As Egyptian power began to weaken around the 14th century BC, new invaders appeared: the Hebrews, a group of Semitic tribes from Mesopotamia, and the Philistines  (after whom the country was later named), an Aegean people of Indo-European stock.

Hebrew tribes probably immigrated to Palestine centuries before Moses led his people out of serfdom in Egypt (c1270 BC), and Joshua conquered parts of Palestine (c1230 BC). The conquerors settled in the hill country, but they were unable to conquer all of Palestine. The Israelites, a confederation of Hebrew tribes, finally defeated the Canaanites about 1125 BC but found the struggle with the Philistines more difficult.  Philistines had established an independent state on the southern coast of Palestine and controlled the Canaanite town of Jerusalem.  Superior in military organisation and using iron weapons, they severely defeated the Israelites about 1050 BC.

The Philistine threat forced the Israelites to unite and establish a monarchy. David, Israel's great king, finally defeated the Philistines shortly after 1000 BC, and they eventually assimilated with the Canaanites. The unity of Israel and the feebleness of adjacent empires enabled David to establish a large independent state, with its capital at Jerusalem. Under David's son and successor, Solomon, Israel enjoyed peace and prosperity, but at his death in 922 BC the kingdom was divided into Israel in the north and Judah in the south.

When nearby empires resumed their expansion, the divided Israelites could no longer maintain their independence. Israel fell to Assyria in 722-721 BC, and Judah was conquered in 586 BC by Babylonia, which destroyed Jerusalem and exiled most of the Jews living there.

The exiled Jews were allowed to retain their national and religious identity; some of their best theological writings and many historical books of the Old Testament were written during their exile. When Cyrus the Great of Persia conquered Babylonia in 539 BC he permitted them to return to Judea, a district of Palestine. Under Persian rule the Jews were allowed considerable autonomy. They rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem and codified the Mosaic Law, the Torah, which became the code of social life and religious observance. The Jews were bound to a universal God.

Persian domination of Palestine was replaced by Greek rule when
Alexander the Great of Macedonia took the region in 333 BC. Alexander's successors, the Ptolemies of Egypt and the Seleucids of Syria, continued to rule the country. The Seleucids tried to impose Hellenistic (Greek) culture and religion on the population. In the 2nd century BC, however,
Jews revolted under the Maccabees and set up an independent state (141-63BC) until Pompey the Great conquered Palestine for Rome and made it a province ruled by Jewish kings.

It was during the rule (37-4 BC) of King Herod the Great that Jesus was born. Two more Jewish revolts erupted and were suppressed in AD 66-73 and 132-35. After the second one, numerous Jews were killed, many were sold into slavery, and the rest were not allowed to visit Jerusalem. Judea was renamed Syria Palaistina.

Palestine received special attention when the Roman emperor Constantine I legalised Christianity in AD 313. His mother, Helena, visited Jerusalem, and Palestine, as the Holy Land, became a focus of Christian pilgrimage. A golden age of prosperity, security, and culture followed. Most of the population became Hellenised and Christianised.

Byzantine (Roman) rule was interrupted, however, by a brief Persian occupation  (614-29) and ended altogether when Muslim Arab armies invaded Palestine and captured Jerusalem in AD 638.

The Arab conquest began 1,300 years of Muslim presence in what then became known as Filastin.  Palestine was holy to Muslims because the Prophet Muhammad had designated Jerusalem as the first qibla (the direction Muslims face when praying). It is also holy because it is believed that he ascended on a night journey to heaven from the old city of Jerusalem (al-Aqsa Mosque today), where the Dome of the Rock was later built.

Jerusalem became the third holiest city of Islam. The Muslim rulers did not force their religion on the Palestinians, and more than a century passed before the majority converted to Islam. The remaining Christians and Jews were considered People of the Book. They were allowed autonomous control in their communities and guaranteed security and freedom of worship. Such tolerance was rare in the history of religion.

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