Bible Peoples, Empires and Cities

The Bible names approximately 70 foundational ethnic groups and ancient nations. The Bible lists dozens of regional kingdoms and empires.

The BIble records history from the start of humanity to about 4000 BC, from the perspective of a small people group in the Middle East, the Israelites, later called Jews. Each year, more archaeological finds and ancient texts are discovered that confirm that the Bible records are correct and accurate.

This list helps you understand the key facts about the people and towns found in the Bible.

The Bible is the only Holy Book and Ancient Book to correctly place the origins of civilization in Mesopotamia. It correctly places early human civilizations in the Mesopotamian Valley, near the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Modern archaeology and ancient texts discovered on clay tablets confirm what the Bible recorded 3,500 years ago. Unique to the Bible, it does not place the origins of civilization in the Holy Land near Jerusalem.

Mesopotamia is where we find the oldest cities and city-states, then Empires. Mesopotamia is called the cradle of civilization because it is the first place where humans built large, complex cities, invented writing, and formed organized governments. Mesopotamia is where the first are found: the wheel, carts, writing, sickle-blades, adze-axe, food storage (granary), mathematics, glass, art, statues, sculpture, city walls, towers, pottery, and the base-60 math system that still shapes modern daily life; the potter's wheel to mass-produce ceramics; the sailboat; the plow; mass-produced bricks; irrigation systems; currency; astronomy; the calendar; and metallurgy. Domestication of: sheep, Goats, Cattle, Oxen, donkeys, horses, dogs, pigs, ducks, geese, barley, oats, wheat, lentils, chickpeas, onions, garlic, lettuce, figs, and dates. From Mesopotamia, these first moved out to the Fertile Crescent (spanning modern-day Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria, northern Kuwait, south-eastern Turkey, and western Iran and northern Egypt)

Jericho in the West Bank is widely cited as the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world, with archaeological evidence of settlement dating back to roughly 9000 B.C.

Uruk is widely considered the world's first true major city and civilized urban center, emerging in ancient Sumer (southern Mesopotamia) around 4500 BC.

The ancient Sumerian city of Ur was founded around 3800 BC during the Ubaid period and was largely abandoned by about 400 BC

The history of the God of the Bible, promising and bringing forth the chosen one, the Messiah, starts in the City of Ur with Abraham. God called and chose Abraham (then Abram) around 2091 BC (some cite 1943 BC). This was a Sumerian city then, a massive, wealthy global metropolis and the center of the Neo-Sumerian Empire. The city had over 60,000 people, making it one of the world's largest urban areas at the time. Citizens used cuneiform imprinted on clay tablets to record laws, literature, and daily business. The monumental Great Ziggurat of Ur dominated the skyline, serving as a religious sanctuary for the moon god Nanna, one of many polytheistic gods. God calls Abraham out of this city . Abraham family moved North toward Canaan, stopping to live in the city of Haran (near Syria). This was 600 miles (965 km) northwest up the Euphrates River. From Haran the family traveled south through Syria and entered Canaan (The Holy Land), stopping first at sacred sites like Shechem and Bethel. At this time there were three main Canaanite city-states Jericho, Hazor, and Megiddo. The Canaan area suffered from an early (2200–2100 BC) severe environmental crisis; extreme drought caused the fortified, walled cities of the Early Bronze Age to decline, and many vanished altogether, moving to a nomadic economy. Abraham migrated from Mesopotamia into Canaan during this time, living a semi-nomadic shepherd lifestyle that closely mirrors the real-world archaeological record of pastoral mobility and frontier camps found in Canaan during this exact century. Canaan practiced a complex, polytheistic religion; El was the father of the gods and lived by god's river. Asherah is the mother goddess. Baal was the active warrior king who fought the forces of chaos to bring vital rains to the dry Canaanite landscape. The Bible writes much about Baal, the Canaanite god who demanded Child sacrifice; historical and biblical texts describe the ancient deity Baal (including forms like Baal Hammon). Baal pits with burnt Child bones from birth to 3 years old have been found. Canaanite-Baal cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are recorded as completely lacking morals. Yet, God wonders why God would want these devil cities wiped out. Canaanite-Baal Child sacrifice was exported to some Jews, the Phoenicians, and the Phoenicians took it to Carthage (where more child sacrifice bones are found). Canaanite-Baal Child sacrifice, along with wars, wiped out all Phoenicians (they are found only in Greek and Roman history books). The Phoenician (Zidonians) cities are found in the Bible and history books: Tyre, Sidon, Arwad, Byblos, and Berytus (Beirut) [on modern-day Lebanon, coastal Syria, and northern Israel].

