Jerusalem: The Biography Read online

  By the same author

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  Sashenka

  JERUSALEM

  THE BIOGRAPHY

  Simon Sebag Montefiore

  To my darling daughter

  Lily Bathsheba

  The view of Jerusalem is the history of the world; it is more; it is the history of heaven and earth.

  Benjamin Disraeli, Tancred

  The city has been destroyed, rebuilt, destroyed and rebuilt again. Jerusalem is an old nymphomaniac who squeezes lover after lover to death, before shrugging him off her with a yawn, a black widow who devours her mates while they are still penetrating her.

  Amos Oz, A Tale of Love and Darkness

  The Land of Israel is the centre of the world; Jerusalem is the centre of the Land; the Holy Temple is the centre of Jerusalem; the Holy of Holies is the centre of the Holy Temple; the Holy Ark is the centre of the Holy of Holies and the Foundation Stone from which the world was established is before the Holy Ark.

  Midrash Tanhuma, Kedoshim 10

  The sanctuary of the earth is Syria; the sanctuary of Syria is Palestine; the sanctuary of Palestine is Jerusalem; the sanctuary of Jerusalem is the Mount; the sanctuary of the Mount is the place of worship; the sanctuary of the place of worship is the Dome of the Rock.

  Thaur ibn Yazid, Fadail

  Jerusalem is the most illustrious of cities. Still Jerusalem has some disadvantages. Thus it is reported ‘Jerusalem is a golden goblet full of scorpions’.

  Muqaddasi, Description of Syria including Palestine

  CONTENTS

  List of Illustrations

  List of Family Trees and Maps

  Preface

  Acknowledgements

  Notes on Names, Transliterations and Titles

  Prologue

  PART ONE: JUDAISM

  1. The World of David

  2. The Rise of David

  3. The Kingdom and the Temple

  4. The Kings of Judah

  5. The Whore of Babylon

  6. The Persians

  7. The Macedonians

  8. The Maccabees

  9. The Romans Arrive

  10. The Herods

  11. Jesus Christ

  12. The Last of the Herods

  13. Jewish Wars: The Death of Jerusalem

  PART TWO: PAGANISM

  14. Aelia Capitolina

  PART THREE CHRISTIANITY

  15. The Apogee of Byzantium

  16. Sunset of the Byzantines: Persian Invasion

  PART FOUR: ISLAM

  17. The Arab Conquest

  18. The Umayyads: The Temple Restored

  19. The Abbasids: Distant Masters

  20. The Fatimids: Tolerance and Lunacy

  PART FIVE: CRUSADE

  21. The Slaughter

  22. The Rise of Outremer

  23. The Golden Age of Outremer

  24. Stalemate

  25. The Leper-King

  26. Saladin

  27. The Third Crusade: Saladin and Richard

  28. The Saladin Dynasty

  PART SIX: MAMLUK

  29. Slave to Sultan

  30. Decline of the Mamluks

  PART SEVEN: OTTOMAN

  31. The Magnificence of Suleiman

  32. Mystics and Messiahs

  33. The Families

  PART EIGHT: EMPIRE

  34. Napoleon in the Holy Land

  35. The New Romantics: Chateaubriand and Disraeli

  36. The Albanian Conquest

  37. The Evangelists

  38. The New City

  39. The New Religion

  40. Arab City, Imperial City

  41. Russians

  PART NINE: ZIONISM

  42. The Kaiser

  43. The Oud-Player Of Jerusalem

  44. World War

  45. Arab Revolt, Balfour Declaration

  46. The Christmas Present

  47. The Victors And The Spoils

  48. The British Mandate

  49. The Arab Revolt

  50. The Dirty War

  51. Jewish Independence, Arab Catastrophe

  52. Divided

  53. Six Days

  Epilogue

  Family Trees

  Maps

  Notes

  Bibliography

  Index

  Copyright

  ILLUSTRATIONS

  SECTION ONE

  Aerial view of the Temple Mount (Albatross/Topfoto)

  Tel Dan stele, c. 850 BC (Zev Radovan)

