The Kings of Israel and Judah
This timeline tracks the rulers of Israel and Judah in parallel with other ancient events.
Dating the Kings of Israel and Judah is a complicated task. The biblical data must be reconciled with external data from archeology and other written sources. The dates in this timeline follow Mordecai Cogan in “Chronology,” from the Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary.
1025 BC - 1005 BC
Saul
Saul, a Benjaminite, was anointed as the first king of Israel by the prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 10:1-8). His reign united the twelve tribes. Although he achieved military victories, his increasing paranoia ended with his death and the death of his son Jonathan in battle.
View on timeline1005 BC - 0965 BC
David
David rose from humble beginnings to seize the kingship of Israel and Judah after the death of Saul and establish a dynasty that would continue for centuries. He also established Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Many biblical passages consider David the archetypical king, even though he resorted to murder and deception to promote his reign.
View on timeline0972 BC - 0612 BC
Neo-Assyrian Empire
Neo-Assyrian expansion began with the reign of Assurnasirpal II. He and his successors expanded the empire to four times larger than it had ever been.
View on timeline0968 BC - 0928 BC
Solomon
Solomon was a son of David, though not his eldest, and he attained the throne partly thanks to the machinations of his mother Bathsheba. He was famed for his wisdom, wealth, and many wives, but perhaps his biggest single achievement was his construction of the first temple in Jerusalem.
View on timeline0943 BC - 0922 BC
Rule of Pharaoh Sheshonq I
According to 1 Kings 14:25-26, Pharaoh Sheshonq (Shishak in the Hebrew Bible) invaded Judah in the fifth year of the reign of Rehoboam. This invasion is attested in a list of over 150 Palestinian cities preserved in the temple of Amun-Re at Karnak (although Jerusalem does not appear in the list), thus providing an important anchor for reconstructing the chronology of the kings of Israel and Judah. Sheshonq also offered asylum to Jeroboam I after Jeroboam's failed rebellion during the reign of King Solomon.
View on timeline0928 BC - 0907 BC
Jeroboam I
An official in Solomon's government, Jeroboam was appointed king by the northern tribes in the period of instability following Solomon's death. This began the period of the divided kingdom, with Israel in the North and Judah in the South. Jeroboam established worship centers at Dan and Bethel with gold bulls, provoking condemnation by biblical authors.
View on timeline0928 BC
Division of the Kingdom of Israel
The ten northern tribes revolted against Rehoboam's oppressive policies and appointed Jeroboam, one of Solomon's servants, as their king. Rehoboam continued to rule over the two southern tribes, Judah and Benjamin. Thus the kingdom was divided between the Northern Kingdom (Israel) and the Southern Kingdom (Judah).
View on timeline0928 BC - 0911 BC
Rehoboam
Rehoboam was the son of Solomon, but his threats of harsh policies alienated Northern Israel, leading them to break away into a separate kingdom under Jeroboam I.
View on timeline0911 BC - 0908 BC
Abijam
Abijam (also called Abijah) was a son of Rehoboam whose reign was very brief, but who helped to build up Jerusalem (1 Kings 15:4). He was at war with Jeroboam I of the Northern Kingdom.
View on timeline0908 BC - 0867 BC
Asa
A son of Abijam with an unusually lengthy reign, Asa carried out major religious reforms, condemning the worship of deities other than Yahweh. Despite these positive religious reforms, Asa later entered into an alliance with Ben-Hadad of Syria by means of a large gift taken from the temple treasuries. This was in order to get help in his fight against Baasha, king of Israel.
View on timeline0907 BC - 0906 BC
Nadab
The son of Jeroboam I, Nadab's reign was cut short when he was killed by Baasha in a coup.
View on timeline0906 BC - 0883 BC
Baasha
Baasha was not noble-born, but he wrested the Northern Kingdom from the family of Jeroboam, slaughtering all their descendants. He had a lengthy reign of power, marked by ongoing skirmishes with the Southern Kingdom.
View on timeline0883 BC - 0882 BC
Elah
Elah reigned for only two years before being assassinated by Zimri, one of his chief commanders, while Elah was intoxicated.
