ABSTRACT
Jerusalem became the capital of a United Israelite Monarchy in the days of David (c. 1000 bce) and remained the capital even with the division of the kingdom in the days of his grandson, Rehoboam (c. 930 bce). Only with the Babylonian destruction of the city in 586 bce, which brought about the end of the monarchy and the destruction of Solomon’s Temple to Yahweh, did Jerusalem lose its regal status. This roughly 400-year period saw the expansion of Jerusalem from a settlement of only 4 hectares 1 to one of at least 60 hectares. The size of the city on the eve of the Babylonian destruction would not be reached again until the Hellenistic period.
