Tower of David

Coordinates: 31°46′34″N 35°13′40″E / 31.77611°N 35.22778°E / 31.77611; 35.22778
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see Tower of David (disambiguation).
The Tower of David and the city walls

The Tower of David (

Old City of Jerusalem
.

The citadel that stands today dates to the

First Temple period,[citation needed
] and is a venue for benefit events, craft shows, concerts, and sound-and-light performances.

Dan Bahat, an Israeli archaeologist, writes that the original three Hasmonean towers standing in this area of the city were altered by Herod, and that "The northeastern tower was replaced by a much larger, more massive tower, dubbed the "Tower of David" beginning in the 5th century C.E."[2] The name "Tower of David" migrated in the 19th century from the Herodian tower in the northeast of the citadel, to the 17th-century minaret at the opposite side of the citadel, and after 1967 has been officially adopted for the entire citadel.[3]

Names

1865 Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem
1936 Survey of Palestine
The citadel with the label "David's Tower" appearing in artifacts from 1865 and 1936. The label "Tower of David" is now commonly used to refer to the Ottoman minaret on the south west side of the citadel (shown as a small red circle on the 1936 map).

"Tower of David": Herodian tower

The name "Tower of David" was first used for the Herodian tower in the 5th century CE by the Byzantine Christians, who believed the site to be the palace of King David.[2][1] They borrowed the name "Tower of David" from the Song of Songs, attributed to Solomon, King David's son, who wrote: "Thy neck is like the Tower of David built with turrets, whereon there hang a thousand shields, all the armor of the mighty men" (Song of Songs, 4:4).

Arabic names

An Arabic name of the massive Herodian-Mamluk northeast tower is the Burj al-Qalʾa (برج القلعة, 'Citadel Tower').[4]

During the Early Muslim and Ayyubid periods it was known in Arabic as Miḥrāb Dāwūd, lit. 'David's

Haram esh-Sharif/Temple Mount.[5]

History

View of Tower of David from above
Jerusalem Model, Palace of Herod the Great with the three towers (Phasael, Hippicus, Mariamne from left to right)

Hasmonean period

During the 2nd century BCE, the

Josephus Flavius
called "the First Wall" was constructed.

Herod's towers

Large Herodian ashlars topped by smaller Mamluk stones

ashlars still rise from ground level (partially hidden by a much later built glacis
), upon which were added smaller stones in a later period, that added back significantly to the height of the remaining stump of the Herodian tower.

During the

destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE, the three towers were preserved as a testimony of the might of the fortifications overcome by the Roman legions, and the site served as barracks for the Roman troops
.

When the empire adopted Christianity as its favoured religion in the 4th century, a community of monks established itself in the citadel. It was during the Byzantine period that the remaining Herodian tower, and by extension the Citadel as a whole,[dubious – discuss] acquired its alternative name—the Tower of David—after the Byzantines, mistakenly identifying the hill as Mount Zion, presumed it to be David's palace mentioned in 2 Samuel 5:11, 11:1–27, 16:22.

Early Muslims, Crusaders, Ayyubids

The tower in 1911
The moat, main gate and tower in 1911

After the

Muslim rulers refurbished the citadel.[dubious – discuss] This powerful structure withstood the assault of the Crusaders in 1099, and surrendered only when its defenders were guaranteed safe passage out of the city.[citation needed
]

During the Crusader period, thousands of pilgrims undertook the pilgrimage to Jerusalem by way of the port at Jaffa. To protect pilgrims from the menace of highway robbers, the Crusaders built a tower surrounded by a moat atop the citadel,[dubious – discuss] and posted lookouts to guard the road to Jaffa.[dubious – discuss] The citadel also protected the newly erected palace of the Crusader kings of Jerusalem, located immediately south of the citadel.[8]

In 1187, Sultan

Mamluks destroyed the citadel in 1260.[citation needed][dubious – discuss
]

Mamluk and Ottoman citadel

Masjid Mihrab ed-Dawood, the Ottoman "David's Prayer Niche Mosque", mihrab and minbar

