Islamic Jerusalem

The end of Byzantine Jerusalem came about when the Sasanians, which was the last pre-Islamic empire, took and reigned Palestine and Jerusalem during 614 to 628 BC. In 614, Jews were allowed to resettle in Jerusalem for the first time since end of Bar-Kokhba Revolt. However, in 628, the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius retook Jerusalem and allowed massacres of Jews in Jerusalem. In 638, Caliph Umar conquered Jerusalem and claimed Temple Mount for Islam. In written agreement with the Christian community he did not allow Jewish settlement. He later allowed Jews to move back into the city, and the Jewish population steadily grew.

The basic Islamic hierarchy started with Muhammad as the founder of the religion and the messenger of the Islamic god. Below were the caliphs, which were established to lead the Islamic community. The first three caliphs were Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman. After Uthman, the Islamic community was split into two divisions, the Mu’awiya and Ali. Supporters of Mu’awiya came to be known as “The People of Tradition (Sunna) and the Community” and very tradition-based. Supporters of Ali formed the “Shi’atu Ali” and very kinship based.  

The five “pillars” of Islam: 1)Shahada: “Testimony” or “witness” in which one recites the Muslim profession of faith. 2)Salat: Prayer five times a day (at the appointed times) towards Mecca. 3)Zakat: Almsgiving to the needy. 4)Sawm: Fasting in the month of Ramadan, in which the Qu’ran was first revealed. 5)Hajj: Making pilgrimage to Mecca once in one’s lifetime.

The Umayyad Dynasty ruled from Damascus during 638 to 750 BC. Caliph Umar built a wooden Mosque. Abd al-Malik built the Dome of the Rock in 691 BC to divert pilgrimage from Mecca to Jerusalem. He also improved road network that linked Jerusalem with other parts of the country.

Byzantine Jerusalem

Byxantine JerusalemThis is the chronological framework of Jerusalem during this period. The Romans rule Jerusalem from 63 BCE to 614 CE, and they rename Jerusalem as Aelia Capitolina. Then, it begins the Byzantine Jerusalem from 312 to 637 CE. The Persians capture Jerusalem in 614 CE. In 638 CE, Jerusalem surrenders to Arabs.

During the Byzantine period, the Temple has decreasing influence in Jerusalem, because Jesus keeps on making predictions about the destruction of the Temple. Jesus and his apostles promote the spiritual nature of the Temple. Christianity has been very active in Jerusalem, and it has been gaining influence in the community of the non-Jews. This concept of a spiritual Jerusalem is very different from traditional religion, which usually involves taking a holy sacrifice and sacrifing it at the Temple or mountain. Christianity revolutionizes the view of religion by having people accept Jesus as the spiritualized and internalized body of the Temple. Overall, Jerusalem is important to Christianity because that is where Jesus was said to have been crucified, buried, and resurrected.

In 285 CE, Emperor Diocletian splits administration of Roman Empire between West and East. Constantine the Great comes into power because of the split in power. Constantine rules from 312 to 337 CE. The Edict of Milan legalizes Christianity. His mother, Helena, also brings rise to Christianity by finding the Church of Nativity and Church of the Ascension.

Jerusalem in Revolt

Pompey conquered Jerusalem in 63 BCE and began the Roman rule from 63 BCE to 614 CE. There were two Jewish revolts. The first Jewish revolt, also known as the “Great Revolt,” went from 66 to 73 CE. The second revolt, known as the “Bar Kokhba Revolt,” went from 132 to 135 CE. After the failure of the two revolts, Jerusalem ceased to be Jerusalem for a while and became Aelia Capitolina.

Some sources for the first revolt came from Flavius Josephus, Tacitus, and some archaeological evidences. Josephus, in the Antiquities of the Jews dated to 80 CE, tried to explained the revolts as resulting from zealot, or corrupt Roman governors, or religious infidelity, or eschatological expectations, or social polarization, or deteriorating relationships with the gentile population. Tacitus explained the revolts as arising from messianism and also from an inept administration. After Herod died in 4 BCE, his kingdom was divided among three of his sons, whose powers were much more limited. His son, Archelaus, became ethnarch of Judea. He was a very ineffective ruler, thus he was recalled to Rome and sent into exile in 6 CE. His second son, Herod Antipas, became tetrarch of Perea and Galilee. He ruled from 4 BCE until his exile in 39 CE. His third son, Herod Philip, became tetrarch of Iturea and Trachonitis, northwest of the Sea of Galilee. He rued from 4 BCE until his death in 34 CE. Only Herod Philip put human images on his coins, and he got away with it because the place the he ruled was far away from conservative Jews. In the end, the Herodian rulers were gradually replaced by Roman procurators.

