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{{History of Israel}}
[[Jerusalem]] is one of the world's oldest cities, with a history spanning over 5,000 years. Its origins trace back to around 3000 BCE, with the first settlement near the [[Gihon Spring]]. The city is first mentioned in Egyptian [[execration texts]] around 2000 BCE as "Rusalimum." By the 17th century BCE, Jerusalem had developed into a fortified city under [[Canaan]]ite rule, with massive walls protecting its water system. During the [[Late Bronze Age]], Jerusalem became a vassal of [[Ancient Egypt]], as documented in the [[Amarna letters]].

The city's importance grew during the Israelite period, which began around 1000 BCE when King [[David]] captured Jerusalem and made it the capital of the [[Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)|united Kingdom of Israel]]. David's son, [[Solomon]], built the [[Solomon's Temple|First Temple]], establishing the city as a major religious center. Following the kingdom's split, Jerusalem became the capital of the [[Kingdom of Judah]] until it was captured by the [[Neo-Babylonian Empire]] in 586 BCE. The Babylonians destroyed the First Temple, leading to the [[Babylonian captivity|Babylonian exile]] of the Jewish population. After the [[Fall of Babylon|Persian conquest of Babylon]] in 539 BCE, [[Cyrus the Great]] allowed the Jews to return and rebuild the city and [[Second Temple|its temple]], marking the start of the Second Temple period. Jerusalem fell under [[Hellenistic period|Hellenistic]] rule after the conquests of [[Alexander the Great]] in 332 BCE, leading to increasing cultural and political influence from [[Ancient Greece|Greece]]. The [[Maccabean Revolt|Hasmonean revolt]] in 1the 2nd century BCE briefly restored Jewish autonomy, with Jerusalem as the capital of an independent state.

In 63 BCE, Jerusalem [[Hasmonean civil war|was conquered]] by [[Pompey]] and became part of the [[Roman Empire]]. The city remained under Roman control until the [[Jewish–Roman wars]], which culminated in the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. The city was renamed ''Aelia Capitolina'' and rebuilt as a Roman colony after the [[Bar Kokhba revolt]] (132–136 CE), with Jews banned from entering the city. Jerusalem gained significance during the [[Byzantine Palestine|Byzantine period]] as a center of [[Christianity]], particularly after [[Constantine the Great]] endorsed the construction of the [[Church of the Holy Sepulchre]]. In 638 CE, Jerusalem was conquered by the [[Rashidun Caliphate]], and under early [[Islamic]] rule, the [[Dome of the Rock]] and [[Al-Aqsa Mosque]] were built, solidifying its religious importance in Islam. During the [[Crusades]], Jerusalem changed hands multiple times, being captured by the Crusaders in 1099 and recaptured by [[Saladin]] in 1187. It remained under Islamic control through the [[Ayyubid]] and [[Mamluk]] periods, until it became part of the [[Ottoman Empire]] in 1517.

In the modern period, Jerusalem was divided between [[Israel]] and [[Jordan]] after the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]]. Israel captured [[East Jerusalem]] during the [[Six-Day War]] in 1967, uniting the city under Israeli control. The [[status of Jerusalem]] remains a highly contentious issue, with both [[Israelis]] and [[Palestinians]] claiming it as their capital. Historiographically, the city's history is often interpreted through the lens of competing national narratives. Israeli scholars emphasize the ancient Jewish connection to the city, while Palestinian narratives highlight the city's broader historical and multicultural significance. Both perspectives influence contemporary discussions of Jerusalem's status and future.

==Bronze Age==
{{Further|Canaan}}

===Early Bronze===
Archaeological evidence suggests that the first settlement was established near [[Gihon Spring]] between 3000 and 2800 BCE.

===Middle Bronze===
The first known mention of the city was in c. 2000 BCE in the [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom Egyptian]] [[execration texts]] in which the city was recorded as ''Rusalimum''.<ref name="Slavik2001 p.60">Slavik, Diane. 2001. ''Cities through Time: Daily Life in Ancient and Modern Jerusalem''. Geneva, Illinois: Runestone Press, p. 60. {{ISBN|978-0-8225-3218-7}}</ref><ref name="MazarB p.45">Mazar, Benjamin. 1975. ''The Mountain of the Lord''. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., p. 45. {{ISBN|0-385-04843-2}}</ref> The root [[S-L-M]] in the name is thought to refer to either "peace" (compare with modern Salam or Shalom in modern Arabic and Hebrew) or [[Shalim]], the god of dusk in the [[Canaanite religion]].

Archaeological evidence suggests that by the 17th century BCE, the Canaanites had built massive walls (4 and 5 ton boulders, 26 feet high) on the eastern side of Jerusalem to protect their ancient water system.<ref>{{cite news |title='Massive' ancient wall uncovered in Jerusalem |publisher=[[CNN]] |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/09/04/israel.wall.discovered/index.html |date=7 September 2009 |access-date=18 April 2015}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=article refers vaguely to time and archaeologists, but a publication from archaeologists should be made available to substantiate this claim; a news site like CNN doesn't seem sufficient|date=March 2015}}

===Late Bronze===
====Egyptian period====
{{Further|City of David (archaeological site)}}

'''18th Dynasty'''. By c. 1550–1400 BCE, Jerusalem had become a vassal to Egypt after the Egyptian [[New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]] under [[Ahmose I]] and [[Thutmose I]] had reunited Egypt and expanded into the [[Levant]].

[[File:EA-287 end.jpg|thumb|upright|''Ú-ru-sa-lim'' inscription in the [[Amarna letters]], 14th century BCE]]
In the Amarna Period (c. 1350 BC), ''Urusalim'' was one of several small city-states competing and being vassals of the King of Egypt. It was an important stop for caravans with its fresh water spring. Several Amarna letters mentions the city and its rulers, competing with neighboring rulers for more domain. Among the people in the region causing problems are the Habiru (Hebrews), which would become one of several groups of people making up the "Israelites".

*[[Abdi-Heba]].<ref>Donald B. Redford, ''Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times'', Princeton University Press, 1992 pp. 268, 270.</ref> This ruler is mentioned in Amarna Letters EA 280, EA 366, EA 285, EA 286, EA 287, EA 288, EA 289, EA 290.
*Amarna Letters from Gath concerning Jerusalem and its ruler: EA 280, EA 335, EA 366.
*Amarna Letters from Jerusalem and its ruler: EA 285, EA 286, EA 287, EA 288, EA 289, EA 290.

'''19th Dynasty'''.  In the Late Bronze IIB, the 19th dynasty of Egypt came to power with border conflict against the Hittites who occupied Syria. In Year 4 of [[Ramesses II]] he occupied Amurru while in Year 5 of Ramesses II was the famous [[Battle of Kadesh]]. This event significantly weakened both the Hittites and Egyptians militarily, in addition to gradually drier climate conditions.

'''20th Dynasty'''. With the end of the 19th dynasty, a transitional phase started. The 20th dynasty came to power after a period of political turmoil and rebellion. [[Ramesses III]] fought the [[Sea Peoples]] and is regarded the last great king. The [[Battle of Djahy]] ([[Djahy]] being the Egyptian name for Canaan) in 1178 BCE. The power of the Egyptians in the region began to decline in the 12th century BCE, during the [[Late Bronze Age collapse]]. According to the Bible, Jerusalem at this time was known as Jebus, and its independent Canaanite inhabitants at this time were known as [[Jebusites]].

==Iron Age==
===Kingdom of Judah===
{{Main|History of ancient Israel and Judah}}
According to the Bible, the Israelite history of the city began in c. 1000 BCE, with King [[David]]'s sack of Jerusalem, following which Jerusalem became the [[City of David (archaeological site)|City of David]] and capital of the united [[Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)|Kingdom of Israel]].<ref name="Slavik2001 p.60" /> According to the [[Books of Samuel]], the Jebusites managed to resist attempts by the Israelites to capture the city and by the time of King David were mocking such attempts, claiming that even the blind and lame could defeat the Israelite army. Nevertheless, the [[Masoretic Text]] for the Books of Samuel states that David managed to capture the city by stealth, sending his forces through a "water shaft" and attacking the city from the inside. Archaeologists now view this as implausible as the [[Gihon Spring|Gihon spring]] – the only known location from which water shafts lead into the city – is now known to have been heavily defended (and hence an attack via this route would have been obvious rather than secretive). The older{{Citation needed|reason=There is no prove that the Septuagint is older than the Massoretic Text, the latter being largely accepted by Judaism and Christianity as authentic|date=August 2017}} [[Septuagint]] text, however, suggests that rather than by a water shaft, David's forces defeated the Jebusites by using daggers. There was another king in Jerusalem, [[Araunah]], during and possibly before David's control of the city,<ref>2 Samuel 24:23, which literally has "Araunah the King gave to the King [David]".</ref> who was probably the Jebusite king of Jerusalem.<ref>[[Biblical Archaeology Review]], ''Reading David in Genesis'', Gary A. Rendsburg.</ref> The city, which at that point stood upon the [[Ophel]], was expanded to the south and declared by David to be the capital city of the Kingdom of Israel. David also constructed an altar at the location of a threshing floor he had purchased from Araunah; a portion of biblical scholars view this as an attempt by the narrative's author to give an Israelite foundation to a pre-existing sanctuary.<ref>''Peake's Commentary on the Bible''.</ref>

Later, King [[Solomon]] built a more substantive temple, the [[Solomon's Temple|Temple of Solomon]], at a location which the [[Books of Chronicles]] equates with David's altar. The temple became a major cultural centre in the region; eventually, particularly after religious reforms such as those of [[Hezekiah]] and of [[Josiah]], the temple became the main place of worship, at the expense of other, formerly powerful, ritual centres such as [[Shiloh (biblical city)|Shiloh]] and [[Bethel]]. Solomon is also described as having created several other important building works at Jerusalem, including the construction of his palace, and the construction of the [[Millo]] (the identity of which is somewhat controversial). Archaeologists are divided over whether the biblical narrative is supported by the evidence from excavations.<ref>{{cite news |author=Asaf Shtull-Trauring |title=The Keys to the Kingdom |newspaper=Haaretz |date=6 May 2011 |url=https://www.haaretz.com/weekend/magazine/the-keys-to-the-kingdom-1.360222}}</ref> [[Eilat Mazar]] contends that her digging uncovered remains of large stone buildings from the correct time period, while [[Israel Finkelstein]] disputes both the interpretation and the dating of the finds.<ref>{{cite book |author=Amihai Mazar |title=One God, One Cult, One Nation |editor=Reinhard G. Kratz and Hermann Spieckermann |publisher=De Gruyter |chapter=Archaeology and the Biblical Narrative: The Case of the United Monarchy |year=2010 |url=http://rehov.org/Rehov/publications/Mazar%20-%20The%20United%20%20Monarchy-BZAW2010.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101126232950/http://rehov.org/Rehov/publications/Mazar%20-%20The%20United%20%20Monarchy-BZAW2010.pdf |archive-date=2010-11-26 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Israel Finkelstein |title=One God, One Cult, One Nation |editor=Reinhard G. Kratz and Hermann Spieckermann |publisher=De Gruyter |chapter=A Great United Monarchy? |year=2010 |url=http://isfn.skytech.co.il/articles/UM%20One%20God%20One%20Cult%20book.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928062456/http://isfn.skytech.co.il/articles/UM%20One%20God%20One%20Cult%20book.pdf |archive-date=28 September 2013 }}</ref>

When the [[Kingdom of Judah]] split from the larger [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Kingdom of Israel]] (which the Bible places near the end of the reign of Solomon, c. 930 BCE, though Finkelstein and others dispute the very existence of a unified monarchy to begin with<ref name="Finkelstein" />), Jerusalem became the capital of the Kingdom of Judah, while the Kingdom of Israel located its capital at [[Shechem]] in [[Samaria]]. [[Thomas L. Thompson]] argues that it only became a city and capable of acting as a state capital in the middle of the 7th century BCE.<ref>Thompson, Thomas L., 1999, ''The Bible in History: How Writers Create a Past'', Jonathan Cape, London, {{ISBN|978-0-224-03977-2}} p. 207</ref> However, Omer Sergi argues that recent archaeological discoveries at the City of David and the Ophel seem to indicate that Jerusalem was already a significant city by the Iron Age IIA.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Two Houses of Israel: State Formation and the Origins of Pan-Israelite Identity |last=Sergi |first=Omer |publisher=SBL Press |year=2023 |isbn=978-1-62837-345-5 |page=197 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4nLMEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA187}}</ref>

Precise absolute dates recently [[Radiocarbon dating|obtained from organic material]] show that Jerusalem was relatively densely inhabited during the 12th to 10th centuries BCE, and date the start of a major westward expansion of the city already to the 9th century BCE.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Radiocarbon chronology of Iron Age Jerusalem reveals calibration offsets and architectural developments |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |last1=Regev |first1=Johanna |date=2024-04-29 |issue=19 |volume=121 |article-number=e2321024121 |last2=Gadot |first2=Yuval |doi=10.1073/pnas.2321024121 |issn=0027-8424 |pmid=38683984 |last3=Uziel |first3=Joe |last4=Chalaf |first4=Ortal |last5=Shalev |first5=Yiftah |last6=Roth |first6=Helena |last7=Shalom |first7=Nitsan |last8=Szanton |first8=Nahshon |last9=Bocher |first9=Efrat |last10=Pearson |first10=Charlotte L. |last11=Brown |first11=David M. |last12=Mintz |first12=Eugenia |last13=Regev |first13=Lior |last14=Boaretto |first14=Elisabetta|doi-access=free |pmc=11087761 |bibcode=2024PNAS..12121024R }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=New carbon-dating techniques enable 'absolute chronology' of First Temple-era Jerusalem |newspaper=The Times of Israel |last=Fiske |first=Gavriel |date=30 April 2024 |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-team-unveils-carbon-dating-techniques-that-may-shore-up-jerusalem-chronology/ |access-date=18 December 2024 }}</ref>

Both the Bible and regional archaeological evidence suggest the region was politically unstable during the period 925–732 BCE. In 925 BCE, the region was invaded by Egyptian Pharaoh [[Sheshonk I]] of the [[Third Intermediate Period]], who is possibly the same as [[Shishak]], the first Pharaoh mentioned in the [[Bible]] who captured and pillaged Jerusalem. Around 75 years later, Jerusalem's forces were likely involved in an indecisive battle against the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire|Neo-Assyrian King]] [[Shalmaneser III]] in the [[Battle of Qarqar]]. According to the Bible, [[Jehoshaphat]] of Judah was allied to [[Ahab]] of the Kingdom of Israel at this time. The Bible records that shortly after this battle, Jerusalem was sacked by [[Philistine]]s, [[Arab]]s and [[Ethiopia]]ns, who looted King [[Jehoram of Judah|Jehoram's]] house and carried off all of his family except for his youngest son [[Ahaziah of Judah|Jehoahaz]].

