronze Age: [Canaan]ite city

Iron Age

Independent [Israelite] capital

Jerusalem becomes the capital of the History of ancient [Israel and Judah|Kingdom of Judah] and, according to the Bible, for the first few decades even of a wider united kingdom of Judah and Israel, under kings belonging to the House of David.

Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian period

Persian (Achaemenid) period

Hellenistic period

Under Alexander, the Ptolemies">Ptolemaic dynasty">Ptolemies, and [Seleucid]s

Hasmonean kingdom

Classical/Polytheistic Roman period

Early Roman period

Events from the New Testament offer a narrative regarded by most Christians as Holy Scripture. Much of the narrative lacks historical anchors and Christian apologists have tried to calculate a historical chronology of events without reaching consensual conclusions. All such events and dates listed here are presented under this reservation, and are generally lacking non-sectarian scholarly recognition. They are marked in the list with a cross .

Late Roman period (Aelia Capitolina)

Byzantine/Christian Roman period

Early Muslim period

Rashidun, Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates

Fatimid and Seljuk rule

Crusader/Ayyubid period

First Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (1099–1187)

Ayyubids and Second Crusader Kingdom

The Crusader defeat at the Battle of Hattin leads to the end of the First Crusader Kingdom. During the Second Crusader Kingdom, the Crusaders can only gain a foothold in Jerusalem on a limited scale, twice through treaties, and again for a last time between 1241 and 1244.

Mamluk period

Ottoman period

Early Ottoman period

Late Ottoman period

British Mandate

After 1948

Partition into West (Israel) and East (Jordan)

Reunification after 1967

  • 1967 5–11 June: The Six-Day War. Israel captures the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights.
  • 1968: Israel starts rebuilding the Jewish Quarter, confiscating 129 dunams of land which had made up the Jewish Quarter before 1948. 6000 residents and 437 shops are evicted.
  • 1969: Denis Michael Rohan, an Australian Protestant extremist, burns a part of the Jami Al-Aqsa.
  • 1977: Anwar Sadat, President of Egypt, visits Jerusalem and addresses the Knesset during negotiations over the Camp David Accords.
  • 1978: World Union of Jewish Students headquarters moves from London to Jerusalem.
  • 1980: Israel enacts the Jerusalem Law officially annexing Jerusalem. The U.N. Security Council ratifies Resolution 478 stating that it does not recognize the change in status.
  • 1993: In Oslo Accords, Jerusalem was not included, except parts of few neighborhoods were transferred to the newly formed Palestinian Authority
  • 2000: Pope John Paul II becomes the first Latin Pope to visit Jerusalem, and prays at the Western Wall.
  • 2000: Final Agreement between Israel and Palestinian Authority is not achieved at the 2000 Camp David Summit, with the status of Jerusalem playing a central role in the breakdown of talks.
  • 2000: The Second Intifada begins two months after the end of the Camp David Summit—Ariel Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount is reported to have been a relevant factor in the uprising.
  • 2008: Israeli Sephardic Religious Party Shas refuses to form part of the government without a guarantee that there will be no negotiations that will lead to a partition of Jerusalem.
  • 2017: December: US president Donald Trump recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel; this sparks protest by many Palestinians and other Muslims in the region.
  • 2018: The United States, followed by Guatemala and Paraguay become the first three countries to open embassies to Israel in Jerusalem.