View on timeline0882 BC - 0878 BC
Tibni (Rival to Omri)
A king supported by "half of Israel" in the struggle after Elah's death (1 Kings 16:21); Omri defeated him in a civil war, and Tibni ultimately died, giving Omri uncontested rulership.
View on timeline0882 BC
Zimri (Rival to Omri)
One of Elah's commanders, he assassinated king Elah and tried to seize power. He was defeated shortly thereafter by Omri's troops. Zimri responded by burning the royal palace, immolating himself.
View on timeline0882 BC - 0871 BC
Omri
The commander of Elah's army, probably of non-Israelite lineage, who ultimately won the struggle for the throne after Elah's assassination. Omri became the founder of a dynasty that ruled Northern Israel for many years. He founded the capitol city Samaria and had much military success, as documented by surrounding nations. The Bible criticizes him strongly, however, perhaps for his religious policy that tolerated both Israelite and Canaanite worship.
View on timeline0878 BC - 0847 BC
Ithobaal I Rules Phoenicia
Ithobaal I was a king of Tyre who significantly expanded Phoenicia's area of rule. His daughter Jezebel married Israel's King Ahab.
View on timeline0873 BC - 0850 BC
Ahab
Ahab was one of the most notorious Israelite kings, largely due to his religious beliefs. He married Jezebel, a Phoenician princess and worshiper of Baal. The religious pluralism of his reign put him in conflict with the Yahwistic prophet Elijah. Politically, Ahab responded skillfully to a number of external threats. In the face of border skirmishes with the Arameans, he strengthened alliances with Phoenicia and Judah and defended Israel's borders. When Assyria threatened the entire region, Ahab joined forces with the Arameans to repel the Assyrian army led by Shalmaneser III in the Battle of Qarqar.
View on timeline0870 BC - 0846 BC
Jehoshaphat
Jehoshaphat's long and successful reign was notable for reforms of the judicial system and religious piety, for which the biblical authors praise him, and for alliances with Israel and Phoenicia. In order to cement his alliance with Israel, Jehoshaphat married his son Jehoram to Athaliah, the daughter (or possibly sister) of King Ahab.
View on timeline0853 BC
The Battle of Qarqar
The Battle of Qarqar was an attempt by united Syrian and Palestinian forces to stop the Assyrian invasion of their lands. On a memorial stela known as the Kurkh Monolith, King Shalmaneser III of Assyria mentions "Ahab the Israelite" as one of his enemies in the battle. Although the royal propaganda on the monolith claims victory for the Assyrians, the battle marked the end of their campaign in the region.
View on timeline0852 BC - 0851 BC
Ahaziah
Ahaziah reigned for two years after the death of his father Ahab. Moab rebelled against Israel during his reign. He died following a fall from his upper chamber.
View on timeline0851 BC - 0842 BC
Joram (Jehoram)
Joram was another son of Ahab. He unsuccessfully attempted to suppress King Mesha of Moab's revolt against Israel during his reign. Moab's victory is recorded on the Mesha Inscription. He formed a coalition with Ahaziah of Judah against the Syrian king Hazael. Joram was wounded in this battle, and while he was recovering, he was assassinated in a coup by his field commander, Jehu. In the recently discovered Tel Dan inscription, Hazael claims to have killed Joram.
View on timeline0851 BC - 0843 BC
Jehoram
Jehoram of Judah began ruling Judah before the death of his father Jehoshaphat (perhaps due to illness). His success was mixed; he was unable to quell a rebellion in Edom, and his wife Athaliah (Ahab's daughter) sustained Baal worship in Judah, which the biblical authors condemned.
View on timeline0843 BC - 0842 BC
Ahaziah
Ahaziah formed an alliance with Joram of Israel against Hazael of Syria. He had reigned for barely a year when he went to visit the wounded Joram and was killed by Jehu as part of Jehu's coup in Israel. Jehu's motives for killing him are unclear, as he did not seize control of Judah afterwards.
