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 (part of the Bronze Age collapse); Emergence/arrival of Israelites; Israelites are a Canaanite sub-group some of whom may have left the area prior possibly due to famine or war then returned. 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, Ekron (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. |
| 930-722 BC | Kingdom of Israel | |
| 722-605 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 | Achaemenid Persian Empire | Province of Judah (Yehud Medinata); Cyrus the Great allows the return from Babylonian exile; Second Temple built. |
| 332-301 BC | Macedonian Empire | Greek, under Alexander then the Diadochi |
| 301-200 BC | Ptolemaic Kingdom | Greek, ruled from Egypt |
| 200-140 BC | Seleucid Empire | Greek, ruled from Syria |
| 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 |
| 6-614 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. |
| 614-628 AD | Sassanian Persian Empire | |
| 628-636 AD | Byzantine Empire | Recovered by Heraclius |
| 636-661 AD | Rashidun Caliphate | |
| 661-750 AD | Umayyad Caliphate | Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock built. |
| 750-969 AD | Abbasid Caliphate | |
| 969-1073 AD | Fatimid Caliphate | |
| 1073-1098 | Seljuk Turks | |
| 1098-1099 | Fatimid Caliphate | |
| 1099-1291 | Crusader States | Fall of Jerusalem to the Crusaders |
| 1187-1260 | Ayyubid Sultanate | Fall of Jerusalem to Saladin; Crusaders recover Jerusalem for a short time 1229-1244 |
| 1260-1516 | Mamluk Sultanate | 1291 Fall of Acre, last Crusader stronghold, to the Mamluks |
| 1516-1831 | Ottoman Empire | Distributed across different administrative units: Eyalet of Syria, Mutasariffate/Sanjak of Jerusalem, Sanjak of Nablus, Sanjak of Akka (Acre). |
| 1831-1840 | Egypt | Muhammad Ali period |
| 1840-1917 | Ottoman Empire | Recovery aided by Europe; 1st and 2nd Aliyah (going up; immigration of Jews back to the area 1882-1903 and 1904-1914) |
| 1917-1948 | British Empire | Palestine Mandate; 3rd-5th Aliyah: 10% Jewish population in 1918, increasing to 33% 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 adapted: Palestinian Arabs outside Israel became simply 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 2007 onward. |