Lecture 18

        Currently there are still prevalent issues among Israel and Palestine. There is a West Bank Barrier that was put into place and completely separates the two areas so that there is no mistake of what belongs to who. However, the Israelites began building in some areas that belong to Palestine which has of course caused many current problems. The Hamas, which are considered a terrorist group defeated Fatah in the Palestinian elections in 2006 and have caused much of the problems occurring. There is a lot of unrest between these people because they are both hostile and protective about the land they have fought for. However, I think there is a hope for the future for peace because it is so close but will take a lot of effort. Hopefully, we will see progression in the next couple of years.

Lecture 17

        In the 20^th century there was a ride of European Nationalism which led to anti-Semitic pogroms in the Islamic world and anti-Semitic pogroms in Russia (which caused Jews to flee to Palestine). In 1902 there was the second aliyah as Jews fled from Russia and Eastern Europe to Jerusalem. Then came World War I in which the British conquered Egypt and the Ottomans allied with Germany against France and Britain. Under General Allenby, the British conquered Palestine and created the Balfour Declaration, which promises a Jewish national homeland in Palestine. There was also the Sykes-Picot Agreement which was a secret agreement between France and the UK that divided the former Ottoman empire into areas of control- France got Turkey, Northern Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria, and the Brits got Palestine, Jordan, and Southern Iraq.  From 1918-1948 the British Mandate was in effect, in which the Brits promised to protect holy places of all faiths. Then Churchill’s White Paper was published which was a paper written to clarify how Britain viewed the Balfour Declaration, but even after this it was still unclear. Britain partitioned an area to the West of Jordan for a Jewish settlement, renamed it Transjordan, and gave it to Abdullah I. The Peel Commission was suggested in response to the violence between Arabs and Jews. There would be Jewish state established in Galilee and the Coastal Plain, and an Arab state in Central Hills, West Bank and Negev. Jerusalem was the “international city.” This plan was approved by the UN in 1947 and it was accepted by all Zionists but rejected by the Arabs, which caused outbreaks of fighting. This led to the War of Independence in 1948. In May of this year the British departed the land amidst the fighting because it was not their war to fight. There was a truce arranged by the UN in July which created the Green line between Israel and Jordan. Then in 1967 the six-day war broke out. Jordan signed a military agreement to join battle with Egypt. The Israelis launched a strike and within hours they wiped out the Egyptian air force. Israelis entered the Old City and control of the Haram was given to the Muslims. Israelis annexed the Old City and East Jerusalem, but the UN rejected this annexation. The Palestinians ended up with nothing except a small piece of the West Bank. The Oslo Accords was the first face to face agreement between Israel and PLO in Norway.

Lecture 16

         Under Mamluk rule Jerusalem became more of a religious center rather than a political or military city. Jerusalem also expanded as the Mamluks intensively built schools, hostels, and hospices. The Mamluk architecture was made up of walls built of alternating red and white courses of stone, buildings were domed, and there was usually decorative designs inside the domes and above the entrances. Through all this, the economy suffered a bit from the amount of taxes put in place by the Mamluks, and also the Black Plague that hit the city in 1351. There were three main areas of charitable foundation that the Mamluk partook in: the Haram al-Sharif, outside the Haram, and along the street running east from the Jaffa gate. They developed the Haram by adding towers on the corners, adding minarets, a summer pulpit was built, and the Northern colonnade was added. Also, both the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque were restored. All of this building and renovations took place in what is now the Islamic quarter. Nachmanides had made aliyah in 1267 and founded the Ramban Synagogue. It was during this time that the “spiritualize” Jerusalem really started to take place.

        Ottoman Jerusalem was similar to Mamluk Jerusalem as the city remained more symbolic and religious, rather than political or strategic. Selim defeats Mamluks in 1517 at Marj- Dabik. The Turkish Ottoman kingdom flourished in building a strong centralized government for Jerusalem. Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent repaired and enlarged the aqueducts, rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem (2 miles long), and campaigned to refurbish the Haram and its monuments. He established a shari’a court, in which the Jews would ditch all laws and the Bible would become the rule book to follow. Suleiman encouraged Jewish refuges to settle in Jerusalem to restore the city, and their were no taxes for Jews which caused a tripling in the population. They provided restoration to the Haram and to the Christian church of the Holy Sepulcher (all holy places). It was a now a place where the Jews felt safe and welcomed to live and worship god.