Two decades later, most of Canaan including Jerusalem was conquered by [[Hazael]] of [[Aram-Damascus]]. According to the Bible, [[Jehoash of Judah]] gave all of Jerusalem's treasures as a tribute, but Hazael proceeded to destroy "all the princes of the people" in the city. And half a century later, the city was sacked by [[Jehoash of Israel]], who destroyed the walls and took [[Amaziah of Judah]] prisoner.

By the end of the First Temple Period, Jerusalem was the sole acting religious shrine in the kingdom and a centre of regular pilgrimage; a fact which archaeologists generally view as being corroborated by the evidence,{{Citation needed|reason="generally view" is quite broad|date=February 2011}} though there remained a more personal cult involving [[Asherah]] figures, which are found spread throughout the land right up to the end of this era.<ref name="Finkelstein">{{cite book |author=Israel Finkelstein & Neil Asher Silberman |year=2002 |title=The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-0-7432-2338-6}}</ref>

===Assyrian period===
{{see also|Assyrian Siege of Jerusalem}}
Jerusalem was the capital of the Kingdom of Judah for some 400 years. It had survived an [[Assyrian siege of Jerusalem|Assyrian siege in 701 BCE]] by [[Sennacherib]], unlike Samaria, which had fallen some 20 years previously. According to the Bible, this was a miraculous event in which an angel killed 185,000 men in Sennacherib's army. According to Sennacherib's own account preserved in the [[Sennacherib's Annals|Taylor prism]], an inscription contemporary with the event, the king of Judah, Hezekiah, was "shut up in the city like a caged bird" and eventually persuaded Sennacherib to leave by sending him "30 talents of gold and 800 talents of silver, and diverse treasures, a rich and immense booty".

===Babylonian period===
{{see also|Siege of Jerusalem (597 BC)|Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC)}}
The [[Siege of Jerusalem (597 BC)|siege of Jerusalem]] in 597&nbsp;BCE led to the city being overcome by the [[Babylonia]]ns, who then took the young King [[Jehoiachin]] into [[Babylonian captivity]], together with most of the aristocracy. [[Zedekiah]], who had been placed on the throne by [[Nebuchadnezzar II|Nebuchadnezzar]] (the Babylonian king), rebelled, and Nebuchadnezzar [[Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC)|recaptured the city]], killed Zedekiah's descendants in front of him, and plucked out Zedekiah's eyes so that that would be the last thing he ever saw. The Babylonians then took Zedekiah into captivity, along with prominent members of Judah. The Babylonians then burnt the temple, destroyed the city's walls, and appointed [[Gedaliah]] son of Achikam as governor of Judah. After 52 days of rule, Yishmael, son of Netaniah, a surviving descendant of Zedekiah, assassinated Gedaliah after encouragement by [[Baalis]], the king of [[Ammon]]. Some of the remaining population of Judah, fearing the vengeance of Nebuchadnezzar, fled to Egypt.

===Persian (Achaemenid) period===
{{multiple image
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 | footer = Judean silver [[Yehud coinage|Yehud coin]] ([[ma'ah]]) from the [[History of the Jews in the Land of Israel#Fall of the Kingdom of Judah|Persian era]] with an Aramaic inscription "יהד" (''Yehud'' "[[Judea]]") and a lily as a symbol of Jerusalem on the [[Obverse and reverse|reverse]]
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According to the Bible and perhaps corroborated by the [[Cyrus Cylinder]], after several decades of captivity in Babylon and the [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid]] conquest of Babylonia, [[Cyrus the Great|Cyrus&nbsp;II of Persia]] allowed the Jews to return to Judah and rebuild the temple. The books of [[Ezra–Nehemiah]] record that the construction of the [[Second Temple]] was finished in the sixth year of [[Darius the Great]] (516&nbsp;BCE), following which [[Artaxerxes&nbsp;I]] sent [[Ezra]] and then [[Nehemiah]] to rebuild the city's walls and to govern the [[Yehud Medinata|Yehud]] province within the [[Eber-Nari]] satrapy. These events represent the final chapter in the historical narrative of the [[Hebrew Bible]].<ref>{{cite book |title= The Biblical Period from Abraham to Ezra: An Historical Survey |last= Albright |first= William |author-link= William F. Albright |year= 1963 |publisher= Harpercollins College Div |isbn= 0-06-130102-7 |url= https://archive.org/details/biblicalperiodfr0000albr |url-access= registration }}</ref>

During this period, [[Aramaic]]-inscribed "[[Yehud coinage]]" were produced – these are believed to have been minted in or near Jerusalem, although none of the coins bear a mint mark.

==Classical antiquity==
{{Main|Jerusalem during the Second Temple Period}}

===Hellenistic period===
====Ptolemaic and Seleucid province====
When [[Alexander the Great]] conquered the [[Persian Empire]], Jerusalem and [[Judea]] fell under [[Greeks|Greek]] control and [[Hellenistic period|Hellenistic]] influence. After the [[Wars of the Diadochi|Wars of the Diadochoi]] following Alexander's death, Jerusalem and Judea fell under [[Ptolemaic dynasty|Ptolemaic]] control under [[Ptolemy&nbsp;I]] and continued minting Yehud coinage. In 198&nbsp;BCE, as a result of the [[Battle of Panium]], [[Ptolemy&nbsp;V]] lost Jerusalem and Judea to the [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucids]] under [[Antiochus III the Great|Antiochus the Great]].

Under the Seleucids many Jews had become [[Hellenized]] and with their assistance tried to Hellenize Jerusalem, eventually culminating in the 160s BCE in a rebellion led by [[Mattathias]] and his five sons: [[Simon Thassi|Simon]], Yochanan, [[Eleazar Avaran|Eleazar]], [[Jonathan Apphus|Jonathan]] and [[Judas Maccabeus]], also known as the [[Maccabees]]. After Mattathias died, Judas Maccabee took over as the revolt's leader, and in 164 BCE, he captured Jerusalem and restored temple worship, an event celebrated to this day in the Jewish festival of [[Hanukkah]].<ref>Jan Assmann: ''Martyrium, Gewalt, Unsterblichkeit. Die Ursprünge eines religiösen Syndroms.'' In: Jan-Heiner Tück (Hrsg.): ''Sterben für Gott – Töten für Gott? Religion, Martyrium und Gewalt.'' [Deutsch]. Herder Verlag, Freiburg i. Br. 2015, 122–147, hier: S. 136.</ref>{{sfn|Morkholm|2008|p=290}}

====Hasmonean period====
[[File:John Hyrcanus.jpg|thumb|[[Prutah]] of [[John Hyrcanus]] (134 to 104&nbsp;BCE) with the ancient Hebrew inscription "''Yehochanan Kohen Gadol Chaver Hayehudim''" ("Yehochanan the High Priest, ''Chaver'' of the Jews")]]

As a result of the [[Maccabean Revolt]], Jerusalem became the capital of the autonomous and eventually independent [[Hasmonean dynasty|Hasmonean]] state which lasted for over a century. After Judas' death, his brothers [[Jonathan Apphus]] and [[Simon Thassi]] were successful in creating and consolidating the state. They were succeeded by [[John Hyrcanus]], Simon's son, who won independence, enlarged Judea's borders, and began [[Hasmonean coinage|minting coins]]. Hasmonean Judea became a kingdom and continued to expand under his sons kings [[Aristobulus I]] and subsequently [[Alexander Jannaeus]]. When his widow Salome Alexandra died in 67 BCE her sons [[Hyrcanus II]] and [[Aristobulus II]] fought among themselves over who would succeed her. In order to resolve their dispute, the parties involved turned to Roman general [[Pompey]], who paved the way for a [[Roman Republic|Roman]] takeover of Judea.<ref>{{cite web |title=John Hyrcanus II |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Hyrcanus-II |website=www.britannica.com |date=18 March 2024 |publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica}}</ref>

Pompey supported Hyrcanus II over his brother Aristobulus II who then controlled Jerusalem, and the city was soon [[Siege of Jerusalem (63 BC)|under siege]]. Upon his victory, Pompey desecrated the Temple by entering the [[Holy of Holies]], which could only be done by the High Priest. Hyrcanus II was restored as High Priest, stripped of his royal title but recognized as an ethnarch in 47 BCE. Judea remained an autonomous province but still with a significant amount of independence. The last Hasmonean king was Aristobulus' son, Antigonus II Matityahu.

===Early Roman period===
In 37 BCE, [[Herod the Great]] captured Jerusalem after a [[Siege of Jerusalem (37 BC)|forty-day siege]], ending Hasmonean rule. Herod ruled the [[Iudaea Province|Province of Judea]] as a client-king of the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]], rebuilt the [[Second Temple]], more than doubled the size of the surrounding complex, and [[Herodian coinage|expanded the minting of coins]] to many denominations. The [[Temple Mount]] became the largest [[temenos]] (religious sanctuary) in the ancient world.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Feissel |first=Denis |title=Corpus Inscriptionum Iudaeae/Palaestinae: Volume 1 1/1: Jerusalem, Part 1: 1-704 |date=23 December 2010 |publisher=De Gruyter |others=Hannah M. Cotton, Werner Eck, Marfa Heimbach, Benjamin Isaac, Alla Kushnir-Stein, Haggai Misgav |isbn=978-3-11-174100-0 |location=Berlin |page=41 |oclc=840438627}}</ref> [[Pliny the Elder]], writing of Herod's achievements, called Jerusalem "the most famous by far of the Eastern cities and not only the cities of Judea." The [[Talmud]] comments that "He who has not seen the [[Temple of Herod]] has never seen a beautiful building in his life." And [[Tacitus]] wrote that "Jerusalem is the capital of the Jews. In it was a Temple possessing enormous riches."<ref>Kasher, Aryeh. [https://books.google.com/books?id=wCa-DjDJkT0C&dq=%22He+who+has+not+seen+the+Temple+of+Herod%22&pg=PA229 ''King Herod: a persecuted persecutor: a case study in psychohistory and psychobiography''], Walter de Gruyter, 2007, p. 229. {{ISBN|3-11-018964-X}}</ref>

Herod also built [[Caesarea Maritima]] which replaced Jerusalem as the capital of the [[Iudaea province|Roman province]].{{#tag:ref|"When Judea was converted into a Roman province in 6 CE, Jerusalem ceased to be the administrative capital of the country. The Romans moved the governmental residence and military headquarters to Caesarea. The centre of government was thus removed from Jerusalem, and the administration became increasingly based on inhabitants of the Hellenistic cities (Sebaste, Caesarea and others)."<ref>''A History of the Jewish People'', ed. by H. H. Ben-Sasson, 1976, p. 247.</ref>|group=Note}} In 6 CE, following Herod's death in 4 BCE, Judea and the city of Jerusalem came under direct Roman rule through Roman [[prefects]], [[procurator (Roman)|procurator]]s, and [[Legatus|legates]] (see [[List of Hasmonean and Herodian rulers]]). However, one of Herod's descendants was the last one to return to power as nominal king of [[Iudaea Province]]: [[Agrippa&nbsp;I]] (r. 41–44).

