Islamic Jerusalem

So last time in class, we finished early Islamic Judaism, skipped ahead and finished the Crusades and then did late Islamic Jerusalem. I love learning this stuff because I already knew a lot of the material on Jewish Jerusalem and modern Jerusalem so learning about Islamic Jerusalem is all new stuff and its very exciting.

OK, so Crusades continued until the 1200s. In 1221 the walls are dismantled leaving the city defenseless, and the population shrinks to 2,000. That was during the 5th Crusade. Then during the 6th Crusade, the Europeans retake Jerusalem and work out a 10 year treaty where they retain control. Two more crusades occur, and finally in 1291, the last Crusader outpost in Acre falls, and the all-star period of history known as the Crusades ends. Another sports analogy...Many great athletes stick around way too long past their prime. Muhammad Ali is a good example. He was the greatest in his time (no pun intended), but stuck around way too long. His last couple fights were knockouts where he really just embarrassed himself. Kinda the same with the Crusades, like we had enough. The first couple were really fun to learn about and then after Saladin, it was like "OK, lets move on. This is silly. The walls are dismantled. We're really just fighting over nothing. Can't we just make a treaty and move on?" Like, Ali should have just retired instead of keep on attaching Jerusalem. Seriously Ali...

The Mamuluks took over Jerusalem in 1250. The Mamuluks were a group of converted slaves. They were not a dynasty which is important to note. They sought out to make Jerusalem the religious center that it once once, and stressed the Ziyara or visit to Jerusalem instead of the hajj to MEcca.

Socially/politically/all that kind of stuff, Jerusalem became pretty insignificant. It had a small population. It wasn't on the main roads once again. Other cities bypassed it and it became a place for political exiles. The lack of walls made it totally indefensible. But the Mamuluks still took an interest in it, and tried to develop it. They built schools, hospitals, a hostel, developed the Haram, or Temple Mount, and built two new mosques. They also rebuilt the walls, and those walls are the walls that remain today. They also built a Qaranic school which was called the third school of Jerusalem.

In 1267 Ramban came to Jerusalem from Spain. Ramban, or Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman was a Rabbi in Spain and can be considered a Zionist. He founded the Ramban synagogue that attracted Jews from across the world, pulling them back to Jerusalem. He argued that aliyah was a commandment for all Jews, and he also helped develop kabalah, or spiritual Judaism.

Ottoman Jerusalem started in 1516 and lasted all the way till the end of World War I. The Ottomans were led by Selim I and defeated the Mamuluks in 1517, but Jerusalem surrendered in 1516. It was described as the new possessor of the qibla and under the Ottoman administration, it flourished in the 16th century. Sultan Sulieman the Magnificent ruled from 1520 to 1566 and was responsible for many of the public works in Jerusalem including repairs and enlargements to aqueducts. Sulieman also rebuilds the walls from 1526-1541. His work ensured that Jerusalem stayed #3 to Mecca and Medina.

During this period, the Western Wall was given to the Jews as a place of prayer by Sulieman. Thought it was important to note.

Only two classes left :(