The Iron Age, also referred to as the Israelite period, is ascribed to the time period 1200–586 BCE and is divided into two chronological and cultural phases:

Iron Age I (1200–1000 BCE) is characterized by the decline of the Canaanite culture of the Late Bronze Age and the appearance of new ethnic components, namely the Tribes of Israel, the Philistines and the Sea-Peoples.

Iron Age II (1000–586 BCE) begins with the establishment of the United Monarchy (David and Solomon) and continues with its division into two kingdoms, Israel and Judah. The period is also characterized by the creation of national kingdoms: Tyre and Sidon (Phoenicia), Edom, Moab, Ammon and Eram, together with two empires that consecutively established their hegemony over the entire region: Assyria and Babylon.

The Kingdom of Israel was destroyed in 722 BCE by the Assyrian kings, Shalmanezer V and Sargon II. The Kingdom of Judah outlasted the Assyrians, but did meet its end in 586 BCE when the First Temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.