Kings of Israel and Judah Timeline

(c. 1050–586 BCE)

This timeline traces the monarchies of ancient Israel and Judah, including the united kingdom under Saul, David, and Solomon, the division into northern Israel and southern Judah, and the eventual destruction of both kingdoms. More Less

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United monarchy

Saul becomes Israel’s first king

1050 BCE - 1010 BCE

Saul of the tribe of Benjamin became the first king of the united Israelite monarchy. His reign was marked by warfare against neighboring peoples, including the Philistines, but his disobedience to prophetic commands led Samuel to reject his dynasty.

Image source: Saul

David becomes king of Judah

1010 BCE - 1003 BCE

After Saul’s death, David was anointed king over Judah at Hebron. His initial reign was contested by supporters of Saul’s son Ish-bosheth, producing a civil conflict before David gained control of the southern kingdom.

Image source: David

David becomes king of all Israel

1003 BCE - 970 BCE

The northern tribes accepted David as king, reunifying Israel. David captured Jerusalem, made it his capital, expanded the kingdom through military victories, and established the royal dynasty that later became central to Israelite and Jewish tradition.

Solomon succeeds David

970 BCE - 931 BCE

Solomon succeeded David after a contested succession. His reign is associated with administrative centralization, international trade, wealth, and the construction of the First Temple in Jerusalem.

Image source: Solomon

The kingdom divides after Solomon

931 BCE

Following Solomon’s death, the northern tribes rejected the heavy taxation and labor policies of his son Rehoboam. Jeroboam I established the independent Kingdom of Israel, while Rehoboam retained Judah and Benjamin.

Image source: Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)

Kings of Judah

Rehoboam rules Judah

931 BCE - 913 BCE

Rehoboam succeeded Solomon and retained control of Judah after the northern tribes seceded. His harsh response to their request for lighter burdens contributed directly to the division of the united monarchy.

Image source: Rehoboam

Abijah rules Judah

913 BCE - 911 BCE

Abijah, son of Rehoboam, ruled Judah briefly and fought Jeroboam I of Israel. Biblical accounts differ in their assessment of his religious faithfulness, but his reign preserved the Davidic succession.

Asa reforms Judah

911 BCE - 870 BCE

Asa ruled Judah for many years and is portrayed as undertaking religious reforms and removing foreign cult objects. He also formed an alliance with Aram-Damascus against Israel during a period of regional conflict.

Image source: Asa of Judah

Jehoshaphat strengthens Judah

870 BCE - 848 BCE

Jehoshaphat developed Judah’s administration, military defenses, and judicial system. He allied with the northern kingdom through marriage and military cooperation, though biblical narratives criticize some consequences of that alliance.

Image source: Jehoshaphat

Jehoram rules Judah

848 BCE - 841 BCE

Jehoram succeeded Jehoshaphat and married Athaliah, linking Judah to the Omride house of Israel. His reign faced revolts by Edom and Libnah and is described as a departure from earlier Davidic religious ideals.

Image source: Jehoram of Judah

Athaliah seizes Judah’s throne

841 BCE - 835 BCE

Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, seized power and attempted to eliminate the royal heirs. The priest Jehoiada concealed Joash, the surviving Davidic child, and eventually led a revolt that ended her rule.

Image source: Athaliah

Ahaziah rules Judah

841 BCE

Ahaziah ruled Judah for approximately one year and maintained ties with the Omride dynasty. He was killed during Jehu’s revolt in the northern kingdom, creating a succession crisis in Judah.

Image source: Ahaziah of Judah

Joash restores the Jerusalem Temple

835 BCE - 796 BCE

Joash became king as a child after Athaliah’s overthrow. Under priestly guidance he repaired the Jerusalem Temple, but later conflicts and political instability weakened his reign, ending with his assassination.

Image source: Jehoash of Judah

Amaziah rules Judah

796 BCE - 767 BCE

Amaziah defeated Edom and initially followed established religious practices. After challenging Israel, he suffered defeat and the capture of Jerusalem, and he was later assassinated by conspirators.

Image source: Amaziah of Judah

Uzziah’s long reign in Judah

767 BCE - 740 BCE

Uzziah, also called Azariah, expanded Judah’s influence, strengthened its army, and developed agriculture and fortifications. According to the biblical account, he became afflicted with skin disease after attempting priestly functions.

