Archaeological Periods
MIddle Bronze Age–Persian Period
| Middle Bronze Age | 2000–1550 BCE |
| Late Bronze Age | 1550–1200 BCE |
| Iron Age | 1200–586 BCE |
| Iron IA (or Late Bronze III) | 1200–1140/1130 |
| Iron IB | 1140/1130–ca. 980a |
| Iron IIA | ca. 980–800 |
| Iron IIB | ca. 800–732/701b |
| Iron IIC | 732/701–586 BCE |
| Babylonian Period | 586–539 BCE |
| Persian Period | 539–332 BCE |
Chart courtesy of Amihai Mazar.
Notes
Archaeological periodization, based mainly on changes in material culture (primarily pottery) and on certain major historical events, is debated among archaeologists. Some use different terms for certain periods and date the transitions differently. Exact dates can never be precise because material culture does not change in a specific year and changes took place at different times in different regions. In addition, new discoveries and analyses lead scholars to change their dating of the boundaries between periods.
The end of Iron I is debated in the range of 1000–950 BCE.
Iron IIB ends with the Assyrian conquests of the Northern Kingdom between 732–722 and with Sennacherib’s invasion of Judah in 701 BCE.
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 1.