Empires:

Israelites (c. 1925 BC to 70 AD-CE ) were an ancient Semitic-speaking people of the Near East who lived in the Southern Levant and formed the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The Israelites trace their lineage to the biblical patriarch Abraham, through his son Isaac and grandson Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel. Earliest historical records of "Israel" as a people appear on the Egyptian Merneptah Stele around 1208 BC. Israelites spent 430 years in Egypt, at first free and then as slaves. In Egypt, pictures of Israelites have been found, Israelites house have been found, and the Merneptah Stele is a large black granite block that lists the military victories of the ancient Egyptian Pharaoh, including Israel. After departing Egypt, they inhabited Canaan again and were ruled by Israelites Judges. They split into two distinct kingdoms in 931 BC after the death of King Solomon. King Solomon built the first Temple in Jerusalem in 957 BC. The Kingdom of Israel in the north and the Kingdom of Judah in the south. Before King Solomon, the Israelites had two other Kings: David (Solomon father) and King Saul. United Kingdom of Israel: The unified monarchy under Saul, David, and Solomon. Religion: One God, beyond space and time created the space-time dimensions of the universe. Language Hebrew.

Northern Kingdom of Israel (931 BC to 722 BC): Ruled by a succession of different dynasties and separate kings, beginning with Jeroboam I and ending with Hoshea the nineteenth and final king of the northern Kingdom of Israel. The kingdom fell to the Neo-Assyrian Empire in 722 BC and ended, with no return.

Kingdom of Judah: (931 BC to 70 CE - AD) Ruled by the Davidic dynasty. The southern kingdom of Judah fell to the Neo-Babylonian Empire around 586 BC and was exiled to Babylon; Judah returned in 536 BC, and a second group in 458 BC. A second temple was built. In 332 BC, Alexander the Great, from Greece took the Holy Land and Judah. Alexander lets the Judah continue to worship in peace at the Second Temple. In 63 BCE, Roman Pompey captured Jerusalem during a civil war, ending independent Jewish statehood and turning Judah into a Roman tributary/client area. Jesus Christ is born in Bethlehem, 6 miles (10 km) from Jerusalem, in 6, 5, or 4 BC (small calendar errors). Jesus Christ began his public teaching and ministry around 27–29 CE (AD). Jesus Christ was crucified in either 30 or 33 AD. The Jews revolted in 70 CE (AD), and Rome destroyed Jerusalem and the Second Temple. Jerusalem was transformed from a destroyed Jewish capital into a pagan Roman colony. Jerusalem became a major Christian pilgrimage center between 70 CE and 600 CE. Jerusalem came under Muslim rule in 638 CE, when the Rashidun Caliphate, led by Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab, captured the city. The Kingdom of Jerusalem was founded in 1099 AD following the First Crusade, to restore Christian pilgrimage. The Kingdom of Jerusalem fell in stages, beginning with the loss of Jerusalem to Muslim leaders in 1187 and ending with the fall of Acre in 1291. Jerusalem fell to British forces on December 9, 1917, ending 400 years of Ottoman control during World War I. Jews began to slowly return to the Holy Land, founded in 1925 BC. As the Bible foretold the rebirth in Jerusalem-Israel, Israel was born again on May 14, 1948; the modern nation of Israel declared independence. Muslim nations attacked the new small nation with war in 1948, the 1967 Six-Day War, and the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The Gaza war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led fighters launched a surprise land, air, and sea attack on southern Israel, killing over 1,200 men, women, and children, and taking hundreds of hostages. Gaza began in July 1994, when it was given self-rule. In 2006, Gaza voted in Palestinian Hamas, a terrorist organization, to rule it. Israel today is the only free democracy in the Middle East, with 1.85 million Muslims (18.6% of the total population) living within the nation.

Ancient Greece: Began as over 1,000 independent city-states . The most well-known were Macedonia, Athens, Sparta, Corinth, Thebes, Argos, Syracuse, Delphi, Miletus, Megara, and Elis, each starting about 1200 BC. Greece became a massive empire under the Macedonian king, Alexander the Great, in 336 BC. In 332 BC, Alexander the Great took the Holy Land and Judah. Alexander let Judah continue to worship in peace at the Second Temple. Alexander the Great built one of the largest empires of the ancient world by defeating the Persian Empire, spreading Greek culture across three continents, and marching his undefeated army from Greece to India. In 323 BC, Alexander died in Babylon at age 32, and his vast empire quickly split apart. In 250–282 BC, the Septuagint Bible was written; the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek. Rome took control of Greece in stages, with mainland Greece and Corinth falling in 146 BC and the final annexation completing the province of Achaea in 27 BC. Rome adopted much of Greek Culture. Religion: Many gods, named after planets. Language Greek. Alexander the Great founded the city of Alexandria in April 331 BC on Egypt's coast. Alexander founded 13 Greek cities across his vast conquered empire. Alexander the Great's major military campaigns started in 334 BC and ended in 324 BC, 13 years.

