JERUSALEM HISTORY

JERUSALEM HISTORY

Jerusalem is one of the most ancient cities in the world and has existed for almost 5000 years. Jerusalem's rich history is apart of our modern world for Jerusalem lies at the base of the Jewish,Christian and Muslims faiths, This is the City of King David, Jesus Christ,Muhammad the Prophet and countless other well-known figures from history who lived, preached, fought and built Jerusalem. In this way Jerusalem is the cradle of modern civilization and Jerusalem's history is part of the world's history. 

What makes Jerusalem even more interesting is that Jerusalem even has such a rich history. This is because Jerusalem is a city far from the sea and the ports of Israels' shores which only give Jerusalem religious history a stronger place in the history of Jerusalem. 

The history of Jerusalem is very intricate and complex. However, in this article on Jerusalem's History we will outline the main periods in the history of Jerusalem to provide a simple overview of the long history of Jerusalem. 

Jerusalem - short history of Jerusalem

THE HISTORY OF JERUSALEM - AN OUTLINE
 Period Dates Description & Main Events    
   

• Pre-history 4000 – 3300 BC (Copper Age): The beginning of settling in cities - the area of Israel and Jerusalem populated by nomad tribes and families    

• Egyptian & Canaanite 3300 – 1000 BC (Bronze Age and Iron first Age): The general period of the book of Exodus – during this time there were many patriarchs in Jerusalem and the Holy Land. This is the time which appears in the book of Genesis - the times of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  

• The Israelite period 1000 – 732 BC: The period of ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah.  From 1030 to 930 BC the kingdoms were united under King Saul, King David and King Solomon. In 928 the Kingdoms split into Judah and Israel  with Jerusalem serving as the capital of Judah.

• Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian periods 732 – 539 BC: The Neo-Assyrian Empire  rules over Israel and Judah conquered. In 627 BC the Neo-Babylonian Empire takes over. In 587 the Babylonian Empire destroys Jerusalem and the First Temple (Solomon’s Temple) and exiled the Jewish inhabitants of Jerusalem to Babylon (Iraq today). Prayers for the Jewish return to Jerusalem from exile begin in the Jewish tradition (e.g. “by the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept remembering Zion”)

• The Persian period 539 – 332 BC: In 539 BC Cyrus the Great conquered Israel and Jerusalem from the Babylonians. With a famous declaration he allows all Jews to return to the holy Land of Israel and Jerusalem known as the Province of Judah. In 516 BC the Second Temple is constructed in Jerusalem. 

• The Hellenistic period 332 – 37 BC: In 332 BC Alexander the Great conquered Jerusalem and the region from the Persian Empire introducing the new period of Jerusalem’s history – The Period of the Greek Empire control over the Holy Land and Jerusalem.   In 167 BC – 160 BC the Maccabee revolt began and ended with the independent Hasmonite rule.

• The Roman period 37 BC – 324 AD:  In 37 BC Herod the Great of the Roman Empire seizes power in Judea. In 19 Bc he enlarges the Temple Mount area so it becomes a large plateau which can accommodate thousands of worshipers.  Herod reconstructs the Temple, turning into one of the most magnificent structures of its time. During the years 63 to 73 AD the First Jewish–Roman War took place which lead to the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD. .The revolt is resumed again only in 115 AD by Bar-Kochva but the revolt is successfully suppressed by the Roman Empire. During the years 63 to 73 AD the First Jewish–Roman War took place which lead to the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD. .The revolt is resumed again only in 115 AD by Bar-Kochva but the revolt is successfully suppressed by the Roman Empire.  

• The Byzantine (Christian) period 324 – 638: in 326 the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is built in Jerusalem by Constantine the Great over the site declared by Helena, his mother, to be where Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected (she supposedly discovered a piece of the Cross). The Church of the Nativity is also built in Bethlehem to mark the Manger in which Jesus was born.  In 629 almost 150,000 Jews are massacred and expelled from Jerusalem and the Holy Land by the Byzantine. 

• The Arab Caliphate Period 638 – 1099: In 638 AD Jerusalem is conquered from the Byzantines by the Islamic Empire with the armies of the the Rashidun Caliphate, led by Caliph Umar ibn Al-Khattāb . 661 marks the beginning of the Umayyad Caliphate rule of the Holy Land. The Holy Land is conquered from the Abbasid in 878 by the Tulunids. In 970 AD  the Fatimids, a self-proclaimed Shia Caliphate gained control over the Holy Land, only to be pushed aside by the Turkish Seljuk forces in 1071 AD.   