Image source: Uzziah

Jotham rules Judah

740 BCE - 732 BCE

Jotham governed Judah during Uzziah’s illness and later ruled independently. He built projects and defeated the Ammonites, while the growing threat of Assyria and the Syro-Ephraimite crisis shaped his final years.

Image source: Jotham

Ahaz submits Judah to Assyria

732 BCE - 716 BCE

Ahaz sought Assyrian help against Aram-Damascus and Israel during the Syro-Ephraimite War. Judah became an Assyrian vassal, and Ahaz introduced foreign religious influences into the kingdom.

Image source: Ahaz

Hezekiah reforms Judah

716 BCE - 687 BCE

Hezekiah centralized worship in Jerusalem, removed or suppressed rival cultic practices, and strengthened Judah’s defenses. His revolt against Assyria culminated in Sennacherib’s invasion of 701 BCE, when Jerusalem survived the campaign.

Image source: Hezekiah

Manasseh rules Judah

687 BCE - 643 BCE

Manasseh had the longest reign of any Judahite king in the biblical account. He reversed many of Hezekiah’s reforms, promoted practices condemned by biblical writers, and ruled Judah as an Assyrian vassal.

Image source: Manasseh of Judah

Amon rules Judah

643 BCE - 641 BCE

Amon succeeded Manasseh but ruled for only two years. Palace servants assassinated him, after which the people of Judah executed the conspirators and placed his son Josiah on the throne.

Image source: Amon of Judah

Josiah’s religious reform

641 BCE - 609 BCE

Josiah undertook a major religious reform centered on the Jerusalem Temple after a law scroll was discovered during repairs. He destroyed many local cult sites and died at Megiddo while confronting Pharaoh Necho II.

Image source: Josiah

Jehoahaz rules Judah briefly

609 BCE

Jehoahaz succeeded Josiah but ruled for only about three months. Pharaoh Necho II deposed him and carried him to Egypt, installing his brother Eliakim under the name Jehoiakim.

Image source: Jehoahaz of Judah

Jehoiakim rules Judah

609 BCE - 598 BCE

Jehoiakim ruled Judah first under Egyptian influence and later became subject to Babylon after Nebuchadnezzar II’s victory at Carchemish. His rebellion contributed to Babylonian attacks and the first stages of Judah’s exile.

Image source: Jehoiakim

Jehoiachin is taken to Babylon

598 BCE - 597 BCE

Jehoiachin, also called Jeconiah or Coniah, surrendered Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar II after a short reign. He was deported to Babylon with members of the royal and administrative elite, beginning a significant phase of the Babylonian Exile.

Image source: Jeconiah

Zedekiah becomes Judah’s last king

597 BCE - 586 BCE

Zedekiah was installed by Babylon as Judah’s final king. His revolt led to Nebuchadnezzar’s siege and destruction of Jerusalem and the First Temple in 586 BCE; Zedekiah was captured, blinded, and taken to Babylon.

Image source: Zedekiah

Kings of Israel

Jeroboam I rules the northern kingdom

931 BCE - 910 BCE

Jeroboam I became the first king of the northern Kingdom of Israel. He established royal sanctuaries at Bethel and Dan, creating an alternative cultic system that biblical writers portray as a defining sin of the northern monarchy.

Image source: Jeroboam

Nadab rules Israel

910 BCE - 909 BCE

Nadab, son of Jeroboam I, ruled Israel briefly. He continued his father’s dynasty and was assassinated by Baasha during a campaign against the Philistines.

Baasha establishes a new dynasty

909 BCE - 886 BCE

Baasha killed Nadab and the remaining members of Jeroboam’s house, becoming king of Israel. His reign continued the northern kingdom’s political and religious policies while maintaining conflict with Judah.

Image source: Baasha of Israel

Elah rules Israel

886 BCE - 885 BCE

Elah, son of Baasha, ruled for approximately two years. He was assassinated by his chariot commander Zimri while drinking at Tirzah.

Zimri rules Israel briefly

885 BCE

Zimri seized the throne after killing Elah and exterminated Baasha’s family. His reign lasted only seven days, ending when the army chose Omri and Zimri burned the royal citadel around himself.

Image source: Zimri (king)

Omri establishes Samaria

885 BCE - 874 BCE

Omri defeated rival claimant Tibni and founded a durable dynasty. He purchased the hill of Samaria and built it into the capital of Israel, while strengthening the kingdom through diplomacy and regional power.