In 1310 the citadel was rebuilt by Mamluk sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun, who gave it much of its present shape.[9]

The citadel was expanded between 1537 and 1541 by the Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, whose architects designed a large entrance, behind which stood a cannon emplacement.[dubious – discuss] For 400 years, the citadel served as a garrison for Turkish troops. The Ottomans also installed a mosque near the southwest corner of the citadel commonly known as the Mihrab el-Qal'a ed-Dawood ("Prayer niche of David's fortress"),[10] erecting a minaret during the years 1635–1655. In the 19th century the conspicuous minaret, which still stands today, became commonly referred to as the "Tower of David". At least two mosques are known to exist within the Jerusalem Citadel.[3][11]

During

captured Jerusalem
. General Allenby formally proclaimed the event standing on a platform at the outer eastern gate of the citadel.

British and Jordanian periods

Main gate to citadel, 1920

During the period of

High Commissioner established the Pro-Jerusalem Society to protect the city's cultural heritage. This organisation cleaned and renovated the citadel and reopened it to the public as a venue for concerts, benefit events and exhibitions by local artists. In the 1930s, a museum of Palestinian folklore was opened in the citadel, displaying traditional crafts and clothing.[12]

Following the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the Arab Legion captured Jerusalem and converted the citadel back to its historical role as a military position, as it commanded a dominant view across the armistice line into Jewish Jerusalem. It would keep this role until 1967.

Tower of David Museum

A Dale Chihuly chandelier hangs in the entrance hall of the Tower of David Museum.

Since the Six-Day War in 1967, the citadel's cultural role was revived.[clarification needed]

The Tower of David Museum of the History of Jerusalem was opened in 1989 by the Jerusalem Foundation. Located in a series of chambers in the original citadel, the museum includes a courtyard which contains archeological remains dating back 2,700 years.

The exhibits depict 4,000 years of Jerusalem's history, from its beginnings as a

holograms
, drawings and models, the exhibit rooms each depict Jerusalem under its various rulers. Visitors may also ascend to the ramparts, which command a 360-degree view of the Old City and New City of Jerusalem.

As of 2002, the Jerusalem Foundation reported that over 3.5 million visitors had toured the museum.

Archaeology

View of archaeological finds in the courtyard and the Ottoman minaret

In 2010, a survey of the site was conducted by Yehudah Rapuano on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA).[13]

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-0-19-923666-4
    . Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-1575061429
    .
  3. ^
    doi:10.5334/pp.25
    .
  4. ^ إسرائيل, طاقم تايمز أوف. "مبادرة لتكنولوجيا الواقع الإفتراضي في مختبر الإبتكار الجديد في متحف برج قلعة القدس". تايمز أوف إسرائيل (in Arabic). Retrieved 2020-10-17.
  5. Mujīr
    states that the Miḥrāb in the southern wall of the Ḥaram, near the "Cradle of Jesus", is widely accepted as Miḥrāb Dāwūd.
  6. C.R. Conder
    , who held that the "Tower of David" should be identified with the tower of Phasael, based on its size.
  7. ^ Josephus, The Jewish War (V.IV.3; VII.II.1)
  8. ^ Gilbert, Martin (1987). Crusader Jerusalem (Map 11) (PDF). Oxford. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 August 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. ^ The Citadel: Position, EnjoyJerusalem.com (EU-supported Palestinian website)
  10. ^ "al-Qal'a Mosque (Masjid Mehrab e Dawud)". Madain Project. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  11. ^ "Tower of David Mosques". Madain Project. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  12. ^ Tower of David: History of a Citadel, at the homepage (2007) of the Tower of David Museum of the History of Jerusalem Archived 2007-09-05 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ Israel Antiquities Authority, Excavators and Excavations Permit for Year 2010, Survey Permit # A-5826

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tower of David.

Further reading

31°46′34″N 35°13′40″E / 31.77611°N 35.22778°E / 31.77611; 35.22778

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