Pontius Pilate was the only Roman governor of Judea mentioned in the Gospels. He was governor from 26 to 36/7 CE. He was ineffective, and he provoked the Jews. He was the one that tried Jesus and ordered his execution. He was recalled to Rome in 36/7 CE. Roman governors in Jerusalem during 6 to 66 CE were inexperienced and inept, which caused Jewish nationalism to rise.

Roman Jerusalem

Roman rule in Palestine began in 63 BCE. The fight between the Pharisees and the Sadducees were so intense that Pompey, the Roman general, didn’t have to do much to besiege Jerusalem and annex it for Rome. During 63 BCE, Pompey assumed control of Jerusalem. He appointed Hyrcanus as “ethnarch,” the ruler of the ethnicity or people. He also chose an Idumean man named Antipater to be installed as procurator and his sons as local rulers Jerusalem. Pompey chose a family from Idumea because they would be sympathetic to the Roman rule, since Idumeans were only half Jewish because they were forcefully circumcised by the Hasmoneans.

Herod the Great rose to power when he expelled the Parthians and became King of Rome and Judah. In 37 BCE, he got Jerusalem from Parthians after siege. Herod was from Idumea, so he was superficially “Jewish.” His knowledge of Jewish tradition enabled him to rule without provoking the Jews to rebel. Herod was very sensitive to his Jewish subjects. For examples, coins of Herod the Great had no pagan images. He did not defile the Temple when besieging Jerusalem, and he allowed the Jews to select their High Priest. All in all, he was a puppet king for the Romans. He terrorized the Jews, and he was a successful brutal dictator.

Hellenistic Jerusalem

There were three groups of Jews during the Hellenistic Period: the Jews that stayed behind in Babylon, the Jews that came back to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple, and the Jews that were left behind in Jerusalem during the exile. There were few sources during this period.

Alexander the Great defeated Persia’s King Darius at Battle of Issus in 333 BCE. Jerusalem capitulated to Alexander. He died in 323 BCE, and the kingdom was divided between the Ptolemies (Egyptians) and the Selecuids (syrians). The line High Priest came to dominate as the noble line was fading. The High Priest oversaw administrative and religious affairs.  

The Greeks regarded the Polis as the highest and most natural Civil Institution. The Greeks were pretty successful in Hellenizing Jerusalem during 201 to 164 BCE. Political uncertainty in Jerusalem attracted social and economic experimentation, such as the construction of the gymnasium and the theatre. Every aspect of Jewish life was affected. Jewish tombs look Greek, and there were Jewish funerary inscriptions in Greek. Some Jewish homes had Greek art. Even the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek and came to be the most widely used by Greeks and Jews.

Persian Jerusalem

During the “Persian” Period, which lasted 539 to 333 BCE, the Persian king, Cyrus, prompted the Jews to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple. Because Cyrus opposed and conquered the Babylonian empire, he was viewed by Judean Exiles as great deliverer. The idea of a Persian Messiah contradicted the Promise to David, because the King of Persia was not from the divine line.

The construction of the second temple occurred between 539 BCE to 70 CE. The “2^nd Temple” was destroyed in 70 CE by the Romans. Some biblical sources for the Persian Period were Book of Chronicles, Minor Prophets, Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and “Second” Isaiah. During his exile to Babylon, the Prophet Ezekiel envisioned a new temple, which gave rise to the utopian dream of the new Jerusalem, and Yahweh as a mobile God. Ezekiel declared that once the Ark of the Covenant was placed in the Temple, the Temple itself assumed the same power as the Ark. The Temple alone became the representation of God.  

During this period, there were many similarities between Judaism and Zoroastrianism. There came the introduction of another divine but evil being called Satan and angels. Some parts of the Bible were written in Aramaic.

Persian kings sent back Jewish nobles to Jerusalem to become governors, and the line of the High Priest came to replace the Davidic line. Judaism was becoming a religion that didn’t really need a temple. Now, Jews were identified through their acts of prayer, songs, holidays, laws, diet, and reading and interpretation of the Torah.

Josiah's Jerusalem

During the growing political unrest of Jerusalem, Josiah came to be the king of Jerusalem at an early age of thirteenth. In the Deuteronomy theology, Josiah was considered a good king because he enacted numerous religious reforms. He rebuilt the temples that King Manasseh destroyed, and he eliminated all the foreign cults in Jerusalem. During that time, if the king is good by faithfully worshipping God, then God will bless the king and his city.

Josiah was different from previous kings, because he was not powerful and charismatic. Thus, Josiah relied on literature and text to empower his rule. During his reign, Josiah discovered the book of the law. The book of the law completely centralized religion in Jerusalem. Instead of following their charismatic leaders, people were following the law instead. Written text and literature became more important because they could last longer than humans could. It had become tradition for the people of Jerusalem to worship only one God, in one place, and in one way. Written text, such as the law, also came to dominate over the rule of the king, because everyone was to read and obey the law.