A Comprehensive History of Jerusalem: From Caliphs to Saladin

Extract

[...] Precise information is available from this period thanks to the Ottomans' desire to establish a real taxation system. Jerusalem has approximately 14,000 inhabitants in 1553, of which 15% are Christians and 12% are Jews. The city is part of the lower echelon of provincial administration. It is administered by a governor while the fiscal administration is managed by a high-ranking official close to the sultan. The great families of Jerusalem continue to exercise their role in the high functions of mufti and on local hereditary civil charges. [...]

[...] We understand that the history of this city is one of instrumentalization in the face of conflicts. Perceived as a high spiritual site, its population has suffered the interludes of different regimes and the scourge of the desires for conquest of the empires engaged in wars of religion. These passages allow us to grasp Jerusalem as a sacred place built over time and whose history is inseparable from the conflicts that have developed in the region since the VIIème century and the stories that cradle the three monotheistic religions and ultimately bind them. [...]

[...] It aims to affirm the superiority of Islam over other religions by placing the dome in a symbolic location (evoked in the Talmud and in the story of Abraham ready to sacrifice his son on this hill, although this results from a misinterpretation) and bears an inscription affirming the existence of a single God who 'does not beget and is not begotten'. He also built a mosque which was rebuilt in 714 by his son, Caliph al-Walid, after an earthquake and then by al-Mansur in 758 after the Abbasid revolution. At the VIIIème In the 8th century, the traditionalists began to reinterpret the initiatory journey of Muhammad in the Quran. They postulate that 'the farthest mosque', formerly considered a celestial place, is in fact a terrestrial place. [...]

[...] By focusing on iconic sites such as the esplanade of the mosques or the walls to illustrate the transformations carried out by each of the regimes in Jerusalem, one can easily imagine the urban renewal dynamics corresponding to each period. The history of the monuments deployed in this work brings a real advantage to the overall understanding of the events. In addition to these methodological considerations (in which it is difficult to identify weaknesses), the text provides very complete information on the history of Jerusalem during these periods. [...]

[...] They will become 'fighters on the path of God' and will be rewarded in Paradise. The following year, despite the death of Saladin, a period of prosperity opens up for the city under the Ayyubid dynasty. Many monuments had been bought back by Saladin and offered to pious foundations (public baths, purification places): these ' waqf » to the community allow the financing of pious works. Dedicated installations for formation (madrasa), are arranged in large numbers for care (rehabilitation of old French hospitals) and prayer. [...]