Talk:History of Jerusalem (Middle Ages)

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[edit] Expansion

This article seems to extend from the Byzantine period to 1517. It's a fascinating period, no doubt, and one that is little covered in its complexity, but that said, way too much is missing, while over half the article focuses on a single event (the Mongol conquest in 1299/1300) which may or may not have happened. That said, here are some real events that should go into the article.

• 326 Helena - her visit to Jerusalem and the resultant construction of the original Church of the Holy Sepulchre can be considered the beginning of the Byzantine period. Jerusalem became a center of Christian pilgrimage, beginning with an anonymous account from 333.
• 361 - 363 Julian the Apostate - in just two years he managed to turn back the clock on Christian Jerusalem. He even attempted to rebuild the Jewish temple, but an earthquake cut that short, and he was killed/died/assassinated/murdered. Grafitti from that time can still be seen in the Southern Wall Excavations.
• 442 - Eudocia, wife of Theodosius II settled in Jerusalem in 442. She also showed special tolerance to the Jewish residents, causing the Jewish population to flourish--and eventually leading to hostility between them and the Christian population. Legend has it that Saint David, patron saint of Wales, visited Jerusalem at one point to curb Jewish influence.
• 527-565 Justinian literally covered the city with churches, including the Nea Apse, long the biggest church in the world, and more prominent than the Sepulchre itself. This is the period of the Madaba map. Although the Jewish population had dwindled by this time, Jerusalem's character emerged as the Holy City in Talmudic literature, which dates from this period. (Note that the footnote attributed to Zank is completely inaccurate--their were periods when Jewish settlement was limited, but there was almost always a small Jewish presence in the city or its environs). Similarly, this was the period which the Crusaders wished to restore--a city replete with all the most important churches, shrines, and monasteries in all of Christendom.
• 614 Chosroes II of Persia conquers the city. The number of Christian casualties are certainly exaggerated (33,000 - 90,000), but it sure was bloody.
• 628 or 631 -- Date is debated, but Heraclius retook the city.
• 638 - Umar ibn al-Khattab takes the city, introducing Islam.
• 661-750 - Ummayad control of Jerusalem. While Damascus was their capital, efforts were made to convert Jerusalem into a center to rival Mecca in importance. Abd al-Malik began construcion of the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa in 691. Jerusalem emerged as the third holiest city of Islam.

This is just a small section of the period covered and of the article itself. It covers some 425 years and eight lines. Nonetheless, all of this is essential to understanding the emergence of the geopolitical realities of today. How did Jerusalem become the disputed Holy City How were allegiances forged? What were the Crusaders coming to revive? Why were the Muslims intent on creating a rival to Mecca? Why did the Jews keep changing sides? I hope everyone realizes that this is far more important to understanding the city than a debate over whether the Mongols, allied with the Templars, took the city for a couple of weeks in 1300. Danny 23:29, 27 September 2007 (UTC)

Thanks Danny. I just created this article today, mostly by copy/pasting information about the city from other articles such as Jerusalem, History of Jerusalem, and Franco-Mongol alliance, but I agree that there's still a long way to go! Your ideas are definitely good ones, and I look forward to working with you to further expand the information here.  :) --Elonka 04:17, 28 September 2007 (UTC)