  Ivory pomegranate, Israel Museum (AKG)

  Section of Hezekiah’s wall (AKG)

  The Siloam inscription, c. 700 BC, Istanbul Archaeological Museum (AKG)

  Detail of relief from the palace of Sennacherib in Nineveh (AKG)

  Detail of relief from the Treasury of the Palace of Persepolis (Bridgeman Art Library)

  Coin discovered near Jericho, c. 333 BC (Zev Radovan)

  Silver tetradrachm of Ptolemy I Soter, c. 300 BC, Israel Museum (AKG)

  Silver tetradrachm of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, c. 175 BC, Israel Museum (AKG)

  Judah the Maccabee

  Silver denarius of Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII (The Trustees of the British Museum)

  Reconstruction of the Second Temple, Israel Museum (AKG)

  Ossuary of ‘Simon the builder of the Sanctuary’ (AKG)

  Greek inscription from the temple, c.50 BC, Istanbul Archaeological Museum (AKG)

  South-eastern corner of Herodian wall encircling the Temple Mount (Zev Radovan)

  The Crucifixion, Hubert van Eyck, Ca’ d’Oro, Venice (Bridgeman Art Library)

  Coin of Herod Antipas, c. AD 4–39, Israel Museum (AKG)

  Coin of Herod Agrippa I, c. AD 43–39, Israel Museum (AKG)

  Head of Titus, first century AD, Louvre Museum, Paris (Bridgeman Art Library)

  Skeletal arm of young woman, AD 67 (Zev Radovan)

  Rocks at the foot of the Wall, Jerusalem (author’s photograph)

  Detail from the Arch of Titus, Rome (AKG)

  Coin minted to commemorate victory over Judaea, AD 81 (Zev Radovan)

  Bronze bust of Hadrian, c. 135, Israel Museum (Bridgeman Art Library)

  Silver coin issued by Simon bar Kochba, c. 132–5, Israel Museum (AKG)

  Fourth-century pilgrim graffiti, Church of the Holy Sepulchre (AKG)

  Colossal head of Constantine the Great, Palazzo dei Conservatori, Rome (AKG)

  SECTION TWO

  Marble statue of Julian the Apostate, 362, Louvre Museum, Paris (AKG)

  Justinian I and his retinue, c. 550, San Vitale, Ravenna (Bridgeman Art Library)

  Theodora and her retinue, c. 550, San Vitale, Ravenna (Bridgeman Art Library)

  Mosaic map of Palestine, Madaba (AKG)

  The Golden Gate (author’s photograph)

  Ascension of Muhammad, from a manuscript of Nizami’s poem ‘Khamza’, 1539–43, British Library (AKG)

  Umayyad dynasty gold dinar showing Abd al-Malik (The Trustees of the British Museum)

  The Dome of the Rock (AKG)

  Interior of the Dome of the Rock (Garo Nalbandian)

  The looting of Jerusalem in 1099, illuminated miniature from a universal chronicle, Jean de Courcy, Bibliotèque Nationale, Paris (Bridgeman Art Library)

  Baldwin I crosses the Jordan, illumination from Roman de Godefroi de Bouillon, Bibliotèque Nationale, Paris (AKG)

  Medieval map of Jerusalem from Robert the Monk’s Chronicle of the Crusades (Corbis)

  Melisende marrying Fulk of Anjou from the Histoire de la conquete de Jerusalem by William of Tyre, Bibliotèque Nationale, Paris (Bridgeman Art Li
brary)

  Melisende’s psalter, c. 1131–43, British Library (AKG)

  Baldwin IV and William of Tyre, illumination from Histoire de Outremer by William of Tyre, British Library (AKG)

  Portrait of Saladin, British Library (Bridgeman Art Library)

  Frederick II entering Jerusalem, 1227, Vatican Library (AKG)

  The Dome of Ascension (AKG)

  Entrance to the Market of the Cotton Merchants

  Qaitbay fountain (AKG)

  Suleiman I, portrait attributed to school of Titian, c. 1530, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (AKG)

