The accession of Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid Empire in 559 BCE made the re-establishment of the city of Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the Temple possible. Some rudimentary ritual sacrifice had continued at the site … See more

Following the conquest of Judea by Alexander the Great, it became part of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt until 200 BCE, when the Seleucid … See more

Temenos expansion, date and duration
Reconstruction of the temple under Herod began with a massive expansion of the Temple Mount temenos. For example, the Temple Mount … See more

In 66 CE the Jewish population rebelled against the Roman Empire. Four years later, on 4 August 70 CE (the 9th day of Av and possibly the day on which Tisha B'Av was observed ) or 30 August 70 CE, Roman legions under Titus retook and destroyed much of … See more

Traditional rabbinic literature states that the Second Temple stood for 420 years, and, based on the 2nd-century work Seder Olam Rabbah, placed construction in 356 BCE (3824 AM), 164 years later than academic estimates, and destruction in 68 CE (3828 See more

There is some evidence from archaeology that further changes to the structure of the Temple and its surroundings were made during the Hasmonean rule. Salome Alexandra, … See more

Jews from distant parts of the Roman Empire would arrive by boat at the port of Jaffa, where they would join a caravan for the three-day trek to the Holy City and would then find … See more