• The Crusader period and the Ayyubid Period 1099–1260: In 1099 AD the first Crusade arrives and conquers the Holy Land and Jerusalem from the Muslim rulers, establishing a Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem.    In 1187 the famous battle of Hattin between the forces of Saladin who established the Ayyubid dynasty, and the Crusaders takes place. In 1191 the third Crusade led by Richard the Lionhearted arrives at the Holy Land.

• The Mamluk period 1260–1517: In 1260 the battle of Ain Jalut between the Egyptian Mamluks (meaning “Kings” and the Mongols marks the beginning of the end of the Crusader rule in the Holy Land. In 1291 Acre falls and the Crusaders lose their Kingdom in the Holy Land and Jerusalem. 

• The Ottoman period 1517–1917: In 1517 the Holy Land and Jerusalem are conquered by the Turkish Sultan Selim I bringing forth the era of the Ottoman Rule over the Holy Land and Jerusalem. In 1538 AD Suleiman the Magnificent restores the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and builds the Jerusalem city walls which stand to this day. In 1799 Napoleon Bonaparte's Sieges Acre as part of the French invasion of Egypt but does not conquer the Holy Land or Jerusalem. 

• The British Mandate period 1917–1948: 1917, the end of World War I, marks the beginning of the British Mandate of the Holy Land after defeating the Ottoman Empire. In 1936 the Great Arab Revolt Breaks out and results in the attack of thousands of Jews living in the Holy Land and Jerusalem. On November 29th, 1947 the UN passes the resolution to partition Palestine. 

• Modern period – Jewish State of Israel 1948 on-wards: In 1948 the Jewish State of Israel is established in the Holy Land with Jerusalem as its capital. The small country is attacked by the Arab forces surrounding but these attempts fail to conquer rael and Jerusalem from the Jewish nation.  East Jerusalem is ruled by the Jordanian Kingdom and Egypt rules the Gaza Strip. In 1967 Israel is attacked by a joint force of the Syrian, Jordanian and Egyptian armies but the attack is repelled and Israel gains control over the all of Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. In 1973 another attempt (a surprise attack) to conquer Jerusalem and the Holy Land by the coalition of the Arab states is launched but fails once more. In 1979 Israel reaches a peace agreement with Egypt and in 1995 with Jordan. In 2005 Israel unilaterally withdraws from the Gaza Strip.

The Jerusalem Old City Walls of the Ottoman period

The current walls of the Old City were built in 1538 by the Muslim Ottoman Empire Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. The walls stretch for approximately 4.5 kilometers, (2.8 miles), and rise to a height of 5–15 meters, (16–49 feet), with a thickness of 3 meters, (10 ft). Altogether, the Old City walls contain 43 surveillance towers and 11 gates, seven of which are presently open.

The Old City walls are a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981.

The Old City Walls Promenade allows visitors to walk along a segment of the walls, viewing the city and its outlying areas from above. This is a great way to see the city, and experience the walls from within their thick roof. You can also walk around the Old City walls from the outside, visiting the surrounding neighborhoods along your walk.

Located in the vicinity of the Old City of Jerusalem’s Jaffa Gate, the Tower of David is the ‘citadel’, a medieval fortress, of Jerusalem. It is significant for both, a historical and an archeological point of view.

Given that this particular site has been the target of much offense, throughout the centuries, many rulers have been forced to ‘fortify’ the said area. Built during the 2nd century BC, the Tower of David has been repeatedly demolished, and then eventually rebuilt by various conquerors of Jerusalem- (Christian, Muslim, Ottoman, and Mamluk). While King Hezekiah, might have been the first to fortify the site, the Hasmonean- as per Josephus Flavius- laid down the ‘first wall’ as it was during the 1st century BC that walls and watchtowers were built around the area. 

Tower of David- A symbol of Jerusalem

Herod the Great, following the fall of the Hasmonean dynasty, had three towers built on the Western Hill’s north-west corner, where the Tower of David currently stands. However, today, only one (Phasael) of three towers still stands. It was after this, that the various conquests –one after the other began. The Ottomans added a mosque and minaret to the structure, and it was during their period that the structure came to be known as the ‘Tower of David.’

