The Bible and world history | Pelas Veredas Antigas

701 BCEHistorically anchored date

In the Bible · Jerusalem

Hezekiah and the siege of Jerusalem

Judah faces Sennacherib’s invasion during Hezekiah’s reign.

References2 Reis 18–19 · Isaías 36–37

In the world · Lachish

Sennacherib captures Lachish

Reliefs from the Nineveh palace record the capture of the fortified city of Lachish.

The Assyrian campaign is attested by biblical and Assyrian sources; interpretations of the outcome at Jerusalem differ.

Historical source: British Museum · Lachish reliefs

The world at this time6 regions

See what was happening in other regions during the same biblical period. Contemporaneity does not imply direct contact.

EG

Egypt and Nubia

The Nubian Twenty-fifth Dynasty rules Egypt

Pharaohs from the Kingdom of Kush controlled Egypt and contested Assyrian influence. Tirhakah’s chronology around 701 BCE remains debated.

RM

Rome

Rome under its early kings

According to later Roman tradition, Numa Pompilius ruled in this period. Rome was still a small community; no connection with Isaiah is known.

CN

Luoyang, China

King Huan of the Zhou dynasty

China was in the early Eastern Zhou period. King Huan ruled as royal authority was increasingly constrained by regional states.

JP

Kyushu, Japan

Transition from Jōmon to Yayoi

Yayoi farming communities were beginning to spread from western Japan. Dates for this transition vary by region and study.

MY

Maya area

Middle Preclassic Maya communities

Farming villages and ceremonial centres were developing in the Maya area. No reliable names of Maya kings survive from this period.

BR

Britain

Early Iron Age Britain

England did not yet exist as a kingdom. Local rural communities were adopting iron tools, with no single king over the island.

539–538 BCEHistorically anchored date

In the Bible · Babylon

Return permitted by Cyrus

Ezra presents Cyrus authorising the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem.

ReferencesEsdras 1:1–4 · 2 Crônicas 36:22–23

In the world · Babylon

Cyrus conquers Babylon

The Achaemenid Empire absorbs Babylon; the Cyrus Cylinder records the new royal administration.

The 539 BCE conquest of Babylon is well documented. The relationship between Persian policy and Ezra’s decree should be read with attention to differences between the sources.

Historical source: British Museum · Cyrus Cylinder

The world at this time6 regions

See what was happening in other regions during the same biblical period. Contemporaneity does not imply direct contact.

EG

Sais, Egypt

Egypt under Amasis II

The Saite dynasty still ruled an independent Egypt. Persia would conquer the country in 525 BCE, after Babylon had fallen.

RM

Rome

Rome near the end of its monarchy

Roman tradition places the reign of Servius Tullius near this time. The Republic traditionally begins in 509 BCE.

CN

Luoyang, China

King Jing and the Spring and Autumn period

King Jing of Zhou ruled nominally while regional Chinese states exercised much of the political power.

JP

Western Japan

Gradual spread of Yayoi culture

Wet-rice farming and new technologies were spreading through the archipelago; no Japanese monarch can be securely identified for this date.

MY

Maya area

Growth of Preclassic Maya centres

Communities in the Maya area were expanding exchange networks and ceremonial architecture, centuries before the famous Classic-period cities.

BR

Britain

Iron Age communities

Britain consisted of regional farming communities, without a unified England or a single island-wide monarchy.

486–465 BCE · 480 BCEDebated identification or date

In the Bible · Susa

Esther at the court of Susa

The Esther narrative is set at the Persian court in Susa during Ahasuerus’ reign.

ReferencesEster 1–9

In the world · Thermopylae

Greco-Persian Wars

Xerxes invades Greece; Thermopylae, Salamis and Plataea become decisive episodes of the conflict.

Identifying Ahasuerus with Xerxes I is traditional and widely defended, but not unanimous. The 480 BCE campaign belongs to Xerxes’ reign.

Historical source: Encyclopaedia Britannica · Greco-Persian Wars

The world at this time6 regions

See what was happening in other regions during the same biblical period. Contemporaneity does not imply direct contact.

EG

Egypt

Egypt as a Persian province

Xerxes I suppressed an Egyptian revolt and kept the country within the Achaemenid Empire.

RM

Rome

Early decades of the Roman Republic

In the traditional chronology, Rome had replaced its kings with republican magistrates. It was still a regional Italian power.

CN

State of Lu, China

The final years of Confucius

Confucius traditionally died in 479 BCE, almost at the time of Xerxes’ invasion of Greece. King Jing of Zhou still reigned in 480 BCE.

JP

Japan

Yayoi societies without a documented king

Farming communities coexisted with Jōmon traditions. Later imperial lists do not provide a secure historical chronology for this period.

MY

Maya area

The Maya world in the Middle Preclassic

Ceremonial centres and farming communities were growing, but no contemporary rulers’ names are preserved.

BR

Britain

Tribal Iron Age Britain

There was no England and no national king. Different communities controlled parts of the island.

c. 445 BCEApproximate date

In the Bible · Jerusalem

Nehemiah rebuilds the walls

Nehemiah receives Persian authorisation and organises the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls.

ReferencesNeemias 2–6

In the world · Athens

Athens and the building of the Parthenon

Athens enters its classical period under Pericles while the Persian Empire rules Judah.

Nehemiah’s chronology is normally tied to the twentieth year of Artaxerxes I. The Parthenon was built approximately between 447 and 432 BCE.

Historical source: Encyclopaedia Britannica · Parthenon

The world at this time6 regions

See what was happening in other regions during the same biblical period. Contemporaneity does not imply direct contact.