Lecture 15

       Jerusalem was under Christian rule for less than 100 years; it was a time called the crusade. It was an attempt to retake Jerusalem from the Islamic rule. Some of the factors contributing to the crusades was the emergence of the holy roman empire in western Europe, the split of Christianity in 2 ways, a late reaction to the persecution of Christian population in Jerusalem, the holy sepulcher was set on fire and the dome collapsed, and Al Hakim destroyed the holy sepulcher. 1099 CE is when the Christians actually took Jerusalem. The first crusade took place in 1095 CE and the second in 1147 CE. A crusade is an expedition authorized by the pope on Christ’s behalf. The crusaders took Jerusalem and changed the Islamic monuments into Christian ones by adding a cross to the Dome of the Rock and the Al- Asqa mosque. They restored the byzantine churches and created new churches (42 new ones). In 1187 CE Saladin conquered Jerusalem at the Horns of Hattin. Saladin allowed the residents to leave and go free if they chose to, but if they stayed it would be under his rule. The church of Holy Sepulcher was given to Greek orthodox, and Christian topography was replaced with Muslim shrines. In the 5^th crusade the walls of Jerusalem were dismantled; 6^th crusade the Jews retook control of Jerusalem; Jews lost to the Muslims in the 7^th crusade. It was a tug of war over control of Jerusalem.

Lecture 14

        The Byzantine era ended when the Sasanians took Palestine and Jerusalem in 614 CE. The Sasanians allowed the Jews to resettle in Jerusalem, which was the first time they were allowed back into the city since the Bar-Kokhba Revolt. Then in 628 CE the byzantine emperor Heraclius retook Jerusalem. Unfortunately, he allowed massacres of the Jews in Jerusalem. Once again Jerusalem is taken by a new man in 638 CE named Caliph Umar. At this point there is no stable government or ruling in Jerusalem. The rules are constantly changing and the residents are varying. Caliph Umar had made an agreement with the Christians that he would not allow Jewish settlement in Jerusalem, but he later allowed the Jews to move back into the city. Jerusalem played a part in the Islamic religion and community as well. The Kaaba in Mecca is the most sacred site in Islam. It is a huge mosque with a  black stone in the middle, and it is used to contain hundreds of idols. Muhammad threw out the idols and made the Kaaba to be the center of Islam. Muslims don’t worship the Kaaba or the black stone; it is just the focal point of prayer. After all those rulers came the Umayyad dynasty 638-750 CE. The Umayyad Jerusalem was a much more tolerant place for Christians and Jews. Caliph Umar built a wooden mosque, Abd al-Malik built Dome of the Rock , and the Al-Aqsa Mosque was built on the site of Umar’s mosque during the reign of Caliph Walid. There were great Umayyad palaces that were built up against the retaining walls of the Temple Mount. Umayyad The Dome of the Rock’s model was built in Christian architectural traditions and intended to outshine Christian monuments and demonstrate the final truth of Islam. There was also an inscription all around the Dome of the Rock with anti-Christian dialogue/verses on it. The Abbasid Dynasty wiped out Umayyad efforts in 750 CE. Then from 969-1099 CE earthquakes damaged Jerusalem’s buildings, walls, and the Dome of the Rock. The Seljuqs added to this destruction by occupying Jerusalem and destroying much of the city. Next, the Fatimids laid siege on Jerusalem and destroyed much of the city walls, and took Jerusalem from the Seljuqs. This was clearly not the time to live in Jerusalem due to the constant destruction and raids from different groups. However, many continued to stay there because of its sacred value.

