EXPANSION & CONTRACTION OF JERUSALEM'S OLD CITY WALLS OVER TIME.

MY ISRAEL:

FIRST TEMPLE PERIOD (1010 B.C.E – 586 B.C.E.)

During Joshua’s conquest of the land, the Canaanite tribe known as the Jebusites inhabited the city of Jebus. Joshua was unable to capture the city & the task fell to King David (1010 B.C.E. – 970 B.C.E.). The city’s capture, recorded in both 2: Samuel 5:7 & 1: Chronicles 11:5 was renamed Jerusalem & occupied the same area as today’s City of David. REFER TO SKETCH 1.

It was left to King David’s son King Solomon (970 B.C.E-930 B.C.E.) to build the Temple on Mount Moriah, which lies to the north of the city (1 Chronicles 22:10). The borders of the city thus extended northwards and the area consequently enlarged. REFER TO SKETCH 2.

Bear in mind that the United Kingdom under the leadership of King’s David & Solomon lasted from 1010 B.C.E to 930 B.C.E. On the death of Solomon, the United Kingdom split in two and became known as the Divided Kingdom. The area to the north of Jerusalem known as the kingdom of Israel housed 10 of the 12 Israelite tribes. Jerusalem and the area to the south known as the Kingdom of Judea, housed the 2 remaining Israelite tribes.

In 722 B.C.E., the king of Assyria, namely Sargon 2, destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel, banished the 10 tribes living in the area who today are collectively referred to as “the 10 lost tribes”. Jews that managed to avert capture fled southwards to the kingdom of Judah, the majority of whom took up residence in Jerusalem.

King Sanacherib (705 B.C.E – 681 B.C.E.), who ascended to the Assyrian throne after the death of Sargon 2, threatened the kingdom of Judah during the reign of Hezekiah (716 B.C.E – 687 B.C.E.), the 13th king of the kingdom of Judah. To accommodate the influx of Jews from the northern kingdom of Israel and respond to the Assyrian threat, Hezekiah strengthened & extended the walls to the west & south thereby enclosing a much larger area. Known as the 1st Wall, a portion of which was uncovered during excavations in 1970 & named the Broad Wall. The Broad Wall is 65 meters long, 3.3 meters wide and was 7 meters high. Referred to in Nehemiah 3:8 & Isiah 22:10 the latter of which mentions the houses destroyed in order to build the wall. The archaeological remains of this site completely conform to the biblical narrative. Both the wall and remnants of the houses occupy a small part of the present day Jewish quarter within the Old City. REFER TO SKETCH 3.

Under the leadership of Nebuchadnezzar (605 B.C.E – 538 B.C.E.) the Babylonian empire destroyed the First Temple in 586 B.C.E. & exiled the Jews from Judea. The boundaries of Jerusalem shrank to those that existed during the time of King Solomon & those walls still standing were in need of repair.

SECOND TEMPLE PERIOD (586 B.C.E. – 73 C.E.)

The Persian Period (586 B.C.E. – 332 B.C.E.). Governed by the emperor Cyrus (580 B.C.E. – 529 B.C.E.), Persia became the dominant power in the region. He issued an edict in 538 B.C.E. allowing the Jews to return to their homeland. Accompanying the Jews on their return, were Nehemiah & Ezra. In today’s terms, Nehemiah could be the mayor of Jerusalem, & Ezra, the chief rabbi of the city. Nehemiah supervised the repairing of the walls & the rebuilding of the temple whist Ezra dealt with religious conduct. REFER TO SKETCH 4.

The Hellenistic period (332 B.C.E – 167 B.C.E.), witnessed the Temple being ruthlessly desecrated.

The Hasmonian period (167 B.C.E. – 63 B.C.E.), is characterized by the fight against Hellenization. They succeeded in cleansing and rededicating the temple to the one and only God, an event celebrated by the holiday of Hannuka. The Hasmonians, also known as the Maccabim, restored and rebuilt the walls along the contours of the earlier walls built by the Judean king Hezekiah. The boundaries of Jerusalem thus expanded once again. REFER TO SKETCH 5.

The Romans arrived on the scene in 63 B.C.E., & occupied the land until 324 C.E. An early segment of the Roman period is known as the Herodian period & began in 37 B.C.E & ended with Herod’s death in 4 B.C.E.

Despised by the Jews, Herod did however expand the borders of Jerusalem to the north by building the 2nd Wall. It was Herod who built the 4 retaining walls around Mount Moriah, namely the Southern, Eastern, Northern & Western wall, the latter of which also known as the Kotel or Wailing wall. These walls built in order to create the platform referred to as the Temple Mount. Additionally Herod transformed the existing Temple into a magnificent structure, surrounding it with a number of auxiliary buildings. REFER TO SKETCH 6.

Agrippa 1, the grandson of Herod became king of Judea & built the third wall. This 3rd wall encompassed a large area to the north, radically extending the boundaries of Jerusalem. Today, remnants of this wall are located alongside a petrol station way beyond the present day walls of the Old City. REFER TO SKETCH 7.

In 70 C.E., the Romans destroyed the Second Temple, demolished much of the surrounding walls & exiled the Jews from the land. REFER TO SKETCH 8

During the Byzantine Period (324 C.E. – 638 C.E.), Early Arab Period (638 – 1099), Crusader Period (1099 – 1291) & Mamluk Period (1291 – 1516), the existing boundary walls were left untouched.

THE OTTOMAN PERIOD (1516 – 1917).

Built on the remnants of much older walls, the present day walls & 6 of the 8 major gates were built between 1537-1541 by the Ottoman sultan, Suleiman the magnificent (1520-1566). The walls are approximately 4.5 kilometers in length, vary in height from 5 to 15 meters & have an average thickness of 3 meters. The Old City including the Temple Mount covers an area of 0.9 square kilometers. The Temple Mount itself covers an area of 0.15 square kilometers.

REFER TO SKETCH 9.

Ron Traub (Tour Guide & Architect).

Website: rontraub-tours.com

Annotated sketches: Ron Traub.

Photo’s: Rimonah Traub.