View on timeline0842 BC - 0814 BC
Jehu
Jehu began his reign with blood, killing the Israelite king Joram, the queen mother Jezebel, the remaining members of the Omride dynasty, the chief priests and prophets of Baal, and the Judahite king Ahaziah along with many members of the Davidic dynasty in Judah. His coup was framed as a Yahwistic reaction sanctioned by a disciple of the prophet Elijah against the Baal worship that had grown under the patronage of Queen Jezebel. As a result of his deeds, Jehu lost the diplomatic ties that had protected Israel, and soon submitted to Assyrian dominance for the rest of his reign.
View on timeline0842 BC - 0836 BC
Athaliah
Athaliah was the only queen to rule in ancient Israel or Judah. The daughter or sister of Ahab, and the wife of Jehoram of Judah, she promoted the worship of Baal. She seized power after Jehu's coup killed King Ahaziah and destroyed most of the Davidic dynasty. She was killed in a rebellion that enthroned her 7-year-old grandson Joash.
View on timeline0840 BC
Victory Stela of Mesha, King of Moab
This inscribed stone discusses the victories of King Mesha over the Omride dynasty of Israel. It contains some of the earliest extrabiblical references to Israelite kings and to Yahweh as Israel's deity, and it parallels the biblical account in 2 Kings 3.
View on timeline0836 BC - 0798 BC
Joash (Jehoash)
According to the biblical account, Joash, King Ahaziah’s infant son and remaining heir, escaped Queen Athaliah's massacre of his extended family in her bid to hold the throne. Raised in the temple for six years by Jehoiada, he was crowned king at age seven in a coup that killed Athaliah, his grandmother. (Some scholars have questioned his real lineage, noting the convenient appearance of a Davidic heir to the throne.) Joash enjoyed a lengthy reign marked mostly by financial crises around maintenance of the temple. He was killed by two of his servants.
View on timeline0817 BC - 0800 BC
Jehoahaz
Jehoahaz was the son of Jehu. During his reign, Israel came under increasing attack from the Arameans, reflecting the strife between Aram and Assyria. By the end of his reign, the Bible records that the Israelite army contained only fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen due to Israel's continual conflict with the king of Syria.
View on timeline0800 BC - 0784 BC
Jehoash
The son of Jehoahaz, Jehoash attained military victories against Aram (as prophesied by Elisha in 2 Kings 13:14–19) and Judah. His successes were aided by Assyrian victory over Aram.
View on timeline0800 BC
Tel Dan Stela
In this Aramean inscription, King Hazael describes his victories over the "king of Israel" and the "king of the house of David" (though the latter term is sometimes disputed). It provides some of the earliest archaeological evidence for a kingdom of Judah ruled by a Davidic dynasty.
View on timeline0798 BC - 0769 BC
Amaziah
The son of Joash, Amaziah succeeded in a campaign against Edom, killing 20,000 Edomite soldiers. Bolstered by his success, he attempted to attack Israel for unclear reasons. His army was thoroughly defeated, however, and the Israelites looted the temple. Amaziah was ultimately assassinated.
View on timeline0788 BC - 0747 BC
Jeroboam II
The reign of Jeroboam II, the son of Jehoash, was characterized by military success and economic prosperity. He expanded Israel's borders considerably through conquest. The contemporary oracles of Amos and Hosea condemn the economic stratification during his lengthy reign.
View on timeline0785 BC - 0733 BC
Azariah (Uzziah)
Uzziah, also called Azariah, had a successful reign partly overshadowed by Jeroboam's achievements to the north. After he contracted a skin disease, which the Bible attributes to his impiety, he turned over much of his power to his son Jotham.
View on timeline0759 BC - 0743 BC
Jotham
Jotham took over part of the royal duties for the latter part of his father's reign after Uzziah acquired a skin disease. He presided over a period of relative prosperity in Judah.
View on timeline0753 BC
Rome Founded (Legend)
According to Roman legend, the city of Rome was founded in this year by the brothers Romulus and Remus, who were famously raised by a she-wolf. The Roman Republic would not be founded for another two centuries.
View on timeline0747 BC - 0737 BC
Menahem
After seizing power from Shallum, Menahem managed to hold the throne for a decade. He maintained his rule partly thanks to the Assyrian Empire, whom he paid to provide him with military support.
View on timeline0747 BC
Zechariah
Zechariah was the son of Jeroboam II and the last king of the lineage of Jehu; he was assassinated after only six months of rule.
