I have given them,
says the LORD your God.”

(Amos 9:13–15)

c. 760 BCE: JONAH’S RUN–IN WITH WHALE

755 BCE: HOSEA BEGINS TO PROPHESIZE

A contemporary of the Greek poet Hesiod, Amos is the first of the “literary prophets.” A herdsman from Tekoa in Judah, but active mainly in Israel, he castigates the rich subjects of Jeroboam II for oppressing the defenseless poor.

753 BCE: ZECHARIA LEADS ISRAEL AS KING

752 BCE: MENACHEM LEADS ISRAEL AS KING

c. 750 BCE: ROMULUS

Romulus founds Rome along with his younger brother— and doomed future victim of fratricide—Remus.

740 BCE: PEKACH BECOMES KING OF ISRAEL

739 BCE: YOTAM BECOMES KING OF JUDAH

736 BCE: MICAH BEGINS TO PROPHESIZE

735 BCE: AHAZ BECOMES KING OF JUDAH

732 BCE: HOSEA BECOMES KING OF ISRAEL

722 BCE: SHALMANESER V

Assyrians overrun the northern kingdom of Israel,