In addition to offering one with a chance to view the splendid sights of the Old City of Jerusalem meeting the new one; the east meeting the west, the Tower of David also has a museum founded by the Jerusalem Foundation in 1989. The said museum comprises of a courtyard which contains 2700 years old archaeological ruins. With the help of holograms, tapes and maps, the exhibits of the museum portray 4000 years worth of Jerusalem history- from the beginning of the city as a Canaanite city to the present day. As a bonus, the visitors have the option to move to the ramparts which provides one with a 360-degree view of the Old and the new city of Jerusalem.  The Tower remains a popular site to date, with over 3.5 million visitors, as the Tower of David is used as a venue for various exhibitions, concerts, benefit events etc.

All in all, the Tower of David, providing one with a chance to take in the breath-taking sight of the Old and the New city of Jerusalem, can well be regarded as a symbol of Jerusalem’s rich culture and history.

The Temple Menorah in Jerusalem is a seven branched candelabra and an official emblem of the Israeli state. For thousand of years, the Temple Menorah has been a Jewish symbol of exile and promised redemption.

According to the Torah, the bible in Hebrew, Moses was ordered by God to construct the Menorah as followed: ‘’And you shall make a menorah of pure gold; it shall be made of beaten work: Its base, stem and cups, spheres and flowers must all be hammered out of a single piece of gold. And six branches shall extend from its sides, three branches of the menorah out of one side, and three branches out of the other side’’  (Exodus 25:31).

Following that, Moses set up the Menorah in the wilderness of the desert and later on it filled a major role in the temple, as its seven lamps were lit from morning to evening from fresh olive oil. The Temple Menorah was crowned as the greatest of all Temple vessels.  It is said that the menorah’s light was so infinite that it ascended beyond the temple and lit every house in Jerusalem.

The Hurva Synagogue in Jerusalem, located in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City was first established in 1700 by a group of European Jews who came to the Holy Land under the leadership of Rabbi Yehuda Hachassid. Due to their failure to return the loans taken for building the synagogue, the creditors destroyed the synagogue in 1721 giving it its name “Hurva” which means “Ruin” in Hebrew. The site remained mostly desolated until 1856 when it was rebuilt with the financial aid of Moses Montefiore. The synagogue was built in the neo-Byzantine style popular at that time in the Ottoman Empire which can be seen in the arches and dome roof. The synagogue was demolished once more during the 1948 War by the Jordanian forces and remained so until 2010 when it was newly reconstructed according to the original neo-Byzantine style of the 19th century.

The Western Wall, or “Kotel” in Hebrew, is the one of four retaining walls surrounding the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. It served as the western supporting outer wall during the times of the Second Temple. Surviving over 2000 years of history, it is the largest intact structure since the destruction of the Second Jewish Temple in 70 AD. 

Its proximity to where the ‘Holy of Holies’ lay in the Temple, bestowed the Wall with sacred status in Jewish tradition. It serves at the same time as a symbol of Jewish exile, which is why it is also known as “The Wailing Wall”, and a symbol of historic Jewish glory and hope of redemption. Therefore, it has become a religious and national symbol in Israel and many national, religious and even military ceremonies are held at the Western Wall to this day. Due to its significance in Judaism today, it has become customary to place a small note with a wish or prayer within the cracks of the ancient wall. 

Through the course of time, the Western Wall passed through the hands of different rulers and periods including: Turkish-Ottoman period, the British mandate and the nineteen years from 1948 to 1967 when it was under Jordanian rule and Jews were forbidden to enter. The Western Wall returned to Jewish hands after the Six Day War, in July 7,1967 when the Israeli paratroopers, followed by Mota Gur entered this sacred place and cried: ‘’The Temple Mount is in our hands!’’. The photo of the three Israeli paratroopers, standing beside the Western Wall shedding their tears became a symbol of the entire Israeli nation. It is believed that from here the divine presence has never departed.

The stones of the Western Wall are designed in a typical Herodian style: they support one another without cement and are kept in place by sheer weight. The total height of the Wall from its foundation is estimated at 105 feet. The Wall consists of 45 stone courses, 28 of them above ground and 17 underground. 

The Western Wall Plaza accommodates thousands of visitors and worshipers everyday. On special occasions and Jewish holidays it can house over 50,000 worshipers at once. It is quite overwhelming to witness thousands of Jews that gather here together to pray and make their secret wishes.