  Fountain of the Gate of the Chain (AKG)

  Engraving of Sabbatai Zevi (AKG)

  Detail from the exterior mosaics of the Dome of the Rock (Corbis)

  SECTION THREE

  Ibrahim Pasha, Charles-Philippe Larivière, Museum of French History at the Palace of Versailles (RMN)

  Greek Church of the Holy Sepulchre, David Roberts, 1839 (AKG)

  Sir Moses Montefiore (author’s collection)

  Montefiore windmill (Mishkenot Sha’ananim)

  Photograph of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Patriarch Yessayi, 1861 (Armenian Partriarchate)

  A group of Yemenite Jews (American Colony)

  A group of Ashkenazi Jews, 1885, Hulton Archive (Getty)

  Crowd of Russian pilgrims at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (American Colony)

  King David Street, Granger Collection (Topfoto)

  Theodor Herzl and his family, Hulton Archive (Getty)

  Kaiser Wilhelm II in Jerusalem, 1889, Hulton Archive (Getty)

  The Kaiser at the Tomb of the Kings (American Colony)

  Bertha Spafford and other members of the American Colony with Bedouin friends, 1902 (American Colony)

  Hussein Selim al-Husseini (American Colony)

  Montagu Parker (Morley family archives)

  Wasif Jawhariyyeh (Institute for Palestine Studies)

  Jemal Pasha, 1915 (American Colony)

  Turkish executions in Jerusalem (Mary Evans Picture Library)

  Chaim Weizmann, 1918

  David Lloyd George and Winston Churchill, 1910 (Getty)

  T.E. Lawrence on the governor’s balcony, 1920 (Getty)

  The Mayor of Jerusalem surrenders the city, 1917 (Getty)

  Fourth of July reception at the American Colony (American Colony)

  Winston Churchill, T. E. Lawrence and Amir Abdullah in the gardens of Government House, 1921, Matson Photograph Collection (Library of Congress, Washington, DC)

  SECTION FOUR

  Investiture by the Duke of Connaught in Barracks Square (American Colony)

  Group outside Government House, 1924 (Israel State Archive)

  King Hussein in Jerusalem, 1923 (Library of Congress, Washington, DC)

  King Faisal and Amir Abdullah surrounded by students, 1933, Matson Photograph Collection (Library of Congress, Washington, DC)

  David Ben-Gurion, 1924 (Mary Evans Picture Library)

  Mufti Amin al-Husseini at the Nabi Musa festival, 1937 (Keystone Press, France)

  Holy Fire ceremony, 1941, Matson Photograph Collection (Library of Congress, Washington, DC)

  Prayers at the Western Wall, 1944 (Central Zionist Archives)

  Asmahan (Getty)

  Mufti Amin al-Husseini meets Adolf Hitler, 1941 (AKG)

  Abd al-Kadir al-Husseini, 1940s (Associated Press)

  Abd al-Kadir al-Husseini’s funeral procession, 1948 (Government Press Office, State of Israel)

  Bombing of the King David Hotel

  Katy Antonius (Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs)

  Jerusalem in smoke during the Arab–Israeli War, 28 May 1948 (Mary Evans Picture Library)

  Arab soldiers escorting a Jewish prisoner, 1 June 1948, Time and Life Pictures (Getty)

  Jewish girl fleeing from burning buildings, 28 May 1948, Time and Life Pictures (Getty)

  Arab troops behind sandbag barricades, 1 June 1948 (AKG)

  King Abdullah with crowds in Jerusalem, 1 July 1948 (Getty)

  The scene in al-Aqsa mosque after King Abdullah’s assassination, 20 July 1951 (Associated Press)

  King Hussein of Jordan, 29 July 1967 (Associated Press)

  Yitzhak Rabin and Moshe Dayan during an Israeli cabinet meeting, 1967 (Micha Bar Am/Magnum Photos)

  Israeli paratroopers advancing to Lions’ Gate, 7 June 1967 (Avner Offer)

  Israeli soldiers praying at the Western Wall, 7 June 1967 (Cornell Capa/Magnum Photos)

