BY DR. RICHARD BOOKER–
In this article we continue our study of Jerusalem covering the Roman and Byzantine period through the time of Saladin.
Roman and Byzantine Period
First Jewish Revolt (66-73 AD)
While the “Times of the Gentiles” began with Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon, it was the Romans that would scatter the Jews to the nations and establish Gentile domination of Jerusalem for centuries. In the gospel of Luke, we learn of the census for tax purposes that caused Joseph and Mary to go to Bethlehem to register for the census (Luke 2:1-7). This census caused an uprising that would eventually lead to the First Jewish Revolt which took place from 66-73 AD.
The revolt brought the Roman armies into Israel to crush the uprising. When Titus attacked Jerusalem in 70 AD, he burned the city, burned down the Temple, slaughtered over one million Jews, and sold the survivors as slaves to foreign merchants who carried them off to the various nations of the world. This was on the ninth of Av, the same date Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem in 586. As was the Roman custom, Jerusalem was “ploughed up with a yoke of oxen” as Jesus prophesied in Matthew 24:1-2. The final victory for the Romans was in 73 AD at Masada, where 960 Jewish zealots took their lives rather than falling into the hands of the Romans.
Second Jewish Revolt (132-135 AD)
The second Jewish Revolt took place a generation later when Rabbi Akiba pronounced that Simon bar Kochba was the Messiah. Bar Kochba attempted to overthrow the Romans in 132-135 AD. Once again, the Romans, under the Emperor Hadrian, slaughtered the Jews unmercifully and further scattered them throughout his empire. Hadrian renamed the land of Israel after the Jews ancient enemy the Philistines. He called it “Palestine.” He renamed Jerusalem after himself and called it “Aelia Capitalina.” Hadrian built a temple to Jupiter on the Temple Mount and did everything he could to make Jerusalem a pagan city. He forbid the Jews to enter the city and Jerusalem would fall into the hands of the Gentiles for the next 1,832 years until 1967 AD.
Pre-Christian Rome (135-312 BC)
Between the time of Hadrian and Constantine, pagan imperial Rome ruled Palestine and Jerusalem through various governor-generals. Their provincial capital was in Caesarea. But everything was about to change with Constantine.
Byzantine Roman Rule (312-638 AD)
When Constantine (288-337 AD) became the Emperor of Rome, he claimed that the Christian God helped give him his victories. As a result, Constantine issued decrees (Edict of Milan 313 AD) favoring Christianity. Constantine sent his mother, Helena to Palestine to build church structures in the Holy Land in honor of his new Christian religion. Helena (250-330? AD) traveled the 1,400 miles from Rome to Palestine at the age of 80. She built the basilica in Bethlehem, the Church of the Holy Sepulture in Jerusalem and a basilica on the Mount of Olives honoring the Lord’s ascension. Legend is that Helena found the true cross of Jesus and other Christian relics. In the next generation, the Empress Eudocia traveled to Jerusalem in 438 AD and contributed to the building of Christian structures around Jerusalem.
As the Roman Empire in the west began to crumble, Constantine moved his capital to Byzantium in the east (331 AD). The empire then became known as the Byzantine Empire. Constantine rebuilt Byzantium into a Christian city and called it Constantinople. Later it would be conquered by the Turks and renamed Istanbul.
Constantine encouraged pilgrimages to Jerusalem and the Holy Land. As a result, many Christian pilgrims went to Palestine and built churches and monasteries throughout the land on sites believed to be important according to New Testament events. While the Christian population increased, Jews were not permitted to enter Jerusalem without special permission. While there was always a small Jewish presence in the Land, Jews were not permitted to pray in Jerusalem except on the ninth of Av, the day that memorialized the destruction of the First and Second Temples.
In 614 AD, the Persians invaded Palestine and with the help of the Jews, defeated the Byzantines. As a thank you for their help, the Persians allowed the Jews to live in Jerusalem. The Byzantines returned in 629 AD and defeated the Persians. They reestablished Jerusalem as a Christian city and, once again, forbid the Jews from living there. This situation lasted until 638 AD when the Arabs defeated the Byzantines and captured Jerusalem. Almost all of the Christian churches were destroyed by the Persians and Muslims. Some were rebuilt by the Crusaders and again destroyed by the Muslims.
Muslim Period
The next drama in the history of Jerusalem was the Muslim Period. When Mohammed was alive, his travels and conquests were limited to Arabia. He certainly never went to Palestine, contrary to Muslim legend. There was no Islam or Mosque in Jerusalem until after Mohammed’s death.