In the 1st century CE, Jerusalem became the birthplace of [[Early Christianity]]. According to the [[New Testament]], it is the location of the [[Crucifixion of Jesus|crucifixion]], [[Resurrection of Jesus|resurrection]] and [[Ascension of Jesus]] Christ (see also [[Jerusalem in Christianity]]). It was in Jerusalem that, according to the [[Acts of the Apostles]], the [[Apostles in the New Testament|Apostles of Christ]] received the [[Holy Spirit in Christianity|Holy Spirit]] at [[Pentecost]] and first began preaching the [[Gospel]] and proclaiming his resurrection. Jerusalem eventually became an [[early centers of Christianity|early center of Christianity]] and home to one of the five [[Pentarchy|Patriarchates]] of the [[Christian Church]]. After the [[East–West Schism|Great Schism]], it remained a part of the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]].

By the end of the Second Temple period, Jerusalem's size and population had reached a peak that would not be broken until the 20th century. There were about 70,000 to 100,000 people living in the city at that time, according to modern estimations.<ref name=":16">{{Cite book |last=McGing |first=Brian |title=Jews in the Hellenistic and Roman cities |date=2002 |publisher=Routledge |others=John R. Bartlett |isbn=978-0-203-44634-8 |location=London |pages=88–95 |chapter=Population and Proselytism: How many Jews were there in the ancient world? |oclc=52847163}}</ref>

=== Jewish–Roman Wars ===
[[File:Arch_of_Titus_Menorah.png|thumb|Inside wall from the [[Arch of Titus]], Rome, showing the triumph held in the city after the fall of Jerusalem. The [[Menorah (Temple)|Menorah]] from the [[Second Temple|Temple]] is seen being carried in the victory procession.]]

In 66&nbsp;CE, the Jewish population in the [[Roman province]] of [[Judaea (Roman province)|Judaea]] rebelled against the Roman Empire in what is now known as the [[First Jewish–Roman War]] or ''Great Revolt''. Jerusalem was then the center of Jewish rebel resistance. Following a [[Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE)|brutal five-month siege]], Roman legions under future emperor [[Titus]] reconquered and subsequently destroyed much of Jerusalem in 70&nbsp;CE.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Weksler-Bdolah |first=Shlomit |title=Aelia Capitolina – Jerusalem in the Roman period: in light of archaeological research |year=2019 |isbn=978-90-04-41707-6 |page=3 |publisher=BRILL |oclc=1170143447 |quote=The historical description is consistent with the archeological finds. Collapses of massive stones from the walls of the Temple Mount were exposed lying over the Herodian street running along the Western Wall of the Temple Mount. The residential buildings of the Ophel and the Upper City were destroyed by great fire. The large urban drainage channel and the Pool of Siloam in the Lower City silted up and ceased to function, and in many places the city walls collapsed. [...] Following the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE, a new era began in the city's history. The Herodian city was destroyed and a military camp of the Tenth Roman Legion established on part of the ruins. In around 130 CE, the Roman emperor Hadrian founded a new city in place of Herodian Jerusalem next to the military camp. He honored the city with the status of a colony and named it Aelia Capitolina and possibly also forbidding Jews from entering its boundaries}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last=Westwood |first=Ursula |date=2017-04-01 |title=A History of the Jewish War, AD 66–74 |journal=Journal of Jewish Studies |volume=68 |issue=1 |pages=189–193 |doi=10.18647/3311/jjs-2017 |issn=0022-2097}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Ben-Ami |first1=Doron |last2=Tchekhanovets |first2=Yana |date=2011 |title=The Lower City of Jerusalem on the Eve of Its Destruction, 70 CE: A View From Hanyon Givati |journal=Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research |volume=364 |pages=61–85 |doi=10.5615/bullamerschoorie.364.0061 |issn=0003-097X |s2cid=164199980}}</ref> Also the Second Temple was burnt and all that remained was the great external (retaining) walls supporting the esplanade on which the Temple had stood, a portion of which has become known as the [[Western Wall]]. Titus' victory is commemorated by the [[Arch of Titus]] in Rome. This victory gave the [[Flavian dynasty]] legitimacy to claim control over the empire. A [[Roman triumph|triumph]] was held in [[Rome]] to celebrate the fall of Jerusalem, and two [[triumphal arch]]es, including the well known [[Arch of Titus]], were built to commemorate it. The treasures looted from the Temple were put on display.<ref name=":7">{{Cite book |last=Maclean Rogers |first=Guy |title=For the Freedom of Zion: The Great Revolt of Jews against Romans, 66–74 CE |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2021 |isbn=978-0-300-26256-8 |location=New Haven and London |pages=3–5 |oclc=1294393934}}</ref>[[File:Barkokhba-silver-tetradrachm.jpg|thumb|[[Bar Kokhba Revolt coinage]], silver [[shekel]] with the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Jewish Temple]] facade and a rising star, surrounded by "[[Simon bar Kokhba|Shimon]]" ([[Obverse and reverse|obverse]]). The reverse shows a [[lulav]] and the words "To the freedom of Jerusalem".]]

Jerusalem was later re-founded and rebuilt as the [[Colonia (Roman)|Roman colony]] of [[Aelia Capitolina]]. Foreign cults were introduced and Jews were forbidden entry.<ref name="Schäfer2003">{{cite book |author=Peter Schäfer |url={{Google books |id=1TA-Fg4wBnUC |page=36 |plainurl=yes }} |title=The Bar Kokhba war reconsidered: new perspectives on the second Jewish revolt against Rome |publisher=Mohr Siebeck |year=2003 |isbn=978-3-16-148076-8 |pages=36– |access-date=4 December 2011}}</ref><ref name="erp-places">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Palestine: History |encyclopedia=The On-line Encyclopedia of the Roman Provinces |publisher=The University of South Dakota |url=http://www.usd.edu/erp/Palestine/history.htm |access-date=18 April 2007 |last=Lehmann |first=Clayton Miles |date=22 February 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080310053428/http://www.usd.edu/erp/Palestine/history.htm |archive-date=10 March 2008}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Cohen |first=Shaye J. D. |title=Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism: A Parallel History of their Origins and Early Development |publisher=Biblical Archaeology Society |year=1996 |editor=Hershel Shanks |location=Washington DC |page=196 |chapter=Judaism to Mishnah: 135–220 AD}}</ref> The construction of Aelia Capitolina is considered one of the proximate reasons for the eruption of the [[Bar Kokhba revolt]] in 132 CE.<ref name="Weksler-Bdolah2019">{{cite book |author=Shlomit Weksler-Bdolah |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DnnEDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA54 |title=Aelia Capitolina – Jerusalem in the Roman Period: In Light of Archaeological Research |publisher=Brill |year=2019 |isbn=978-90-04-41707-6 |pages=54–58}}</ref><ref name="Jacobson">{{cite journal |last=Jacobson |first=David |title=The Enigma of the Name Īliyā (= Aelia) for Jerusalem in Early Islam |url=https://www.academia.edu/38981188 |journal=Revision 4 |access-date=December 23, 2020}}</ref> Early victories allowed the Jews under the leadership of [[Simon bar Kokhba]] to establish an independent state over much of [[Judea]] for three years, but it's uncertain if they would also assert their control over Jerusalem. Archaeological research found no evidence for Bar Kokhba ever managing to hold the city.<ref name="EncJud">{{cite encyclopedia |year=2007 |title=Bar Kokhba |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Judaica |publisher=Thomson Gale |editor-last1=Berenbaum |editor-first1=Michael |edition=2 |series=Quoting from [[Shimon Gibson|Gibson, Shimon]]. ''Encyclopaedia Hebraica'' (2 ed.) |volume=3 |page=162 |isbn=978-0-02-865931-2 |editor-last2=Skolnik |editor-first2=Fred}}</ref> Hadrian responded with overwhelming force, putting down the rebellion, killing as many as a half million Jews, and resettling the city as a Roman ''[[Colonia (Roman)|colonia]]''. Jews were expelled from the area of Jerusalem,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bar |first=Doron |date=2005 |title=Rural Monasticism as a Key Element in the Christianization of Byzantine Palestine |journal=The Harvard Theological Review |volume=98 |issue=1 |pages=49–65 |doi=10.1017/S0017816005000854 |issn=0017-8160 |jstor=4125284 |s2cid=162644246 |quote=The phenomenon was most prominent in Judea, and can be explained by the demographic changes that this region underwent after the second Jewish revolt of 132-135 C.E. The expulsion of Jews from the area of Jerusalem following the suppression of the revolt, in combination with the penetration of pagan populations into the same region, created the conditions for the diffusion of Christians into that area during the fifth and sixth centuries. [...] This regional population, originally pagan and during the Byzantine period gradually adopting Christianity, was one of the main reasons that the monks chose to settle there. They erected their monasteries near local villages that during this period reached their climax in size and wealth, thus providing fertile ground for the planting of new ideas.}}</ref> and were forbidden to enter the city on the pain of death, except on the day of [[Tisha B'Av]] (the Ninth of [[Ab (month)|Av]]), the [[Ta'anit|fast day]] on which Jews mourn the destruction of both Temples.<ref>H.H. Ben-Sasson, ''A History of the Jewish People'', page 334: "Jews were forbidden to live in the city and were allowed to visit it only once a year, on the Ninth of Ab, to mourn on the ruins of their holy Temple."</ref>

== Late antiquity ==
===Late Roman period===
[[File:Madaba map.jpg|thumb|The [[Madaba Map]] depiction of 6th-century [[Jerusalem]] has the ''[[Cardo]] Maximus'', the town's main street, beginning at the northern gate (today's [[Damascus Gate]]), and traversing the city in a straight line south to "Nea Church".]]
{{Main|Aelia Capitolina}}
Aelia Capitolina of the Late Roman period was a [[Colonia (Roman)|Roman colony]], with all the typical institutions and symbols - a [[Roman Forum|forum]], and temples to the [[Religion in ancient Rome|Roman gods]]. Hadrian placed the city's main forum at the junction of the main [[Cardo]] and [[Decumanus Maximus|Decumanus]], now the location of the (smaller) [[Muristan]]. He also built a large temple to [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter Capitolinus]], which later became the site of the [[Church of the Holy Sepulchre]].<ref>[[Virgilio Canio Corbo|Virgilio Corbo]], ''The Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem'' (1981)</ref> The city had no walls, was protected by a light garrison of the [[Legio X Fretensis|Tenth Legion]]. For the next two centuries, the city remained a relatively unimportant pagan Roman town.

A Roman legionary tomb at [[Malha|Manahat]], the remains of Roman villas at Ein Yael and [[Ramat Rachel]], and the Tenth Legion's kilns found close to [[Givat Ram|Giv'at Ram]], all within the borders of modern-day Jerusalem, are all signs that the rural area surrounding Aelia Capitolina underwent a romanization process, with Roman citizens and Roman veterans settling in the area during the Late Roman period.<ref name="ZissuKlein">{{cite journal |last1=Zissu |first1=Boaz |author-link1=:he:בועז זיסו |last2=Klein |first2=Eitan |year=2011 |title=A Rock-Cut Burial Cave from the Roman Period at Beit Nattif, Judaean Foothills |url=http://lisa.biu.ac.il/files/lisa/shared/Zissu-Klein-IEJ_61-2011.pdf |journal=[[Israel Exploration Journal]] |volume=61 |issue=2 |pages=196–216 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140816223801/http://lisa.biu.ac.il/files/lisa/shared/Zissu-Klein-IEJ_61-2011.pdf |archive-date=2014-08-16 |access-date=2014-08-16}}</ref> Jews were still banned from the city throughout the remainder of its time as a [[Roman province]].

