The History of Jerusalem
- 2,000 BC- God sends Abraham to the area of Mount Moriah to sacrifice Isaac.
- 1,000 BC- David captures Jerusalem, names it the City of David, and makes it his capital.
- 950 BC- Solomon spends seven years building the temple, then spends thirty years building his lavish palace apparently between the temple and David's City.
- 700 BC- Hezekiah expands Jerusalem and fortifies the city against the Babylonian threat by building walls and tearing down houses in order to expand the walls.
- 500 BC- The Babylonians capture Jerusalem, destroy the temple, and take many Israelites captive.
- 430 BC- Cyrus, king of Persia, allows the Israelites to return to Jerusalem. They rebuild the temple as well as restore and dedicate the city walls.
- 322 BC- Jerusalem becomes part of Alexander the Great's empire. The city suffers more than a century of conflict at the hands of Alexander's successors.
- 165 BC- The Maccabean revolt brings Jerusalem back under Jewish control. Descendants of the Maccabees enclose the Western Hill, build the fortress Antonia, and expand the Gentile court.
- 63 BC- The Romans under Pompey capture Jerusalem from the Hasmoneans (Maccabean descendants) and eventually place the city and country under Herod's control.
- 37- 4 BC- Herod the Great expands the Gentile court and the temple, fortifies the city, and builds many structures.
- AD 70- Under Titus, Roman troops destroy Jerusalem, slaughtering hundreds of thousands of Jews. The temple is burned and destroyed. All the citizens of Jerusalem (more than one million) are executed, sold into slavery, or captured for games in the area.
