LAST ONE!

Tuesday: 20^th Century Jerusalem           

Today we started talking about Modern Jerusalem. During this time period Zionism, the movement to re-establish a Jewish State, began to rise in Jerusalem. Saladin had allowed the Jews to resettle in Jerusalem, Nachmanides flees Spain and tries to make aliyah, and Maimonides spread the belief that Jerusalem is “the center on the Jewish people.” It became increasing popular to believe that Jerusalem was the “gate to heaven” and Jews needed to return to Jerusalem and lay claim. More Jews begin to come towards Jerusalem also because of the growing Anti-Semitism and the rise of Hitler. The British start to conquer and General Allenby takes Palestine in 1917. (He chose to walk through the gates into the city as opposed to ride because that is something that only Jesus did). There was the Sykes-Picot Agreement with split up the Near East amongst the French and British. But with the Balfour Declaration in 1917 and the British Mandate in 1918 we see that the British were in support of the Jews in Jerusalem. All the British in Jerusalem caused unrest and in 1948 the War of Independence broke out. The British leave Jerusalem leaving it to Israel and Jordan, leading to the rise of Jordanian Jerusalem. 

Jordanians take control of the west bank. King Abdullah (who was given Jordan during in Churchill’s “White Papers”) is assassinated in front of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by an Arab radical. King Hussein declares Jerusalem as “the second capital of the state of Jordan” and Jordanians develop tourism.

Thursday: 21^st Century Jerusalem

Today was the last lecture. WE started off by talking about the Six Day War (1967). The soviets inform Syria of impending Israeli attack so Egypt amasses troops in Sinai. Jordan signs military agreement with Egypt. Israeli forces launch pre-emptive strike and reduce Egyptian air force within hours. Israeli forces enter the old city. Moshe Dayan, and Israeli general, gives control of Haram to Muslins and the Jews are forbidden to pray on the Haram. The UN rejects the annexation of Jerusalem. Everyone wants the Golan Heights.

Next we talked about the Intifadas or Uprisings. The First Intifada began in 1988. This led to the Oslo Accords. The Oslo Accords was the first face-to-face agreement between Israel and the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization). It called for the creation of PNA and the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza Strip and West Bank. Both sides wrote Letters of Mutual Recognition and Israel acknowledged PLO as legitimate representative of Palestine People.

In 2000 Israel withdrew from Southern Lebanon. The Second Intifada occurs when Ariel Sharon ascends the Temple Mount. In 2002 Israel begins the construction of the West Bank Barrier. In 2004, the PNA chairman Yasser Arafat dies. 2005, the Israelis are forcibly removed from Gaza. 2006, Hamas defeat Fatah in Palestinian Elections and the Israeli-Hizbullah War is fought. 2007, the “Palestinian Civil War” and “Operation Cast Lead” occur. And in 2010 Israel announces new housing settlements in east Jerusalem.

In the end, Professor talked about the importance of peaceful protest. And in terms of Jerusalem, whether peace will ever occur depends on peaceful meeting and agreement. Only time with tell…

Week 9!

Tuesday: Crusader Jerusalem

A Crusade is Holy War, it was a battle between Roman Catholic forces and Muslims. Crusaders took vows and were granted penance for past sins (indulgences).  The Crusades were an attempt to recapture Jerusalem from Islamic rule. The Crusades occurred in Jerusalem from 1099-1187. There were several factors that contributed to the crusades: The emergence of Holy Roman Empire in Western Europe; the division in Christianity in terms of Eastern Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church; the late reaction to persecution of Christians in Jerusalem; the Holy Sepulcher being set on fire and the Patriarch of Jerusalem killed; Al hakin destroyed the Holy Sepulcher in 1009; Christians had a difficult time making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem because they were be killed along the way. The Crusades were set into motion in 1095 when Pope Urban II makes a speech calling upon western Europe urging Christians to take action and liberate Jerusalem.

In the 1^st crusade (1095-1099) Jerusalem is conquered by Godfrey de Bouillon and divided into 4 quarters: Patriarch’s quarter, Templar’s quarter, Syrian quarter, and Armenian quarter. There is a renewed interest in the Temple Mount, the existing Islamic monuments were modified, there was a rebuilding of ruined Byzantine churches, and building of other new churches. Saladin conquered the Crusaders in 1187. Saladin gave the Holy Sepulcher to the Greeks.  A third crusade occurred in 1187 led by Richard “the Lionheart”, where he was able to make a truce with Saladin and the Christians were finally able to return to Jerusalem.

