2.1: Chronology

Mesopotamian Civilizations	Palestine	Egypt and Nubia
c. 3500 BCE Appearance of Sumerian city-states in lower Mesopotamia		c. 3500 BCE Towns and villages grew along the Nile River
c. 3200 BCE Early use of cuneiform		c. 3100 BCE Unification of Egypt
c. 2900 BCE Production of bronze begins	c. 2000 - 1550 BCE Cities develop within Palestine	2660 – 2160 BCE Egyptian Old Kingdom
2334 – 2100 BCE Akkadian Empire established by Sargon
2000 BCE Gilgamesh first recorded in cuneiform		2040 – 1640 BCE Egyptian Middle Kingdom
1792 – 1595 BCE Babylonian Empire established		1640 – 1570 BCE Egypt’s Second Intermediate Period (under Hyksos Rule)
1792 – 1750 BCE Reign of Hammurabi	1500-1250 BC Israelite migration into Egypt
1595 BCE Mesopotamia sacked by the Hittite Empire	c. 1250 - 1200 BCE Israelite migration from Egypt and conquest of Palestine _______________________________ c. 1050 – 1010 BCE Israelites establish a kingdom, Saul named King	1530 – 1070 BCE Egyptian New Kingdom __________________________________ 1350 – 1325 BCE Amarna Period (under Pharaoh Akhenaten) _________________________________ 1274 BCE Battle of Kadesh (Egypt vs. Hittites)
900 – 612 BCE Assyrian Empire established	c. 1000 – 970 BCE Reign of King David _____________________________ c. 979 – 930 BCE Reign of King Solomon ________________________________ 931 BCE Kingdom divided into Judah and Israel (Samaria) ________________________________ 722-720 BCE Israel (Samaria) conquerored by Assyrian Empire	750 – 593 BCE Kingdom of Kush  _________________________________ 656 – 639 BCE Assyrians occupied Egypt
626 – 539 BCE Neo Babylonian (Chaldian) Empire	586 BCE Judah conquered by Babylonia; Jerusalem and First Temple destroyed ___________________________________ 586 – 539 BCE Babylonian captivity of Israelites
605 – 562 BCE Reign of Nebechadnezzar
550 BCE Establishment of the Persian Empire	538-515 BCE Jews return from Babylon; construct 2nd Temple	525 BCE Persian conquest of Egypt