Hananya Naftali
Nov 7, 2026
The Land Before Statehood
The Short Answer
Before 1948 the land was ruled by the British under a League of Nations Mandate, and before that by the Ottoman Turks for four hundred years. Earlier rulers included Arab caliphates, Crusaders, Byzantines and Romans. Long before all of them, it was the home of the ancient Jewish kingdoms of Israel and Judah.
Empires Came and Went
After Rome destroyed the Second Temple in 70 CE, the land passed from empire to empire. None of these rulers made it an independent country, and none made Jerusalem a national capital.
The British Mandate
Britain captured the land from the Ottomans in 1917, the same year it issued the Balfour Declaration supporting a national home for the Jewish people. In 1922 the League of Nations Mandate recognized the historical connection of the Jewish people with the land.
By 1948 about 600,000 Jews lived there and had built cities, farms, schools and a university. When Britain left, Israel declared independence on May 14, 1948. Read more: The Nakba and 1948
Key Facts
The Ottomans ruled the land from 1517 to 1917.
Britain governed it under a League of Nations Mandate.
The Balfour Declaration of 1917 backed a Jewish national home.
Israel declared independence on May 14, 1948.