===Byzantine period===
{{main|Jerusalem during the Byzantine period|Byzantine Palestine}}
Following the Christianization of the Roman Empire, Jerusalem prospered as a hub of Christian worship. After allegedly seeing a vision of a cross in the sky in 312, [[Constantine the Great]] began to favor [[Constantine the Great and Christianity|Christianity]], signed the [[Edict of Milan]] legalizing the religion, and sent his mother, [[Helena, mother of Constantine I|Helena]], to Jerusalem to search for the tomb of Jesus. Helena traveled to Jerusalem on a pilgrimage, where she recognized the site where Jesus was crucified, buried, and raised from the dead. On the spot, the [[Church of the Holy Sepulchre]] was constructed and dedicated in 335 CE. Helena also claimed to have found the True Cross. Burial remains from the Byzantine period are exclusively Christian, suggesting that the population of Jerusalem in Byzantine times probably consisted only of Christians.<ref>Gideon Avni, {{Google books|id=ZLucAgAAQBAJ|page=144|title=The Byzantine-Islamic Transition in Palestine: An Archaeological Approach}}, Oxford University Press 2014 p. 144.</ref>[[File:Church of the Holy Sepulchre by Gerd Eichmann (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Church of the Holy Sepulchre]]: Jerusalem is generally considered the cradle of [[Christianity]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Beckles Willson |first=Rachel |title=Orientalism and Musical Mission: Palestine and the West |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-107-03656-7 |page=146 |quote=}}</ref>]]In the 5th century, the eastern continuation of the [[Roman Empire]], ruled from the recently renamed [[Constantinople]], maintained control of the city. Within the span of a few decades, Jerusalem shifted from Byzantine to [[Achaemenid Empire|Persian]] rule, then back to Roman-Byzantine dominion. Following [[Sassanid Empire|Sassanid]] [[Khosrau II]]'s early 7th century push through Syria, his generals [[Shahrbaraz]] and [[Shahin Vahmanzadegan|Shahin]] attacked Jerusalem aided by the Jews of [[Palaestina Prima]], who had risen up against the Byzantines.<ref name="Strategos2">{{Cite book |last=Conybeare |first=Frederick C. |title=The Capture of Jerusalem by the Persians in 614 AD |year=1910 |series=English Historical Review 25 |pages=502–17 |author-link=Frederick Cornwallis Conybeare}}</ref>
In the [[Sasanian conquest of Jerusalem|Siege of Jerusalem of 614]], after 21 days of relentless [[Siege|siege warfare]], Jerusalem was captured. Byzantine chronicles relate that the Sassanids and Jews slaughtered tens of thousands of Christians in the city, many at the [[Mamilla Pool]],<ref>[http://tourism.gov.il/Tourism_Euk/Articles/Attractions/Hidden+Treasures+in+Jerusalem.htm Hidden Treasures in Jerusalem] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106095244/http://tourism.gov.il/Tourism_Euk/Articles/Attractions/Hidden+Treasures+in+Jerusalem.htm|date=6 January 2017}}, the Jerusalem Tourism Authority</ref><ref>Jerusalem blessed, Jerusalem cursed: Jews, Christians, and Muslims in the Holy City from David's time to our own. By Thomas A. Idinopulos, I.R. Dee, 1991, p. 152</ref> and destroyed their monuments and churches, including the [[Church of the Holy Sepulchre]]. This episode has been the subject of much debate between historians.<ref>{{cite web |last=Horowitz |first=Elliot |title=Modern Historians and the Persian Conquest of Jerusalem in 614 |url=https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=96507514 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080526181012/http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=96507514 |archive-date=26 May 2008 |access-date=20 January 2011 |publisher=Jewish Social Studies}}</ref> The conquered city would remain in Sassanid hands for some fifteen years until the Byzantine emperor [[Heraclius]] reconquered it in 629.<ref>Rodney Aist, ''The Christian Topography of Early Islamic Jerusalem'', Brepols Publishers, 2009 p. 56: 'Persian control of Jerusalem lasted from 614 to 629'.</ref>

==Medieval period==
{{Main|Medieval Jerusalem}}

===Early Muslim period===
{{main|History of Jerusalem during the Early Muslim period}}

====Rashidun, Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates====
[[File:Jerusalem985-1052.jpg|thumbnail|right|Map of Jerusalem as it appeared in the years 958–1052, according to [[Arab]] [[geographer]]s such as [[al-Muqaddasi]]]]
[[File:Hereford Mapa Mundi.jpg|thumbnail|right|The [[Hereford]] ''Mapa Mundi'', depicting Jerusalem at the centre of the world]]

Jerusalem was one of the [[Arab]] [[Caliphate]]'s first conquests in 638 CE; according to Arab historians of the time, the [[Rashidun]] Caliph [[Umar ibn al-Khattab]] personally went to the city to receive its submission, cleaning out and praying at the [[Temple Mount]] in the process. Umar ibn al-Khattab allowed the Jews back into the city and freedom to live and worship after almost three centuries of banishment by the Romans and Byzantines.

Under the early centuries of Muslim rule, especially during the [[Umayyad]] (650–750) dynasty, the city prospered. Around 691–692 CE, the [[Dome of the Rock]] was built on the Temple Mount. Rather than a mosque, it is a shrine that enshrines the [[Foundation Stone]]. The [[Al-Aqsa Mosque]] was also built under Umayyad rule during the late 7th or early 8th century on the southern end of the compound, and was associated with a place of the same name mentioned in the Quran as a place visited by Muhammad during his [[Isra' and Mi'raj|Night Journey]]. Jerusalem is not mentioned by any of [[Names of Jerusalem|its names]] in the Quran, and the Qur'an does not mention the exact location of Al-Aqsa Mosque.<ref name="Khatib">{{cite journal |last=el-Khatib |first=Abdallah |date=1 May 2001 |title=Jerusalem in the Qur'ān |url=http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com/openurl.asp?genre=article&issn=1353-0194&volume=28&issue=1&spage=25 |journal=British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=25–53 |doi=10.1080/13530190120034549 |s2cid=159680405 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121209133352/http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com/openurl.asp?genre=article&issn=1353-0194&volume=28&issue=1&spage=25 |archive-date=9 December 2012 |access-date=17 November 2006|issn=1353-0194 |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name=":9">Khalek, N. (2011). ''Jerusalem in Medieval Islamic Tradition. Religion Compass, 5(10), 624–630.'' doi:10.1111/j.1749-8171.2011.00305.x. "One of the most pressing issues in both medieval and contemporary scholarship related to Jerusalem is weather the city is explicitly referenced in the text of the Qur'an. Sura 17, verse 1, which reads [...] has been variously interpreted as referring to the miraculous Night Journey and Ascension of Muhammad, events recorded in medieval sources and known as the isra and miraj. As we will see, this association is a rather late and even a contested one. [...] The earliest Muslim work on the Religious Merits of Jerusalem was the Fada'il Bayt al-Maqdis by al-Walid ibn Hammad al-Ramli (d. 912 CE), a text which is recoverable from later works. [...] He relates the significance of Jerusalem vis-a-vis the Jewish Temple, conflating 'a collage of biblical narratives' and comments pilgrimage to Jerusalem, a practice which was controversial in later Muslim periods."</ref> Some scholars contend that the connection between the Al-Aqsa Mosque referenced in the Quran and the Temple Mount in Jerusalem is the result of an Umayyad political agenda that aimed to rival the prestige of the [[Masjid al-Haram|Mecca sanctuary]], which was then ruled by their enemy, [[Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr]].<ref name=":8">{{Cite book |title=The Encyclopaedia of Islam |publisher=Brill |year=2006 |edition=New ed. 2006 |volume=7 |pages=97–105 |chapter=Miʿrād̲j̲ |quote=For this verse, tradition gives three interpretations: The oldest one, which disappears from the more recent commentaries, detects an allusion to Muhammad's Ascension to Heaven. This explanation interprets the expression al-masjid al-aksa, "the further place of worship" in the sense of "Heaven" and, in fact, in the older tradition isra is often used as synonymous with miradj (see Isl., vi, 14). The second explanation, the only one given in all the more modern commentaries, interprets masjid al-aksa as "Jerusalem" and this for no very apparent reason. It seems to have been an Umayyad device intended to further the glorification of Jerusalem as against that of the holy territory (cf. Goldziher, Muh. Stud., ii, 55-6; Isl, vi, 13 ff), then ruled by Abd Allah b. al-Zubayr. Al-Tabarl seems to reject it. He does not mention it in his History and seems rather to adopt the first explanation.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Silverman |first=Jonathan |date=6 May 2005 |title=The opposite of holiness |newspaper=Ynetnews |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3095122,00.html |url-status=live |access-date=17 November 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060912145223/http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3095122,00.html |archive-date=12 September 2006 |quote=<!--After the prophet died in June 632 a series of successors, or caliphs, assumed authority as Islam's leaders. Between 661 and 750 the Umayyad Dynasty held the Caliphate and ruled from Damascus. ''During the time they ruled, on account of various internal and external pressures, the Umayyads exerted enormous effort to elevate Jerusalem's status'', perhaps even to the level of Mecca ... the Palestinian historian A.L. Tibawi writes, that building an actual Al Aqsa Mosque "gave reality to the figurative name used in the Koran ..." As Pipes points out, moreover, "it had the hugely important effect of giving Jerusalem a place in the Koran post hoc which naturally imbued the city with a higher status in Islam." Which is another way of saying, before the Umayyads built Dome of the Rock and Al Aksa, Jerusalem had no status at all in Islam. Israeli scholar Izhak Hasson says: "construction of the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa mosque, the rituals instituted by the Umayyads on the Noble Sanctuary and the dissemination of Islamic-oriented Traditions regarding sanctity of the site, ''all point to the political motives which underlay the glorification of Jerusalem among the Muslims''." In other words the sanctification of Jerusalem in Islam is based on the Umayyad building program.-->}}</ref>

The [[Abbasid]] period (750–969) is the least documented of the early Muslim period in general. The Temple Mount area was the center of known building activity, with structures damaged in earthquakes being repaired.

Geographers [[Ibn Hawqal]] and [[al-Istakhri]] (10th century) describe Jerusalem as "the most fertile province of [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]]",{{Citation needed|date=November 2009}} while its native son, the geographer [[al-Muqaddasi]] (born 946) devoted many pages to its praises in his most famous work, ''The Best Divisions in the Knowledge of the Climes''. Under Muslim rule Jerusalem did not achieve the political or cultural status enjoyed by the capitals Damascus, Baghdad, Cairo etc. Al-Muqaddasi derives his name from the Arabic name for Jerusalem, ''Bayt al-Muqaddas'', which is linguistically equivalent to the Hebrew ''Beit Ha-Mikdash'', the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Holy House]].

====Fatimid period====
The early Arab period was also one of religious tolerance.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}} However, in the early 11th century, the Egyptian [[Fatimid Caliph]] [[Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah]] ordered the destruction of all churches. In 1033, there was [[1033 Jordan Rift Valley earthquake|another earthquake]], severely damaging the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The [[Fatimid]] caliph [[Ali az-Zahir]] rebuilt and completely renovated the mosque between 1034 and 1036. The number of naves was drastically reduced from fifteen to seven.<ref name="Nusseibeh">Ma'oz, Moshe and Nusseibeh, Sari. (2000). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=9evpVS_ackwC&dq=Al+Aqsa+Facade+Mustansir&pg=PA137 Jerusalem: Points of Friction, and Beyond]'' Brill. pp. 136–38. {{ISBN|90-411-8843-6}}.</ref> Az-Zahir built the four arcades of the central hall and aisle, which presently serve as the foundation of the mosque. The central aisle was double the width of the other aisles and had a large gable roof upon which the dome—made of wood—was constructed.<ref name="Elad">Elad, Amikam. (1995). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=CDz_yctbQVgC&dq=Aqsa+Mosque+construction&pg=PA29 Medieval Jerusalem and Islamic Worship Holy Places, Ceremonies, Pilgrimage]'' Brill, pp. 29–43. {{ISBN|90-04-10010-5}}.</ref> Persian geographer, [[Nasir Khusraw]] describes the Aqsa Mosque during a visit in 1047:

<blockquote>The Haram Area (Noble Sanctuary) lies in the eastern part of the [[Jerusalem|city]]; and through the [[bazaar]] of this (quarter) you enter the Area by a great and beautiful gateway ([[Dargah]]). ... After passing this gateway, you have on the right two great colonnades ([[Riwaq (arcade)|Riwaq]]), each of which has nine-and-twenty marble pillars, whose capitals and bases are of colored marbles, and the joints are set in lead. Above the pillars rise arches, that are constructed, of masonry, without mortar or cement, and each arch is constructed of no more than five or six blocks of stone. These colonnades lead down to near the [[Maqsurah]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://homepages.luc.edu/~avande1/jerusalem/sources/nasir.htm |title=The travels of Nasir-i-Khusrau to Jerusalem, 1047 C.E. |publisher=Homepages.luc.edu |access-date=13 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719231956/http://homepages.luc.edu/~avande1/jerusalem/sources/nasir.htm |archive-date=19 July 2011 }}</ref></blockquote>

====Seljuk period====
Under Az-Zahir's successor [[al-Mustansir Billah]], the Fatimid Caliphate entered a period of instability and decline, as factions fought for power in Cairo. In 1071, Jerusalem was captured by the Turkish warlord [[Atsiz ibn Uvaq]], who seized most of Syria and Palestine as part of the expansion of the [[Seljuk Turks]] throughout the Middle East. As the Turks were staunch Sunnis, they were opposed not only to the Fatimids, but also to the numerous Shia Muslims, who saw themselves removed from dominance after a century of Fatimid rule. In 1176, riots between Sunnis and Shiites in Jerusalem led to a massacre of the latter. Although the Christians of the city were left unmolested, and allowed access to the Christian holy sites, the wars with Byzantium and the general instability in Syria impeded the arrival pilgrims from Europe. The Seljuks also forbade the repair of any church, despite the damages suffered in the recent turmoils. There does not appear to have been a significant Jewish community in the city at this time.

In 1086, the Seljuk emir of [[Damascus]], [[Tutush I]], appointed [[Artuk Bey]] governor of Jerusalem. Artuk died in 1091, and his sons [[Sökmen (Artuqid)|Sökmen]] and [[Ilghazi]] succeeded him. In August 1098, while the Seljuks were distracted by the arrival of the [[First Crusade]] in Syria, the Fatimids under vizier [[al-Afdal Shahanshah]] appeared before the city and laid siege to it. After six weeks, the Seljuk garrison capitulated and was allowed to leave for Damascus and Diyar Bakr. The Fatimid takeover was followed by the expulsion of most of the Sunnis, in which many of them were also killed.

