112BCE - Jewish Hasmoneans destroy Samaritan temple at Mt. Gerizim and Shechem.
108 BCE - Jewish Hasmoneans destroy Beit Shean.
104bce - Hyrcanus's son, Aristobulus I, succeeds Hyrcanus as king of Judea. Reigns 2 years. A despot. Forces his position to become both king and high priest. Imprisoned his mother where she starved to death. Imprisoned his 3 brothers. Disastrous leadership decisions made. Alexander Jannaeus is selected next king and reigns 27 years. His cruelty knows no bounds. Persecuted the rabbis and eliminates the Sanhedrin.
75 BCE - Salome Alexander appointed defacto Queen of Judea. She reestablished the Sanhedrin. .
The Pharisees now become the ruling class and will forever be intent on maintaining this status. Salome removes the Sadducees from Jerusalem. Talmud relates that as a reward for her piety rain fell only on Shabbat night and the fertility of the soil prospered greatly. She was sister to Shimon ben Shetach, Mishnaic sage, Nasi of the Sanhedrin.
63BCE - But a Nabataean intervenes - Antipater, father of Herod the Great turns the tables.
Antipater convinces king of the Nabataeans, Aretas, to side with Hyrcanus and fight for the Jewish crown. Civil war is only ended by one asking Roman general Pompey to intervene. Quarrelling Jewish brothers open the door to total Roman Rule. Pompey decides to settle the war by keeping Israel for himself and Rome. The Roman Period begins.
44BCE - Julius Caesar killed.
Temporally relaxed Roman rule on Israel.
40BCE - Herod visits Rome - Appointed King by Roman Senate.
- 40 BCE, the Parthian Empire invades the eastern Roman provinces, including Judea.
- Antigonus II Mattathias, a member of the Hasmonean dynasty who was seeking to reclaim the Judean throne, allied himself with the Parthians.
- With the support of the Parthians, Antigonus successfully overthrew the Roman client ruler Hyrcanus II and installed himself as king of Judea.
- Antigonus was able to gain the allegiance of both the Jerusalem aristocracy and the leaders of the Pharisees, who were unhappy with Roman rule. This suggests a degree of Jewish support for the pro-Parthian Hasmonean claimant.
- Herod, a supporter of Rome, fled Judea when Antigonus gained control.
- Herod went to Rome, where he was appointed King of the Jews by the Roman Senate in 40 or 39 BCE. Herod returns to Israel, with Mark Antony, conquers Antigonus II and beheads Antigonus II. Hasmonean rule ends in 37BCE.
Herod divorces his first wife, marries Mariamne, Hasmonean princess and plans to drown the last male Hasmonean heir at his Jericho palace.
36BCE - Jewish Zealots in Galilee rebel against Herod. Herod kills this group at Mt. Arbel cliff.
Roman legion siege camp built atop Mt. Nitai.
31BCE - Powerful earthquake in Judea. Herod becomes the greatest master builder Israel has seen.
Some earthquakes were followed by a tsunami – notably in 92BCE,115CE, 306CE, 502CE, 552CE, 881CE and 1202CE.
27BCE - close friend of Herod's, Augustus, appointed Roman Emperor. Reign for 41 years till 17CE.
Augustus is the first Roman emperor. Augustus and Mark Antony were key in Herod's appointment as ruler of Judea. AT this point Herod receives the territory of Jericho, Gadara, Hippos, Samaria, Gaza, Anthedon, Jaffa and Strato's Tower (later Caesarea Maritima). Herod rebuilds Samaria and renames it Sebastia.
23BCE - Herod builds the Herodium 7.5 miles south of Jerusalem.
22BCE - Herod begins construction of Caesarea Maritima on old settlement known as Strato's Tower.
Maritima will become the largest port in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. An incredible engineering accomplishment. It will soon become the home of the Roman procurators sent to rule Judea following the dismissal of Archelaus in 6CE. In 26CE it will become home to Pontius Pilate.
