History of Jerusalem

The history of Jerusalem is the record of a city repeatedly shaped by conquest, religious attachment, migration, and competing claims to sovereignty.

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Bronze Age Jerusalem: Jerusalem was a fortified settlement in the southern Levant during the Bronze Age. The city’s earliest documented history begins as a small center under Egyptian influence.
Herodian Jerusalem: Herodian Jerusalem was the city expanded and monumentalized under Herod the Great in the late first century BCE. Herod enlarged the Temple Mount and transformed the city before Roman rule.
David (king of Israel): David is the biblical king associated with establishing Jerusalem as the capital of an Israelite kingdom. The tradition of Davidic rule anchors Jerusalem’s place in Jewish history.
British Mandate for Palestine: The British Mandate for Palestine was the League of Nations mandate governing Palestine from 1920 to 1948. British administration intensified disputes over immigration, sovereignty, and the city’s future.
Temple Mount: The Temple Mount is a sacred Jerusalem compound revered in Judaism and Islam. Jewish and Muslim attachments to this site make access and sovereignty especially contentious.
Amarna Letters: The Amarna Letters are 14th-century BCE diplomatic correspondence among Egypt and rulers of the eastern Mediterranean. Their letters include appeals from Jerusalem’s ruler to Egypt’s pharaoh.
Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE): The Siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE was the Roman capture and destruction of the city during the First Jewish–Roman War. Rome’s victory destroyed the Second Temple and reshaped Jewish life in Jerusalem.
Herod the Great: Herod the Great was a Roman client king of Judea who ruled from 37 to 4 BCE. His construction projects dramatically expanded Jerusalem’s Temple complex.
1948 Arab–Israeli War: The 1948 Arab–Israeli War was fought between the new state of Israel and neighboring Arab states and Palestinian forces. The war divided Jerusalem between Israeli and Jordanian control.
Western Wall: The Western Wall is a surviving retaining wall of the ancient Temple Mount and a Jewish prayer site. It embodies Jewish continuity and devotion within the contested old city.