The Old Wall
by Lydia Holly
Title
The Old Wall
Artist
Lydia Holly
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
In 1981, the Jerusalem walls were added, along with the Old City of Jerusalem, to the UNESCO World Heritage Site List.
Below is a history of the walls of Jerusalem from Wikipedia/
The city of Jerusalem has been surrounded by walls for its defense since ancient times. In the Middle Bronze Age, a period also known in biblical terms as the era of the Patriarchs, a city named Jebus was built on the south-eastern hill of Jerusalem, relatively small (50,000 square meters) but well fortified. Remains of its walls are located above the Siloam Tunnel....Jerusalem remained a Jebusite city until the rise of David, who conquered Jebus, renamed it City of David and started expanding it. His city was still located on the low southeastern hill, outside today's Old City area. Solomon, David's son, built the... First Temple on the hilltop rising right above the city he had inherited, the... Temple Mount, and then extended the city walls in order to protect the temple. During the First Temple period the city walls were extended to include the northwest hill as well, i.e. the area where today's Jewish and Armenian Quarter (Jerusalem) Quarters are located. The entire city was destroyed in 587/86 BCE during the siege led by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. After the Babylonian captivity and the Persian conquest of Babylonia, Cyrus II of Persia allowed the Jews to return to Judea and rebuild the Temple. The construction was finished in 516 BCE or 430 BCE. Then, Artaxerxes I or possibly Darius II allowed Ezra and Nehemiah to return and rebuild the city's walls and to govern Judea, which was ruled as Yehud province under the Persians. During the Second Temple period, especially during the Hasmonean period, the city walls were expanded and renovated, constituting what Josephus calls the First Wall. Herod the Great added what Josephus called the Second Wall somewhere in the area between today's Jaffa Gate and Temple Mount. Agrippa I later began the construction of the Third Wall, which was completed just at the beginning of the First Jewish�Roman War. Some remains of this wall are located today near the Mandelbaum Gate gas station. In 70 CE, as a result of the Roman siege during the First Jewish�Roman War, the walls were almost completely destroyed. It would remain in ruins for some six decades, and without protective walls for about two centuries.
The pagan Roman city, Aelia Capitolina, which was built after 130 by Emperor Hadrian, was at first left without protective walls. After some two centuries without walls, a new set was erected around the city, probably during the reign of Emperor Diocletian sometime around the year 300. These walls were extensively renewed by the Empress Aelia Eudocia during her banishment to Jerusalem (443-460).
In 1033, most of the walls constructed by Empress Eudocia were destroyed by an earthquake and had to be rebuilt by the Fatimids. In preparation for the expected Crusader siege of 1099, the walls were strengthened yet again, but to little avail. The conquest brought some destruction followed by reconstruction, as did the reconquest by Saladin in 1187. Saladin's nephew, Al-Malik al-Mu'azzam 'Isa, ordered the reconstruction of the city walls, but later on, in 1219, he changed his mind after most of the watchtowers had been built and had the walls torn down, mainly because he feared that the Crusaders would benefit of the fortifications if they managed to reconquer the city. For the next three centuries the city remained without protective walls, the Temple Mount/Haram ash-Sharif and the citadel being the only well fortified area during this period.
In the 16th century, during the reign of the Ottoman Empire in the region, Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent decided to fully rebuild the city walls, partially on the remains of the ancient walls. The construction lasted from 1535�1538..".
Wikipedia
" The walls of the Old City enclose without dominating, limit but do not define. The impression of strength is an illusion . . . The visitor is drawn forward, challenged, and finally embraced.� �Jerome Murphy O�Conner
Uploaded
April 1st, 2016
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