Early History of Jerusalem Trivia Quiz

Answer: David

David succeeded Saul when he was about 30 years old. Around 1010 BC he captured Jerusalem, founded the Judaean dynasty and made it the capital of his kingdom. As an astute ruler, he formed an alliance with Egypt. As a commander, he defeated the Philistines so thoroughly that they never seriously threatened the Israelites' security again, and spread Israel's borders eastward. He made Jerusalem the capital of the United Kingdom of Israel and ruled for about 40 years.

Saul (reign 1030 BC - 1010 BC) was the first king of Israel. At the Battle of Mount Gilboa against the Philistines, he and his sons (including Johnathan) were serving as commanders. The Israelite troops were decimated by the Philistines. Saul and his sons died at the battle and were buried in Zelah, in the region of Benjamin.

Answer: Became the capital of the Kingdom of Judah

King Solomon (reign 970 BC to 931 BC) was the second (after his father, David) and last king of a unified Israel, which was at the height of its power during his reign. He was renowned for his wisdom. During his reign, the First Temple in Jerusalem was completed around 957 BC.

Around 932/931 BC, Rehoboam, who succeeded Solomon, lost the northern part of the Kingdom of Israel following the rebellion of the ten northern tribes led by Jeroboam, leading to the formation of the Kingdom of Israel in the north.

Rehoboam saw his rule limited to the Kingdom of Judah in the south. During the 17 years of his reign, he retained Jerusalem as the capital of his kingdom.

Answer: Assyrian

In 721 B.C. the Assyrian empire captured Samaria, the capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, after a siege lasting several years leading to its downfall. After the fall of Israel, the ten of the Twelve Tribes of Israel (known as the Ten Lost Tribes) were exiled and deported to Assyria.

In 701 BC, the Assyrian King Sennacherib (reign 705 BC - 681 BC) carried out a siege on Jerusalem, then the capital of Judah. Although he devastated the countryside of Judah and attacked fortified cities, he ended his campaign at Levant, failing to capture Jerusalem following the siege.

Answer: New Babylonian

From 601 BC to 586 BC, King Jehoiachin of Judah carried out revolts to defy the dominance of the New Babylonian Empire.

In 597 BC, New Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II (reign 605 BC - 562 BC) captured Jerusalem after his first siege of the city, along with King Jehoiachin and all the aristocratic people. He looted the treasures of the temple and exiled thousands of officers, craftsmen, and soldiers. He then appointed Jehoiachin's uncle, Mattaniah (who later changed his name to Zedekiah), as the king of the Kingdom of Judah.

In 587 BC, Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem again after Zedekiah allied with Egypt to rebel against Babylonia. The city was recaptured, and all of Zedekiah's children were executed in front of him. Solomon's Temple was burned down, the walls of Jerusalem were destroyed, and the rest of the Jews were exiled to Babylonia.

Answer: Persian

Persian King Cyrus the Great, who ruled for about 30 years, was the founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire.

In 539 BC, he conquered the New Babylonian empire, including Jerusalem, after he defeated Nabonidus at the Battle of Opis. In 537 BC, Cyrus issued a decree to release Jews to return to Jerusalem from Babylon. He became a notable figure in the Jewish scripture who helped them to rebuild the Second Temple (completed around 515 BC), which was in use until its destruction in 70 AD.

Nehemiah was appointed as the governor of Judah after his return from Babylon, and started rebuilding of the walls in the city.

Answer: Hellenistic

In 332 BC, Alexander the Great conquered the Persian empire after he defeated Darius III, ending more than two centuries of rule over the Kingdom of Judah. As part of his campaign, he also captured Jerusalem. Alexander introduced Greek culture to all the people he conquered. Greek replaced Aramaic as the language for trade, education, and international relations.

Answer: Ptolemy

Following the death of Alexander the Great, Ptolemy I Soler founded the Ptolemaic Kingdom and ruled Egypt from 302 BC to 282 BC. The kingdom lasted until 30 BC. Egypt developed into a thriving Hellenistic civilization and Alexandria became a great seat of Greek culture.

In 320 BC, General Nicanor was dispatched by Ptolemy I and took control of Syria and Jerusalem, and captured Laomedon, a former general of Alexander's who governed Jerusalem. During the Ptolemaic rule, the Jews were free to practice their own culture and religion. They also continued the minting of the Yehud coinage.

Answer: Seleucid

The Seleucid Empire was a Greek power in West Asia named after the Macedonian general, Seleucus I Nicator, the founder of the empire in 312 BC.

In 200 BC, Jerusalem fell to the Seleucid Empire after Antiochus III defeated the Ptolemies at the Battle of Panium.

In 175 BC, Antiochus IV Epiphanes succeeded his father and carried out the eradication of the Jewish religion by forcing the High Priest to step down. He outlawed the Sabbath and circumcision, sacked Jerusalem, and erected an altar to Zeus in the Second Temple after plundering it.

Answer: Maccabean

In 167 BC, the Maccabean revolt started when a Seleucid government representative asked Mattathias, a Jewish priest, to offer a sacrifice to the Greek gods. Mattathias killed a Jew who stepped forward to do so, and attacked the government official during the act. The incident sparked the Maccabean War.

In 164 BC, the Maccabees captured Jerusalem after the Battle of Beth Zur and restored the Temple. The Hasmoneans (a ruling Judea dynasty 140 BC to 37 BC) took control of Jerusalem, while the Seleucids retained control of Acra (fortress) in the city and most of the surrounding areas.

In 160 BC, the Maccabean revolt was ended when Judas Maccabeus was killed at the Battle of Elasa. Jerusalem was retaken by the Seleucids.

Answer: Pompey

In 63 BC, Pompey besieged and took the city. He entered the temple, but left the treasures untouched. Hyrcanus II, a member of the Hasmonean dynasty (founded by the Maccabees) who was briefly king of Judah from 67 BC to 66 BC, was appointed as a High Priest and Antipater of Idumean was appointed as the governor. Antipater I was the founder of the Herodian Dynasty of Judah and later the Herodian Tetrarchy as a vassal state of the Roman Empire.

He was the father of Herod the Great.