When Mohammed died in 632 AD, he had not appointed a successor. This almost always causes rivalries to fight for control of the movement or organization. Islam was no exception. Mohammed was succeeded by four warlords called caliphs (meaning successors). The first three caliphs were not related to Mohammed. The fourth caliph, Ali, was Mohammed’s cousin and son-in-law. Ali was assassinated in 661 AD. This action caused a split in the Muslim world that is still with us today. One group, the Sunnis, follows the teaching that the caliphs were legitimate successors to Mohammed. The other group, the Shiites, believe that the leader must be a descendant of Mohammed.
This split can be compared to the split between the Catholics and Protestants in the 1,500’s and the wars and brutality that followed as best exemplified by the Inquisition against the Jews and true Christians. While the Catholics and Protestants have stopped fighting each other for the most part, the struggle between the Sunni and the Shiites has been going on for 1,400 years and continues today.
Umayyad Arabs (638-750 AD)
The first successors to Mohammed were the Umayyad Arabs. They were Sunni. They expanded Islam beyond the borders of Arabia, and in a short time, conquered all of the Middle East, including Jerusalem. They ruled from their capital in Damascus from 638-750 AD. During their rule, Caliph Abed al-Malik built the Dome of the Rock in 692 AD. His son built the Al Aska mosque in 711-712 AD.
Abbasids Arabs (750-1099 AD)
The Shiite Muslims were called the Abbasids. They revolted against the Umayyads and defeated them. They ruled the Middle East from Baghdad from 750-1099 AD. They expanded Muslim rule to North Africa and Spain all the way to France until they were defeated by Charles Martel in the Battle of Tours outside Paris in 732 AD. This was one of the most important battles of history as it stopped the Muslim advance in the Christian West.
While conditions for the Jews in Palestine under Muslim rule were not good, it was better than under the rule of the Byzantines. A small Jewish community was allowed to develop in Jerusalem and the Jews were allowed to pray at the Western Wall. But situation for Jews in Jerusalem would soon go from bad to worse as the Crusaders were preparing to liberate the Holy Land from the infidels. This desire to expel the infidels became more urgent when an Egyptian leader named Al-Hakim fought over Jerusalem with a Turkish group known as the Seljuks. The Seljuks captured Jerusalem in 1091 and held it until 1098 when the Egyptians took control of it in 1098.
The Crusader Period
Crusaders (1099-1291 AD)
One of the darkest hours for Jerusalem and the Jews was during the period of the Crusades. The Crusades were military expeditions conducted under the authority and with the blessing of the Catholic Church. Their purpose was to recover the Holy Land from the Muslims and stop the spread of Islam. Although some of the Crusaders were sincere (but misguided) Christians, many more were evil-hearted men who were Christian in name only. The Crusades gave them an opportunity to kill and plunder with impunity in the name of God while having their sins forgiven by the Pope.
The Crusaders not only hated the Muslims, they also hated the Jews. During their conquest of the Holy Land, which turned out to be a failure, they savagely butchered thousands of Jews. This was all done under the “banner of the cross and in the name of Christ.” When the Crusaders reached Jerusalem, their swords were already bathed in blood. They killed the Muslims and herded the Jews into a synagogue. As they sang, “O Christ, We Adore Thee,” they set fire to the synagogue and burned the Jews alive who were inside.
Saladin the Kurd (1187-1193AD)
Fortunately, this brutal misguided religious jihad would soon come to an end. While it seems almost sacrilegious for a Christian to make the following comment, it was better for the Jews that the Muslims defeated the Christians and eventually drove them from Jerusalem. Whereas the Crusaders banished the Jews from Jerusalem, Saladin invited them to return to the city.
Saladin, a Kurd from Iraq, defeated the Crusader army at the Horn of Hittin in July 1187. This was the beginning of the end of the Crusader rule of Jerusalem. Saladin conquered Jerusalem in October 1187 at which time the Crusader army withdrew to a small defensible area along the coast. They were finally driven from the Holy Land in 1291 when they surrendered Acco (Acre) to the Mamelukes. To this day, Saladin is considered a great hero and inspiration to the Muslims in their quest to defeat the “Crusader West” led by America and their proxy, Israel.
Dr. Richard Booker is a bestselling author and speaker and the Founder of Sounds of the Trumpet and the Institute for Hebraic-Christian Studies. He is a contributing editor for the Jerusalem Connection. To learn more of his work, see his web site at: www.rbooker.com.