Jerusalem is a city like no other. For thousands of years, it has been at the center of history, religion, and conflict. In his sweeping book "Jerusalem: The Biography," historian Simon Sebag Montefiore takes readers on an epic journey through the tumultuous history of this sacred city.
From its ancient origins to the present day, Jerusalem has been conquered, destroyed, and rebuilt countless times. It has been ruled by Israelites, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Muslims, Crusaders, Ottomans, and many others. As the holy city of three major religions - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - Jerusalem has inspired fervent devotion and sparked bitter disputes that continue to this day.
Montefiore's vivid narrative brings to life the key figures and dramatic events that have shaped Jerusalem over the millennia. Drawing on a wealth of historical sources, he paints a rich portrait of the city's cultural, religious and political evolution. At the heart of the story is the Temple Mount, a site of profound significance to Jews, Christians and Muslims alike.
Through war, peace, triumph and tragedy, Jerusalem has endured as a powerful symbol and a coveted prize. Its long, complex history offers insights into the forces that continue to shape the Middle East and the world. By exploring Jerusalem's past, we can better understand its present and contemplate its future.
The Ancient Origins of Jerusalem
The story of Jerusalem begins in the mists of prehistory. Archaeological evidence shows that the area was inhabited as early as 5000 BC. The city's origins lie in a settlement built on a hill between two valleys, with natural springs providing a vital water source.
Around 1800 BC, the first written references to Jerusalem appear in Egyptian texts, which refer to it as "Urusalim." The name likely derives from a combination of "Uru" meaning "founded by" and "Shalem," a Canaanite god.
According to biblical tradition, Jerusalem was originally a Jebusite city conquered by King David around 1000 BC. David made it his capital and brought the Ark of the Covenant there, establishing it as the spiritual and political center of the Israelite kingdom.
David's son Solomon built the First Temple on the Temple Mount around 960 BC. This magnificent structure housed the Ark of the Covenant and became the focal point of Jewish worship and pilgrimage. For the next four centuries, Jerusalem flourished as the capital of the Kingdom of Judah.
However, this golden age came to a violent end in 586 BC when the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem, destroyed the Temple, and exiled much of the population to Babylon. This catastrophe marked a turning point, transforming Judaism from a localized cult centered on the Temple to a portable faith based on scripture and synagogues.
When the Persians defeated Babylon in 539 BC, they allowed the Jews to return and rebuild the Temple. The Second Temple was completed in 516 BC, ushering in a new era. Under Persian and later Hellenistic rule, Jerusalem regained its importance as a religious center, though it no longer served as a royal capital.
The Roman conquest in 63 BC brought major changes. King Herod launched a massive building program, expanding and beautifying the Second Temple. But tensions between Jews and Romans led to a series of revolts. In 70 AD, Roman forces brutally crushed a Jewish uprising and destroyed the Temple once again. This disaster permanently altered the course of Judaism and set the stage for the rise of Christianity.
The Birth of Christianity and Muslim Conquest
The life and death of Jesus in the early 1st century AD transformed Jerusalem's significance. Though Jesus spent most of his ministry in Galilee, Jerusalem was the site of his triumphal entry, last supper, crucifixion, and reported resurrection. These events made the city sacred to the early Christians.
After Jesus' death, his followers continued to revere Jerusalem. James, the brother of Jesus, led the nascent Christian community there. The apostle Paul also visited several times. But tensions with Jewish authorities grew, and in 62 AD James was executed.
The Jewish revolt against Rome in 66-73 AD proved disastrous. After a long siege, Roman forces captured Jerusalem, razed the city, and destroyed the Second Temple. Only the Western Wall remained. This catastrophe ended Jewish political autonomy and led to the diaspora.
In the following centuries, Jerusalem declined in importance. The Romans rebuilt it as a pagan city called Aelia Capitolina, banning Jews from entering. Christianity slowly grew, despite intermittent persecution. In 313 AD, Emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity changed everything.