Visiting the Western Wall requires modest dressing for men and women and the plaza is divided into two sections: men and women, as to reduce the occurrence of improper thoughts during the prayer. The Western Wall is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The Western Wall is never deserted and you can always see Jews praying by its side.  

Monday, June 29, 2015

Lift up your heads, you gates;be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.

History:-

According to the Bible, before King David's conquest of Jerusalem in the 11th century BC the city was home to the Jebusites. The Bible describes the city as heavily fortified with a strong city wall. The city ruled by King David, known as Ir David, or the City of David, was southeast of the Old City walls, outside the Dung Gate. His son King Solomon extended the city walls and then, in about 440 BC, during the Persian period, Nehemiah returned from Babylon and rebuilt them. In 41-44 CE, Agrippa, king of Judea, built a new city wall known as the "Third Wall."

The current walls of the Old City were built in 1538 by the Muslim, Ottoman Empire Sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent.

 The walls stretch for approximately 4.5 km (2.8 miles), and rise to a height of 5 to 15 metres (16 to 49 feet), with a thickness of 3 metres (10 feet).[9] Altogether, the Old City walls contain 43 surveillance towers and 11 gates, seven of which are presently open.

வாசல்களே, உங்கள் தலைகளை உயர்த்துங்கள்; அநாதி கதவுகளே, உயருங்கள்; மகிமையின் ராஜா உட்பிரவேசிப்பார். யார் இந்த மகிமையின் ராஜா? அவர் வல்லமையும் பராக்கிரமுமுள்ள கர்த்தர்; அவர் யுத்தத்தில் பராக்கிரமுமுள்ள கர்த்தராமே. வாசல்களே, உங்கள் தலைகளை உயர்த்துங்கள்; அநாதி கதவுகளே, உயருங்கள்; மகிமையின் ராஜா உட்பிரவேசிப்பார் யார் இந்த மகிமையின் ராஜா? அவர் சேனைகளின் கர்த்தரானவர்; அவரே மகிமையின் ராஜா.

(This Picture is from my DAD's Bible Can any one identify which gate is this)

The Golden Gate, as it is called in Christian literature, is the oldest of the current gates in Jerusalem's Old City Walls. According to Jewish tradition, the Shekhinah (שכינה) (Divine Presence) used to appear through this gate, and will appear again when the Anointed One (Messiah) comes The Eastern Gate was identified by the Prophet Ezekiel when he wrote in chapter 44, “The prince will enter through this gate and he will eat bread before the Lord.” This is the origin of the Judeo-Christian belief that the Messiah will enter through the eastern gate and a new gate replaces the present one; that is why Jews used to pray for mercy at the former gate at this location.Hence the name Sha'ar HaRachamim (שער הרחמים), the Gate of Mercy.It is also said that Jesus passed through this gate on Palm Sunday. In Arabic, it is known as the Gate of Eternal Life. Some equate it with the Beautiful Gate mentioned in Acts 3.

 The sealing of the gate
The Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent sealed off the Golden Gate in 1541. While this may have been purely for defensive reasons, it is suggested that Suleiman the Magnificent sealed off the Golden Gate to prevent the Messiah's entrance

The Ottomans also built a cemetery in front of the gate, in the belief that the precursor to the Anointed One, Elijah, would not be able to pass through the Golden Gate and thus the Anointed One would not come.

When Jesus came to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the crowds shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”  It’s thought that Jesus entered the Temple courtyard through this gate and then proceeded to drive out all those who were selling and buying, upsetting the tables of the money changers.  In the time of the Second Temple, the Eastern Gate was open.

The Golden Gate from within

Dung Gate is where Old City residents, over the centuries, would throw their garbage.  in Hebrew it’s called Sha’ar Ashpot. The name Sha'ar Ha'ashpot appears in the Book of Nehemiah:3:13-14. It is probably named after the residue that was taken from the Jewish Temple into the Valley of Hinnom, where it was burned.

Zion Gate (Hebrew: שַׁעַר צִיּוֹן, Shaar Zion, Arabic: Bab Sahyun) also known in Arabic as Bab Harat al-Yahud ("Jewish Quarter Gate"),[1] or Bab an-Nabi Dawud ("Prophet David Gate"), leads from the tomb of King David and the Upper Room on Mount Zion into the Armenian and the Jewish Quarters of the Old City. 

