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The Map of First Century Palestine

Civil Rulers of the Period

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 PERIOD DESCRIPTORS

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