What empires or states governed the geographic region known as Palestine throughout history?
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Executive summary
The territory commonly called Palestine has been governed at different times by local kingdoms and a long succession of empires: ancient Israelite and Philistine polities, Assyrian and Babylonian conquest, Achaemenid Persia, Hellenistic and Hasmonean rule, Roman and Byzantine administration, Arab-Muslim caliphates, the Crusader states, the Mamluk Sultanate, the Ottoman Empire (1516–World War I), and the British Mandate — followed in the 20th–21st centuries by Jordanian and Egyptian administration of parts of the land, the modern State of Israel, and Palestinian institutions in the occupied territories [1] [2] [3] [4]. Sources differ on boundaries and names used at each stage; available sources do not mention every transitional polity by name.
1. Ancient city-states and Israelite kingdoms: the Bronze–Iron Age patchwork
Archaeological and historical summaries describe Palestine in the Bronze and Iron Ages as a patchwork of peoples and small kingdoms: Canaanite city-states, Philistine coastal settlements, and the Israelite kingdoms of Israel and Judah all controlled parts of the region before imperial conquest [1].
2. Imperial conquests: Assyria, Babylon and Persia reshape the map
From the 8th–6th centuries BCE the region fell under Assyrian then Babylonian power; Persia’s Achaemenid Empire absorbed the territory after 539 BCE and administered it as part of its imperial system [1].
3. Hellenistic and Jewish rule: Alexander to the Hasmoneans
Alexander the Great’s conquests introduced Hellenistic governance in the late 4th century BCE; later the Seleucid–Ptolemaic struggles and the Jewish Hasmonean kingdom produced a locally ruled Jewish polity that then became, by the 1st century BCE, a client and later province of Rome [1].
4. Rome and Byzantium: provincial rule and the rise of Christianity
Rome annexed the area in 63 BCE; Roman Judea experienced major disturbances, including the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. As Rome became Christian, the territory became an important center for pilgrimage and ecclesiastical administration under Byzantine rule [1].
5. Early Islamic caliphates and medieval diversity
Following the 7th‑century Arab-Muslim conquests, Palestine entered the orbit of successive Islamic caliphates (sources describe the broad transition but do not give a full list of caliphates in this dataset) and later experienced Crusader incursions that created short-lived Latin polities before Muslim reconquest [1].
6. Mamluks and Ottomans: two centuries of medieval-to-modern continuity
After Mongol-era disruption, the Egyptian Mamluks reunited the region under their control in the 13th century; the Ottoman Empire conquered Palestine in 1516 and administered it as part of Ottoman Syria until World War I [1].
7. World War I and the British Mandate: modern political naming
British forces defeated the Ottomans with Arab support in World War I and the League of Nations later placed former Ottoman territories, including Mandatory Palestine, under British administration from the postwar period up to the mid-20th century [3] [4] [5] [2].
8. Mid-20th century fragmentation: Israel, Jordan, Egypt, and displaced governance
After the 1948 war the territory was divided in practice: the State of Israel controlled much of the land, Jordan administered the West Bank and East Jerusalem until 1967, and Egypt administered the Gaza Strip; sources note these shifts and later diplomatic and armed conflicts that altered control [2] [6].
9. Occupation, Palestinian institutions and international disputes (late 20th–21st centuries)
Since 1967 Israel has occupied the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza (with various phases of control over Gaza). The late 20th century saw the emergence of the Palestine Liberation Organization and later Palestinian Authority institutions; the UN and international courts have engaged with the legal status of occupation and statehood claims, and several states announced recognition of a State of Palestine in 2025 [4] [3].
10. Interpretive notes: names, boundaries and competing narratives
The sources show that “Palestine” is a geographic term whose boundaries and administrative status have shifted: ancient names, imperial provinces, the British Mandate, modern states and occupations each reflect different governance models [1] [2]. Historians and political actors use different start and end points to support competing claims; some sources emphasize continuous imperial administration (Ottoman → British), others emphasize ancient local polities (Israelite/Philistine) — both are documented [1] [2].
Limitations and what’s not in these sources: the provided sources summarize many rulers but do not list every intermediary dynasty or short-lived polity (for example, specific early caliphates or all local governors) and do not supply exhaustive chronological lists; available sources do not mention every transitional authority by name [1]. Where sources disagree about modern legal conclusions, I have cited the UN timeline and recent reporting to show contemporary diplomatic shifts [4] [3].