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Jerusalem — The Mideast Jewel
Historical Jerusalem

1. The origins of Jerusalem goes back approximately 4000 years.
2. Around 1000 B.C., King David captured Jerusalem from the Jebusites. He made it the capital of the Jews.
3. Around 950 B.C., King Salomon (son of King David) built the first of three Temples of Jerusalem. It consisted of three main areas: a vestibule, the Holy Place or Sanctuary, and the Holy of Holies. Historians say that Solomon used 80,000 quarrymen, 70,000 men to cut and transport huge stones and 30,000 men to collect cedar and juniper wood from Lebanon. Solomon’s Temple was one of the most outstanding buildings of its time.
4. In 587 B.C. the Babylonians destroyed Solomon’s Temple when they conquered the Jews.
5. In 538 B.C. Cyrus the Great, King of Persia, conquered the Babylonians and allowed the deported Jews to return to their Jewish homeland. The Jews then rebuilt the Temple-the Second Temple. Shortly after that Alexander the Great (Greek) conquered the Persians and gave great freedom to the Jews. They were allowed to worship more freely than ever before at the Temple in Jerusalem.
6. In 168 B.C. after the death of Alexander the Great, King Antiochus IV of the Seleucids took control of Jerusalem. He desecrated the Temple by placing pagan statues in its structure.
7. In 165 B.C. the Maccabee’s family (Jews) overthrew Antiochus and rededicated the Temple to God. Today Jews celebrated this great event on the feast of Hannaka.
8. In 63 B.C. the Roman general Pompey captured Jerusalem. He appointed puppet kings to rule the Jewish homeland. The Romans named Herod the Great, king of he Jews. He took control of Jerusalem in 37 B.C. Herod began a huge building program. He rebuilt and expanded the Temple (the third Temple). It was reconstructed on 36 acres of land which was enclosed by a massive wall. Truly it became one of the wonders of the world. Many non-Jews came from other countries to see it. The Temple had a Courtyard called the Courtyard of the Gentiles (non-Jews) for the non-Jewish visitors. In 63/64 A.D. the Great Temple of Herod was completed.
9. From 66-70 A.D. some Jews revolted against the Romans. The Romans crushed the Jewish revolt in 70 A.D. Then they destroyed the Great Temple and much of Jerusalem. The Temple was never again rebuilt. Jerusalem remained mostly uninhabited until 130 A.D. when the Roman Emperor Hadrian announced plans to build a Roman city on the Jerusalem site.
10. In the 300’s Emperor Constantine became a Christian and he restored structures in Jerusalem. He built several churches there including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. He also restored Jerusalem as its city name.
11. In the 600’s the Muslims conquered the Holy Land. They constructed the famous Dome of the Rock in 691 A.D.
12. During the 900’s and 1000’s, a number of Muslim groups fought for control of Jerusalem.
13. During the 1600’s the Ottoman Empire (Turks) took control of Jerusalem. Jerusalem began to grow again. The city’s population were Muslims, Christians and Jews. By the 1870’s the Jews became the major group.
14. In 1917 British troops ended the Ottoman Empire control over the city. The league of Nations made Palestine a mandated territory under British control.
15. In 1948 the British control ended and Israel was declared independent. The Arabs invaded the new state of Israel. War was declared. In 1949, an armistice between Israel and the Arab countries ended the war. Under the agreement, West Jerusalem was given to the Jews and East Jerusalem and the Old City to the Jordanians.
16. In 1967 war again broke out between the Jews and the Arabs. After a brief conflict (six day war), the Jews captured East Jerusalem and the Old City. Now the whole city of Jerusalem was under Jewish control. Today it is still that way.
17. In 1980 the Jewish Parliament (Knesset) passed a law restating Israel’s position that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. The law also guaranteed protection for the Holy Places of all religions and continued free access to them.

Canon Badia