The Map of First Century Palestine

Maps Table of Contents

Civil Rulers of The Times of Jesus

• THE HERODIANS
  • Herod the Great: 37 to 4 BC -- Ruler of entire region at time of Jesus' birth. Upon his death in 4 BC, his kingdom was divided up amongst his three sons, Archelaus, Antipas and Philip. Archaelaus proved to be such a poor ruler that the Romans replaced him after only six years with a Procurator, Pontius Pilate, in 6 AD.
  • Archelaus: 4 BC to AD 6 -- Ruler of Judea; replaced by Pontius Pilate. Administrative center at Caesarea.
  • Antipas: 4 BC to AD 39 -- Ruler of Galilee and Perea. Administrative center at Sepphoris, later at Tiberias.
  • Philip: 4 BC to AD 34 -- Ruler of region east of Galilee. Administrative center at Caesarea Philippi.
  • Herod Agrippa I: AD 37 to AD 44
  • Herod Agrippa II AD 53 to AD 100(?)
• THE ROMAN PROCURATORS
  • Coponius AD 6 to AD 9
  • M. Ambibulus AD 9 to AD 12
  • Annius Rufus AD 12 to AD 15
  • Valerius Gratus AD 15 to AD 26
  • Pontius Pilatus AD 26 to AD 36
  • Marcellus AD 36 to AD 37
  • Cuspius Fadus AD 41 to AD 46
  • Tiberius Alexander AD 46 to AD 48
  • Ventidius Cumanus AD 48 to AD 52
  • Antonius Felix AD 52 to AD 60
  • Porcius Festus AD 60 to AD 62
  • Albinus AD 62 to AD 64
  • Gessius Florus AD 64 to AD 66
• THE ROMAN EMPERORS
  • Augustus 27 BC to AD 14
  • Tiberius AD 14 to AD 37
  • Gaius Caligula AD 37 to AD 41
  • Claudius AD 41 to AD 54
  • Nero AD 54 to AD 68
  • Balba AD 68 to AD 69
  • Otho AD 69
  • Vitellius AD 69
  • Vespasian AD 69 to AD 79
  • Titus AD 79 to AD 81
  • Domitian AD 81 to AD 96
  • Nerva AD 96 to AD 98
  • Trajan AD 98 to AD 117
  • Hadrian AD 117 to AD 138
  • Constantine the Great AD 308 to AD 337

OTHER DESCRIPTORS RELEVANT TO THE HISTORY OF PALESTINE

Note that the dates given below are very approximate. Similar cultural patterns emerged in different geographical regions at different times in the chronological sequence. The Urantia Book makes a note of this on page 903, "There were no distinct periods, such as the Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages; all three existed at the same time in different localities." Nevertheless, I have listed the traditional chronological periods below for general orientation to the literature.

For practical purposes, it seems reasonable to equate "Bronze" with "Andite" noting on page 904 that it was one of the Adamsonites who discovered how to alloy tin and copper in Turkestan.

It is interesting to note that the most consistent break point across the literature is the crossover into the upper paleolithic which corresponds to the arrival of Adam and Eve and the end of the ice age.

These periods are all broken down into finer subdivisions in the archaeological literature although most public museum displays do not go beyond the divisions listed here. These times are approximate; the actual times which form the boundaries of these periods vary somewhat from source to source.

• Geologic Period Descriptors
  • Middle Pleistocene 500,000 to 100,000 BC
  • Upper Pleistocene 100,000 to 12,000 BC
  • Holocene 12,000 to 3150 BC
• Historic Period Descriptors
  • Prehistoric 1,000,000 to 4,500 BC
  • Chalcolithic Period 4,500 BC to 3,250 BC
  • Canaanite Period 3,250 BC to 1,200 BC
  • Period of the Judges 1,200 to 1,000 BC
  • The Israelite Kingdoms 1,000 BC to 586 BC (The Kingdoms of Israel and Judaea and The First Temple)
  • The Second Temple Period 550 BC to 70 AD (The rule of the Hasmoneans to the Herodian dynasty, the Roman governors thru the destruction of the second temple.)
  • Period of the Mishnah and the Talmud 70 AD to 637 AD
• ARCHAEOLOGICAL PERIODS (Years BC)
  • 500,000 80,000 Lower Paleolithic (Old Stone Age)
  • 80,000 35,000 Middle Paleolithic
  • 35,000 15,000 Upper Paleolithic
  • 15,000 8,000 Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age)
  • 8,000 4,000 Neolithic (New Stone Age)
  • 4,000 3,150 Chalcolithic
  • 3,150 2,500 Early Bronze Age
  • 2,500 1,550 Middle Bronze Age
  • 1,550 1,200 Late Bronze Age
  • 1,200 586 Iron Age
  • 586 332 Babylonian and Persian Periods
  • 332 37 Hellenistic Period
  • 37 AD 324 Roman Period
  • 37 AD 70 (Herodian Period)
  • 324 640 Byzantine Period
  • 640 1099 Early Arab Period
  • 1099 1291 Crusader Period