Thursday: Mamluk and Ottoman Jerusalem

During Mamluk Jerusalem (1250-1516), Jerusalem becomes a religious center. There is the development of the Haram, n intensive building of schools, hospices, and hostels, the construction of Al-Madrasa al-Ashrafiyya, and Ghawanima Minaret. Politically and militarily the time period is insignificant and from 1351-1353 Jerusalem suffers from the plague. Mamluk is known best of its characteristic architecture. Most of the architecture had walls built of alternating red and white courses of stone, was domed, contained muqarnas and had alternating black and white inlay designs in entrances and walls. During this time the Jewish Quarter actually grew significantly and Rabbi Moses ben Nachman makes aliyah in 1267 CE and developed Kabbalah.

Ottoman Jerusalem followed Mamluk Jerusalem from 1516-1918. Ottomans take Constantinople in 1453. Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent rules from 1520-1566. He put in place many public works such a repairing and enlarging aqueducts and pools, rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, refurbishes the Haram and its monuments, rebuilds and renovates the markets, and builds a huge public charity for Jerusalem’s inhabitants. He also established a shari’a court and Jewish refugees are encouraged to settle in Jerusalem to restore the city and the population of Jews triples. Lastly we talked looked over slides and discussed the significance of the Western Wall and the Damascus Gate.

Week 8!

Tuesday: BYZANTINE JERUSALEM

The Romans banned the Jews from Jerusalem and converted the city into a Roman city known as Aelia Capitolia. In 285 CE, Emperor Diocletian splits the administration of Roman Empire between West and East instituting a tetrarchy. The tetrarchy did not work well and eventually Constantine the Great comes into power in 312 CE. During the Battle of Malvian Bridge in 312 CE, Constantine uses Christianity to unify his entire kingdom and conquer in the name of Jesus. In 313 CE in the Edict of Milan, Christianity is legalized and begins to expand westward. Constantine turns the Christian faith based off of the teachings of Jesus into a religion that conquers in the name of Jesus. He fundamentally changes the religion. Helena, the mother of Constantine, rededicated the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Holy Sepulcher becomes the new Axis Mundi.

In 361, Julian “the Apostate” takes control and tries to convert Jerusalem back into a Jewish city. He attempts to rebuild the Temple and rejected Christianity. But in 391 Theodosius names Christianity the state religion and undid the changes of Julian.  Christian Jerusalem under the rule of Justinian expands the there is the building of the Nea or New Church. We learned about the many pilgrimages that occurred during the time and then looked at the Madaba Map. The Madaba Map is a mosaic on the church floor that is highly accurate and depicts all the gates of the city, the cardo, and the church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Thursday: ISLAMIC JERUSALEM

Sasanians take Palestine and Jerusalem until 628 CE. When Muhammad leaves no heir, Caliphs (delegates or representatives) are established to lead the Islamic community. The Muslim Caliph Umar takes Jerusalem in 638 CE marking the beginning of the Umayyad Dynasty. Caliph Umar allowed for the Jews to resettle back in Jerusalem. The city, whose name was changed to Aelia Capitolia, became Al Quds or “The Holy” under Islamic rule. Caliph Abd al-Malik builds the Dome of the Rock in 691 CE to divert pilgrimage from Mecca to Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque is built of the site of Caliph Umar’s mosque. The Dome of the Rock was modeled after the Byzantine Martyria and was intended to outshine Christian monuments and demonstrate the final truth of Islam. The Dome of the Rock, like Jerusalem, attracted many stories and legends. The Al-Aqsa Mosque or “The Farthest Mosque” was built by Caliph Walid al-Malik was a prayer at the Al-Aqsa mosque is said to be 500 times a prayer elsewhere. Along with the Dome of the Rock there was the Dome of the Chain, the place where final judgment will occur in the end of days. The five “Pillars” of Islam were also discussed: Shahada (testimony or witness), Slata (Prayer 5 times a day), Zakat (almsgiving to the needy), Sawm (fasting in the month of Ramadan), and Hajj (making pilgrimage to Mecca one in one’s lifetime).

