c. 971-931 b.c.

Solomon's reign marked the zenith of Israel's power and wealth in biblical times. His father David had bestowed upon him a kingdom that included Edom, Moab, Ammon, Syria, and Zobah. Solomon would later bring the kingdom of Hamath-zobah under his dominion as well, and his marriage to Pharaoh's daughter sealed an alliance with Egypt. His expansive kingdom controlled important trade routes between several major world powers, including Egypt, Arabia, Mesopotamia, and Anatolia (Asia Minor).

c. 950 b.c.

Solomon's firm control of important trade routes linking Egypt, Arabia, Mesopotamia, and Anatolia (Asia Minor) provided him with incalculable wealth. Partnering with King Hiram of Tyre, Solomon also launched his own trading expeditions to Ophir to acquire valuable and exotic goods. The queen of Sheba's visit to Solomon attests to his great fame throughout the ancient world. Solomon further augmented his wealth by buying horses from Kue and chariots from Egypt and selling them to the kings of Syria and the Hittites.

931 b.c.

When Solomon's son Rehoboam arrived at Shechem for his coronation after his father's death, he refused to lighten his father's heavy tax burden on the people, and the 10 northern tribes revolted and set up Jeroboam as their king. The northern kingdom would now be known as Israel and the southern kingdom as Judah. Five years later, Shishak (also called Sheshonq) king of Egypt invaded Judah and Israel and captured a number of towns. Rehoboam avoided Jerusalem's destruction by paying off Shishak with many of the treasures Solomon had placed in the temple.

898 b.c.

At some point during Asa's long and prosperous reign over Judah, Zerah the Ethiopian led a vast army from the south to attack Judah at a valley near Mareshah. Asa's army routed Zerah's forces and pursued them to Gerar until none of them remained. Perhaps as punishment for Philistia allowing Zerah's army to pass through their nation, Asa's men then plundered many towns in the region around Gerar before returning to Jerusalem.

As Israel and Judah battled each other to determine their permanent border, King Baasha of Israel attempted to restrict access to Judah by moving the border down to Ramah. Rather than fight with Baasha himself, King Asa of Judah bribed Ben-hadad of Syria to attack the northern border of Israel and force Baasha to withdraw from Ramah. Once Baasha withdrew, Asa carried away the building supplies of Ramah and used them to fortify Mizpah (further north) and Geba (near the pass at Michmash).

Early in Jehoshaphat's reign over Judah, the Moabites rebelled and gained independence from Israel. Soon after this they formed a coalition with the Ammonites and the Meunites to attack Judah. When they had crossed the Dead Sea and were making their way up the ascent of Ziz at Hazazon-tamar (Engedi), Jehoshaphat's army prepared to meet them in battle. Before the battle could begin, however, the Lord caused the Moabites and the Ammonites to turn and attack the Meunites, and the coalition was routed.

848 b.c.

Perhaps emboldened by Moab's rebellion from Israel a few years earlier, Edom revolted against the rule of King Jehoram (also called Joram) of Judah. Jehoram led his army to Edom to put down the rebellion, but his efforts failed. At the same time, the western priestly town of Libnah revolted against Judah, apparently because of Jehoram's idolatrous practices. Philistines and Arabians also attacked Judah and plundered the royal palace, carrying away all its possessions and many of Jehoram's wives and sons.

841 b.c.

During a battle with Syria at Ramoth-gilead, King Joram (also called Jehoram) of Israel was wounded and went to Jezreel to recover. While he was there, Jehu, one of Joram's commanders, came from Ramoth-gilead to carry out the Lord's judgment on Joram's family. When Joram and King Ahaziah of Judah went out in their chariots to meet Jehu, Jehu mortally wounded Joram with an arrow and chased Ahaziah to Beth-haggan, where he wounded him as well. It appears that Ahaziah then fled to Megiddo, where he died (2 Kings 9:27).

c. 767-740 b.c.

A power vacuum created by Assyria's attack and withdrawal from Syria allowed King Azariah (also called Uzziah) of Judah to recover land that had once belonged to Judah. Azariah recovered Elath on the Red Sea, captured some Philistine towns, and fought against the Arabians at Gurbaal and against the Meunites.

c. 740-732 b.c.

As the Assyrian Empire expanded westward, Syria and Israel sought to compel Judah and the other nearby states to form an anti-Assyrian alliance. Judah refused, leading Syria and Israel to attack Jerusalem. Syria also wrested Elath from Judah and gave it to the Edomites. The Edomites may have also raided Judah and taken captives at this time (see 28:17). The Philistines, who may have been part of the anti-Assyrian alliance, attacked Judah as well, capturing several cities in the Shephelah and the Negeb (see 28:18).

c. 722 b.c.

During the reign of King Ahaz of Judah, both Israel and Judah had become vassals (semi-independent subjects) of Assyria. Later, however, King Hoshea of Israel rebelled, causing the Assyrians to completely annex Israel as a province of the empire. Philistia was annexed into the empire as well, leaving Judah, Ammon, Moab, and Edom as the remaining vassals in the region.

c. 702 b.c.

In anticipation of an Assyrian attack, King Hezekiah of Judah fortified Jerusalem, repairing broken sections of the wall and redirecting the flow of water from the Gihon Spring into the city. He also outfitted his army with weapons and shields and appointed battle commanders over the people. Archaeological evidence suggests he also enclosed the western hill of the city with a new wall and built the Temple Mount around Solomon's temple.

701 b.c.

During the reign of Hezekiah of Judah, Sennacherib of Assyria came and attacked cities along the western edge of Judah, and he sent officials to besiege Jerusalem and convince Hezekiah to surrender. The Cushite king Tirhakah advanced from Egypt to support Hezekiah (2 Kings 19:9; Isa. 37:9) but apparently failed. The siege of Jerusalem was broken when the angel of the Lord killed 185,000 Assyrians in a single night. Sennacherib withdrew and returned to Nineveh in Assyria, where his own sons killed him.

628-609 b.c.

Early in his reign, King Josiah of Judah launched a massive effort to abolish pagan worship throughout Judah and the land of Israel and to refurbish the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. At the same time, the waning power of the Assyrians allowed him to add much of the land of Israel to his kingdom. Josiah met his demise at Megiddo, however, as he sought to prevent Pharaoh Neco II of Egypt from reaching Carchemish to assist the Assyrians, who were being attacked by forces from the rising Babylonian Empire.

597, 586, 582 b.c.

It appears that there were three separate deportations of Judeans to Babylon under the rule of Nebuchadnezzar (see also Jer. 52:28-30). The first came in 597 b.c. during the reign of Jehoiachin, when Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem and carried away many of the treasures of the temple and the royal palace. The second occurred after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 b.c., when the walls of the city were leveled and the temple was completely destroyed. The third appears to have occurred around 582 b.c. while King Nebuchadnezzar was reasserting his control over the general region of Palestine (see note on Jer. 52:28-30).