powered by FreeFind	Jerusalem 354 pictures     12.0 minutes HQ video Jerusalem, a unique city, is unrivalled as the only city in the world, which has been loyal to one nation serving one G-d for over three thousand years. Hence, it is of utmost importance to provide further details explaining how this city gained its stature. Jerusalem Hebron, which served as the tribe of Yehuda's center and where King David had ruled for seven years, was abandoned for Jerusalem. King David chose to settle in Jerusalem, to make it the capital of his kingdom and to erect a temple in its midst. David's objective was to establish a neutral capital for his kingdom, a place all his people could identify with and not only one tribe or another. Had King David decided upon a different location for his capital, Jerusalem today would be nothing more than another ancient Tel, one of many Canaanite Tels found in the region. At the time of David's rule, Jerusalem had served as a Canaanite city for over two thousand years. A city which had begun as a small settlement occupying a small section of the Ye' huda mountain range not far from the Kidron river and slowly developing and spreading. The first Temple was erected upon a hill just north of the City of David. The Babylonians destroyed the Temple in the year 586 B.C. No traces of this first Temple were ever found. Archeological digs have managed to excavate remnants of buildings, probably governmental, which were erected to the south of the Temple Mount. Archeological digs carried out at the Jewish Quarter after the Six Day War reveal that the second half of the 7th century saw rise to great changes in the city's topography. The city expanded toward the west as can be seen by the relics of residential dwellings and the segments of the city's expanding walls. A Fortified Jerusalem: During the first century B.C., at the time King Herod redesigned Jerusalem, a lot of attention was paid to the fortification of the city. To the north Herod enlarged his city and added a second wall. Upon the north - western corner of mount Scopus, he built a fortress known as Antonia. Upon the north - eastern corner of Mount Scopus he re-modified a preexisting fortress. The western entrance to the city, situated at the end of Jaffa road, was also re-modified and strengthened. Previously, during the 2nd century B.C. the Hashmonaim had fortified this site. King Herod performed many changes in Jerusalem, remodeling it to suit his needs and thereby paying much attention to the fortification of the city. His rational was that the better protected the city; the harder it would be to invade his palace, which lay a short distance from the fortress. The fortress's strength lay in its three towers, named after his brother, best friend and wife: Paza'el, Hiphika and Miriam. The well-known historian Joseph Ben Matityahu left detailed descriptions of these buildings. In the year 70 A.D., with the Roman invasion and destruction of the city, the fortress was left intact as the Romans decided to use it as the headquarters for the 10th legion. This legion remained in the city for over 200 years. As a result, one of the towers, constructed from hewn stone, remains largely intact. Today, despite architectural changes through the centuries, for example by the Crusaders (12th century A.D.), the Mamalites (14th century A.D.) and the Ottomans (17 - 18th centuries A.D.) who added a minaret, which is apparent to this day, the building remains intact. The Arabs have named the building El - Kal'ah. Today it serves as a museum for the history of Jerusalem. Mount Scopus: Following the return of the Jews from the Diaspora, they re-erected their temple upon the ruins of the first, which was destroyed by the Babylonians. The second temple was a smaller and more moderate version of the first and suited the modest confines of the city of Ezra, Nehemiah and the Hashmonaim. This second temple remained standing in its original condition for over 500 years, without undergoing remodeling to suit the needs of an ever - growing city. In comparison to the city surrounding it, the temple seemed to diminish in size. The rise of King Herod to the throne granted an opportunity to rebuild the temple and return it to its former state of glory. Put in Joseph Ben Maitya'hu's words: to enlarge G-ds temple … so that it would remain a constant reminder of His greatness. Mount Scopus had to be redesigned in order to allow for this huge project. Four supporting enormous walls were erected upon the rock base of the city. These walls were built from hewn stone and all in all covered a surface of 480 x 280 square meters. Together they formed a huge base upon which the temple walls could be constructed. Gigantic stone bricks were used to form this base, some weighing between 50 - 60 tons and others even reaching the mind - boggling weight of 350 tons. The ability to oversee a project of these proportions, to plan it and see it through to its successful end, is testimony to the technical and organizational skills of the period's craftsmen and the venturous attitude, the courage and boldness of King Herod. Ben Matitya'hu states that this project (the creation of the walls surrounding the temple) was the largest undertaking ever known to man. In addition to the creation of an extraordinary temple, the entire area surrounding the temple also had to be re - designed. In front of the southern wall of the temple, stood a large building. This building was so large that it took 162 pillars to hold it up. The building served as a place of gathering for any activity non - religious in nature. City gates were erected in an attempt to control the influx of pilgrims entering Mount Scopus, particularly during the three high festivals, when thousands of people flocked to Jerusalem from around the world. Roads were paved, stair - cases erected, entry gates, mikvas and various other secular buildings were erected too. On the 9th and 10th days of the month of Av, during the third year of the 70th century A.D., this glorious building was destroyed, as was the entire city. The Romans, who left the city and its temple in ruin, also left its people