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2000 BCE
Foundation of Judaism
Judaism was founded by Abraham in Mesopotamia. They referred to God as Yahweh, who said that should Abraham and his descendants remain faithful, he will "make a great nation". He is considered the Father of the Jewish People. At around this time, he traveled to present-day Israel or Canaan. -
1200 BCE
The Exodus
A famine forced the 12 tribes from Abraham's family out of Israel and into Egypt. Those that had moved to Egypt ended up becoming slaves at around 1200 BC but were eventually freed by prophet Moses. During the Exodus or their escape to freedom, it is believed that God gave Moses 10 Commandments the Jewish people should live by. Note that the reality is there were actually over 600 commandments and encompassed more than religion but also politics. -
1020 BCE
Unified Nation
The Israelites were able to reclaim the land under King Saul who was later superseded by David who is famously known for defeating the giant Goliath. He turns Israel into a kingdom and establishes Jerusalem as the Capitol city. -
1000 BCE
Joshua Leads the Israelites
Moses passes away before reaching Canaan so Joshua takes over. When they get there, the next 200 years are very gruesome and war-filled as they fought the Philistines and Canaanites in order to control the land. -
922 BCE
Split of Israel
The Kingdom of Israel was divided into two: the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah. -
586 BCE
Conquering by different Groups
The land was then unified once again because it was conquered by the Assyrians who destroyed parts of the kingdom and enslaved some people. The Assyrians were then conquered by the Babylonians who turned the entire remaining Jewish kingdom into slaves in Babylon. The Persians conquered Babylon and freed the Jews because they did not believe in slavery. -
332 BCE
Alexander the Great Conquers the Jews
After being freed by the Persians, the Jews were able to return to Canaan. However, in 332 BC, Alexander the Great conquers Persia, including Canaan. Once his kingdom fell apart, the country still fell under the Seleucid Empire. -
63 BCE
Independent Jewish Kingdom
Judah Maccabee lead the Jews in rebelling gainst King Antiochus IV who tried to convince them to worship Greek Gods Instead. They won and now continue to celebrate Hanukkah or Chanukah to remember the defeat. However, the Romans took over in 63 BCE. -
70
Temple destruction
While Christians go to church and Muslims go to mosques, Jews go to synagogues to practice their faith. The Western Wall was built by King Solomon and is the holiest site but was destroyed in 70AD. -
Judaism Now
Judaism considers Jerusalem to be the Holy City which is situated in Israel, which was previously Canaan. This is said to be the land gifted by God for being good servants. They worship in temples called synagogues. The Jewish holy book is called the Torah which includes the first 5 books of the bible (the Old Testament) and writings from Jewish Prophets. They believe that the Messiah has yet to arrive on earth, but he one day shall.