Professor finished up the lecture the following Tuesday and discussed the Abbasid Dynasty and the Fatimids. The Abbasid Dynasty tried to wipe out memory of Umayyid’s accomplishments and tried to take credit for building the Dome of the Rock. In 965 CE Muhammad al-Sanhaji, governor of Jerusalem kills John the Patriarch of Jerusalem. The Fatimids ruled from 969-1099. It was marked by a period of upheaval, but the population of Jerusalem steadily increased. The welfare of Christians and Hews changed depending on ruler. In 1009 Caliph al-Hakin orders the destruction of all Jewish and Christian houses of prayer including the Holy Sepulcher. In 1034 the Dome of the Rock is restored and the City walls rebuilt. In 1070 the Seljuqs occupy Jerusalem, destroying and looting much of the city and massacring thousands of its inhabitants. But in 1098 the Fatimids lead a 40-day siege on Jerusalem’s fortifications and eventually retake the city from the Seljuqs.

Week 7!

Tuesday

In Tuesday’s lecture we discussed Herodian Jerusalem or Jesus’ Jerusalem. In 43 BCE, Antipater, the installed procurator, was murdered and Herod became the new Roman ruler. Most of our archaeological evidence of Herod the Great was coins. He tried to be sensitive with the Jews but he was also careful not to upset Rome so they could essentially overthrow him. He was not truly Jewish, he had been one of the people forcibly Judaized by the Hasmoneaons, but his knowledge of Jewish tradition enabled him to rule without provoking the Jews to rebel. He was known as being paranoid and impulsive and he was effective for Rome but hated by the Jews. Herod was most known for his massive building projects, which was good for the people of Rome because it gave them jobs. We went through lots of pictures of the different building projects such as the Herodian Temple Mount and the Western Wall. Professor brought up the question of whether Herod was a good or bad king and provided evidence for both sides. Although he didn’t defile the Temple, allowed the Jews to select their High Priest, offered generous relief during famine, and provided jobs, he was considered only “half Jewish” and worked for the Romans.

Next we talked about Jesus and Jesus’ Jerusalem. Just like with David and Solomon, Jesus’ existence was questioned. There is very little archaeological evidence that Jesus actually existed but it is believed that he most likely did. This is because there is much evidence that showed that people believed he was a prophet, rabbi, teacher, and savor and many of the descriptions of Jerusalem and Palestine at the time of Jesus are considered accurate.

Thursday

In Thursday during class we talked about Jerusalem in Revolt. After Pompey conquered Jerusalem in 63 BCE, Herod the Great comes into power. After Herod dies, his kingdom was divided among three of his sons. Archelaus, the first son, became the ethnarch of Judea. Archelaus received the most land but was not an effective ruler and was eventually sent into exile in 6 CE. Herod Antipas, the second son, became the tetrarch of Perea and Galilee. He ruled from 4 BCE until his exile in 39 CE. The third son Herod Philip became the tetrarch of Iturea and Trachonitis, northwest of the Sea of Galilee. He ruled from 4 BCE until his death in 34 CE. Over time Roman procurators replaced all of the Herodian rulers. These governors were inexperienced and inept and the Jews in Jerusalem became more and more provoked and angry.             

Finally in 66 CE, revolt breaks out in Jerusalem. The Jews began to mint their own coins as a way of revolting against the Romans. The first revolt was unsuccessful and as a result in 70 CE the northern city falls and the Temple is destroyed. The Romans return to power and continue to rule. Just as with the destruction of the first Temple (Solomon’s Temple) in 586 BCE, the Jew experience cognitive dissonance and the destruction of the Temple again causes rise to new traditions and reinterpretations. Many Jews, who were not prepared for the destruction, fled to Masada, but eventually commit suicide in 73 CE. There is much archaeological evidence for the 1^st revolt and the destruction of the Temple. Professor showed pictures of the revolt coins and the Arch of Titus, which Titus built to brag about his victories. The second revolt or “Bar-Kokbha” revolt has very few sources and was unsuccessful as well. The revolt coins frequently had misspelled words and many coins were overstrikes. There were also letters, that were interestingly written in multiple languages including Greek because there was almost no one who spoke Hebrew. As a result of the Bar Kokbha Revolt, Emperor Hadrian punished the Jews bloodily and rebuilt Jerusalem as a Roman city (Aelia Capitolina). There was a Temple to Jupiter built right on the Temple Mount. Lastly the Professor talked about the rise of synagogues. The rise of synagogue is believed be to a direct response to the destruction of the Temple. We then looked at Synagogue architecture during the 1^st century CE.