===Crusader/Ayyubid period===
{{main|History of Jerusalem during the Crusader period}}
The time span consisting of the 12th and 13th centuries is sometimes referred to as the medieval period, or the Middle Ages, in the history of Jerusalem.<ref name=SWB2011>{{cite book |last= Weksler-Bdolah |first= Shlomit |chapter= Early Islamic and Medieval City Walls of Jerusalem in Light of New Discoveries |year= 2011 |page= 417 |editor=[[Katharina Galor|Galor, Katharina]] |editor-last2= Avni |editor-first2= Gideon |title= Unearthing Jerusalem: 150 Years of Archaeological Research in the Holy City |publisher= Eisenbrauns |via= Offprint posted at academia.edu |url-access= registration |url= https://www.academia.edu/6858175 |access-date=7 January 2018}}</ref>

====First Crusader kingdom (1099–1187)====
[[File:Counquest of Jeusalem (1099).jpg|thumb|''Taking of Jerusalem by the Crusaders, 15th July 1099'', oil on canvas by [[Émile Signol]], 1847 (Palace of Versailles)]]
Fatimid control of Jerusalem ended when it was captured by [[First Crusade|Crusaders]] in July 1099. The capture was accompanied by a [[Siege of Jerusalem (1099)|massacre]] of almost all of the Muslim and Jewish inhabitants. Jerusalem became the capital of the [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]]. [[Godfrey of Bouillon]], was elected Lord of Jerusalem on 22 July 1099, but did not assume the royal crown and died a year later.<ref name=autogenerated2>Bréhier, Louis [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08361a.htm Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem (1099–1291)] Catholic Encyclopedia 1910, accessed 11 March 2008</ref> Barons offered the lordship of Jerusalem to Godfrey's brother [[Baldwin I of Jerusalem|Baldwin]], [[Count of Edessa]], who had himself crowned by the [[Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem|Patriarch]] [[Daimbert of Pisa|Daimbert]] on Christmas Day 1100 in the basilica of [[Bethlehem]].<ref name=autogenerated2 />

[[Baldwin I of Jerusalem]] (r. 1100–1118) reinstated the Roman-era ban on Jewish settlement in the city.<ref name=":023">{{Citation |last=Lieberman |first=Phillip I. |title=Demography and Migrations |date=2021 |work=The Cambridge History of Judaism: Volume 5: Jews in the Medieval Islamic World |volume=5 |pages=394–396 |editor-last=Lieberman |editor-first=Phillip I. |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-history-of-judaism/demography-and-migrations/3EA3A60AE2F74B7204619469704A4F46 |access-date=2025-07-14 |series=The Cambridge History of Judaism |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-51717-1}}</ref> Following the massacre of Jews during the conquest and the subsequent emigration of survivors, Jewish life in Jerusalem came to a near standstill during the 12th century, with almost no Jews remaining in the city.<ref name=":023" />

Christian settlers from the West set about rebuilding the principal shrines associated with the life of Christ. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was ambitiously rebuilt as a great Romanesque church, and Muslim shrines on the Temple Mount (the Dome of the Rock and the [[Qibli Mosque|Jami Al-Aqsa]]) were converted for Christian purposes. It is during this period of Frankish occupation that the Military Orders of the [[Knights Hospitaller]] and the [[Knights Templar]] have their beginnings. Both grew out of the need to protect and care for the great influx of pilgrims travelling to Jerusalem in the 12th century.

====Ayyubid control====
The Kingdom of Jerusalem lasted until 1291; however, Jerusalem itself was recaptured by [[Saladin]] in 1187 (see [[Siege of Jerusalem (1187)]]. The poet [[Yehuda Alharizi]] described Saladin as having called upon the Jews to return to the city, though no such proclamation is documented.<ref name=":023" /> Nevertheless, a small Jewish community re-emerged, consisting of local, Maghrebi, and "Frankish" Jews.<ref name=":023" /> According to [[Elijah Ba'al Shem of Chelm|Rabbi Elijah of Chelm]], [[German Jews]] lived in Jerusalem during the 11th century. The story is told that a German-speaking Jew saved the life of a young German man [[surname]]d Dolberger. Thus when the [[knight]]s of the First Crusade came to besiege Jerusalem, one of Dolberger's family members rescued Jews in Palestine and carried them back to the German city of [[Worms, Germany|Worms]] to repay the favor.<ref>''Seder ha-Dorot'', 1878, p. 252.</ref> Further evidence of German communities in the holy city comes in the form of [[Halakha|halakic]] questions sent from Germany to Jerusalem during the second half of the 11th century.<ref>Epstein, in ''Monatsschrift'', vol. xlvii, p. 344; [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=242&letter=J#928 ''Jerusalem: Under the Arabs''].</ref>

[[File:Tower of david jerusalem.jpg|thumb|Medieval [[Tower of David]] (''Migdal David'') in Jerusalem today]]

In 1173 [[Benjamin of Tudela]] visited Jerusalem. He described it as a small city full of [[Syriac Orthodox Church|Jacobite]]s, [[Armenians]], [[Greeks]], and [[Georgian people|Georgians]]. Two hundred Jews dwelt in a corner of the city under the [[Tower of David]]. In 1219 the walls of the city were razed by order of [[Al-Mu'azzam Isa|al-Mu'azzam]], the [[Ayyubid dynasty|Ayyubid]] [[sultan of Damascus]]. This rendered Jerusalem defenseless and dealt a heavy blow to the city's status. The Ayyubids destroyed the walls in expectation of ceding the city to the Crusaders as part of a peace treaty. This act also led to a new wave of Jewish flight, with many fleeing to Acre.<ref name=":023" /> In 1229, by treaty with [[Egypt]]'s ruler [[al-Kamil]], Jerusalem came into the hands of [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick&nbsp;II of Germany]]. A brief ban on Jewish residence returned.<ref name=":023" /> In 1239, after a ten-year truce expired, he began to rebuild the walls; these were again demolished by [[an-Nasir Da'ud]], the emir of [[Kerak]], in the same year.

In 1243 Jerusalem came again into the power of the Christians, and the walls were repaired. The [[Khwarazmian dynasty|Khwarezmian Empire]] took the city in 1244 and were in turn driven out by the Ayyubids in 1247. In 1260 the Mongols under [[Hulagu Khan]] engaged in [[Mongol raids into Palestine|raids into Palestine]]. It is unclear if the Mongols were ever in Jerusalem, as it was not seen as a settlement of strategic importance at the time. However, there are reports that some of the Jews that were in Jerusalem temporarily fled to neighboring villages.{{Citation needed|date=January 2008}}

===Mamluk period===
In 1250 a crisis within the Ayyubid state led to the rise of the Mamluks to power and a transition to the [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluk Sultanate]], which is divided between the [[Bahri dynasty|Bahri]] and [[Burji dynasty|Burji]] periods. The Ayyubids tried to hold on to power in Syria, but the [[Battle of Ain Jalut|Mongol invasion of 1260]] put an end to this. A Mamluk army defeated the Mongol incursion and in the aftermath [[Baibars|Baybars]], the true founder of the Mamluk state, emerged as ruler of Egypt, the Levant, and the [[Hejaz|Hijaz]].<ref name=":022" />{{Rp|54}} The Mamluks ruled over Palestine including Jerusalem from 1260 until 1516.<ref name=":24">{{Cite book|last=|first=|title=The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2009|isbn=978-0-19-530991-1|editor-last=M. Bloom|editor-first=Jonathan|location=|pages=|chapter=Jerusalem|editor-last2=S. Blair|editor-first2=Sheila}}</ref> In the decades after 1260 they also worked to eliminate the remaining Crusader states in the region. The last of these was defeated with the [[Siege of Acre (1291)|capture of Acre]] in 1291.<ref name=":022" />{{Rp|54}}

Jerusalem was a significant site of [[Mamluk architecture|Mamluk architectural]] patronage. The frequent building activity in the city during this period is evidenced by the 90 remaining structures that date from the 13th to 15th centuries.<ref name=":24" /> The types of structures built included [[madrasa]]s, libraries, [[Bimaristan|hospitals]], [[caravanserai]]s, fountains (or [[Sebil (fountain)|sabils]]), and public baths.<ref name=":24" /> Much of the building activity was concentrated around the edges of the Temple Mount or Haram al-Sharif.<ref name=":24" /> Old gates to the site lost importance and new gates were built,<ref name=":24" /> while significant parts of the northern and western porticos along the edge of the Temple Mount plaza were built or rebuilt in this period.<ref name=":022">{{Cite book|last=Burgoyne|first=Michael Hamilton|title=Mamluk Jerusalem: An Architectural Study|publisher=British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem by World of Islam Festival Trust|year=1987|isbn=978-0-905035-33-8}}</ref> [[Tankiz]], the Mamluk [[Emir|amir]] in charge of [[Syria (region)|Syria]] during the reign of [[al-Nasir Muhammad]], built a new market called ''Suq al-Qattatin'' (Cotton Market) in 1336–7, along with the gate known as ''Bab al-Qattanin'' (Cotton Gate), which gave access to the Temple Mount from this market.<ref name=":24" /><ref name=":022" /> The late Mamluk sultan [[Qaitbay|al-Ashraf Qaytbay]] also took interest in the city. He commissioned the building of the [[Madrasa Al-Ashrafiyya|Madrasa al-Ashrafiyya]], completed in 1482, and the nearby [[Fountain of Qayt Bay|Sabil of Qaytbay]], built shortly after in 1482; both were located on the Temple Mount.<ref name=":24" /><ref name=":022" /> Qaytbay's monuments were the last major Mamluk constructions in the city.<ref name=":022" />{{Rp|589–612}}

====Jewish presence====
[[Rabbinical Jewish]] tradition, based on a source of doubtful authenticity, holds that in 1267, the Jewish Catalan sage [[Nahmanides]] travelled to Jerusalem, where he established the [[Ramban Synagogue|synagogue much later named after him]],<ref name=Roth>{{cite book |author= Roth, Norman |chapter= Synagogues |editor= Roth, Norman |title= Medieval Jewish Civilization: An Encyclopedia |page= 622 |year= 2014 |publisher= Routledge |isbn= 978-1-136-77155-2 |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=8edQAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA622 |access-date= 27 July 2022}}</ref> today the second oldest active synagogue in Jerusalem, after that of the [[Karaite Jews]] built about 300 years earlier.{{dubious|Meaning what? Crusaders, at least at first, removed all non-Christian houses of worship from the city, so synagogues of all types would have been deserted. There had been older Rabbanite syn. too, so all one might be able to say is: the Karaite syn. is today active in a building raised for that purpose in the 9th c. "No continuity"is my point, as there was none with the Ramban Synagogue either.|date=July 2022}}{{citation needed|date=July 2022}} Scholars date the Ramban Synagogue to the 13th century or later.<ref name=Roth/>

====Latin presence====
[[File:View and Plan of Jerusalem Fac simile of a Woodout in the Liber Chronicarum Mundi large folio Nuremberg 1493.png|thumb|View and Plan of Jerusalem. A woodcut in the ''Liber Chronicarum Mundi'' (Nuremberg 1493).]]
The first provincial or superior of the Franciscan religious order, founded by [[Francis of Assisi]], was Brother Elia from [[Assisi]]. In the year 1219 the founder himself visited the region in order to preach the [[Gospel]] to the Muslims, seen as brothers and not enemies. The mission resulted in a meeting with the sultan of [[Egypt]], Malik al-Kamil, who was surprised by his unusual behaviour. The Franciscan Province of the East extended to Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, and the [[Holy Land]]. Before the taking over of [[Acre, Israel|Acre]] (on 18 May 1291), Franciscan friaries were present at Acre, [[Sidon]], [[Antioch]], [[Tripoli, Lebanon|Tripoli]], [[Jaffa]], and [[Jerusalem]].{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

From [[Cyprus]], where they took refuge at the end of the [[Latin Kingdom]], the Franciscans started planning a return to Jerusalem, given the good political relations between the Christian governments and the [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluk Sultanate]] of Egypt. Around the year 1333 the French friar [[Roger Guerin]] succeeded in buying the [[Cenacle]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/cenacle |title=cenacle - definition of cenacle by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia |publisher=Thefreedictionary.com |access-date=14 August 2012}}</ref> (the room where the Last Supper took place) on [[Mount Zion]] and some land to build a monastery nearby for the friars, using funds provided by the king and queen of [[Naples]]. With two papal bullae, Gratias Agimus and Nuper Carissimae, dated in [[Avignon]], 21 November 1342, [[Pope Clement VI]] approved and created the new entity which would be known as the Franciscan Custody of the [[Holy Land]] (Custodia Terrae Sanctae).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.custodia.org/ |title=Custodia Terræ Sanctæ |publisher=Custodia.org |access-date=14 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025062624/http://www.custodia.org/ |archive-date=25 October 2012 }}</ref>{{better source needed|date=May 2022}}