EG

Egypt

Egypt under Artaxerxes I

Egypt remained part of the Persian Empire, the same empire that authorised Nehemiah’s journey to Jerusalem.

RM

Rome

Rome after the Twelve Tables

The young Roman Republic was consolidating political institutions and a written legal tradition.

CN

Luoyang, China

King Zhending and the Warring States era

King Zhending of Zhou ruled nominally while major Chinese states competed for power.

JP

Japan

Spread of Yayoi agriculture

Rice farming and metallurgy were spreading gradually; no Japanese ruler can be confirmed for 445 BCE.

MY

Maya area

Expanding Maya ceremonial centres

The Maya area was developing public architecture and regional networks, without records identifying kings from this year.

BR

Britain

Iron Age communities

The island was occupied by numerous regional communities. “England” and an English monarchy would emerge many centuries later.

168–167 BCEHistorically anchored date

In the Bible · Modein and Jerusalem

The Maccabean revolt begins

Mattathias and his sons resist Seleucid decrees; Judas Maccabeus leads the struggle and the purification of the temple.

References1 Macabeus 2–4

In the world · Pydna, Macedon

Rome defeats Macedon at Pydna

The Roman victory ends the Third Macedonian War and changes the balance of power in the Mediterranean.

The Maccabean revolt belongs to deuterocanonical history. Rome’s victory at Pydna in 168 BCE marks its rapid expansion in the eastern Mediterranean.

Historical source: Encyclopaedia Britannica · Battle of Pydna

The world at this time6 regions

See what was happening in other regions during the same biblical period. Contemporaneity does not imply direct contact.

EG

Alexandria, Egypt

Egypt under Ptolemy VI

The Ptolemaic kingdom faced dynastic disputes and Seleucid pressure within the same political world as the Maccabean revolt.

RM

Rome and Macedon

The Roman Republic expands eastward

Victory at Pydna ended the Third Macedonian War and made Rome the decisive power in the eastern Mediterranean.

CN

Chang’an, China

Emperor Wen of the Han dynasty

The Han dynasty was consolidating a unified empire. Emperor Wen ruled through much of the opening phase of the Maccabean revolt.

JP

Japan

Yayoi-period Japan

Farming communities and exchange networks were expanding. No emperor can be historically verified for 168 BCE.

MY

Maya area

Late Preclassic Maya cities

Large communities and monumental complexes were emerging in the Maya area, still without preserved royal names for this date.

BR

Britain

Britain before the Roman conquest

Regional Iron Age peoples occupied the island; there was no English state or single sovereign.

c. 6–4 BCEDebated identification or date

In the Bible · Bethlehem

Birth of Yeshua

The Gospels place Yeshua’s birth in the context of Herod and Roman administration.

ReferencesMateus 1–2 · Lucas 1–2

In the world · Rome

Augustus rules the Roman Empire

Rome undergoes administrative reorganisation and relative stability at the beginning of the imperial period.

The exact year of Yeshua’s birth is debated. The 6–4 BCE range is a common historical estimate tied to Herod’s reign, not an explicit biblical date.

Historical source: Encyclopaedia Britannica · Augustus

The world at this time6 regions

See what was happening in other regions during the same biblical period. Contemporaneity does not imply direct contact.

EG

Alexandria, Egypt

Egypt as a province of Augustus

After the defeat of Cleopatra and Mark Antony, Egypt became a Roman province and a major grain supplier to the empire.

RM

Rome

Augustus rules the Roman Empire

The Mediterranean was under Roman rule, and Herod governed Judaea as a client king of Rome.

CN

Chang’an, China

Emperor Ai of the Han dynasty

Emperor Ai ruled the vast Han Empire when Yeshua was probably born.

JP

Japan

Yayoi societies

Rice farming, metallurgy and increasingly stratified communities were expanding. No emperor for this year can be historically confirmed.

MY

Maya area

Large Preclassic Maya cities

Monumental centres flourished in the Maya area. This was contemporary with Yeshua’s birth, with no known historical contact.

BR

Britain

Iron Age Britain

Different peoples and regional rulers occupied the island. The Roman conquest would begin only in 43 CE.

c. 49–60 CEApproximate date

In the Bible · Corinth

Paul’s journeys

Paul travels through cities of the eastern Mediterranean and reaches Rome, forming communities and writing letters.

ReferencesAtos 15–28 · Epístolas paulinas

In the world · Rome

Rome under Claudius and Nero

The empire connects the Mediterranean through roads, ports and administration while experiencing political and religious tensions.

Paul’s journeys and letters are dated by combining Acts, the epistles and Roman chronological anchors; several dates remain approximate.

Historical source: Encyclopaedia Britannica · Nero

The world at this time6 regions

See what was happening in other regions during the same biblical period. Contemporaneity does not imply direct contact.

EG

Alexandria, Egypt

Roman Egypt and Alexandria

Alexandria was one of the empire’s largest cities, bringing together Egyptian, Greek, Roman and Jewish traditions.

RM

Rome

Rome between Claudius and Nero

Paul travelled during the reigns of Claudius and Nero, using roads and cities connected by imperial administration.

CN

Luoyang, China

Han emperors Guangwu and Ming

The year 57 CE marked the transition from Guangwu’s reign to Ming’s in the Eastern Han Empire.

JP

Japan

Late Yayoi Japan

Stratified farming communities and regional contact networks continued to grow; there is still no secure royal chronology.

MY

Maya area

End of the Maya Preclassic

Large cities and political traditions were developing in the Maya area. Well-documented royal names belong mainly to later periods.

BR

Roman Britain

The Roman conquest of Britain

Claudius began the conquest in 43 CE. During Paul’s journeys, part of the island had become the Roman province of Britannia.