The ancient kingdom of Israel was ruled over by a succession of kings. However, around 926 BC, after the reign of King Solomon, the tribes in the north were treated very harshly by the southern tribes. So, they revolted to form their own separate kingdom. Now there were two kingdoms- one in the north, and one in the south. The northern kingdom continued to be known as the Kingdom of Israel, while that in the south became the Kingdom of Judah.
In 587 BC, the Babylonians conquered the southern kingdom. But, later, after the Persians conquered the Babylonians, the people of Judah were allowed to return home. When the Romans conquered the region shortly before the time of Jesus, they gave the name, ‘Philistia’ to the entire region. It is from this word, ‘Philistia’ that we get our modern English name ‘Palestine’.