Image source: Omri

Ahab rules Israel

874 BCE - 853 BCE

Ahab, son of Omri, ruled during a period of considerable prosperity and military strength. His reign is described in biblical narratives involving Jezebel, the prophet Elijah, the promotion of Baal worship, and conflicts with Aram-Damascus.

Image source: Ahab

Ahaziah rules Israel

853 BCE - 852 BCE

Ahaziah succeeded Ahab but ruled only briefly. Biblical accounts associate his reign with continued Baal worship and a fatal illness after an accident.

Image source: Ahaziah of Israel

Joram rules Israel

852 BCE - 841 BCE

Joram, another son of Ahab, fought Moab and Aram-Damascus. He was killed by Jehu in a coup that ended the Omride dynasty and transformed Israel’s political and religious direction.

Jehu overthrows the Omrides

841 BCE - 814 BCE

Jehu seized Israel’s throne by killing Joram, Queen Jezebel, and members of the Omride family. He also destroyed the Baal cult in Samaria, although biblical evaluation still criticizes him for retaining the northern sanctuaries.

Image source: Jehu

Jehoahaz rules Israel

814 BCE - 798 BCE

Jehoahaz inherited a weakened Israel during pressure from Aram-Damascus. The biblical account presents his reign as a period of military hardship, while recording eventual divine relief for the northern kingdom.

Image source: Jehoahaz of Israel

Jehoash expands Israel

798 BCE - 782 BCE

Jehoash, also called Joash, recovered territory from Aram-Damascus and defeated Judah in battle. He is also remembered for visiting the prophet Elisha during the prophet’s final illness.

Image source: Jehoash of Israel

Jeroboam II restores Israel’s power

793 BCE - 753 BCE

Jeroboam II presided over one of Israel’s most prosperous periods. The kingdom expanded its borders, but prophets Amos and Hosea condemned the social inequality, corruption, and religious unfaithfulness associated with the era.

Image source: Jeroboam II

Zechariah ends Jehu’s dynasty

753 BCE - 752 BCE

Zechariah, son of Jeroboam II, ruled Israel for only six months. His assassination by Shallum fulfilled the biblical prediction that Jehu’s dynasty would last four generations.

Image source: Book of Zechariah

Menahem rules Israel

752 BCE - 742 BCE

Menahem consolidated power through severe violence and paid tribute to the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III. His reign marked Israel’s increasing dependence on the expanding Assyrian Empire.

Image source: Menahem

Shallum rules Israel briefly

752 BCE

Shallum killed Zechariah and became king, but his reign lasted approximately one month. Menahem assassinated him and took the throne.

Image source: Shallum of Israel

Pekahiah rules Israel

742 BCE - 740 BCE

Pekahiah succeeded his father Menahem but ruled for only about two years. He was assassinated by Pekah, one of his military officers.

Image source: Pekahiah

Pekah rules Israel

740 BCE - 732 BCE

Pekah opposed Assyria and joined with Rezin of Aram-Damascus against Judah, provoking the Syro-Ephraimite War. Assyrian intervention reduced Israel’s territory, and Pekah was eventually assassinated by Hoshea.

Image source: Pekah

Hoshea becomes Israel’s last king

732 BCE - 722 BCE

Hoshea was the final king of the northern Kingdom of Israel. After withholding tribute and seeking support from Egypt, he faced an Assyrian campaign; Samaria fell and the northern kingdom was annexed in 722 BCE.

Image source: Hoshea

Exile and legacy

Babylon destroys Jerusalem and Judah’s monarchy

586 BCE

Babylonian forces captured Jerusalem, destroyed the First Temple, dismantled the city’s defenses, and deported much of Judah’s population. The Davidic monarchy ended as an independent institution, while traditions of kingship continued through later Jewish hopes for restoration.

Image source: Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC)

Key Facts

Saul, David, and Solomon ruled the united kingdom of Israel before it divided after Solomon’s death.
The northern kingdom retained the name Israel, while the southern kingdom became known as Judah, with Jerusalem as its capital.
The northern kingdom of Israel was conquered by Assyria in 722 BCE, and many of its inhabitants were deported.
Judah survived longer but was conquered by Babylon; Jerusalem and the First Temple were destroyed in 586 BCE.
The biblical books of 1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles provide major accounts of these rulers, though their chronology and historical interpretation remain subjects of scholarly study.

Source

This Kings of Israel and Judah timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

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