Rome: Rome was founded in 753 BC as a city-state. Roman Empire started in 27 BC with the first Roman emperor. Roman Empire reached its maximum size in 117 CD (AD). In 63 BC, Roman Pompey captured Jerusalem during a civil war, ending independent Jewish statehood and turning Judah into a Roman tributary/client area. The Jews revolted in 70 CE (AD), and Rome destroyed Jerusalem and the Second Temple. Jerusalem was transformed from a destroyed Jewish capital into a pagan Roman colony. From 27 BC to 180 CE (AD) was Pax Romana (Roman Peace of the whole empire). From 52 - 300 AD, Rome persecuted believers, which pushed Christianity eastward. By 300 AD (CE) 10% of the Roman Empire are now believers, not by force or compulsion, but by teaching, love, and witness of the martyr. Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337. His mother became a believer after seeing how faith changed the lives of her salves. In 312, Constantine had a vision and became a believer. Rome goes from persecuting believers to becoming the first Christian nation. Edict of Milan (313 ): Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity; Rome was given religious freedom. The last emperor of the Western Roman Empire was in 476 AD. The Christian Eastern Roman Empire, also called the Byzantine Empire, continued the ancient Roman Empire in the east from 330 AD until 1453 AD, when the Ottomans took over in a war. Religion: Many gods, named after planets, like the Greeks. Language: Latin; also used Greek.

Sumer (also called Sumer or Sumeria) 4,000 BE-2340 BC) is the earliest known civilization in human history, which emerged in southern Mesopotamia—modern-day southern Iraq about 4500 BC. • Ubaid Period (c. 6500–4000 BCE): The earliest farming people settled the marshy floodplains of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. •Uruk Period (c. 4000–3100 BCE): Villages grew into the world's first major cities, such as Eridu and Uruk. Early Dynastic Period (c. 2900–2350 BCE): Sumerian city-states were firmly established and politically organized. Sargon of Akkad first conquered many Sumerian city-states around 2340–2270 BC. Sumerian script, religion, and literature survived for centuries as a sacred and scholarly tradition in later Babylonian and Assyrian empires. The Bible refers to the heartland of ancient Sumer as the Land of Shinar, anchoring early post-flood civilization, monumental architecture, and major cultural parallels in southern Mesopotamia. Nimrod's Kingdom: Genesis 10:10 records that the beginning of Nimrod's kingdom included Babel, Erech (Uruk), Accad, and Calneh in the land of Shinar—virtually all major early urban centers of the Sumerian heartland. The Tower of Babel: Genesis 11 describes the architectural centralization and brick-making culture of Shinar, which biblical historians closely connect to the monumental Ziggurats and urban expansion of the Uruk and Sumerian periods. Sumerian is the oldest known written language in human history, originating in southern Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) around 3100 BC. Religion: Many gods, some named after nature, god of water, wind and etc.

Akkadian Empire (2334 BC - 2154 BC)- The Akkadian Empire was founded around 2334 BC by Sargon of Akkad (Sargon the Great), who unified the independent city-states of Mesopotamia. The Akkadian Empire collapsed around 2154 BCE due to a combination of severe 300-year mega-droughts, extreme winter dust storms, and internal political fragmentation. Akkad (spelled "Accad" in Genesis 10:10) is explicitly mentioned only once in the Bible as one of the initial cities in the land of Shinar built by Nimrod. However, the broader Akkadian civilization—including its later Babylonian and Assyrian descendants—plays a massive role in biblical history and literature. Religion: Many gods, some named after nature, god of water, wind and etc. Akkadian is the oldest recorded East Semitic language, spoken in ancient Mesopotamia from the 200s BC until the 100 AD-AD.

Assyrian Empire (c. 2000–609 BC) was founded in northern Mesopotamia. Acted as a military superpower that conquered the northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 BC and deported its population, never to return. The Assyrian Empire had several capitals throughout its history, with Nineveh serving as its final and most famous capital. Oldest known Empire: The Old Assyrian period began around 1932 BC following the fall of the Akkadian Empire (2154 BC), with the city-state of Ashur established in northern Mesopotamia (2025 BC). Assyrian Empire collapsed between 626 and 609 BCE, driven by internal civil war, severe environmental stress, and a powerful invading alliance of Babylonians, Medes, and Scythians. At its peak during the Assyrian Empire in the 650 BCE, the Assyrian Empire was the largest and most powerful military state the world had yet seen: covered Caucasus Mountains and parts of Armenia in the north to the Arabian Peninsula and Egypt in the south, and from Cyprus and the Mediterranean Sea in the west to western Iran and Persia in the east. Rulers built grand administrative centers, including Nimrud, Khorsabad, and Nineveh (famous for Sennacherib’s "Palace Without Rival"). King Ashurbanipal oversaw the cultural peak of the empire, establishing the famous Library of Nineveh, which housed thousands of cuneiform tablets preserving Mesopotamian myths, science, and history. The Assyrians appear in the Hebrew Bible as a powerful, aggressive military empire that heavily impacted ancient Israel and Judah from 800- 600 BC. Religion: Many gods, some named after nature, god of water, wind and etc. Ancient Assyrian was an East Semitic dialect of the Akkadian language spoken in northern Mesopotamia.