Constantine's mother Helena visited Jerusalem in 326-28 AD. She claimed to discover relics of Jesus' crucifixion, including pieces of the True Cross. Constantine ordered the Church of the Holy Sepulchre built over the supposed site of Jesus' tomb. Jerusalem was transformed into a major Christian pilgrimage center.
The next pivotal change came with the Muslim conquest in 637 AD. Caliph Umar entered Jerusalem and prayed on the Temple Mount. The Muslims built the Dome of the Rock there in 691 and the Al-Aqsa Mosque in 705. Jerusalem became the third holiest city in Islam, after Mecca and Medina.
For the next four centuries, Jerusalem was ruled by a succession of Muslim dynasties. Jews and Christians were generally allowed to practice their faiths, though with restrictions. The city flourished as a center of Islamic learning and culture. But conflict was on the horizon as European Christians set their sights on reclaiming the Holy Land.
The Crusader Kingdom and Aftermath
In 1095, Pope Urban II called for a crusade to liberate Jerusalem from Muslim rule. This launched two centuries of conflict between Christian crusaders and Muslim defenders. The First Crusade captured Jerusalem in 1099 after a brutal siege. The crusaders massacred much of the population and established the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
For the next 88 years, Jerusalem was the capital of a Christian crusader state. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was expanded and new churches were built. But the kingdom was unstable, surrounded by hostile Muslim powers.
In 1187, the great Muslim leader Saladin recaptured Jerusalem, ending crusader rule. Unlike the crusaders, Saladin treated the defeated inhabitants with mercy. He allowed Christians to stay and worship freely, though he converted some churches to mosques.
The loss of Jerusalem sparked the Third Crusade led by Richard the Lionheart. After years of fighting, Richard and Saladin reached a compromise in 1192 allowing Christian pilgrims to visit Jerusalem.
Over the next century, Jerusalem changed hands several times between Christians and Muslims. The crusaders briefly regained control from 1229-1244. But the city's defenses were weak, and it was vulnerable to attack.
In 1244, a Turkic-Mongol army sacked Jerusalem, inflicting great destruction. This ended the crusader presence and ushered in Mamluk rule. The Mamluks were a military caste of former slaves who seized power in Egypt and Syria. They would control Jerusalem for the next 267 years.
Under the Mamluks, Jerusalem declined in political importance but remained a religious center. The Mamluks restored Muslim holy sites and built religious schools. But heavy taxation and periodic plagues reduced the population. By 1517, when the Ottoman Turks conquered the city, Jerusalem had become a backwater.
The long crusader era left a complex legacy. It strengthened the Christian attachment to Jerusalem and sparked innovations in art and architecture. But it also deepened hostility between Christians and Muslims that would have lasting repercussions.
Ottoman Rule and the Road to Modernity
The Ottoman conquest in 1517 brought stability to Jerusalem after centuries of turmoil. Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent rebuilt the city walls and restored religious monuments. Jews, Christians and Muslims were allowed to practice their faiths, though with restrictions.
For the next 400 years, Jerusalem was a remote provincial capital in the Ottoman Empire. The population rarely exceeded 15,000. But it remained an important pilgrimage site for all three Abrahamic faiths.
In the 19th century, Jerusalem began to change rapidly. European powers took an increasing interest in the Holy Land. Russia, France and Britain competed for influence, each claiming to protect Christian holy sites.
At the same time, Jewish immigration increased. Spurred by persecution in Europe and Zionist aspirations, Jews began arriving in larger numbers. By 1880, Jews formed a majority in Jerusalem for the first time in centuries.
The late Ottoman period saw the beginnings of modernization. New neighborhoods were built outside the Old City walls. Hospitals, schools and cultural institutions were established. Jerusalem was connected to the outside world by telegraph and railroad.
But tensions were also rising between the city's communities. In 1853, disputes over holy sites helped trigger the Crimean War. Nationalist sentiments were growing among both Arabs and Jews. As the Ottoman Empire weakened, the future of Jerusalem became increasingly uncertain.