The friars, coming from any of the Order's provinces, under the jurisdiction of the father guardian (superior) of the monastery on Mount Zion, were present in Jerusalem, in the Cenacle, in the [[Church of the Holy Sepulchre]], and in the Basilica of the Nativity at Bethlehem. Their principal activity was to ensure liturgical life in these Christian sanctuaries and to give spiritual assistance to the pilgrims coming from the West, to European merchants resident or passing through the main cities of Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon, and to have a direct and authorized relation with [[Eastern Christianity|Eastern Christian]] communities.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

The monastery on Mount Zion was used by Brother Alberto da Sarteano for his papal mission for the union of the Oriental Christians ([[Greeks]], [[Copts]], and [[People of Ethiopia|Ethiopians]]) with [[Rome]] during the [[Council of Florence]] (1440). For the same reason the party guided by Brother Giovanni di Calabria halted in Jerusalem on his way to meet the Christian Negus of [[Ethiopia]] (1482).{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

In 1482, the visiting [[Dominican Order|Dominican]] priest Felix Fabri described Jerusalem as "a dwelling place of diverse nations of the world, and is, as it were, a collection of all manner of abominations". As "abominations" he listed [[Saracen]]s, [[Greek Orthodox Church|Greeks]], [[Syriac Christianity|Syria]]ns, [[Syriac Orthodox Church|Jacobites]], [[Ethiopia|Abyssinians]], [[Nestorian Christian|Nestorian]]s, Armenians, [[Brotherhood of Saint Gregory|Gregorian]]s, [[Maronites]], [[Oghuz Turks|Turcoman]]s, [[Bedouin]]s, [[Hashshashin|Assassin]]s, a possible [[Druze]] sect, Mamluks, and the Jews, whom he referred to "as the most cursed of all". However, a Christian pilgrim from Bohemia who had visited Jerusalem in 1491–1492 wrote in his book ''Journey to Jerusalem'': "Christians and Jews alike in Jerusalem lived in great poverty and in conditions of great deprivation, there are not many Christians but there are many Jews, and these the Muslims persecute in various ways. Christians and Jews go about in Jerusalem in clothes considered fit only for wandering beggars. The Muslims know that the Jews think and even say that this is the Holy Land which has been promised to them and that those Jews who dwell there are regarded as holy by Jews elsewhere, because, in spite of all the troubles and sorrows inflicted on them by the Muslims, they refuse to leave the Land."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://zionismontheweb.org/Palestinian_Israel_Conflict/?tag=felix-fabri |title=The Palestinian – Israel Conflict » Felix Fabri |publisher=Zionismontheweb.org |date=9 September 2008 |access-date=14 August 2012}}</ref> Only the [[Western Christianity|Latin Christian]]s "long with all their hearts for Christian princes to come and subject all the country to the authority of the Church of Rome".<ref>A. Stewart, [[Palestine Pilgrims Text Society]], Vol. 9–10, pp. 384–91</ref>

==Early modern period==

===Early Ottoman period===
In 1516, Jerusalem was [[Ottoman–Mamluk War (1516–17)|taken over]] by the [[Ottoman Empire]] along with all of [[Bilad ash-Sham|Greater Syria]] and enjoyed a period of renewal and peace under [[Suleiman the Magnificent]], including the construction of [[Walls of Jerusalem|the walls]], which define until today what is now known as the [[Old City of Jerusalem]]. The outline of the walls largely follows that of different older fortifications. The rule of Suleiman and subsequent Ottoman Sultans brought an age of "religious peace"; Jew, Christian and Muslim enjoyed freedom of religion and it was possible to find a synagogue, a church and a mosque on the same street. The city remained open to all religions, although the empire's faulty management after Suleiman the Magnificent meant economical stagnation.{{citation needed|date=July 2017}}

====Latin presence====
In 1551 the Friars were expelled by the Turks<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fmc-terrasanta.org/en/holy-land-custody-history.html |title=Holy Land Custody |publisher=Fmc-terrasanta.org |date=30 November 1992 |access-date=14 August 2012}}</ref> from the Cenacle and from their adjoining monastery. However, they were granted permission to purchase a Georgian monastery of nuns in the northwest quarter of the city, which became the new center of the Custody in Jerusalem and developed into the Latin Convent of Saint Saviour (known as Dayr al Ātīn دير الاتين
دير اللاتين Arabic)<ref>[http://hierotopy.ru/contents/NewJerusalems_16_Picirillo_RoleOfFranciscans_2009_EngRus.pdf Role of Franciscans]</ref>).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.custodia.org/default.asp?id=307 |title=The Custody |publisher=Custodia.org |access-date=14 August 2012 |archive-date=6 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121006072944/http://www.custodia.org/default.asp?id=307 }}</ref>

====Jewish presence====
In 1700, [[Judah HeHasid (Jerusalem)|Judah HeHasid]] led the largest organized group of Jewish immigrants to the [[Land of Israel]] in centuries. His disciples built the [[Hurva Synagogue]], which served as the main synagogue in Jerusalem from the 18th century until 1948, when it was destroyed by the [[Arab Legion]].{{#tag:ref|"This was not done in the heat of battle, but by official order. Explosives were placed carefully and thoughtfully under the springing points of the domes, of the great Hurva synagogue."<ref>Moshe Safdie (1989) ''Jerusalem: the Future of the Past'', Houghton Mifflin. {{ISBN|9780395353752}}. p.&nbsp;62.</ref>|group=Note}} The synagogue was rebuilt in 2010.

====Local vs. central power====
In response to the onerous taxation policies and military campaigns against the city's hinterland by the governor [[Mehmed Pasha Kurd Bayram]], the notables of Jerusalem, allied with the local peasantry and Bedouin, rebelled against the Ottomans in what became known as the [[Naqib al-Ashraf revolt]] and took control of the city in 1703–1705 before an imperial army reestablished Ottoman authority there. The consequent loss of power of Jerusalem's al-Wafa'iya al-Husayni family, which led the rebellion, paved the way for the [[al-Husayni family]] becoming one of the city's leading families.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Manna|first1=Adel|title=Eighteenth and Nineteenth-Century Rebellions in Palestine|journal=Journal of Palestine Studies|date=1994|volume=25|issue=1|pages=53–54|doi=10.1525/jps.1994.24.1.00p0048u}}</ref><ref name="PappePrologue">{{cite book |last= Pappe |first= Ilan |title= The Rise and Fall of a Palestinian Dynasty: The Husaynis 1700–1948 |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=WzshBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT266 |chapter= Prologue |year= 2010 |publisher= Saqi Books |isbn= 978-0-86356-801-5}}</ref> Thousands of Ottoman troops were garrisoned in Jerusalem in the aftermath of the revolt, which caused a decline in the local economy.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ze'evi|first1=Dror|title=Ab Ottoman Century: The District of Jerusalem in the 1600s|date=1996|publisher=State University of New York Press|isbn=978-1-4384-2475-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-zHZrYQU4icC&pg=PA84|page=84}}</ref>

==Late modern period==
===Late Ottoman period===
[[File:Jerusalem1883.jpg|thumb|1883 map of Jerusalem]]
{{see also|Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem|Departure from the walls}}
In the mid-19th century, with the decline of the Ottoman Empire, the city was a backwater, with a population that did not exceed 8,000.<ref name="Marx1854">Karl Marx, ''The Russian Menace to Europe'', published in the ''New York Daily Tribune'', July 11, 1854. Available online: [Marxists Internet Archive](https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1854/07/11.htm).</ref> Nevertheless, it was, even then, an extremely heterogeneous city because of its significance to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The population was divided into four major communities&nbsp;– Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Armenian&nbsp;– and the first three of these could be further divided into countless subgroups, based on precise religious affiliation or country of origin. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was meticulously partitioned between the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Greek Orthodox]], [[Catholic]], [[Armenian Apostolic Church|Armenian]], [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Coptic]], and [[Ethiopian Church|Ethiopian]] churches. Tensions between the groups ran so deep that the keys to the shrine and its doors were safeguarded by a pair of 'neutral' Muslim families.

In his 1854 article for the New York Daily Tribune, Karl Marx provided a detailed and somber account of the demographics and living conditions in Jerusalem during the mid-19th century. He observed the harsh realities faced by the city's diverse communities, particularly focusing on the plight of the Jewish population. Marx wrote:
{{blockquote|[...] the sedentary population of Jerusalem numbers about 15,500 souls, of whom 4000 are Mussulmans and 8000 Jews. The Mussulmans, forming about a fourth part of the whole, and consisting of Turks, Arabs and Moors, are, of course, the masters in every respect, as they are in no way affected by the weakness of their government at Constantinople. Nothing equals the misery and the sufferings of the Jews at Jerusalem, inhabiting the most filthy quarter of the town, called hareth-el-yahoud, in the quarter of dirt between the Zion and the Moriah, where their synagogues are situated – the constant objects of Mussulman oppression and intolerance, insulted by the Greeks, persecuted by the Latins, and living only upon the scanty alms transmitted by their European brethren.<ref name="Marx1854" />}}

At the time, the communities were located mainly around their primary shrines. The Muslim community surrounded the [[Haram ash-Sharif]] or Temple Mount (northeast), the Christians lived mainly in the vicinity of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (northwest), the Jews lived mostly on the slope above the Western Wall (southeast), and the Armenians lived near the [[Zion Gate]] (southwest). In no way was this division exclusive, though it did form the basis of the four quarters during the British Mandate (1917–1948).

Several changes with long-lasting effects on the city occurred in the mid-19th century: their implications can be felt today and lie at the root of the [[Israeli–Palestinian conflict]] over Jerusalem. The first of these was a trickle of Jewish immigrants from the Middle East and Eastern Europe. The first such immigrants were [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jews]]: some were elderly individuals, who came to die in Jerusalem and be buried on the Mount of Olives; others were students, who came with their families to await the coming of the [[Messiah]], adding new life to the local population. At the same time, European colonial powers began seeking toeholds in the city, hoping to expand their influence pending the imminent collapse of the Ottoman Empire. This was also an age of Christian religious revival, and many churches sent missionaries to [[proselytize]] among the Muslim and especially the Jewish populations, believing that this would speed the Second Coming of Christ. Finally, the combination of European colonialism and religious zeal was expressed in a new scientific interest in the biblical lands in general and Jerusalem in particular. Archeological and other expeditions made some spectacular finds, which increased interest in Jerusalem even more.{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}}

By the 1860s, the city, with an area of only {{Convert|1|km2}}, was already overcrowded. Thus began the construction of the New City, the part of Jerusalem outside of the city walls. Seeking new areas to stake their claims, the Russian Orthodox Church began constructing a complex, now known as the [[Russian Compound]], a few hundred meters from [[Jaffa Gate]]. The first attempt at residential settlement outside the walls of Jerusalem was undertaken by Jews, who built a small complex on the hill overlooking Zion Gate, across the [[Valley of Hinnom]]. This settlement, known as [[Mishkenot Sha'ananim]], eventually flourished and set the precedent for other new communities to spring up to the west and north of the Old City. In time, as the communities grew and connected geographically, this became known as the New City.

In 1882, around 150 Jewish families arrived in Jerusalem from [[Yemen]]. Initially they were not accepted by the Jews of Jerusalem and lived in destitute conditions supported by the Christians of the Swedish-American colony, who called them [[Tribe of Gad|Gadites]].<ref name="Ariel">{{Cite book| author = Tudor Parfitt | title = The road to redemption: the Jews of the Yemen, 1900–1950 | series = Brill's series in Jewish Studies, vol 17 | publisher = Brill Academic Publishers | year = 1997 | page = 53}}</ref> In 1884, the Yemenites moved into [[Silwan]].

{{wide image|Jerusalem panorama early twentieth century2.jpg|1000px|alt=Panorama of Jerusalem|Panorama of Jerusalem, early 20th century}}

===British Mandate period===
[[File:Ottoman surrender of Jerusalem restored.jpg|thumb|upright|The Ottoman surrender of Jerusalem to the British, 9 December 1917]]
The British were victorious over the Ottomans in the Middle East during [[World War&nbsp;I]] and [[Sinai and Palestine campaign|victory in Palestine]] was a step towards dismemberment of that empire. General Sir [[Edmund Allenby]], commander-in-chief of the [[Egyptian Expeditionary Force]], entered Jerusalem on foot out of respect for the Holy City, on 11 December 1917.<ref>{{cite book |last=Fromkin |first=David |author-link=David Fromkin |publisher=Owl Books e |edition=2nd reprinted |isbn=0-8050-6884-8 |date=1 September 2001 |title=[[A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East]] |pages=[https://archive.org/details/peacetoendallpea00from/page/312 312–13] }}</ref>

By the time General Allenby took Jerusalem from the Ottomans in 1917, the new city was a patchwork of neighborhoods and communities, each with a distinct ethnic character. This continued under British rule, as the New City of Jerusalem grew outside the old city walls, and the Old City of Jerusalem gradually emerged as little more than an impoverished older neighborhood. [[Sir Ronald Storrs]], the first British military governor of the city, issued a [[town planning]] order requiring new buildings in the city to be faced with [[sandstone]] and thus preserving some of the overall look of the city even as it grew.<ref name=elon>[[Amos Elon]], "Jerusalem: City of Mirrors". New York: Little, Brown 1989.</ref> The [[Pro-Jerusalem Society|Pro-Jerusalem Council]]<ref name=BibleSoc>{{cite journal |last= Rapaport |first= Raquel |title= The City of the Great Singer: C. R. Ashbee's Jerusalem |pages= 171-210 [see footnote 37 available online] |journal= Architectural History |publisher= Cambridge University Press |volume= 50 |year= 2007 |doi= 10.1017/S0066622X00002926 |s2cid= 195011405 }}</ref> played an important role in the outlook of the British-ruled city.

