Map of Sykes-Picot Agreement, 1916
A map showing the Russian-French-English secret agreement that carved up the Middle East into future areas of interest.
Map of the Levant Under Ottoman Rule Through World War I
This map shows the Ottoman Empire’s administrative districts before World War I broke out in August 1914 in areas that today are Israel, Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and part of Iraq.
Map of the Middle East, Circa 1914
The region prior to the outbreak of World War I. After the war, modern Middle Eastern states had their borders arbitrarily drawn by European powers.
Map of Future Area of Palestine and Adjacent Areas, 1890s
The area of Eretz Yisrael was part of the Ottoman Empire and composed of three large administrative areas without any political identity as a state or part of a state. At times, portions of the area that was later designated as the Palestine Mandate were ruled from Mecca, Damascus, or Baghdad, or in the case of Jerusalem, directly from Istanbul.
Map of the Levant: Continental Land Bridge From Ancient Times
This map shows the Levant, including the Land of Israel, which serves as a bridge linking Africa, Asia and Europe. The map shows ancient trade routes but not political borders before or after World War…
U.N. Head Protests Egyptian Seizure of Cargo
April 8, 1960 U.N. Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold for the first time publicly criticizes Egypt’s confiscation of Israeli cargo on ships going through the Suez Canal. The Egyptian closure of the Straits of Tiran and the…
Oil Is Found in Heletz
September 26, 1955 Oil is discovered in Heletz, a moshav in southern Israel that becomes the site of the state’s first successful oil well. The Heletz field, containing an estimated 94.4 million barrels of oil,…
Mosul-Haifa Pipeline Opens
The Mosul-Haifa pipeline, which spans 590 miles, connects the Mosul oil fields and the Mediterranean Sea. It begins in Kirkuk, Iraq and ends in Haifa.
Jericho Earthquake Kills 300-Plus
July 11, 1927 A major earthquake strikes Jericho just after 3 p.m., killing between 300 and 500 people and injuring at least 700 others. Measured at a magnitude of 6.3, the quake lasts about five…
Arab Raiders Attack Tel Hai
March 1, 1920 A Shi’ite Arab militia, accompanied by local Bedouins, attacks the Jewish agricultural settlement of Tel Hai, which has served as a border outpost in the Upper Galilee between British-controlled Palestine and French-controlled…
Earthquake Destroys Safed
A massive earthquake and subsequent landslide devastate Jewish and Arab communities in Safed (Tz’fat). The mountain town, which had been the long-time home to a thriving Jewish population, suffers thousands of deaths.