20BCE - Herod's son, Antipas is born. He is raised with a close friend, Menachem.
Menachem will hold an extremely important position as intermediary of the Sanhedrin and Antipas.
Shockingly, Menachem will become a follower of Yeshua. He will leave the Sanhedrin, move to Antioch and be found praying for his former associate, Saul of Tarsus, at Antioch. He is considered a prophet and teacher in the Antioch church and was present when Barnabas and Saul (Paul) were sent out on their first missionary journey in circa 47/48CE. Act 13:1.
19BCE - Herod begins rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem in the eighteenth year of his reign.
10BCE - Caesarea Maritima is completed after 12 years of work.
7BCE - Because of mistrust, Herod has another two of his sons executed, Alexander and Aristobulus.
6BCE - Likely year of birth of Jesus of Nazareth in Bethlehem.
Because of death threat against the child, Yeshua is taken to Egypt, most likely Alexandria, where there is a large Jewish community already existing. This community is led by the noble Jewish philosopher Philo and his family who have direct connection with Herod and the priesthood of Jerusalem. Philo's writings are a substantive secondary historical source of this time period. Philo's brother is the wealthiest man in Egypt.
The 'Gabriel Stone' - provenance not known but perhaps Jordanian side of Dead Sea, ink on stone. A collection of short prophecies written in the first person by someone identifying as Gabriel dated to the 1st century BCE or the early 1st century CE by its script and language and describing Messianic points. David Hamidovic's analysis suggests a date after 50 CE, some +- 20 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. Perhaps Interesting as it may describe a 3 day resurrection occurrence.
5BCE - Herod's son, Antipater, sees his father in very poor health and attempts to poison him.
5- 4BCE - Herod has another son Antipater killed. Herod dies a very painful death.
4BCE - 6CE - Herod's son Archelaus, reigns over Judea. Hippos, Gadara and Gaza. It is sometime before 6CE that the +-10 year old Jesus and his family return to Israel looking to settle in Judea. Finding Herod's son reigning they move north to the very small village of Nazareth in Galilee. Archelaus was declared unfit to reign in 6CE.
4BCE - 6BCE - Herod's son Antipas is +-17 years old when his father dies. He is appointed tetrarch of Galilee and begins to rebujild Sephoris only 4 miles from Nazareth. The rebuilding of Sephoris likely provides much needed employment for Jesus' family up until 18CE.
9CE - Pharisee leader, Hillel the Elder dies. The house of Rabbi Shammai rises.
14CE - Emperor Augustus dies at age 75. Succeeded by his adopted son Tiberius. Tiberias will reign for 23 years till 37CE.
18CE - Caiaphas offers the highest amount of money to Roman Prefect Valerius Gratus and becomes high priest. Antipas begins work on his new capital of Galilee in Tiberias. Perhaps Yeshua follows the work and works as a stone mason in Tiberias for a while.
23CE - Valerius Gratus is appointed prefect of Judea.
26CE - The emperor appoints Sejanus as his executive officer to handle affairs of the empire. The antisemite, Sejanus, wants to exterminate the uncontrollable Jewish race. He appoints Pontius Pilate to replace Gratus to rule Judea. Pilate retains the high priest Joseph ben Caiaphas for his entire tenure. Caiaphas and the Sadducee priests are regarded as completely reliable allies to Pilate and Rome. Pilate's first unwise act is to install the embossed figures of the emperor at the Temple site. A massive confrontation arises at Caesarea Maritima.
A solitary prophetic voice arises in the Judean desert of Yohanan the Immerser and all Jerusalem is going out to hear him and be baptized by him. He is the next acknowledged prophet that arises in Israel.
28/29CE - Antipas leaves for Rome and divorces his wife, Phasaelis, daughter of Nabbatean king, Aretas. Yohanan the immerser begins his ministry time in the Jordan Valley. Luke 3:1-2.
It is at this time that the short 3 year ministry of Yeshua of Nazareth begins.