| Arabic Name: Al Quds |
1. Historical Periods
a. 3500 B.C. - First settlement on the Eastern Hill
b. 2500 B.C. - Earliest mention comes from the Ebla Tablets
c. 19th century B.C. - Mentioned in Egyptian Execration Texts
(1) The Early Execration Texts mention two kings of Jerusalem: Sha’an and Yeqar’am
(2) The Later Execration Texts name only one in which only the first syllable is preserved: Ba. . .
d. 14th century B.C. - Mentioned in the El Amarna Letters, six of which were written by Jerusalem’s Canaanite king, Abdi-Hepa
e. Israelite Period - 1400-586 B.C (1) Jerusalem becomes the capital
(2) The First Temple is built
f. Babylonian Period - 586-536 B.C.
(1) Foreigners move into the southern part of the Land
(2) Jerusalem and northern Judah remain empty
g. Persian Period - 536-332 B.C.
(1) The Jews return
(2) The city, the walls and the Temple are rebuilt
h. Hellenistic Period - 332-63 B.C.
(1) Alexander the Great - 332-312 B.C.
(2) Ptolemies - 312-198 B.C.
(3) Seleucids - 198-167 B.C. - The Maccabean Revolt
(4) Hasmoneans - 167-63 B.C.
(a) Jerusalem begins to expand to the Western Hill and surrounded by the First Wall
(b) Development of the Pharisees and Sadducees
i. Roman Period - 63 B.C. - A.D. 324
(1) During the Herodian Period (40 B.C. - A.D. 70), Jerusalem expands northward, surrounded first by the Second Wall and then the Third Wall
(2) Destroyed in A.D. 70
(3) Rebuilt as a Roman city in A.D. 135 and named: Aelia Capitolina
(a) Aelia - Family name of Hadrian
(b) Capitolina - Reference to the three capitoline gods: Jupiter, Juno and Minerva
(4) Christianity begins to spread
(5) From A.D. 70 until the end of the third century, the city remained without a wall, even during the times it was being built up
j. First Byzantine Period - A.D. 324-614
(1) The building of many churches over Christian holy sites
(2) Reached the peak of its Byzantine development during the reign of Emperor Justinian (527-565)
k. Persian Period - A.D. 614-629
(1) The destruction of these churches
(2) Jews allowed to return
l. Second Byzantine Period - A.D. 629-638 - Jews again banished
m. First Moslem Period - A.D. 638-1099
(1) Umayyads - A.D. 638-750 (Ramlah and Damascus)
(a) Rebuilt Jerusalem
(b) Turned the Temple Mount into a Moslem holy site
(c) Built the Dome of the Rock
(d) Jews were permitted to return to Jerusalem and became caretakers of the Temple Mount
(2) Abbisids - A.D. 750-877 (Bagdad)
(a) The El-Aksa Mosque built
(b) Jews were forbidden to enter the Temple Mount
(c) Jerusalem suffers decline
(3) Fatimids - A.D. 877-1071 (Cairo)
(a) The Church of the Holy Sepulchre destroyed
(b) Large influx of Karaite Jews until they equaled the number of other Jews in the city
(4) Seljuk Turks - 1071-1099 (Bagdad)
(a) Wide spread mistreatment of Christians
(b) Desecration of churches
n. The Crusader Period - 1099-1187
(1) Became the capital of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem
(2) Rebuilding of the Churches
(3) Jerusalem enters a period of prosperity
(4) Jewish community destroyed and ceased to exist
(5) Greek holy place confiscated by Latins
o. Second Moslem Period - 1187-1517
(1) Ayyubids - 1187-1250 (Damascus and Cairo)
(a) Walls of Jerusalem fortified but later demolished in 1219
(b) Jews permitted to return to the city
(c) Overall population decreases due to fear of living in unfortified city
(d) Construction and renovation carried out on the Temple Mount
(e) Interrupted by the short Second Crusader Period (1229-1244) during which time the Jews were again expelled
(f) In 1243-1244, the city was invaded by the Khwarizmians who massacred the Christians and destroyed church buildings
(2) Mamelukes - 1250-1517 (Egypt)
(a) Development of religious institutions but it remained politically and economically insignificant
(b) Many Pilgrimages
(c) The Citadel of David was reinforced in 1310 but otherwise Jerusalem remained an unwalled city
(d) Jewish community begins to grow
i. Initially in the area of modern Mount Zion
ii. Later in the 14th century, it spread to the present Jewish Quarter
p. Ottoman Turkish Period - 1517-1917 (Istanbul)
(1) Rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem during 1535-1542
(2) Turned Jerusalem into a typical oriental town
(3) Reached the height of its development during the rule of Suleiman the Magnificent and, thereafter, it went into constant decline with no new buildings or constructions
(4) New Jewish neighborhoods begin outside the walls in the 19th century with the population beginning to grow again
(5) By 1860, the Jews were the majority population of Jerusalem
(6) Local government was centered on key families whose authority was passed down dynastically, father to son
(a) The Nashashibis
(b) The Husseins
(c) The Alamis
(d) The Khalidis
(7) There was an interruption of Turkey’s rule during 1831-1840 with the Egyptian conquest of Palestine which spurred the 19th century growth and which continued when the Turks began
(a) New construction inside the Jewish Quarter and Jewish neighborhoods outside the wall
(b) New buildings and churches in the Christian Quarter and along the Via Dolorosa
(c) Christian group also began to spread outside the city wall with places like the Russian Compound, the American Colony, the Germany Colony and buildings opposite the New Gate
(d) Moslems begin building north of the Old City opposite the Damascus and Herod Gates
(8) Protestants begin to get a foothold starting with the Anglican Christ Church inside the Jaffa Gate
q. British Mandate Period - 1917-1948
(1) Jerusalem grew and expanded
(2) Establishment of garden neighborhoods such as Talpiot, Rahavia, the German Colony, the Greek Colony, the American Colony and Romema
(3) Period of Jewish and Arab tensions
r. Israeli-Jordanian Period: Divided City - 1948-1967
(1) New City becomes the capital of Israel
(2) Development of the New City
(a) The Jewish city expands westward since, on all the other sides, it was surrounded by Jordan
(b) The Arab city expands primarily northward but also somewhat eastward
(3) Construction of many public buildings on both sides of the border
s. Israeli Period: Unified City - 1967 - Present
(1) Jewish Quarter rebuilt
(2) Municipal boundaries expanded
(3) There has been a massive increase in the building of new neighborhoods
(a) First phase: 1968-1970 - Surrounding Arab Sheich Jarrah
i. Sanhedria Hamurheret
ii. Ramot Eshkol
iii. Maalot Dafna
iv. Givat Hamivtar
v. Givat Shapira (French Hill)
(b) Second Phase: 1970-1980 - North and South
i. Neve Yaakov - North
ii. Ramot Allon - North
iii. East Talpiot - South
iv. Gilo - South
(c) Third Phase: 1980 - Present
i. Pisgat Zeev - To close the gap between Neve Yaakov and French Hill
ii. Har Nof - A new religious suburb
(4) New public buildings built in East Jerusalem
(a) The Government Office Complex
(b) Israel Police Force Headquarters
(5) Commercial Center Development
(6) Cultural Centers
(7) New neighborhoods connected with new wide roads
(8) Since the Intifada began in 1987, there has been continuous tension between Jews and Arabs
(9) There has been a gradual increase in the religious population so that the Orthodox now make up 27% of the Jewish population |
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