Walls of Jerusalem
UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
---|---|
Location | Jerusalem |
Part of | Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls |
Criteria | Cultural: (ii), (iii), (vi) |
Reference | 148rev |
Inscription | 1981 (5th Session) |
Endangered | 1982–... |
Coordinates | 31°47′N 35°13′E / 31.783°N 35.217°E |
Site proposed by Jordan |
The Walls of Jerusalem (
The length of the walls is 4,018 meters (2.497 miles), their average height is 12 meters (39 feet) and the average thickness is 2.5 meters (8.2 feet). The walls contain 34 watchtowers and seven main gates open for traffic, with two minor gates reopened by archaeologists.
In 1981, the Jerusalem walls were added, along with the Old City of Jerusalem, to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list.[3]
Pre-Israelite city
The city of Jerusalem has been surrounded by
Israelite city (ca. 1000–587/86 BCE)
According to Jewish tradition, as expressed in the
During the First Temple period the city walls were extended to include the northwest hill as well, i.e. the area where today's
The entire city was destroyed in 587/86 BCE during the siege led by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
Jewish postexilic city
After the
Aelia Capitolina and Byzantine Jerusalem
In 70 CE, as a result of the Roman siege during the First Jewish–Roman War, the walls were almost completely destroyed. Jerusalem would remain in ruins for some six decades and without protective walls for over 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 between 289 and the turn of the century. The walls were extensively renewed by the Empress Aelia Eudocia during her banishment to Jerusalem (443–460).
Middle Ages
In 1033, most of the walls constructed by Eudocia were
Ottoman period
In the 16th century, during the reign of the Ottoman Empire in the region, Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent decided to rebuild the city walls fully, partly on the remains of the ancient walls. Being built in circa 1537–1541, they are the walls that exist today.
An inscription in Arabic from the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent states:
Has decreed the construction of the wall he who has protected the home of Islam with his might and main and wiped out the tyranny of idols with his power and strength, he whom alone God has enabled to enslave the necks of kings in countries (far and wide) and deservedly acquire the throne of the Caliphate, the Sultan son of the Sultan son of the Sultan son of the Sultan, Suleyman.[9]
Qasr Jalud
At the northwest corner of the Ottoman wall, archaeologists have discovered the meager remains of a large tower, c. 35x35 metres, probably first built in the 11th century during the
See also
Regarding 16th-century walls
- Gates of the Old City of Jerusalem. Seven of the eight main gates belong to 16th-century walls.
- Mimar Sinan (1488/90-1588), Ottoman chief architect. The walls and gates of Jerusalem are attributed to him or his office, along with the mosque of Haseki Sultan Imaret.
- Clifford Holliday, Mandate-period architect who drew up a master plan for Jerusalem and the restoration of the Old City walls.
- Broad Wall (Jerusalem) – city wall of Jerusalem from the time of Hezekiah (ca. 700 BCE)
- Southern Wall of the Temple Mount
- Western Wall – also known as the Wailing Wall, the accessible part of the western retaining wall of the Temple Mount
- Walls of Jerusalem National Park – a national park in Tasmania Australia named after the Walls of Jerusalem for having natural rock formations that resemble the Walls
References
- ISBN 978-0-19-923666-4. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
- ^ "Aerial Ride for Every Venue". Rollglider. 2020-01-08. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
- ^ "WH Committee: 1st Extraordinary Session, Paris 1981". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. 1981-09-30. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
- ^ Urusalim e.g. in EA 289:014, Urušalim e.g. in EA 287:025. Transcription online at "The El Amarna Letters from Canaan". Tau.ac.il. Retrieved 11 September 2010.; translation by Knudtzon 1915 (English in Percy Stuart Peache Handcock, Selections from the Tell El-Amarna letters (1920).
- ^ See, e.g., Holman Bible Dictionary, op. cit. supra.
- ^ "Nehemiah". www.britannica.com.
- ^ Josephus, De Bello Judaico (Wars of the Jews) v.iv.§ 2
- .
- ^ "Building inscription commemorating the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Ottoman period, 1535-1538, Stone, Israel Antiquities Authority, IAA: 1942-265, Archaeology/Islamic Art & Archaeology".
- ^ ISBN 9781134582723. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
- ^ a b Tancred's Tower / Qasr Jalud (Goliath's Castle), Institute for International Urban Development (I2UD), accessed June 2020