THE HISTORY OF THE PERIOD

Restoration & Persian Rule (536 - 332 BC)

• Cyrus (559 - 530)

• Cambyses (530 - 522)

• Darius I (522 - 486)

• Xerxes I, or Ahasuerus (486 - 465)

• Artaxerxes I (465 - 424)

• Xerxes II (424 - 423)

• Darius II (423 - 404)

• Artaxerxes II (404 - 358)

• Artaxerxes III (358 - 338)

• Ares (338 - 336)

• Darius III (336 - 332)

Greek Rule (332 - 168 BC)

• Alexander the Great (332 - 323)

• Period of Struggle & The Diadochoi (323 - 198)
  • The Ptolemies Control Palestine (323 - 198)
    • Ptolemy I, Soter (323 - 285)

    • Ptolemy II, Philadelphus (285 - 246)

    • Ptolemy III, Euergetes I (246 - 221)

    • Ptolemy IV, Philopater (221 - 203)

    • Ptolemy V, Epiphanes (203 - 180)

  • The Seleucids Control Palestine (198 - 168)
    • Antiochus I (280 - 262)

    • Antiochus II (261 - 247)

    • Seleucus II (247 - 226)

    • Seleucus III (226 - 223)

    • Antiochus III, The Great (223 - 187)

    • Seleucus IV (187 - 175)

    • Antiochus IV, Epiphanes (175 - 163)

The Maccabean Revolt (168 - 135 BC)

• Mattathias (168 - 166)

• Judas (166 - 160)

• Jonathan (160 - 142)

• Simon (142 - 135)

The Hasmonean Dynasty --- Growth & Decay (135 - 63 BC)

• John Hyrcanus (135 - 104)

• Aristobulus I (104 - 103)

• Alexander Jannaeus (103 - 76)

• Alexandra (76 - 67)

• Period of Struggle for Power (67 - 63)
  • Hyrcanus II

  • Aristobulus II

  • Antipater

  • The Romans Enter the Scene

The Roman Era (63 BC to NT Times)

• Pompey Invades Palestine (63)

• Reign of Pompey (63 - 48)
  • Role of Hyrcanus II & Antipater (63 - 40)

• Reign of Julius Caesar (48 - 44)

• Period of Struggle (44 - 31)

• Reign of Augustus (31 BC - 14 AD)

• Local Rule in Palestine (40 BC to NT Times)
  • Antigonus (40 - 37)

  • Herod the Great (37 - 4)

  • The Kingdom Divides (4 BC)

• The Birth of Jesus (c. 4 BC)

THE RELIGION OF THE PERIOD

Religious Institutions

• The Temple

• The Synagogue

• Tradition

• The Sanhedrin

Religious Groups

• The Pharisees

• The Sadducees

• The Essenes

• The Qumran Community

• The Zealots

• The Herodians

• The Zadokites

The Diaspora

• The Hebraists

• The Hellenists

THE PHILOSOPHIES OF THE PERIOD

• Epicureanism

• Stoicism

• Cynicism

• Scepticism

• Platonism

THE LITERATURE OF THE PERIOD

• The Apocrypha

• The Septuagint

• The Dead Sea Scrolls

Home Page