Ancient Egypt: lasted from around 3100 BC to around 30 BC, over 3,000 years. Role in Scripture: Initially a place of refuge during famine for Jacob’s family, it later became a harsh system of enslavement from which God delivered the Israelites through Moses. Based in the Nile River Delta. Ancient Egypt appears over 750 times in the Bible, serving as a major geographic setting, a place of bondage and refuge, and a profound cultural and literary influence on early Israel. Both pictures of Israelites and Israelites homes have been found in Ancient Egypt. Abraham, Jacob, and his sons traveled to Egypt to escape severe famines in Canaan (Genesis 12, 37–50). Joseph famously rose to become the Pharaoh’s vizier. The Book of Exodus details the enslavement of the Israelites, Moses's upbringing in Pharaoh's court, and the subsequent liberation through the Ten Plagues. Kings and Chronicles note later political interactions, such as Solomon marrying a Pharaoh's daughter, Pharaoh Shishak attacking Jerusalem, and King Taharka of the Kushite/Egyptian dynasty assisting Judah against the Assyrians. Merneptah Stele is a large black granite block that lists the military victories of the ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Merneptah. Carved around 1205 BCE during Merneptah's reign. Found by Egyptologist Flinders Petrie at Thebes in 1896. Now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Stands roughly 7.5 to 10 feet tall. First Mention of Israel: It contains the oldest known written record of the name Israel outside of the Bible."Israel is laid waste, bare of seed." Egyptian told over Israel. Ancient Egypt fell to Alexander the Great in 332 BC, leading to nearly 300 years of rule by the Greek Ptolemaic Dynasty. Egypt fell to Islam during the Arab conquest of Egypt between 639 and 642 CE, with the deaths of many Christians and Jews. Religion: Many gods, over 2000, some half human, half animal. Ancient Egyptian is an extinct Afro-Asiatic language with one of the longest written records in human history, spanning over 5,000 years.

Babylonian Empire (626–539 BC). The capital city of the Neo-Babylonian Empire (626–539 BC) was Babylon, location: Built along the Euphrates River in Mesopotamia, about 55 miles (88 km) south of modern-day Baghdad, Iraq. Founded by Nabopolassar in 626 BC and brought to its greatest splendor by his son, Nebuchadnezzar II. Landmarks: Home to the Ishtar Gate, the massive city walls, and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Fall of the City: Conquered by Cyrus the Great of the Persian Empire in 539 BC. Jews Babylonian captivity was the forced deportation and exile of the people of Judah to Babylonia by King Nebuchadnezzar II between 597 and 586 BCE. First Wave (c. 605–597 BCE): After besieging Jerusalem, King Nebuchadnezzar II took elite citizens, royalty, and craftsmen—including the prophet Daniel—as captives to Babylon. Second and Final Wave (587–586 BCE): Following a rebellion, Babylonian forces returned to destroy Jerusalem and Solomon's First Temple, exiling a larger wave of the population. End of Captivity (538–539 BCE): The Persian king Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon and issued an edict allowing the Jewish exiles to return to Judah and rebuild the Temple. Found the Bible and other ancient texts. Ancient Babylonian culture is portrayed in the Bible as a powerful, highly sophisticated, and idolatrous empire that played a major role in the history, exile, and prophetic literature of ancient Israel. The Babylonians worshipped numerous gods, most notably Marduk (the chief city god and head of the pantheon) and Ishtar (goddess of war and sexuality). The Jewish Babylonian exile was the forced deportation of thousands of Judeans from the ancient Kingdom of Judah to Babylonia by the Neo-Babylonian Empire between 597 and 587 BC. King Cyrus of Persia conquered Babylon in 539 BCE and issued an edict allowing the Jewish people to return to Judah and rebuild the Temple. The Cyrus Cylinder: This ancient clay tablet inscribed in cuneiform confirms Bible Cyrus's edict and broader policy of repatriating displaced peoples and restoring temples. Led by Zerubbabel and Joshua, the exiles returned to Jerusalem, restored the temple vessels stolen by Nebuchadnezzar, and eventually completed the Second Temple around 515–516 BC despite periods of local opposition and halted construction. Religion: Many gods. The language of ancient Babylon was Babylonian, a major dialect of the extinct Akkadian language belonging to the Semitic language family.

