Jerusalem Besieged

by Cline, Eric H.

• ISBN13: 9780472031207
• ISBN10: 0472031201
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-10-31
• Publisher: Univ of Michigan Pr

Summary

"Jerusalem Besiegedis a fascinating account of how and why a baffling array of peoples, ideologies, and religions have fought for some four thousand years over a city without either great wealth, size, or strategic importance. Cline guides us through the baffling, but always bloody, array of Jewish, Roman, Moslem, Crusader, Ottoman, Western, Arab, and Israeli fights for possession of such a symbolic prize in a manner that is both scholarly and engaging." -Victor Davis Hanson, Stanford University; author ofThe Other GreeksandCarnage and Culture "A beautifully lucid presentation of four thousand years of history in a single volume. Cline writes primarily as an archaeologist-avoiding polemic and offering evidence for any religious claims-yet he has also incorporated much journalistic material into this study. Jerusalem Besieged will enlighten anyone interested in the history of military conflict in and around Jerusalem." -Col. Rose Mary Sheldon, Virginia Military Institute "This groundbreaking study offers a fascinating synthesis of Jerusalem's military history from its first occupation into the modern era. Cline amply deploys primary source material to investigate assaults on Jerusalem of every sort, starting at the dawn of recorded history. Jerusalem Besieged is invaluable for framing the contemporary situation in the Middle East in the context of a very long and pertinent history." -Baruch Halpern, Pennsylvania State University A sweeping history of four thousand years of struggle for control of one city "[An] absorbing account of archaeological history, from the ancient Israelites' first conquest to today's second intifada. Cline clearly lays out the fascinating history behind the conflicts." -USA Today "A pleasure to read, this work makes this important but complicated subject fascinating." -Jewish Book World "Jerusalem Besieged is a fascinating account of how and why a baffling array of peoples, ideologies, and religions have fought for some four thousand years over a city without either great wealth, size, or strategic importance. Cline guides us through the baffling, but always bloody, array of Jewish, Roman, Moslem, Crusader, Ottoman, Western, Arab, and Israeli fights for possession of such a symbolic prize in a manner that is both scholarly and engaging." -Victor Davis Hanson, Stanford University; author of The Other Greeks and Carnage and Culture

Table of Contents

Abbreviations	xv
List of Maps	xvii
List of Illustrations	xix
List of Tables	xxi
Introduction: A Lonely Ship on a Hostile Sea	1	(10)
JERUSALEM UNDER SIEGE
CHAPTER 1 A Rock and a High Place	11	(25)
DAVID AND THE JEBUSITES, 1000 BCE
CHAPTER 2 The End of the Beginning	36	(32)
NEBUCHADNEZZAR AND THE NEO-BABYLONIANS, 586 BCE
CHAPTER 3 Oil upon Troubled Waters	68	(28)
THE MACCABEAN REBELLION, 165 BCE
CHAPTER 4 In Blood and Fire	96	(40)
THE FIRST AND SECOND JEWISH REVOLTS, 70 AND 135 CE
CHAPIER 5 The "Holy House"	136	(28)
THE ARRIVAL OF ISLAM, 638 CE
CHAPTER 6 For God, Gold, and Glory	164	(37)
THE CRUSADERS AND SALADIN, 1099 AND 1187 CE
CHAPTER 7 The Sultan and the City	201	(34)
SELIM I AND THE OTTOMANS, 1516 CE
CHAPTER 8 Peace to Their Ashes, Honor to Their Memory	235	(32)
ALLENBY AND THE ALLIED FORCES, 1917 CE
CHAPTER 9 Jerusalem of Gold	267	(32)
THE ARAB-ISRAELI WARS, 1948 AND 1967 CE
CHAPTER 10 Speak Tenderly to Jerusalem	299	(12)
THE INTIFADAS AND BEYOND
Notes	311	(50)
Bibliography	361	(36)
Index	397