The British had to deal with a conflicting demand that was rooted in Ottoman rule. Agreements for the supply of water, electricity, and the construction of a tramway system—all under concessions granted by the Ottoman authorities—had been signed by the city of Jerusalem and a Greek citizen, Euripides Mavromatis, on 27 January 1914. Work under these concessions had not begun and, by the end of the war the British occupying forces refused to recognize their validity. Mavromatis claimed that his concessions overlapped with the Auja Concession that the government had awarded to Rutenberg in 1921 and that he had been deprived of his legal rights. The Mavromatis concession, in effect despite earlier British attempts to abolish it, covered Jerusalem and other localities (e.g., Bethlehem) within a radius of {{cvt|20|km|mi|0|abbr=in}} around the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.<ref>Shamir, Ronen (2013) Current Flow: The Electrification of Palestine. Stanford: Stanford University Press.</ref>

In 1922, the [[League of Nations]] at the [[Lausanne Conference of 1922–23|Conference of Lausanne]] entrusted the United Kingdom to [[Mandatory Palestine|administer]] [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], neighbouring [[Emirate of Transjordan|Transjordan]], and [[British Mandate of Mesopotamia|Iraq]] beyond it. From 1922 to 1948 the total population of the city rose from 52,000 to 165,000, comprising two-thirds Jews and one-third Arabs (Muslims and Christians).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://focusonjerusalem.com/jerusalempopchart.html |title=Chart of the population of Jerusalem |publisher=Focusonjerusalem.com |access-date=11 September 2010}}</ref> Relations between Arab Christians and Muslims and the growing Jewish population in Jerusalem deteriorated, resulting in recurring unrest. Jerusalem, in particular, was affected by the [[1920 Nebi Musa riots]] and [[1929 Palestine riots]]. Under the British, new garden suburbs were built in the western and northern parts of the city<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tamari |first=Salim |author-link=Salim Tamari |year=1999 |title=Jerusalem 1948: The Phantom City |journal=Jerusalem Quarterly File |issue=3 |page=12 |doi=10.70190/jq.I3.p12 |format=Reprint |url=https://www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/tamjer.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060909050148/http://www.library.cornell.edu/colldev/mideast/tamjer.htm |archive-date=9 September 2006 |access-date=2 February 2007}}</ref><ref name=BIUmandate>{{cite web |last=Eisenstadt |first=David |title=The British Mandate |work=Jerusalem: Life Throughout the Ages in a Holy City |publisher=Bar-Ilan University Ingeborg Rennert Center for Jerusalem Studies |date=26 August 2002 |access-date=10 February 2007 |url=http://www.biu.ac.il/JS/rennert/history_12.html |archive-date=16 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151216173540/http://www.biu.ac.il/JS/rennert/history_12.html }}</ref> and institutions of higher learning such as the [[Hebrew University of Jerusalem|Hebrew University]] were founded.<ref name=hujiHistory>{{cite web |title=History |publisher=The Hebrew University of Jerusalem |url=http://www.huji.ac.il/huji/eng/aboutHU_history_e.htm |access-date=18 March 2007}}</ref> Two important new institutions, the [[Hadassah Medical Center]] and [[Hebrew University]], were founded on Jerusalem's [[Mount Scopus]]. The level of violence continued to escalate throughout the 1930s and 1940s. In July 1946 members of the underground Zionist group [[Irgun]] blew up a part of the [[King David Hotel]], where the British forces were temporarily located, an act which led to the [[King David Hotel bombing|death of 91 civilians]].

On 29 November 1947, the [[United Nations General Assembly]] approved a [[1947 UN Partition Plan|plan]] which would partition [[Mandatory Palestine]] into two states: one Jewish and one Arab. Each state would be composed of three major sections, linked by extraterritorial crossroads, plus an Arab enclave at [[Jaffa, Israel|Jaffa]]. Expanded Jerusalem would fall under international control as a [[Corpus separatum (Jerusalem)|Corpus Separatum]].

<gallery class="center" mode="nolines" heights="150" widths="250">
File:Jewish legion hakotel 1917.jpg|[[Jewish Legion]] soldiers at the Western Wall after taking part in 1917 British conquest of Jerusalem
File:Image-Jerusalem Jaffa Gate-demolition.jpg|Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem during 1944 British demolition of recent construction obscuring the historic city walls
File:Jerusalem1947.png|Main residential areas of Jerusalem in 1947
File:Jerusalem boundary 1947.jpg|The Jerusalem boundary in 1947 and the proposed boundary of a [[Corpus separatum (Jerusalem)|Corpus Separatum]].
</gallery>

===War and partition between Israel and Jordan (1948–1967)===
====1948 war====
{{see also|Battle for Jerusalem}}
[[File:1948-Jordanian artillery shelling Jerusalem.jpg|thumb|Jordanian artillery shelling Jerusalem during the 1948 war]]
After partition, the fight for Jerusalem escalated, with heavy casualties among both fighters and civilians on the British, Jewish, and Arab sides. By the end of March 1948, just before the British withdrawal, and with the British increasingly reluctant to intervene, the roads to Jerusalem were cut off by Arab irregulars, placing the Jewish population of the city under siege. The siege was eventually broken, though massacres of civilians occurred on both sides,{{Citation needed|date=November 2010}} before the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]] began with the end of the British Mandate in May 1948.

The 1948 Arab–Israeli War led to massive displacement of Arab and Jewish populations. According to Benny Morris, due to mob and militia violence on both sides, 1,500 of the 3,500 (mostly ultra-Orthodox) Jews in the Old City evacuated to west Jerusalem as a unit.<ref name=autogenerated3>Benny Morris, ''The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, 1947–1949'', Revisited, Cambridge, 2004</ref> See also [[Jewish Quarter (Jerusalem)|Jewish Quarter]]. The comparatively populous Arab village of [[Lifta]] (today within the bounds of Jerusalem) was captured by Israeli troops in 1948, and its residents were loaded on trucks and taken to East Jerusalem.<ref name=autogenerated3 /><ref>Krystall, Nathan. "The De-Arabization of West Jerusalem 1947–50", ''Journal of Palestine Studies'' (27), Winter 1998</ref><ref>Al-Khalidi, Walid (ed.), ''All That Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948'', (Washington DC: 1992), "Lifta", pp. 300–03</ref> The villages of [[Deir Yassin]], [[Ein Karem]] and [[Malha|Malcha]], as well as neighborhoods to the west of Jerusalem's Old City such as [[Talbiya]], [[Katamon]], [[Baka, Jerusalem|Baka]], [[Mamilla]] and [[Abu Tor]], also came under Israeli control, and their residents were forcibly displaced;{{Citation needed|date=November 2010}} in some cases, as documented by Israeli historian [[Benny Morris]] and Palestinian historian [[Walid Khalidi]], among others, expulsions and massacres occurred.<ref name=autogenerated3 /><ref>Al-Khalidi, Walid (ed.), ''All that remains: the Palestinian villages occupied and depopulated by Israel in 1948'', (Washington DC: Institute for Palestine Studies, 1992)</ref>

In May 1948 the US Consul, [[Thomas C. Wasson]], was assassinated outside the YMCA building. Four months later the UN mediator, [[Folke Bernadotte|Count Bernadotte]], was also shot dead in the [[Katamon]] district of Jerusalem by the Jewish [[Lehi (militant group)|Lehi Group]].{{Citation needed|date=November 2010}}

===Division between Jordan and Israel (1948–1967)===
{{See also| Jordanian annexation of the West Bank |Islamization of East Jerusalem under Jordanian occupation}}
[[File:King Abdullah I of Jordan visiting the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, 1 June 1948.png|thumb|[[King Abdullah I]] of [[Jordan]] visiting the [[Dome of the Rock]] in [[Jerusalem]] in 1948.]]
The [[United Nations]] proposed, in its 1947 plan for the [[partition of Palestine]], for Jerusalem to be a city under international administration. The city was to be completely surrounded by the Arab state, with only a highway to connect international Jerusalem to the Jewish state.

Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Jerusalem was divided. The Western half of the New City became part of the newly formed state of Israel, while the eastern half, along with the Old City, was occupied by Jordan.
According to David Guinn,
<blockquote>Concerning Jewish holy sites, Jordan breached its commitment to appoint a committee to discuss, among other topics, free access of Jews to the holy sites under its jurisdiction, mainly in the Western Wall and the important Jewish cemetery on the [[Mount of Olives]], as provided in the Article 8.2 of the Cease Fire Agreement between it and Israel dated April 3, 1949. Jordan permitted the paving of new roads in the cemetery, and tombstones were used for paving in Jordanian army camps. The Cave of [[Simeon the Just|Shimon the Just]] became a stable.<ref name=autogenerated5>''Protecting Jerusalem's Holy Sites: A Strategy for Negotiating a Sacred Peace'' by David E. Guinn (Cambridge University Press, 2006) p.35 {{ISBN|0-521-86662-6}}</ref></blockquote>

According to [[Gerald M. Steinberg]], Jordan ransacked 57 ancient synagogues, libraries and centers of religious study in the Old City Of Jerusalem, 12 were totally and deliberately destroyed. Those that remained standing were defaced, used for housing of both people and animals. Appeals were made to the United Nations and in the international community to declare the Old City to be an 'open city' and stop this destruction, but there was no response.<ref>[http://faculty.biu.ac.il/~steing/conflict/oped/jerufact.htm Jerusalem&nbsp;– 1948, 1967, 2000: Setting the Record Straight] by Gerald M. Steinberg ([[Bar-Ilan University]])</ref> ''(See also [[Hurva Synagogue]])''

On 23 January 1950, the [[Knesset]] passed a resolution that stated Jerusalem was the capital of Israel.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1950/01/24/archives/jerusalem-named-capital-of-israel.html "Jerusalem Named Capital of Israel"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', January 24, 1950. Accessed November 23, 2025. "The Knesset (Parliament) passed a proclamation tonight establishing that Jerusalem had resumed the status of the capital of the Jewish state from the moment that the republic of Israel had been created."</ref>

===State of Israel===
[[File:Six Day War. Army chief chaplain rabbi Shlomo Goren, who is surrounded by IDF soldiers, blows the shofar in front of the western wall in Jerusalem. June 1967. D327-043.jpg|thumb|IDF chief rabbi [[Shlomo Goren]] blows a shofar in front of the Western Wall after its capture during the Six-Day War]]
[[East Jerusalem]] was captured by the [[Israel Defense Forces]] on June 7, 1967 during [[Six-Day War]]. On June 11, Israel demolished the seven centuries old [[Moroccan Quarter]]; along with it, it destroyed 14 religious buildings, including 2 mosques, 135 homes inhabited by 650 people.<ref>{{cite book|author=Anwar Abu Eisheh|title=Sacred Space in Israel and Palestine:Religion and Politics|page=78|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]}}</ref> Thereafter a public plaza was built in its place adjoining the Western Wall. However, the [[Waqf]] (Islamic trust) was granted administration of the Temple Mount and thereafter Jewish prayer on the site was prohibited by both Israeli and Waqf authorities.

Most Jews celebrated the event as a liberation of the city; a new Israeli holiday was created, [[Jerusalem Day]] (''Yom Yerushalayim''), and the most popular secular [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] song, "[[Jerusalem of Gold]]" (''Yerushalayim shel zahav''), became popular in celebration. Many large state gatherings of the [[State of Israel]] take place at the Western Wall today, including the swearing-in of various Israel army officers units, national ceremonies such as memorial services for fallen Israeli soldiers on ''[[Yom Hazikaron]]'', huge celebrations on ''[[Yom Ha'atzmaut]]'' (Israel Independence Day), huge gatherings of tens of thousands on [[Jewish religious holidays]], and ongoing daily prayers by regular attendees. The Western Wall has become a major tourist destination spot.

Under Israeli control, members of all religions are largely granted access to their holy sites. The major exceptions being security limitations placed on some Arabs from the [[West Bank]] and [[Gaza Strip]] from accessing holy sites due to their inadmissibility to Jerusalem, as well as limitations on Jews from visiting the Temple Mount due to both politically motivated restrictions (where they are allowed to walk on the Mount in small groups, but are forbidden to pray or study while there) and religious edicts that forbid Jews from trespassing on what may be the site of the Holy of the Holies. Concerns have been raised about possible attacks on the al-Aqsa Mosque after a serious [[Al-Aqsa mosque fire|arson attack on the mosque]] in 1969 (started by [[Denis Michael Rohan]], an Australian fundamentalist Christian found by the court to be insane). Riots broke out following the opening of an exit in the [[Muslim Quarter (Jerusalem)|Arab Quarter]] for the [[Western Wall Tunnel]] on the instructions of the Israeli Prime Minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]], which prior Prime Minister [[Shimon Peres]] had instructed to be put on hold for the sake of peace (stating "it has waited for over 1000 years, it could wait a few more").