with a never forgotten yearning: to see their beloved Jerusalem resurrected as the center of Jewish life. The burial sites of the Kidron River: The steep banks of the Kidron River and its deep waters have been utilised as a natural border, guarding the city from external intrusions for the past five thousand years. Beyond this river lies Mount of Olives, which has always been located outside the city walls and as such, deemed a good location to bury the deceased. The upper section of the mountain served as an ideal location for burial plots for the common people, who carved out caves from the soft limestone and buried their deceased inside these caves. Each cave contains the remains of a number of burial plots. Lower down the hillside, where the lime stone was too hard for excavating large burrows, the well to do citizens of the city bought plots for themselves and their loved ones. Upon these plots, attractive tombs were erected. Three such tombstones can still be spotted on the mountain slopes, just above the river - bed. These tombs, which lie adjacent to each other were designed and decorated in the height of the architectural and artistic fashion of the times. The burial site of the Bnei Hazir family is the oldest of the three and dates back to the 2nd century B.C. The original family name and further inscriptions still embellish the tomb and read: "Here lies the soul and resting place of Eliezer Hania Yoazar Yehuda Shimon Yochanan Bnei (sons of) Yosef Ben (son of) Oved Yosef and Elazar Bnei Hania - Cohanim (priests) from the Hazir family. The remaining two tombstones that of Zeharia and Yad Avshalom, were erected at a later date, probably between the late 1st century B.C. or the early 1st century A.D. Although the name illustrated on the tombstone of Bnei Hazir is authentic, that of Zeharia and Yad Avshalom are not, as these names stem from a different time period. These names are characteristic of the First Temple and not the Second. Hence, it appears that the original names have been lost and all that is known of the original possessors is that they were affluent people living in Jerusalem at the time of the Second Temple. With the fall of the Temple, the original names were forgotten. Imagine the feeling of awe and amazement felt by the Jews upon their return from the Diaspora many years later, after finding these magnificent tombstones. They too wanted to immortalize their loved ones and so new names were carved into the tombstone, names, which remain, untouched to this day. The Kardo: Jerusalem, during the late Byzantine period (the 6th and the beginning of the 7th century A.D.), was a large and well - developed city, comprised of many public and religious buildings, belonging to the different religious sectors living in its midst. Thus, specific buildings, which suited the needs of each religion, were erected and this included churches. An ancient map depicting the lay - out of Jerusalem from the 6th century A.D. serves as the oldest surviving visual evidence of Jerusalem. The map is depicted on a mosaic floor, which can be found in Midba (מידבא), a small town situated in Transjordania. One of the more evident archeological sites of Byzantine Jerusalem is depicted on this map. The map clearly shows that Jerusalem was divided from north to south by a wide thoroughfare lined with columns on each side. While excavating in the Jewish quarter, between Habad and Ha' yehuda street, the map provided the knowledge necessary for a successful dig. Contrary to other situations where the archeologists first excavate a site and only then are able to come up with the findings, on this exceptional occasion prior knowledge lead to more exact excavations and many traces of the ancient road were found. This road was wide and spacious, extending approximately 22 meters from one end to the other. The columns divided the road into a main open section and a side section, which was used as a pavement. This side section had a shingled roof above it making it more convenient for pedestrian use. This long thoroughfare stretched all the way from the Schem Gate in the north to the Zion Gate in the south, a distance of approximately 800 meters. No evidence of a name for this road was ever retrieved and in all probability the road was nameless. At the time, Jerusalem served as a provincial Roman capital and it seems more than likely that Roman workmen began working on the job. Thus, a Roman name "Kardo" was given to this thoroughfare. The word Kardo is Roman in origin meaning axis. An axis is a real or an imaginary line, which divides a figure into two symmetrical lines, an appropriate description for this thoroughfare. The Crucifix Monastery: At the very pit of the valley, between Rahavia and the Jerusalem museum, stands an isolated building much resembling a closed up fortress, with only a tiny door allowing entrance into the building. Before Israel became an established state, this building lay on the outskirts of the city, far away from any settlement, yet as the city developed and housing expanded, roads were built and the monastery became less isolated. It is believed that this monastery was erected upon the very site where the tree, from which Jesus built his cross, over 2.000 years ago, grew. Inside the monastery is a church and one of its corners is dedicated to the memory of this sacred tree. Hence the name, Crucifix Monastery, also known in Arabic as Dir A - Tzliv . The building probably dates back to the 6th century A.D. (late Byzantine period). The Persians caused much damage to the building in the year 614 A.D. In the year 1009 A.D. The Mad Halif El - Haham caused further damage to the site. At a later period, the building was restored and up until the 17th century A.D. the Georgian monks of the Holy Land used the monastery. These monks revived the place. Due to international rivalry and large debts owed by the monastery, during the beginning of the 18th century the leadership of the monastery was imparted into the hands of the Greek - Orthodox Church. Robinson's archer Hulda's gates and the excavations zone Warrn's Shaft Tombs of the House of David Back to Israel Index