Lecture 13

         There was a rise of Christianity during this time. Jesus came into the picture and predicted the destruction of the temple, and offered the rejection of the temple for a more spiritualized religion. It is envisioned in Revelation 21-22 that there will be a “new” Jerusalem that will be a perfect paradise for god’s chosen people. This is a sign of hope for the Jews after everything they have gone through, and it is the beginning of Christianity. Jerusalem’s status as a holy city increased even more when the story of Jesus being crucified, buried, and resurrected here became known to many. To Christians, the body of Jesus Christ was becoming the temple; the means of worship. In 285 CE Emperor Diocletian split the administration of the Roman empire between west and east and appointed 4 different emperors. It was the Edict of Milan that legalizes Christianity in 313 because Constantine the Great realized he could use Christianity to unify his kingdom. There was some tension between the Jews and Christians now so the Council of Nicaea was put together to resolve the differences between Jews and Christians, in which they came up with the doctrine of the trinity. Constantine’s mother comes to Jerusalem in 324 CE and ordered construction of the church in Egypt to commemorate the burning bush. She also tore down the church of Venus to find evidence of Jesus’ crucifixion and burial. After Constantine, Julian “the Apostate” began to rebuilt the Jewish Temple because he did not believe in the new Christianity and wanted to undo all that Constantine had done to support Christianity. But then in 391 CE Theodosius, the new emperor, named Christianity the state religion to undo Julian’s reforms. It was a back and forth debate not only between all people, but also the ruler. Empress Eudocia (wife of Theodosius) made pilgrimages to Jerusalem and built churches, hospitals, and hospices there. Justinian expanded Jerusalem in 527 CE and built a Nea (new) church for St. Mary. Christian Pilgrimages started to take place in Jerusalem. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher became the location of primal myths of migration and such (instead of the Temple). It became the symbolic center where divinity touches humanity.

Lecture 12

        Herod died in 4 BCE and his kingdom was divided among three of his sons, whose powers were very limited. Archelaus became “ethnarch” of Judea; he was an ineffective ruler and was recalled to Rome and sent into exile in 6 CE. Herod Antipas became “tetrarch” of Perea and Galilee; he ruled from 4 BCE until exile in 39 CE. Herod Philip became “tetrarch” of Iturea and Trachonitis, northwest of Sea of Galilee; he ruled from 4 BCE until death in 34 CE. Pontius Pilate was the only Roman governor of Judea mentioned in the Gospels. He was ineffective & provoked the Jews. Pilate also was the one who tried Jesus and ordered his execution. He was recalled back to Rome in 36/37 CE because he minted coins with pagan symbols on them, which angered the Jews. His existence is proved by the Pontius Pilate Inscription, which is a block of stone with an inscription addressed to Pilate himself. Most of the Roman governors in Jerusalem were “inexperienced and inept, which caused Jewish nationalism on the rise, growing internal Jewish conflict, provocations from all sides, and steady decline of law and order.” The Jewish Revolt Coin was a way for the Jews to declare independence from the Romans. Then in 66 CE  revolt breaks out. In 68 CE, Nero committed suicide, then Vespasian was proclaimed emperor, and then his son, Titus, took charge in Spring 70 CE. The northern city falls and the temple was destroyed by Titus. The temple remained in ruins until Hadrian built a temple to Jupiter in 135 CE, for which the Jews had to pay a Temple Tax. Hadrian rebuilt Jerusalem as Aelia Capitolina, and banned all Jews from ever visiting Jerusalem except on the 9^th of Ab so they could mourn the defeat of their city. The Bar-Kokhba revolt occurred in 132 CE when Bar-Kokhba thought he could take back Jerusalem as the messiah.  He minted revolt coins that looked exactly like the revolt of 70 CE coins, except the words were frequently misspelled. In response to the Bar-Kokhba revolt Hadrian punished the Jews bloodily and banned circumcision. In response to the destruction of the Temple, the Jews built synagogues to worship in. It was now that Judaism became a spiritualized religion because there was no longer a physical temple or place to worship. All that mattered now was the “kingdom” in heaven; they no longer needed to make sacrifices or go to temple as long as they praised the Lord. Judaism went from a religion of blood sacrifice to a religion of the law/bible.