Byzantine Decline and Islamic Conquest

TIMELINE 4B

Byzantine Decline and Islamic Conquest

500 to 750

Byzantine laws press on the Jews of the land while the academies of Babylonia lead. Persia invades, Arab armies take Jerusalem in 638, and the Umayyads rule from Damascus.

TURNING POINTS

614 The Persians take Jerusalem. Jews fight beside the Persians and briefly govern the city.

629 The Byzantines return. Emperor Heraclius retakes Jerusalem and expels the Jews.

638 The Arab conquest. Caliph Umar takes Jerusalem and allows Jews to settle there again.

661 The Umayyad Caliphate. Muawiya founds the dynasty and rules the region from Damascus.

691 The Dome of the Rock. The Umayyads build it on the Temple Mount.

749 The great earthquake. It ruins Tiberias, Beit Shean and other towns across the land.

ALSO IN THIS PERIOD

c. 520 The Beth Alpha synagogue is built with its zodiac mosaic floor.

529 The Samaritans revolt against Byzantine rule and are crushed.

543 Justinian dedicates the Nea Church in Jerusalem.

542 to 570 The Madaba Map mosaic, made in these years, shows Jerusalem and the Holy Land.

589 The age of the Geonim begins at the academies of Babylonia.

c. 600 The land reaches a peak of population and prosperity.

c. 705 The al-Aqsa Mosque is built on the Temple Mount.

c. 715 Ramla is founded as the capital of the province of Palestine.