Israel’s Kingdom
Humans have inhabited the land of Palestine since ancient times, dating back approximately a million years. The offspring of Palestine built the oldest city in the world - Jericho - around 10,000 years ago, approximately 8000 BCE.
The Canaanite Arabs are considered the earliest known inhabitants of Palestine, emerging around the third millennium BCE. They became urban dwellers, inhabiting cities and towns, including Jericho, establishing most of Palestine's cities and villages, numbering around two hundred cities and villages by the second millennium BCE. Among these were cities like Shechem (Nablus and Balata), Beisan, Ashkelon, Akka, Haifa, Jaffa, Hebron, Ashdod, Aqr, Beersheba, Bethlehem, and others. They developed an alphabet that influenced other writing systems.
Due to Palestine's central location connecting three continents, it became a hub for religious gatherings and cultural influence on Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, and witnessed conflicts between major powers in the region, falling under the dominance of neighboring empires.
Egyptian dominance in Egypt and the Canaanites in Palestine faced constant confrontations by the second millennium BCE against racially diverse invaders like the Amorites. However, the Canaanites and Egyptians consistently managed to defeat the invaders. Nevertheless, by the 14th century BCE, Egyptian authority began to weaken, succumbing to new occupiers - the Hebrews, a group of Semitic tribes from Mesopotamia, and the Philistines, who later lent their name to the land. The Philistines were a people of Indo-European descent.
After the Hebrew tribes left Egypt in 1270 BCE, they invaded Canaanite cities. Under the leadership of Joshua, they gained control over parts of Palestine around 1230 BCE, settling in the hills of the land but were unable to fully dominate all of Palestine.
By 1125 BCE, the Israelites managed to defeat the Canaanites but faced invasions from the Philistines. The Philistines established an independent state along the southern coast of Palestine, taking control of Canaanite cities, including Jerusalem. In 1050 BCE, they inflicted a significant defeat on the Israelites due to their organized military leadership and use of iron weaponry.
During this time, various threats compelled the Israelites to unify and establish monarchical rule. In 1000 BCE, the Prophet David defeated the Philistines, allowing the Israelites to consolidate their control over the land of Canaan.
Due to Israel's unity and the weakness of neighboring empires, David established a significant independent state centered around Jerusalem. Israel experienced stability and prosperity during the reign of Solomon. However, after his death in 922 BCE, the kingdom split into two:
Kingdom of Israel: Located in the northern part of Palestine, with its capital at Shechem, then Tirzah, and later Samaria near Nablus. It lasted approximately 200 years (923–721 BCE). Due to its weakness and insignificance, the British Encyclopedia dubbed it the "tail-end kingdom." The Assyrians, led by Sargon II, eventually conquered this state, deporting its Jewish inhabitants to Haran, the Khabur, Kurdistan, and Persia. The Assyrians replaced them with Aramean groups. The exiled Israelites seemingly assimilated into the surrounding populations, leaving no trace of the ten tribes of Israel who followed this kingdom.
Kingdom of Judah: Centered around Jerusalem, it lasted for 337 years. It only controlled limited parts of central Palestine and suffered from weakness, falling under prolonged external influence. Jerusalem was repeatedly invaded, including by Pharaoh Shishak of Egypt in the late 10th century BCE. The Palestinians, who captured King Jehoram's palace, exiled his sons and wives. They also fell under Assyrian influence during the reigns of Sargon II, Esarhaddon, and Ashurbanipal. Finally, the Babylonians, led by Nebuchadnezzar, conquered this kingdom, destroyed Jerusalem, and exiled 40,000 Jews to Babylon in Iraq, while those remaining migrated to Egypt.
After Cyrus the Great ruled Persia following the fall of Babylon in 539 BCE, he allowed the Jews to return to Judah. A minority returned, while the majority remained in the new land (Iraq), finding it favorable and settling there. The Jews were granted a degree of self-rule under Persian domination in the Jerusalem region, covering an area not exceeding 20 km in diameter, about 4.8% of present-day Palestine. The returnees reconstructed the walls of Jerusalem and canonized the Torah, which became a symbol of their social and religious life.
In 333 BCE, Persian rule in Palestine was replaced by Greek rule after Alexander the Great conquered the region. During the reign of Seleucus IV, one of Alexander's successors, attempts were made to impose Hellenistic Greek culture and religion on the population in the 2nd century BCE. However, the Jews rebelled and established self-rule in Jerusalem from 164 BCE. The scope of their autonomy fluctuated based on the struggles among major powers of the time. They remained under the influence of others and did not achieve full political independence, although they experienced periods of revival and expansion under their leader Alexander Jannaeus (103-76 BCE).