The Holy Land, centered around Jerusalem, is the region in the Middle East which is considered sacred by Judaism, Christianity, and Islam due to its significance in their respective religious histories and scriptures. It has changed hands between different ethnic groups and empires. It has seen never-ending strife. When peace comes to this land is probably when peace comes to this world.
| Time Period | Controlling Entity | Events/Notes |
| 3300-2000 BC | Canaanites | Emergence of Canaanite City-States |
| 2000-1550 BC | Canaanites | |
| 1550-1200 BC | Canaanites, Egypt | |
| 1200-1050 BC | Israelites, Philistines | Collapse of Canaanite City-States; Arrival of Israelites; Israelites are a Canaanite sub-group that left the area prior possibly due to famine or war. Arrival of the Philistines; Philistines are genetically linked to ancient peoples of Greece, Italy, and Spain; The Philistines settled along the coastal plain in cities such as Gaza, Ashkelon, Enron (modern-day Gaza Strip); This area became known as Philistia; Israelites and Philistines were arch-enemies. |
| 1050-930 BC | United Kingdom of Israel | First Temple built. |
| 930 BC | Kingdom of Israel and Kingdom of Judah | United Kingdom of Israel split. |
| 930-720 BC | Kingdom of Israel | |
| 720-612 BC | Assyrian Empire | Fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, Assyrian exile, the lost ten tribes. |
| 930-586 BC | Kingdom of Judah | |
| 586-539 BC | Babylonian Empire | Fall of the Southern Kingdom of Judah, destruction of the First Temple, Babylonian exile. Philistia was also conquered and destroyed around this time. |
| 539-332 BC | Yehud Medinata | Return from Babylonian exile; Autonomous province under the Persians; Second Temple built. |
| 332-312 BC | Macedonian Empire (Greek) | |
| 312-140 BC | Seleucid Empire (Greek) | |
| 140-63 BC | Hasmonean Kingdom of Judea | The Maccabees and the Hasmonean Dynasty |
| 63-37 BC | Hasmonean Kingdom of Judea | Vassal state of the Romans under the Hasmonean Dynasty |
| 37 BC- 6AD | Herodian Kingdom of Judea | Vassal state of the Romans under Herod the Great |
| 6-636 AD | Roman/Byzantine Empire | Roman province of Judaea (Latin for Judah). |
| 66-73 AD | Roman Empire | First Jewish-Roman War; Destruction of the Second Temple. |
| 115-117 AD | Roman Empire | Second Jewish-Roman War. |
| 132-136 AD | Roman Empire | Third Jewish-Roman War; Bar Kokhba revolt; Exile of the Jews. The Romans renamed Judea to Syria Palaestina, a reference to the Jews’ historical arch-enemies the Philistines and an insult to Jews; The English word is Palestine. |
| 636-661 AD | Rashidun Caliphate | |
| 661-750 AD | Umayyad Caliphate | Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock built. |
| 750-969 AD | Abbasid Caliphate | |
| 969-1099 AD | Fatimid Caliphate | |
| 1099-1291 | Crusader States | Fall of Jerusalem to the Crusaders |
| 1187-1250 | Ayyubid Sultanate | Fall of Jerusalem to Saladin. |
| 1250-1517 | Mamluk Sultanate | |
| 1517-1917 | Ottoman Empire | Distributed across different administrative units: Eyalet of Syria, Mutasariffate/Sanjak of Jerusalem, Sanjak of Nablus, Sanjak of Akka (Acre). 1st and 2nd Aliyah (going up; immigration of Jews to Israel) |
| 1917-1948 | British Empire | Palestine Mandate; 2nd-5th Aliyah: 10% Jewish population in 1918, increasing to 80% by 1948. 1947 UN Partition Plan accepted by the Jews, rejected by the Arabs. |
| 1947-1948 | British Empire | Civil War between Palestinian Jews and Palestinian Arabs. |
| 1948 | Israel | British withdrawal; Israel declares independence. |
| 1948-1949 | Israel, Egypt, Jordan | Arab-Israeli War; surrounding Arab states invade, taking control of Arab areas and attacking Jewish areas; Repelled by Israel. Parts of Palestine occupied by Jordan (West Bank) and Egypt (Gaza Strip). Nakba (disaster): Arabs fled or expelled from Jewish areas. Palestinian Jews became Israeli Jews; Palestinian Arabs in Israel became Israeli Arabs; Palestinian Arabs outside Israel became Arab refugees. |
| 1949-1967 | Israel, Egypt, Jordan | In the 1960s, the term Palestinian as it is used today was coined: Palestinian Arabs outside Israel became Palestinians. |
| 1967 | Israel | Six Day War; Israel captures the West Bank from Jordan, the Gaza Strip and the Sinai from Egypt, and the Golan Heights from Syria |
| 1967-1973 | Israel | |
| 1973 | Israel | Yom Kippur War, no change in territory. |
| 1973-1987 | Israel | |
| 1987-1993 | Israel | First Intifada; Oslo Accords |
| 1994-2000 | Israel, Palestinian Authority | West Bank and Gaza under Palestinian Authority. |
| 2000-2005 | Israel, Palestinian Authority | Second Intifada; The West Bank barrier wall built |
| 2005-present | Israel, Palestinian Authority, Hamas | West Bank under Palestinian Authority; Gaza Strip controlled by Hamas. |