Persian Empire: (550 BC to 330 BC) At its peak under Darius the Great (522–486 BCE), the Achaemenid Empire was the largest empire of the ancient world, spanning over 5.5 million square kilometers across three continents. In 330 BC, Alexander the Great conquered the territory completely after defeating King Darius III. The Persian Empire played a crucial role in biblical history by ending the Babylonian exile and helping the Jewish people rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. The Second Temple in Jerusalem was rebuilt and completed in 515 BC. The Persian Empire played a crucial role in biblical history by ending the Babylonian exile and helping the Jewish people rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. Prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah foretold both Babylon’s rise as God's instrument of judgment against an unfaithful Judah and its eventual sudden collapse to the Medes and Persians in 539 BC. Ancient Persian religion a dualistic cosmic struggle between forces of good and evil, with many gods and spiritual entities. Old Persian is an ancient Western Iranian language used during the First Persian Empire from roughly 600 to 300 BCE. It is the direct ancestor of modern Persian.

Phoenician "empire" (1550 to 300 BCE) was not a single unified nation, but a vast maritime trading network of independent city-states along the coast of modern-day Lebanon, Syria, and northern Israel. Major Cities: Included Tyre, Sidon, Byblos, and Beirut. Each city was self-governed by its own king and wealthy merchant families rather than a central emperor. Tyrian Purple: Gained massive wealth by harvesting Murex sea snails to make a rare, royal purple dye. Colonies: Established trading posts across the Mediterranean, most famously Carthage in North Africa. : Invented a 22-letter phonetic alphabet that became the foundation for the Greek, Latin, and modern Western alphabets. But none of their paper survived; we know of them from the Bible, Greek, and Roman writers. Many were Canaanite, as they did Baal Child sacrifice and took this to Carthage. Shared goods, manufacturing skills, and writing systems with neighboring ancient civilizations. Conquered by Alexander the Great in 332 BC. Carthage was destroyed by Rome in 146 BCE during the Punic Wars, along with all its writing. The Phoenician language is an extinct Canaanite language of the Semitic family that was natively spoken across the Mediterranean coast from the 1000 to the 100 century BC.

Canaan "empire" (3000 to 1150B C) was not a single unified empire, but rather a collection of independent, Semitic-speaking city-states located in the Southern Levant (modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, and coastal Syria). They did Baal Child sacrifices. City-States: Jericho, Hazor, Megiddo, Byblos, Ekron, Ashdod, and Ugarit. City-states were founded about 3000 BC. The Egyptian Empire ruled them from 1550 to 1150 BC. Ended about 1200–1150 BC by famine, shifting trade routes, and invasions by the Sea Peoples. Canaan Economy: Focused on intensive agriculture (grain, olives, wine), metallurgy, pottery, and international trade linking Egypt and Mesopotamia. Canaanites' activities included seasonal fertility rites, temple rituals, child sacrifice, and ritual prostitution. Canaanite religious practices led to frequent prophetic rebukes against syncretism and idolatry throughout the periods of the Bible Judges and the Monarchy. The Tel Dan Stele is a fragmentary stone containing a Canaanite inscription which dates to 900 BCE. It is notable for being the only written extra-biblical archaeological reference to King David. The Tel Dan Stele is a broken 9th-century BCE basalt stone monument discovered in northern Israel in 1993. It features an Aramaic victory inscription that provides the earliest known extra-biblical reference to the royal "House of David," offering concrete historical evidence for the dynasty.

Median Empire (Medes:) (678 BC to 549 BC) was an ancient Iranian power centered in Ecbatana (modern Hamadan, Iran). The Medes were an Indo-Iranian people who settled in the Zagros Mountains and northwestern Iran. The Medes allied with the Neo-Babylonian Empire and captured the Assyrian capital of Nineveh in 612 BC, ending the Assyrian Empire. Medes left few direct written texts. Ancient Medes worshipped old Indo-Iranian gods shared with early Persians, and a prominent fire cult.

Hittite Empire (1600 BCE to 1178 BCE) dominating ancient Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) and parts of the northern Middle East. The empire expanded into Syria and Upper Mesopotamia, becoming a superpower that rivaled New Kingdom Egypt. They famously fought the Egyptians at the Battle of Kadesh around 1274 BCE before signing one of history's oldest recorded peace treaties. Collapses about 1178 BC: The centralized empire collapsed by internal strife, attacks from outside groups like the Sea Peoples and Kaska tribes, and the destruction of Hattusha. Only the Bible records the Hittite Empire until it was rediscovered in 1834. The capital city of Hattusa first identified in 1834 by French architect Charles Texier, and major excavations yielding the royal cuneiform archives beginning in 1906 by German archaeologist Hugo Winckler. For thousands of years, historians claimed the Bible was just made up the Hittite Empire, until it was found. Now can now get a degree in Hittite Culture, Hittitology. The Bible mentions the Hittites over 50 times, referring to a people group descended from Heth, who interacted with figures like Abraham, Esau, and King David. Esau marries two Hittite women (Judem and Basemath), which causes grief to Isaac and Rebekah. Uriah the Hittite is one of David's elite "mighty men" . King Solomon imports and trades chariots and horses with the "kings of the Hittites" and the kings of Aram. At the ancient capital of Hattusa, was uncovered thousands of cuneiform clay tablets proving the vast and sophisticated Hittite Empire existed. Religion: Many gods. Hittite, also known as Nesite, is an extinct Indo-European language. Cuneiform Script: Written on clay tablets using a borrowed version of the Mesopotamian cuneiform script.

