Ottoman Jerusalem

The Ottomans take Constantinople in 1453. Selim I defeats the Mamluks in 1517 at Marj-Dabik. Jerusalem peacefully surrenders to the Ottomans in 1516, and the Ottomans rule Jerusalem from 1516 to 1918. Under the Ottoman administration and a strong centralized government, the Turkish-Ottoman kingdom flourished in 16^th Century.  

Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent rules Jerusalem from 1520 to 1566. He builds the Sultan’s Pool in 1532, and he rebuilds the walls of Jerusalem from 1536  to 1541. He enacts an extensive campaign to refurbish the Haram and its monuments and replaces the mosaics on exterior of Dome of the Rock with Syrian tiles. He also builds the Khassaki Sultan complex, a huge public charity for Jerusalem’s inhabitants. His work in Jerusalem parallels that at Mecca and Medina. Jerusalem becomes the third great city of Islam. During his rule, Suleiman establishes a shari’a court. Jewish refugees encouraged to settle in Jerusalem to restore city. The population increases to 13,384 including 1,650 Jews.

From Suleiman to Abdulhamid II, restorations of the Haram coincide with the granting of concessions to foreign rulers and religious groups abroad and in Jerusalem. They also usually immediately preceded or followed a restoration of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

The Western Wall is given to Jews by Suleiman as a place of prayer. The Wall begins to attract myths. Suleiman himself clears the site and purifies it. The Shekhinah settles there after the destruction of the Temple. The Jews believe it is where the Gate of Heaven situated directly above the Western Wall. It is the symbol of the destruction of the Temple.

Saladin allows Jews to resettle and is proclaimed as “the New Cyrus.” Ashkelon Jews are given the Maghribi Quarter, which later comes to be known as the Jewish Quarter. Judah Halevi argues that Jews must return to Jerusalem, because Jerusalem is the “Gate of Heaven” wherein Jews need to stake their rightful claim. This idea that Jews need to go to Jerusalem and settle there becomes known as Zionism.

Mamluk Jerusalem

Saladin conquers Jerusalem on September 26, 1187. The Mamluk rules Jerusalem from 1244 to 1516. The Western Wall connecting to the Temple Mount is knocked down, but the wall of the structure becomes and remains a religious significance. During the Mamluk Period, Jerusalem is made a center of religious study with attention to schools and mosques. The population dwindles to 10,000, and the city is economically impoverished. The Jews continue to return to Jerusalem.

Jerusalem becomes politically and militarily insignificant. It is used as a place of political exile. However, Jerusalem gains religious prestige. There are also intensive development of the Haram and building of schools, hospices, and hostels. The Mamluks use Crusader structures as quarries for ston. Colonnaded madrasas are built around the Haram. During 1351 to 1353, Jerusalem suffers from the Black Death.

The Mamluk architecture consists of walls that are built of alternating red and white courses of stone. The structures are dome-shaped, and there are muqarnas decorative technique inside domes and above entrances. Entrances and walls are composed of alternating black and white inlay.

Al-Madrasa Al-Ashrafiyya is a Qur’anic school. It is called the “third jewel of Jerusalem” after the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. It is built in 1482 by Sultan al-Ashraf Qaitbey. The architecture uses dome-shaped structure and black and white geometric designs. The Ghawanima minaret is on the northwestern corner of the Haram and on the foundations of an Umayyad minaret. It is built by the Chief Judge of Jerusalem.

Rabbi Moses ben Nachman makes aliyah in 1276 CE. He founds Ramban Synagogue, which becomes Jewish Center.  He argues that Aliyah is a commandment upon all Jews. He also develops Kabbalah, Jewish Mysticism. It is a vision of a spiritualized Jerusalem and it makes spiritual aliyah to God possible.

Crusader Jerusalem

The early Islamic Kingdoms ruled from 638 to 1099 BC. In 1099, Jerusalem was conquered by Godfrey de Bouillon, the beginning of the Crusaders “The Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem” from 1099 to 1291 BC. The Crusades were basically Holy Wars. They were battles between Roman Catholic forces against the Muslims. Crusaders took vows and were granted penance for past sins, called indulgences. The Crusades were launched in response to westward expansion of the Muslim Seljuk Turks into Anatolia.

There were political and religious causes of the Crusades. Politically, it was a reaction against expansion of Islam in Europe. Religiously, it was a late reaction to persecution of Christian population of Jerusalem. Pope Urban the Second, preached at Clermont in 1095, called for Crusades as a mean to free the Lord’s heritage and as pilgrimage. In 1100, Baldwin became the “King of Jerusalem.”

During Crusader Jerusalem, existing Islamic monuments were modified. The Dome of the Rock became Templum Domini and the Al-Aqsa Mosque became the Templum Solomonis. There were rebuilding of ruined Byzantine churches, such as the churches of the Holy Sepulcher, the Ascension, St. Mary, and St. Lazarus. Crusader Jerusalem were separated into four quarters. The Patriarch’s quarter consisted of the Holy Sepulcher, Muristan, Tower of David, and the Tancred’s Tower. The Templar’s quarter consisted of the Templum Domini, Templum Solomonis, and Solomon’s stables. The Syrian quarter was mainly Christians from Syria after expulsion of Jews. The last was the Armenian quarter.

The Second Crusade, which went from 1147 to 1149 BC, was preached by St. Bernard at Vezelay in 1146. In July 4, 1187, Salah ad-Din routed the Crusaders at the Horns of Hattin (Galilee).