World War I brought the end of Ottoman rule. In December 1917, British forces captured Jerusalem. The fall of the Ottomans opened a new chapter in the city's history, one that would be marked by conflict between competing national aspirations.
The British Mandate Period
The British victory in World War I led to the establishment of the British Mandate for Palestine in 1920. For the next 28 years, Britain would govern Jerusalem and the surrounding territory, with a mandate from the League of Nations to prepare the land for eventual self-rule.
The Mandate period was marked by rising tensions between Arabs and Jews. Britain had made conflicting promises to both sides during the war. The 1917 Balfour Declaration pledged support for a Jewish national home in Palestine. But Britain had also promised independence to the Arabs.
As Jewish immigration increased in the 1920s and 1930s, Arab opposition grew. Violent riots erupted in Jerusalem in 1920, 1929 and 1936-39. The British struggled to maintain order and satisfy both communities.
Despite the unrest, Jerusalem expanded and modernized under British rule. New neighborhoods, hospitals and cultural institutions were built. The population grew from 53,000 in 1922 to 165,000 in 1944. But the city remained deeply divided along ethnic and religious lines.
The most contentious issue was control of holy sites, especially the Western Wall. In 1929, a dispute over Jewish prayer rights at the Wall sparked widespread violence. The British imposed strict regulations on worship at the site.
As World War II approached, Britain's position became increasingly untenable. Jewish immigration surged as Jews fled Nazi persecution in Europe. Arab resistance to Zionism hardened. Armed Jewish and Arab militant groups emerged, some targeting British forces.
In 1947, Britain announced it would terminate the Mandate and hand the Palestine question to the United Nations. The UN proposed partitioning Palestine into Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem as an international zone. The Jews accepted the plan, but the Arabs rejected it.
As the British prepared to withdraw in 1948, Jerusalem descended into chaos. Arab and Jewish militias battled for control of the city. The stage was set for a wider conflict that would determine Jerusalem's fate.
War and Division
The departure of British forces in May 1948 plunged Jerusalem into all-out war. As Israel declared independence, Arab armies invaded. Fierce fighting erupted in and around Jerusalem.
Initially, Arab forces had the upper hand. They captured the Jewish Quarter of the Old City and besieged western Jerusalem. But Israeli troops managed to break the siege and secure the western half of the city.
When a ceasefire took effect in 1949, Jerusalem was left divided. Israel controlled the western portions, while Jordan held the Old City and eastern neighborhoods. The armistice line cutting through the heart of Jerusalem became known as the Green Line.
For the next 19 years, Jerusalem would remain a divided city. Barbed wire and minefields separated the two sides. Israelis were cut off from the Western Wall and other holy sites in the Old City. Meanwhile, Jordan barred Jews from eastern Jerusalem.
Despite the division, both Israel and Jordan took steps to solidify their control. Israel declared western Jerusalem its capital in 1950, though this was not recognized internationally. Jordan annexed eastern Jerusalem and the West Bank.
The divided city was a constant source of tension. Snipers occasionally fired across the lines. UN peacekeepers patrolled the border. In 1964, Pope Paul VI's visit highlighted the abnormal situation, as he had to cross through the Mandelbaum Gate checkpoint to visit holy sites on both sides.
Everything changed in June 1967 when war again engulfed Jerusalem. In six days of fighting, Israel captured the Old City and all of eastern Jerusalem from Jordan. The entire city came under Israeli control for the first time in nearly 2,000 years.
Israel quickly moved to unify the city, tearing down barriers and extending Israeli law to eastern Jerusalem. But the international community did not recognize the annexation. The status of Jerusalem remained disputed, an obstacle to peace that persists to this day.
Conflict and Coexistence in Modern Jerusalem
The reunification of Jerusalem in 1967 dramatically reshaped the city. Israel embarked on an ambitious building program, constructing new Jewish neighborhoods in formerly Arab areas of eastern Jerusalem. The population swelled as Jews moved into the expanded city.