Ancient Moabites (Moab) (C. 1300 to 300BC) were a West-Semitic civilization that lived in the highlands east of the Dead Sea in modern-day Jordan. The Moabites emerged as a distinct West-Semitic, Transjordanian kingdom located in the highlands east of the Dead Sea. Ruled by notable figures like King Mesha (850–846 BC), the Moabites fought for and regained independence from Israelite rule, an event commemorated on the Mesha Stele. They became a tributary state to the Assyrian Empire in the 700s BC and were eventually conquered by the Babylonian Empire under Nebuchadnezzar II around 582 BC. Moab disappeared following the Babylonian conquests and Persian periods. Many gods, including Baal. The Moabite language is an extinct West-Semitic dialect of the Canaanite language branch (part of the Northwest Semitic family) that was spoken by the ancient Moabites in the region of Moab—modern-day central-western Jordan.

Philistine Pentapolis ( 1200–539 BCE) was a powerful league of five major city-states in the ancient southern coastal plain of Canaan. Gaza: The southernmost coastal city and a major trade hub on the Via Maris. Ashkelon: A vital Mediterranean trading port. Ashdod: A prominent coastal city and administrative center. Ekron: An inland city known as a massive olive oil production center. Gath: An inland frontier city and the legendary home of Goliath. The Philistines descended from the Sea Peoples who arrived from the Aegean region—such as Crete—around 1190 BCE. Many gods, including Dagon. The Philistine language is an extinct language, little is known about it because there are no dedicated texts

Scythians Empire (800 BCE to 300 CE.) were an ancient confederation of Eastern Iranic equestrian nomadic tribes who dominated the Eurasian Steppe. The Scythians appear just once in the Bible—in Colossians 3:11—where the Apostle Paul uses them to represent the absolute fringe of the uncivilized world. Scythians worshipped a many gods and goddesses. Language: Indo-European, belonging to the Iranic branch, closely related to Old Persian and Avestan.

Edom is an ancient mountainous region and neighboring nation populated by the descendants of Esau, Jacob’s twin brother. Kingdom of Edom existed as an organized nation from around the 13th century BC until its destruction and migration in the mid-6th century BC. Many gods, including Baal. The Edomites spoke Edomite, an extinct Northwest Semitic language belonging to the Canaanite branch.

The Kingdom of Ammon existed from roughly 1900 BC (its ancestral origins with Ben-Ammi) to the 6th–5th century BC (its transition into a Babylonian and Persian province). The capital at Rabbah (modern Amman), interacting with Israel through the periods of the Judges, Saul, David, and the later divided monarchy. It was devastated by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II in the 580s BC. Many gods, including Baal. The Ammonites spoke Ammonite, an extinct Canaanite language of the Northwest Semitic family that was closely related to Biblical Hebrew.

Aram (Syria): a collection of independent Aramean city-states in what is now Syria, most notably the cities of Aram and Damascus. Isaac's wife Rebekah and Jacob’s wives (Rachel and Leah) came from the Aram area, and Jacob spent years working for his uncle Laban in Aram. During the reigns of David, Solomon, and the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah, Aram shifted between military adversary, trading partner, and regional power. Aramaic Language: The language of the Arameans, Aramaic, became the common shared language of the Near East, eventually becoming widely spoken in Judea by the time of Jesus and used in portions of the biblical text (about 1 %). Jesus is recorded as speaking Aramaic, Hebrew, and Greek.

Aramean kings (1100 to 700 BC) ruled over various city-states and regional kingdoms across modern-day Syria and Mesopotamia. Aram-Damascus was the most powerful and influential state. They were geopolitical adversaries and trading partners of ancient Israel. Many gods including Baal worship. Aramaic is a 3,000-year-old Northwest Semitic language that originated with the ancient Arameans in the region of Aram (modern-day Syria). Many gods, including Hadad, the weather god.

Amorite city-states: Amorites span roughly 2600 BC to 950 BC. Amorite kings Sihon of Heshbon and Og of Bashan ruled east of the Jordan River around 1406 BC. Joshua later defeated a coalition of five Amorite kings west of the Jordan. Cuneiform texts first mention the Amorites (Martu or Amurru) around 2500–2600 BC as nomadic people moving out of the Syrian desert. Amorite political power base fractured after the Hittites sacked Babylon in 1595 BC. By 1200 BC, they collapsed; they were largely absorbed by the Arameans and completely vanished from historical records by 600 BC. Many gods, including Amurru, the mountain god. Amorite belongs to the West Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. It is considered the oldest known West Semitic language.