Conversely, Israeli and other Jews have shown concerns over excavations being done by the Waqf on the Temple Mount that could harm Temple relics, particularly excavations to the north of [[Solomon's Stables]] that were designed to create an [[emergency exit]] for them (having been pressured to do so by Israeli authorities).<ref>Temple Mount destruction stirred archaeologist to action, 8 February 2005 | by Michael McCormack, Baptist Press {{cite web|url=http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID%3D20094 |title=Temple Mount destruction stirred archaeologist to action - Baptist Press |access-date=2016-02-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140726151231/http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?Id=20094 |archive-date=26 July 2014 }}</ref> Some Jewish sources allege that the Waqf's excavations in Solomon's Stables also seriously harmed the [[Southern Wall]]; however an earthquake in 2004 that damaged the eastern wall could also be to blame.

The status of East Jerusalem remains a [[International law and the Arab–Israeli conflict#Jerusalem|highly controversial issue]]. The international community does not recognize the annexation of the eastern part of the city, and most countries maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv. In May 2018 The United States and Guatemala moved the embassies to Jerusalem.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/17/after-us-embassy-move-to-jerusalem-more-countries-follow-its-lead.html|title=After US embassy makes controversial move to Jerusalem, more countries follow its lead|first=Ashley|last=Turner|date=17 May 2018|website=CNBC}}</ref> The [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 478]] declared that the Knesset's 1980 "[[Jerusalem Law]]" declaring Jerusalem as Israel's "eternal and indivisible" capital was "null and void and must be rescinded forthwith". This resolution advised member states to withdraw their diplomatic representation from the city as a punitive measure. The council has also condemned Israeli settlement in territories captured in 1967, including East Jerusalem (see UNSCR [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 452|452]], [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 465|465]] and [[UN Security Council Resolution 471|741]]).

Since Israel gained control over East Jerusalem in 1967, Jewish settler organizations have sought to establish a Jewish presence in neighborhoods such as [[Silwan]].<ref>[http://domino.un.org/unispal.NSF/3822b5e39951876a85256b6e0058a478/44ddc2496c28e0af052567f400544c98!OpenDocument "Letter dated October 16, 1987, from the Permanent Representative of Jordan to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General"]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}} UN General Assembly Security Council</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mathaba.net/0_index.shtml?x=591356|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120908060351/http://www.mathaba.net/0_index.shtml?x=591356|url-status=usurped|archive-date=2012-09-08|title=Elad in Silwan: Settlers, Archaeologists and Dispossession|work=mathaba.net}}</ref> In the 1980s, ''Haaretz'' reports, the Housing Ministry "then under Ariel Sharon, worked hard to seize control of property in the Old City and in the adjacent neighborhood of Silwan by declaring them absentee property. The suspicion arose that some of the transactions were not legal; an examination committee&nbsp;... found numerous flaws." In particular, affidavits claiming that Arab homes in the area were [[Land and property laws in Israel|absentee properties]], filed by Jewish organizations, were accepted by the Custodian without any site visits or other follow-up on the claims.<ref>Meron Rapoport.[https://news.haaretz.co.il/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=530047&contrassID=1 Land lords] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220142640/http://news.haaretz.co.il/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=530047&contrassID=1 |date=20 December 2008}}; ''Haaretz'', 20 January 2005</ref> ElAd, a settlement organization<ref>Yigal Bronner. [https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2008/may/01/archaeologistsforhire "Archaeologists for hire: A Jewish settler organisation is using archaeology to further its political agenda and oust Palestinians from their homes"]; ''The Guardian,'' 1 May 2008</ref><ref>Ori Kashti and Meron Rapoport.[https://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/944951.html "Settler group refuses to vacate land slated for school for the disabled"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100305150350/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/944951.html |date=5 March 2010 }}; ''Haaretz'', 15 January 2008</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://otherisrael.home.igc.org/silwan.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080708204843/http://otherisrael.home.igc.org/silwan.html|title=''The Other Israel:'' America-Israel Council for Israeli-Palestinian Peace newsletter|archive-date=8 July 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2008/feb/26/diggingintotrouble|title=Digging into trouble|author=Seth Freedman|work=The Guardian|date=26 February 2008 }}</ref> which ''Haaretz'' says promotes the "[[Judaization]]" of [[Judaization of Jerusalem|East Jerusalem]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/926322.html|title=Group 'Judaizing' East Jerusalem accused of withholding donation sources|date=21 November 2007|work=Haaretz|access-date=17 July 2008|archive-date=4 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090104123711/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/926322.html}}</ref> and the [[Ateret Cohanim]] organization, are working to increase Jewish settlement in Silwan in cooperation with the Committee for the Renewal of the Yemenite Village in Shiloah.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=411060|title=11 Jewish families move into J'lem neighborhood of Silwan|date=1 April 2004|work=Haaretz|access-date=17 July 2008|archive-date=16 September 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090916102252/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=411060}}</ref>

See [[Jewish Quarter (Jerusalem)]].

==Historiography==
{{see also|Nationalist historiography}}
Given the city's central position in [[Israeli nationalism]] and [[Palestinian nationalism]], the selectivity required to summarize 5,000 years of inhabited history is often influenced by ideological bias or background.<ref name="bishara">{{cite web |url=http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2010/995/focus.htm |title=A brief note on Jerusalem |author=[[Azmi Bishara]] |access-date=22 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205220744/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2010/995/focus.htm |archive-date=5 December 2010 }}</ref> For example, the Jewish periods of the city's history are important to Israeli nationalists, whose discourse states that modern [[Jews]] originate and descend from the [[Israelites]],{{#tag:ref|"No city in the world, not even Athens or Rome, ever played as great a role in the life of a nation for so long a time, as Jerusalem has done in the life of the Jewish people."<ref>[[David Ben-Gurion]], 1947</ref>|group=Note}}{{#tag:ref|"For three thousand years, Jerusalem has been the center of Jewish hope and longing. No other city has played such a dominant role in the history, culture, religion and consciousness of a people as has Jerusalem in the life of Jewry and Judaism. Throughout centuries of exile, Jerusalem remained alive in the hearts of Jews everywhere as the focal point of Jewish history, the symbol of ancient glory, spiritual fulfillment and modern renewal. This heart and soul of the Jewish people engenders the thought that if you want one simple word to symbolize all of Jewish history, that word would be 'Jerusalem.'"<ref>{{cite book |author=[[Teddy Kollek]] |year=1990 |title=Jerusalem |series=Policy Papers |volume=22 |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Washington Institute For Near East Policy |isbn=978-0-944029-07-7 |pages=19–20}}</ref>|group=Note}} while the [[Islamic]] periods of the city's history are important to [[Palestinian nationalists]], whose [[discourse]] suggests that modern [[Palestinians]] descend from all the different peoples who have lived in the region.{{#tag:ref|"Throughout history a great diversity of peoples has moved into the region and made Palestine their homeland: [[Canaanites]], [[Jebusites]], [[Philistines]] from [[Crete]], Anatolian and [[Lydia]]n Greeks, [[Hebrews]], [[Amorites]], [[Edomites]], [[Nabateans]], [[Arameans]], [[Roman empire|Romans]], Arabs, and European [[Crusades|crusaders]], to name a few. Each of them appropriated different regions that overlapped in time and competed for sovereignty and land. Others, such as [[Ancient Egyptians]], [[Hittites]], [[Persian Empire|Persians]], [[Babylonians]], and [[Mongols]], were historical 'events' whose successive occupations were as ravaging as the effects of major earthquakes&nbsp;... Like shooting stars, the various cultures shine for a brief moment before they fade out of official historical and cultural records of Palestine. The people, however, survive. In their customs and manners, fossils of these ancient civilizations survived until modernity – albeit modernity camouflaged under the veneer of Islam and [[Arabic culture]]."<ref>Ali Qleibo, Palestinian anthropologist</ref>|group=Note}}{{#tag:ref|"(With reference to Palestinians in [[Ottoman empire|Ottoman]] times) Although proud of their [[Arab]] heritage and ancestry, the [[Palestinians]] considered themselves to be descended not only from Arab conquerors of the 7th century but also from [[indigenous peoples]] who had lived in the country since time immemorial, including the ancient [[Hebrews]] and the [[Canaanites]] before them. Acutely aware of the distinctiveness of Palestinian history, the Palestinians saw themselves as the heirs of its rich associations."<ref>[[Walid Khalidi]], 1984, ''Before Their Diaspora: A Photographic History of the Palestinians, 1876–1948''. Institute for Palestine Studies</ref>|group=Note}} As a result, both sides claim the history of the city has been politicized by the other in order to strengthen their relative claims to the city,<ref name="bishara" /><ref>{{cite web |url= http://hnn.us/articles/7257.html |title= How Jews and Arabs Use (and Misuse) the History of Jerusalem to Score Points |author=[[Eric H. Cline]] |date= 8 October 2004 |access-date=22 September 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.mythsandfacts.com/conflict/3/jerusalem.pdf |title= One Nation's Capital Throughout History |author= Eli E. Hertz |access-date= 22 September 2010 |archive-date= 29 January 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110129015627/http://www.mythsandfacts.com/Conflict/3/Jerusalem.pdf |url-status= usurped }}</ref> and that this is borne out by the different focuses the different writers place on the various events and eras in the city's history.

==Graphical overview of Jerusalem's historical periods (by rulers)==
{{Graphical Overview of Jerusalem's Historical Periods}}

==See also==
{{portal|Israel}}
*[[History of ancient Israel and Judah]]
*[[History of Israel]]
*[[History of Palestine]]
*[[Timeline of Jerusalem]]

==References==
===Notes===
{{reflist|group=Note}}

===Citations===
{{reflist|24em}}

==Sources==
* [[Armstrong, Karen]] (1996). ''Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths''. Random House. {{ISBN|0-679-43596-4}}.
* {{cite book |last= Morkholm |first= Otto |chapter= Antiochus IV |pages= 278–291 |title= The Cambridge History of Judaism: Volume 2, The Hellenistic Age |editor1= William David Davies |editor2= Louis Finkelstein |year= 2008 |publisher= Cambridge University Press |isbn= 978-0-521-21929-7 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Pa75TjBSRkwC}}

==Further reading==
* Avci, Yasemin, [[Vincent Lemire]], and Falestin Naili. "Publishing Jerusalem's ottoman municipal archives (1892-1917): a turning point for the city's historiography." ''Jerusalem Quarterly'' 60 (2014): 110+. [https://www.palestine-studies.org/sites/default/files/jq-articles/JQ%2060_Publishing%20Jerusalem.pdf online]
* Bieberstein, Klaus; Bloedhorn, Hanswulf (1994). ''Jerusalem. Grundzüge der Baugeschichte vom Chalkolithikum bis zur Frühzeit der osmanischen Herrschaft'' [Jerusalem. Outline of the architectural history from the Chalcolithic to the early period of Ottoman rule]. 3 volumes. Wiesbaden: Ludwig Reichert, {{ISBN|3-88226-671-6}} (with catalogue of archaeological findspots).
* Emerson, Charles. ''1913: In Search of the World Before the Great War'' (2013) compares Jerusalem to 20 major world cities; pp 325–46.
* Lemire, Vincent. ''Jerusalem 1900: The Holy City in the Age of Possibilities'' (U of Chicago Press, 2017).
* Mazza, Roberto. ''Jerusalem from the Ottomans to the British'' (2009)
* Millis, Joseph. ''Jerusalem: The Illustrated History of the Holy City'' (2012) [https://www.amazon.com/Jerusalem-Illustrated-History-Holy-City/dp/0233003606/  excerpt]
* Montefiore, Simon Sebag. ''Jerusalem: The Biography'' (2012) [https://www.amazon.com/Jerusalem-Biography-Simon-Sebag-Montefiore/dp/0307280500/ excerpt]

==External links==
{{commons category|History of Jerusalem}}
*{{CathEncy|wstitle=Jerusalem (Before 71 CE)}}
*[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08355a.htm Jerusalem (71–1099)]&nbsp;– Catholic Encyclopedia article
*[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08361a.htm Jerusalem, Latin Kingdom of (1099–1291)]&nbsp;– Catholic Encyclopedia article
*[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08364a.htm Jerusalem (After 1291)]&nbsp;– Catholic Encyclopedia article
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20061126115827/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/11/061121_jerusalem.html 4,000-year-old cemetery uncovered in Jerusalem (8 November 2006)]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070208160016/http://members.verizon.net/vze3xycv/Jerusalem/conflictsum.htm Jerusalem Through Coins]

{{Ancient states and regions of the Levant}}

[[Category:History of Jerusalem| ]]