Jerusalem: Past, Present, and Future

Catalog description

Jerusalem, a city sacred to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, is often depicted as the spiritual and physical center of the world. Throughout its 5000-year history, Jerusalem has attracted diverse cultures, empires, and peoples who have vied for control of this holy city. Jerusalem: Past, Present, and Future surveys the cultural, religious, political, archaeological, and historical record of Jerusalem, beginning with its earliest settlement during the third millennia BCE; through its expansion as a second millennium Canaanite urban center; its role as the capital of Israel and Judah during the first millennium BCE biblical periods; the influence of the Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Crusader, Mamluk, and Ottoman empires; and its development under Jewish, Christian, and Islamic control. The significance of Jerusalem's past, its impact on contemporary society and politics in the modern Middle East, and differing visions for this contested city's future are examined in light of various interpretations of the textual and archaeological evidence.