ABSTRACT

Few cities around the world transcend their physical boundaries the way Jerusalem does. As the spiritual capital of monotheism, Jerusalem has ancient roots and legacies that have imposed themselves on its inhabitants throughout the centuries. In modern times, and aside from all the religious complexities, Jerusalem has become enmeshed in the Palestinian and Israeli national identities and political aspirations, which have involved and dragged into the fray other actors from around the world.

Consisting of 35 chapters from leading specialists, the Routledge Handbook on Jerusalem provides a broad spectrum of studies related to the city and its history. Beginning with a historical overview starting from the end of the Bronze age, the chapters go on to look at a range of topics including:

  • religious symbolism and pilgrimage
  • religious and social relations
  • social and economic history
  • architecture and archaeology
  • maps
  • eschatology
  • politics

By bringing together contributions from leading scholars of different disciplines, this Handbook provides a comprehensive overview of the various layers that make up this unique and special city. It will appeal to students and scholars of Middle East Studies, religion and cultural history, and anyone with an interest in learning more about Jerusalem.

part |110 pages

Historical perspectives

chapter |10 pages

Jerusalem in the First Temple Period

chapter |13 pages

Herodian Jerusalem

chapter |17 pages

Aelia Capitolina 1

chapter |14 pages

Byzantine Jerusalem

chapter |13 pages

Jerusalem in early Islam

The making of the Muslims’ Holy City 1

chapter |12 pages

The Crusader period

part |56 pages

Historical perspectives

chapter |9 pages

Ottoman Jerusalem, 1517–1918

chapter |13 pages

British Jerusalem

chapter |10 pages

Nationalizing Jerusalem

The Holy City under Jordanian rule

chapter |11 pages

Israeli Jerusalem

Seven decades since 1948

part |82 pages

Monuments, art, literature and urban space

chapter |16 pages

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre

chapter |13 pages

The Dome of the Rock

chapter |9 pages

The Western Wall or Kotel 1

chapter |13 pages

Jerusalem in Palestinian poetry

part |112 pages

Ritual, representation and meaning

chapter |11 pages

Jerusalem as ritual space

chapter |9 pages

Death and burial in Iron Age Jerusalem

A view from the Silwan necropolis

chapter |7 pages

Pilgrimage to Jerusalem in Antiquity

chapter |16 pages

Jerusalem in maps 1

chapter |10 pages

The Holy City and Medieval Europe

chapter |16 pages

Acquiring Jerusalem

chapter |10 pages

Jerusalem and eschatology

part |54 pages

Contestation

chapter |10 pages

Between the nations

The Sepulchre in intercommunal and international dynamics

chapter |12 pages

The Armenians of Jerusalem in the modern period

The rise and decline of a community

chapter |7 pages

Jerusalem in the peace process