Japheth (Northern and Western Peoples): Includes Javan (Greeks/Ionia), Madai (Medes/Iran), Gomer, and Meshech (Anatolian regions). Anatolia, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula that makes up part of modern-day Turkey. Little data, too old.

Ham (Southern and African/Canaanite Peoples): Includes Cush (Ethiopia/Sudan), Mizraim (Egypt), Put (Phut-Libya), and Canaan (early Palestine/Israel region).

The ancient Kingdom of Kush (Cush - ancient Nubia) existed from approximately 1070 BCE to 350 CE (with earlier precursor cultures like Kerma dating back to around 2400 BCE). The Kerma culture (3500 - 1504 BC) was an ancient civilization located in modern-day Sudan (Upper Nubia). In biblical contexts, this region is called Kush. Egypt's Thutmose I conquered it around 1504 BC. Many gods, some from Egyptian gods. The language was Meroitic, an extinct tongue spoken from around 300 BC until it faded by 300 CE.

Phut group were skilled mercenary warriors and archers/shield-bearers who allied with Egypt, Tyre, and Persia. Little data.

Shem (Near Eastern and Semitic Peoples): The region was located east of the Tigris River in the southwestern part of modern-day Iran. Its prominent capital city was Susa (Shushan), which appears in Esther, Daniel, and Nehemiah. Includes Elam, Assur (Assyria), Arpachshad, Lud (Lydia ), and Aram (Syria). Lydia in the Bible refers both to an ancient region in western Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey) Little data.

Lydia - Lud: Most historians and ancient writers, including Josephus, connect this group with Lydia in western Anatolia (modern-day Turkey). Assyrian inscriptions also refer to this region as Lūdu. Little data.

Hamitic Ludim: Mizraim (the Hebrew name for Egypt), This group represents an African nation or tribe, often associated with regions west of Egypt, such as Libya or North Africa. Little data.

Land Places:

Anatolia - Asia Minor

Anatolia, also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of today's Turkey. People Group on Asia Minor:

Assyrian trade colony ~2000BC -

Hattians and Hurrians 2000 BC - 1700 BC

Hittites Empire, Luwians, and Palaians 1750–1650 BC

Post-Hittite Anatolia - Phrygia, Hittites and Urartu (~1500–~600 BC)

Early Greek presence (1200–750 BC)

Classical Anatolia (~550 - 334 BC): Three kingdoms: Lydia in the west, Phrygia in the center, and Urartu in the east.

Hellenistic period: Greek rule- Alexander the Great (334 - 133 BC)

Roman rule (133 BC - 30 AD - 324 AD )

Early Christian period (30 - 324 AD)

Medieval period (476 AD to 1453 AD): The Christian Byzantine Empire was founded in 324 AD by Constantine. Anatolia/Asia Minor Christian nation.

Ottoman Empire (1453-1922 ) Christian told to convert or be killed; some converted; many were killed. (1915–1917 Armenian genocide)

Republic of Turkey was founded on October 29, 1923.

Levant

Levant is an historical and geographical term referring to Western Asia bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the west and the Arabian Desert to the east. It traditionally encompasses modern-day Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, and Cyprus, and is often considered the crossroads of Western Asia, the Eastern Mediterranean, and Northeast Africa.

Parts:
Holy Land: Israel: Canaan (1200 BC - 1406 BC), Hebrews (1406 BC - 70 AD), Rome (70 - 638 AD), Muslim rule (638-1099 AD), Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem (1099 - 1187 AD), Muslim (1187 - 1917), British (1917 1948), Israel (May 14, 1948 - present).

Syria: (Damascus) Neolithic - Natufian (12,000 BC - 3500 BC) Ebla (3500 BC- 2,000 BC), Hurrians (2,000 BC-1600 BC), Hittites (1600 BC - 732 BC), Assyria (732 BC - 605 BC), Babylonian Empire (605 BC- 540 BC), Persia (540 BC- 620 AD ), Greek rule (333 BC- 64 BC), Rome (64 BC - 620 AD), Byzantine (620 - 638 AD), Muslim (638 - today)

Lebanon: Natufian (12,000 BC - 2500 BC) Canaanite (2500 BC - 1800 BC) Phoenicians (1800 BC - 774 BC) Assyrians (774 BC- 539 BC), Persians (539 BC- 332 BC) Alexander the Great (332 BC - 64 BC), Roman (64 BC-330 AD ), Christian Byzantine rule (330 AD - 636 AD), Muslim ( 636 to today, but Christians make up roughly 38% of Lebanon's population today.)