But the Arab residents of eastern Jerusalem, now a minority, largely rejected Israeli rule. Most chose not to take Israeli citizenship, instead holding residency permits. Tensions simmered between the communities.
Holy sites remained a flashpoint. Israel allowed Jews to pray at the Western Wall for the first time in centuries. But it left the Temple Mount under Muslim religious control, barring Jewish prayer there to avoid inflaming tensions. This compromise satisfied neither side completely.
In 1980, Israel passed a law declaring united Jerusalem its eternal capital. But no other country recognized this claim. The Palestinians continued to see eastern Jerusalem as their future capital.
The first Palestinian intifada in 1987 brought unrest to Jerusalem's streets. Palestinian youth clashed with Israeli security forces. In 1993, the Oslo Accords raised hopes for peace, but left the status of Jerusalem to future negotiations.
Those hopes were dashed by the second intifada in 2000-2005. Suicide bombings targeted Jerusalem buses and cafes. Israel responded by building a security barrier that cut off some Arab neighborhoods from the city center.
In recent years, Jerusalem has seen periodic outbursts of violence, but also signs of coexistence. Arabs and Jews mix in markets, hospitals and workplaces. But friction persists over issues like housing discrimination and unequal municipal services.
Jerusalem today remains a divided city in many ways. Jews and Arabs largely live in separate neighborhoods and attend separate schools. The Old City is split into Muslim, Christian, Jewish and Armenian quarters. Polls show most residents oppose any division of the city in a peace deal.
Yet Jerusalem also showcases the possibility of diverse communities living side by side. The city is a unique mixture of ancient and modern, religious and secular, East and West. Its future remains uncertain, but its powerful symbolism ensures it will remain at the center of events.
The Ongoing Struggle for Jerusalem
More than 50 years after its reunification, Jerusalem's status remains one of the core disputes in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Both sides claim the city as their capital. The international community still does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over eastern Jerusalem.
Efforts to reach a compromise have repeatedly failed. The 1993 Oslo Accords left Jerusalem's status to be decided in future negotiations. But subsequent peace talks broke down over the issue.
Various proposals have been floated over the years. These include dividing the city, sharing sovereignty, or placing the Old City under international control. But no plan has gained enough support from both sides.
Meanwhile, facts on the ground continue to change. Israel has built large Jewish neighborhoods in eastern Jerusalem, complicating any future division. Palestinians accuse Israel of trying to cement its control through discriminatory policies on building permits, home demolitions, and residency rights.
Tensions periodically erupt into violence. In 2015-2016, a wave of stabbing and car-ramming attacks by Palestinians targeted Israelis in Jerusalem. In 2017, the installation of metal detectors at entrances to the Temple Mount sparked protests.
The status of holy sites remains especially contentious. Jews and Muslims have clashed repeatedly on the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif. Extremists on both sides have called for changing the status quo at the site.
In 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and move the U.S. embassy there sparked international controversy. Palestinians saw it as undermining their claims to the city.
Despite the ongoing conflict, Jerusalem continues to grow and develop. New transportation infrastructure like a light rail system is slowly knitting the city's disparate parts together. Cultural institutions bring together diverse audiences.
But the underlying dispute over the city's status shows no sign of resolution. Jerusalem seems likely to remain contested for the foreseeable future, a powerful symbol of the larger Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Jerusalem's Enduring Significance
Throughout its long and turbulent history, Jerusalem has maintained an extraordinary hold on the human imagination. Its power stems from its unique place at the intersection of history, religion, and politics.
For Jews, Jerusalem represents the ancient homeland and the focus of messianic hopes. The Western Wall and Temple Mount are the holiest sites in Judaism. The city features prominently in daily prayers and lifecycle events.
Christians revere Jerusalem as the place where Jesus lived, died, and was resurrected. Sites like the Church of the Holy Sepulchre draw millions of pilgrims. The city plays a central role in Christian eschatology.
For Muslims, Jerusalem is the third holiest city after Mecca and Medina. The Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque make it a major pilgrimage destination. Islamic traditions associate Jerusalem with Muhammad's night journey to heaven.
