d. c. 960 B.C.

Israelite king who brought his nation close to the zenith of its power. Virtually all that is known about David comes from the Old Testament, and for years historians regarded the facts of his existence with skepticism, but today he is widely accepted as a historical figure. It was under his leadership that the Israelites took Jerusalem (thenceforth the "City of David"), and during his reign the kingdom expanded to more than three times the size of modern Israel.