Jordan (named for the Jordan River): Natufian (12,000 BC - 4500 BC) , Chalcolithic period towns (4500–3600 BC), Bronze Age towns (3600 BC-1550 BC), Ancient Egyptian (1550 -1069 BC), Kingdoms of Ammon, Edom and Moab (1069- 730 BC), Assyrian Empire (730 BC - 627 BC), Babylonian Empire (627 BC- 540 BC), Persian Empire (539 - 330 BC), Alexander the Great (330 BC - 63 BC), Rome (63 BC - 324 AD), Christian Byzantine (324 - 636), Muslim ( 636 to 1921), British rule (1921 - 1946), Muslim ( 1946 to today) Christians make up 3% of the total population in Jordan today.

Palestine: Founded in 1947 by the UN. Two parts: the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. In 1948, Egypt occupied Gaza. Palestinians in Gaza received Palestinian passports in 1949. In the 1956 Suez Crisis, there was Israeli occupation of Gaza for one year, till 1957. From 1959–1967: Egyptian occupation of Gaza. June 1967, during the Six-Day War, there was Israeli occupation of Gaza till 1968. After the 1979 Egypt–Israel peace treaty, a 100-meter-wide buffer zone was created between Gaza and Egypt. In 1994, Gaza was given 100% self-rule. In 2005, Israel carried out a unilateral withdrawal of all its military bases and settlements from inside the Gaza Strip. In 2006, Gaza voted in Palestinian Hamas, a terrorist organization, to rule it. The current Gaza war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led fighters launched a surprise land, air, and sea attack on southern Israel, killing over 1,200 men, women, and children, and taking hundreds of hostages.

Mesopotamia Valley:

Mesopotamia Valley is situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system. Mesopotamia earned the title "cradle of civilization" because it was home to the world's first complex urban centers, writing systems, mathematics, the wheel, glass, pottery, arts, music, and centralized governments. The Bible correctly recorded 3,500 years ago that this is the cradle of civilization.

The Sumerians and Akkadians, each originating from different areas, dominated Mesopotamia from the beginning of recorded history (c. 3100 BC) to the fall of Babylon (1894 BC to 1595 BC) and Neo-Babylonian Empire (626 BC to 539 BC). The rise of empires, beginning with Sargon of Akkad around 2350 BC, characterized the subsequent 2,000 years of Mesopotamian history, marked by the succession of kingdoms and empires such as the Akkadian Empire (2334 BC to 2154 BC). 2600 BC saw the polarization of Mesopotamian society into Assyria (2600 BC to 609 BC) in the north and Babylonia in the south. From 900 to 612 BC, the Neo-Assyrian Empire (911 BC to 609 BC) asserted control over much of the ancient Near East. Subsequently, the Babylonians, who had long been overshadowed by Assyria, seized power, dominating the region for a century as the final independent Mesopotamian realm until the modern era. In 539 BC, Mesopotamia was conquered by the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great. The area was next conquered by Alexander the Great in 332 BC. After his death, it was fought over by the various Diadochi (successors of Alexander), of whom the Seleucids emerged victorious. In 150 BC, Mesopotamia was under the control of the Parthian Empire (247 BC to 224 AD). It became a battleground between the Romans and Parthians, with western parts of the region coming under ephemeral Roman control (198 CE until the Muslim conquests in the 630 AD) In 226 AD, the eastern regions of Mesopotamia fell to the Sassanid Persians under Ardashir I. The division of the region between the Roman Empire and the Sassanid Empire lasted until the 630 AD. Byzantine Empire held intermittent control over parts of Upper Mesopotamia for roughly 240 years. Muslim conquest of the Sasanian Empire and the Muslim conquest of the Levant from the Byzantines in 638 AD.. A number of primarily neo-Assyrian and Christian native Mesopotamian states existed between the 100 AD 280 AD, including Adiabene, Osroene, and Hatra. Modern-day Mesopotamia is located primarily in Iraq, with smaller portions extending into northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey, western Iran, and Kuwait (all under Muslim rule)

The Garden of Eden

The Garden of Eden’s location is where the four named rivers in Genesis 2, the Tigris, Euphrates, Pishon, and Gihon, come close together. Genesis 2 states the sources of these rivers: the land of Asshur, the land of Havilah, and the land of Cush, respectively. Two of these rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, still flow today. The Pishon and the Gihon dried up soon after the close of the last ice age. All four rivers flow or flowed into the Persian Gulf. They come close together in the southeastern part of today’s Persian Gulf in the Southern Mesopotamian Valley. Presently, this location is about 200 feet below sea level. During most of the last ice age, it was above sea level. During the last Ice Age, global sea levels were 390 to 410 feet (120 to 130 meters) lower than they are today. Satellite imagery and geological studies have identified ancient, dry rivers, the Pishon and Gihon rivers, found in Genesis 2. The rivers dried up around 3500 BC. (This also means that the Mesopotamian Valley and Africa were connected as one landmass in the past.)

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