But Jerusalem's significance goes beyond religion. It has immense symbolic importance for Israeli and Palestinian national identities. Both see it as their rightful capital and an essential part of their homeland.
The city also looms large in international affairs. Its status is a key issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and broader tensions in the Middle East. Major world powers have long sought influence there.
Jerusalem's layers of history give it a unique character. Ancient walls and archaeological sites coexist with modern buildings. The Old City's maze-like streets lead to holy places of three faiths. Few other places pack so much history and meaning into such a small area.
The city's diversity is also remarkable. Jews, Muslims, and Christians; secular and religious; natives and immigrants - all rub shoulders in Jerusalem's streets and markets. It offers a glimpse of coexistence amid conflict.
At the same time, Jerusalem embodies the challenges of the modern Middle East. Issues of borders, sovereignty, and minority rights play out daily in the city. Its residents live with the constant tension between tradition and change.
For better or worse, what happens in Jerusalem resonates far beyond its walls. The city's future will have profound implications for the region and the world. Understanding Jerusalem's past is key to contemplating its future.
Lessons from Jerusalem's History
Jerusalem's 5,000-year history offers some enduring lessons:
The power of religious attachment: Jerusalem shows how faith can inspire devotion to a place over millennia, transcending politics and conflict.
The persistence of conflict: The city has been fought over repeatedly, demonstrating how competing claims can lead to intractable disputes.
The possibility of coexistence: Despite tensions, Jerusalem's diverse communities have often found ways to live side by side.
The danger of extremism: Jerusalem has suffered when extremists of all stripes have sought to impose their vision on the city.
The limits of conquest: Many powers have ruled Jerusalem, but none have erased its essential character or the attachments of its peoples.
The role of great powers: Outside powers have repeatedly shaped Jerusalem's fate, showing the city's connection to broader geopolitics.
The importance of compromise: Periods of relative peace in Jerusalem have usually involved pragmatic arrangements between communities.
The challenge of modernization: Jerusalem illustrates the difficulties of preserving tradition while adapting to change in a historic city.
The persistence of hope: Despite centuries of conflict, Jerusalem continues to inspire visions of peace and redemption.
The weight of history: In Jerusalem, the past is always present, shaping how people see themselves and others.
These lessons suggest that any lasting solution for Jerusalem will require creativity, compromise, and respect for the city's unique character. The challenge is to honor the attachments of all while forging a shared future.
Final Thoughts
Simon Sebag Montefiore's sweeping history of Jerusalem illuminates how this ancient city has shaped and been shaped by world events for millennia. From King David to the Crusades to the Arab-Israeli conflict, Jerusalem has been at the center of history.
The book brings to life the key figures who left their mark on the city - Herod, Saladin, Suleiman the Magnificent, and many others. It shows how Jerusalem has inspired fervent devotion and sparked bitter conflicts across the centuries.
At the heart of Jerusalem's story is the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif, a site sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims. Control of this holy ground has been contested for 3,000 years and remains disputed today.
Montefiore's narrative reveals how Jerusalem's significance has evolved over time. It began as the capital of a small Jewish kingdom, became Christianity's holiest city, then the third holiest site in Islam. Today it embodies the clash between Israeli and Palestinian national aspirations.
The book offers a nuanced look at Jerusalem's diverse communities and how they have interacted over time. It shows that periods of conflict have alternated with eras of coexistence and cultural cross-pollination.
Ultimately, Jerusalem: The Biography demonstrates why this city continues to play an outsized role in world affairs. Its powerful symbolism and competing claims make it a flashpoint in the Middle East and beyond.
Montefiore's work suggests that understanding Jerusalem's complex past is essential to contemplating its future. The city's history offers both cautionary tales and inspirational examples of communities finding ways to share sacred space.
As Jerusalem faces ongoing challenges, this sweeping history provides valuable context. It reminds us that the city has endured countless upheavals before. With wisdom and compromise, it may yet find a path to a peaceful future that honors its unique legacy.