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Provides a short, accessible, and lively introduction to Jerusalem
Jerusalem - A Brief History shows how Jewish, Christian, and Islamic scriptures confer providential meaning to the fate of the city and how modern Jerusalem is haunted by waves of biblical fantasy aiming at mutually exclusive status-quo rectification. It presents the major epochs of the history of Jerusalem’s urban transformation, inviting readers to imagine Jerusalem as a city that is not just sacred to the many groups of people who hold it dear, but as a united, unharmed place that is, in this sense, holy.
Jerusalem - A Brief History starts in modern Jerusalem—giving readers a look at the city as it exists today. It goes on to tell of its emergence as a holy city in three different ways, focusing each time on another aspect of the biblical past. Next, it discusses the transformation of Jerusalem from a formerly Jewish temple city, condemned to oblivion by its Roman destroyers, into an imperially sponsored Christian theme park, and the afterlife of that same city under later Byzantine and Muslim rulers. Lastly, the book returns to present day Jerusalem to examine the development of the modern city under the Ottomans and the British, the history of division and reunification, and the ongoing jostling over access to, and sovereignty over, Jerusalem’s contested holy places.
Jerusalem - A Brief History is a comprehensive and thoughtful introduction to the Holy City that will appeal to any student of religion and/or history.
MICHAEL ZANK is Professor of Religion and Jewish Studies at Boston University where he teaches a course on Holy City: Jerusalem in Time, Space, and Imagination. He has published a number of volumes including: New Perspectives on Martin Buber and The Idea of Atonement in the Philosophy of Hermann Cohen. He has been recognized twice as an outstanding teacher at Boston University.
About this Book vii
Acknowledgments xiii
Maps xvi
Part I Introducing Jerusalem 1
1 Location, Recent History, Demography 3
2 Cities Within 14
3 Communities and Meanings 24
Part II Biblical City 35
4 “Holy City”: A Clarification of Terms 37
5 The Making of a Memorable Place 47
6 Kings, Priests, and the Politics of “One God Alone” 59
7 Kinship, Covenant, and Sectarian Divide 70
8 City and Scenario 82
Part III Imperial City 93
9 Constantine’s Hagiapolis Hierousalem 95
10 Pax Christiana sive Islamica 103
11 Arab Conquest 114
12 City of the Holy House (Madinat Bayt al‐Maqdis) 122
13 The Kingdom of Jerusalem: Of Warlords, Popes, and Preachers of Jihad 135
Part IV Modern City 147
14 Ottoman Kudus 149
15 Ethnic Separation, Partition, and Division 160
16 Unholy City 169
Jerusalem: A Timeline 184
References 214
Index 232
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