Jaffa Gate, one of the city’s busiest, is located on the western perimeter, right above Hinnom Valley, the Valley of Hell (Gehenna in Greek).  In ancient days, if you walked east for three days, along the Jaffa Road, you would eventually reach the Jaffa Gate.  Hence its name.  In Hebrew the gate is translated Sha’ar Yafo. Yafo is the name for Jaffa in the Hebrew Bible, mentioned in the Book of Jonah. 

In Arabic the gate is called Bab el Halil which means Hebron Gate.  If you exit the gate and turn left, cross the Hinnom Valley and walk straight along what’s nicknamed the Patriarchal Highway along Hebron Road, you would eventually reach Hebron.  Halil in Arabic means “friend.”  In Islam, Abraham’s title is the “friend of God.”  Abraham is buried in Hebron.

The New Gate (Arabic: باب الجديد‎ Bāb ij-Jdïd) (Hebrew: השער החדש‎ HaSha'ar HeChadash)[2] is the newest gate in the walls that surround the Old City of Jerusalem. It was built in 1889 to provide direct access between the Christian Quarter and the new neighborhoods then going up outside the walls. The arched gate is decorated with crenelated stonework. The New Gate was built at the highest point of the present wall, at 790 metres (2,590 ft) above sea level 

Damascus Gate (Arabic: باب العامود‎, Bab Alamud , Hebrew: שַׁעַר שְׁכֶם, Sha'ar Sh'khem) is one of the main entrances to the Old City of Jerusalem.[1] It is located in the wall on the city's northwest side where the highway leads out to Nablus, and from there, in times past, to the capital of Syria, Damascus; as such, its modern English name is Damascus Gate, and its modern Hebrew name, Sha'ar Shkhem (Hebrew: שער שכם‎), meaning Shechem Gate, or Nablus Gate.

 Underneath, remains of a gate dating to the time of the Roman rule of Hadrian in the 2nd century AD have been discovered and excavated. In front of this gate stood a Roman victory column topped with the Emperor Hadrian's image, as depicted on the 6th century Madaba Map. This historical detail is preserved in the current gate's Arabic name, Bab el-Amud, meaning "gate of the column".On the lintel to the 2nd century gate, under which one can pass today, is inscribed the city's name under Roman rule, Aelia Capitolina. Hadrian had significantly expanded the gate which served as the main entrance to the city from at least as early as the 1st century BC during the rule of Agrippa.

Herod's Gate (Hebrew: שער הפרחים Translit.: Sha'ar HaPerachim Translated: Gate of the flowers, Arabic: باب الساهرة‎) is a gate in the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. Its elevation is 755 meters above sea level. It adjoins the Muslim Quarter, and is a short distance to the east of the Damascus Gate

The gate is named after Herod the Great. That is because in the Crusaders' period a church was built near the gate in the belief that at the time of the Crucifixion of Jesus, Herod Antipas's house was situated at that spot. In its place today stands the church of Dir Al Ads.

The Lions' Gate (Hebrew: שער האריות‎ Sha'ar Ha'Arayot, Arabic: باب الأسباط‎, also St. Stephen's Gate or Sheep Gate) is located in the Old City Walls of Jerusalem and is one of seven open Gates in Jerusalem's Old City Walls.Tradition has it that Stephen, the first Christian martyr, was stoned in the Kidron Valley below.  In Arabic the gate is called Bab el Asbat, the Gate of the Tribes, for they say the tribes of Israel entered the Old City through this gate. In Hebrew it’s called Sha’ar Ha-Arayot in honor of the decorations above the gate.

 Israeli paratroops from the 55th Paratroop Brigade came through this gate during the Six-Day War of 1967 and unfurled the Israeli flag above the Temple Mount.

The Huldah Gates (Hebrew: שערי חולדה‎, Shaarei Chulda) are the two sets of now-blocked gates in the Southern Wall of the Temple Mount, situated in Jerusalem's Old City. The western set is a double arched gate (the double gate), and the eastern is a triple arched gate (the triple gate). Each arch of the double gate led into an aisle of a passageway leading from the gate into the Mount, and to steps leading to the Mount's surface; when the al-Aqsa Mosque was built, the old steps were blocked, and the eastern aisle lengthened so that new steps from its end would exit north of the Mosque. The triple gate is similar, though the longer aisle is to the west, and its third aisle, on the east, forms the western boundary of the vaulted area known as Solomon's Stables.