During the mid-8th century BC, the area came under the control of the Assyrian Empire. Around 597 BC to 582 BC, the area was conquered and ruled by the Babylonians. In 539 BC, after the Persian Empire conquered the Babylonian Empire the area was ruled by the Persia. In 330 BC, Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire and the area became part of his empire. After Alexander's death, the area eventually came under the control of Egypt once again and later the Seleucids gained control in 198 BC. After several years of wars and rebellions the Hasmoneans gained control over the area. In 63 BC, the Roman army conquered the area and it became part of the Roman Empire and later the Holy Roman Empire. Around 638 AD the Muslim conquests of the area begin. When the Muslims entered the region, a time of peace and prosperity in the region was introduced by the Muslim conquerors that put an end to oppression and tyranny which had prevailed in the land for centuries. Palestine flourished to the extent that it became a learning center and produced a large number of scholars. Muslims ruled over Palestine for 1300 years, with the exception of a period where crusaders took over it and renamed it Filastin. In 1516, The Ottoman Empire defeated the Mamluk armies and they controlled the area until their defeat in World War I. In 1917, Britain issued the Balfour Declaration which stated Palestine was a homeland to Jews and after the defeat of Ottoman Empire, it encouraged Jewish immigration from European countries to Palestine. The British gained complete control or mandate over the area though the agreements at the Versailles Peace Conference in 1919. In November 1947, the United Nations divided Palestine, then under British mandate, into Jewish and Arab states. Six months later the British withdrew, and on May 14, 1948, the state of Israel was established. The neighboring Arab states of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq rejected both the partition of Palestine and the existence of the new nation.