  The sheikh in charge of the mosques on the Temple Mount, 7 June 1967 (Micha Bar Am/Magnum Photos)

  Israeli troops making their way towards al-Aqsa (Micha Bar Am/Magnum Photos)

  Israeli paratroopers at the Dome of the Rock (Avner Offer)

  FAMILY TREES

  The Maccabees: Kings and High Priests, 160–37 BC

  The Herods, 37 BC–AD 100

  The Prophet Muhammad and the Islamic Caliphs and Dynasties

  Crusader Kings of Jerusalem, 1099–1291

  The Hashemite (Sherifian) Dynasty, 1916–

  MAPS

  The Kingdom of David and Solomon, and the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah, 1000–586 BC

  The Empires, 586 BC–AD 1918

  Jerusalem in the First Century AD and Jesus’ Passion

  The Crusader Kingdoms, 1098–1489

  Mamluk and Ottoman Jerusalem, 1260–1917

  The Sykes-Picot Plan, 1916

  Sherif Hussein’s Imperial Dream, 1916

  UN Plan, 1947

  Israel since 1948

  Jerusalem: The Old City

  Jerusalem in the Early Twentieth Century

  PREFACE

  The history of Jerusalem is the history of the world, but it is also the chronicle of an often penurious provincial town amid the Judaean hills. Jerusalem was once regarded as the centre of the world and today that is more true than ever: the city is the focus of the struggle between the Abrahamic religions, the shrine for increasingly popular Christian, Jewish and Islamic fundamentalism, the strategic battlefield of clashing civilizations, the front line between atheism and faith, the cynosure of secular fascination, the object of giddy conspiracism and internet myth-making, and the illuminated stage for the cameras of the world in the age of twenty-four-hour news. Religious, political and media interest feed on each other to make Jerusalem more intensely scrutinized today than ever before.

  Jerusalem is the Holy City, yet it has always been a den of superstition, charlatanism and bigotry; the desire and prize of empires, yet of no strategic value; the cosmopolitan home of many sects, each of which believes the city belongs to them alone; a city of many names – yet each tradition is so sectarian it excludes any other. This is a place of such delicacy that it is described in Jewish sacred literature in the feminine – always a sensual, living woman, always a beauty, but sometimes a shameless harlot, sometimes a wounded princess whose lovers have forsaken her. Jerusalem is the house of the one God, the capital of two peoples, the temple of three religions and she is the only city to exist twice – in heaven and on earth: the peerless grace of the terrestrial is as nothing to the glories of the celestial. The very fact that Jerusalem is both terrestrial and celestial means that the city can exist anywhere: new Jerusalems have been founded all over the world and everyone has their own vision of Jerusalem. Prophets and patriarchs, Abraham, David, Jesus and Muhammad are said to have trodden these stones. The Abrahamic religions were born there and the world will also end there on the Day of Judgement. Jerusalem, sacred to the Peoples of the Book, is the city of the Book: the Bible is, in many ways, Jerusalem’s own chronicle and its readers, from the Jews and early Christians via the Muslim conquerors and the Crusaders to today’s American evangelists, have repeatedly altered her history to fulfil biblical prophecy.

  When the Bible was translated into Greek then Latin and English, it became the universal book and it made Jerusalem the universal city. Every great king became a David, every special people were the ne
w Israelites and every noble civilization a new Jerusalem, the city that belongs to no one and exists for everyone in their imagination. And this is the city’s tragedy as well as her magic: every dreamer of Jerusalem, every visitor in all ages from Jesus’ Apostles to Saladin’s soldiers, from Victorian pilgrims to today’s tourists and journalists, arrives with a vision of the authentic Jerusalem and then is bitterly disappointed by what they find, an ever-changing city that has thrived and shrunk, been rebuilt and destroyed many times. But since this is Jerusalem, property of all, only their image is the right one; the tainted, synthetic reality must be changed; everyone has the right to impose their ‘Jerusalem’ on Jerusalem – and, with sword and fire, they often have.