View on timeline0747 BC
Shallum
After assassinating King Zechariah, Shallum reigned for a single month before being killed.
View on timeline0744 BC
Tiglath-Pileser III Becomes King of Assyria
Tiglath-Pileser III strengthened the Neo-Assyrian Empire and expanded its borders across the known world. Tiglath-Pileser's policy of forced resettlement helped prevent rebellion in conquered areas.
View on timeline0743 BC - 0727 BC
Ahaz
Ahaz, the son of Jotham, allied himself with the Assyrian Empire, which allowed Judah to withstand the catastrophic invasion that destroyed the Northern Kingdom in 722. The Bible condemns him, however, for giving temple treasures as Assyrian tribute, and for allowing non-Yahwistic worship in Judah.
View on timeline0737 BC - 0735 BC
Pekahiah
Pekahiah, the son of Menahem, only ruled briefly before he was killed in a revolt by Pekah, one of his captains.
View on timeline0735 BC - 0732 BC
Pekah
After taking the throne in a coup, Pekah rejected the nation's relationship with Assyria and joined in an anti-Assyrian coalition with Syria. The coalition attempted to add Judah to their ranks, but their plan backfired when the Judean King Ahaz called on Assyrian support to defeat them. As a result, Israel lost significant territory to Assyria, and Pekah was killed in a pro-Assyrian conspiracy.
View on timeline0732 BC - 0724 BC
Hoshea
After a coup overthrew the anti-Assyrian Pekah, Hoshea, backed by the Assyrian empire, took control of Israel. (The Assyrian records claim that Assyria installed Hoshea, but the Bible indicates that he emerged triumphant from internal divisions.) In 724, however, Hoshea switched his allegiance to Egypt and cut ties with Assyria; as a result, the Neo-Assyrians invaded Israel, captured Hoshea, and ultimately destroyed the kingdom. Hoshea was the last king of Israel.
View on timeline0727 BC - 0698 BC
Hezekiah
Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, had a lengthy reign notable for three aspects: his religious reforms, his political struggles with Assyria, and the diverse extrabiblical evidence now available about his reign. The biblical authors praise Hezekiah for his reforms, which included destroying various "idolatrous" sacred sites and restoring the temple. Meanwhile, Hezekiah resisted two major Assyrian encroachments, both led by King Sennacherib, and allied himself with Egypt. In response to Sennacherib's attacks, King Hezekiah defended and fortified Jerusalem. While he kept the Assyrian forces out of Jerusalem, the Judean nation suffered significantly from the attacks. Modern archaeology has supported the Bible's claims of Hezekiah as a religious reformer and capable civic administrator.
View on timeline0722 BC
Fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel to Assyria
After Hoshea resisted Assyria's rule, the empire swept in and decimated the nation, turning it into one of its provinces. Many Israelites were deported to elsewhere in the Assyrian Empire, while other foreign people were resettled into Israel, effectively destroying the Northern Kingdom.
View on timeline0701 BC
Sennacherib attacks Jerusalem
Assyria attempted to conquer Judah, despite Hezekiah's sending tribute to King Sennacherib. 2 Kings 18:13–19:37 portrays a Judean victory in which the Assyrians withdrew; Neo-Assyrian sources (the Prism of Sennacherib) describe it as an Assyrian victory, with Hezekiah imprisoned in Jerusalem "like a bird in a cage."
View on timeline0700 BC
Siloam Inscription
This inscription, found below Jerusalem, describes the completion of Hezekiah's tunnel, which provided the city with fresh water while under siege.
View on timeline0698 BC - 0642 BC
Manasseh
Manasseh's reign was long but much less eventful than his father Hezekiah's. He undid many of Hezekiah's religious reforms, a fact for which 2 Kings condemns him harshly. The account in 2 Chronicles portrays a more nuanced situation, however, and the supposed wickedness and idolatry that made him infamous in 2 Kings may be exaggerated.
View on timeline0641 BC - 0640 BC
Amon
The son of Manasseh, he ruled for only two years before being assassinated for unclear reasons. The conspirators were killed, allowing his young son Josiah to take the throne.
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