Jerusalem is a city where every square mile is layered with historical significance, religious intensity and extraordinary stories Jerusalem so unique is the heady mix of centuries of passion and scandal, Kingdom-threatening wars and petty squabbles, architectural magnificence and bizarre relics, spiritual longing and political cruelty. It is a history marked by three great forces: religion, war, and monumentality.
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Jerusalem: City of Longing
Jerusalem is a city where every square mile is layered with historical significance, religious intensity and extraordinary stories Jerusalem so unique is the heady mix of centuries of passion and scandal, Kingdom-threatening wars and petty squabbles, architectural magnificence and bizarre relics, spiritual longing and political cruelty. It is a history marked by three great forces: religion, war, and monumentality.
Jerusalem is a city where every square mile is layered with historical significance, religious intensity and extraordinary stories Jerusalem so unique is the heady mix of centuries of passion and scandal, Kingdom-threatening wars and petty squabbles, architectural magnificence and bizarre relics, spiritual longing and political cruelty. It is a history marked by three great forces: religion, war, and monumentality.
Simon Goldhill is Professor of Greek Literature and Culture at the University of Cambridge.
Table of Contents
Perface vii
1 The Center of the Christian World 1
2 The Center of Jewish Jerusalem 45
3 The Center of Muslim Jerusalem 93
4 The Old City 131
5 The Oldest City 187
6 The Victorian City 227
7 The Modern City 278
Bibliography 335
Acknowledgments 341
Illustration Credits 343
Index 345
What People are Saying About This
A fascinating journey through Jerusalem's most memorable places—and among its most colorful personalities, and epoch-making events. Simon Goldhill is a master historian and expert guide who reveals much that is unexpected about this revered, fought-over, and often misunderstood city. Engaging in tone, superbly written, and admirably even-handed, this book offers a compelling new portrait of the many souls of Jerusalem.
Neil Asher
A fascinating journey through Jerusalem's most memorable places—and among its most colorful personalities, and epoch-making events. Simon Goldhill is a master historian and expert guide who reveals much that is unexpected about this revered, fought-over, and often misunderstood city. Engaging in tone, superbly written, and admirably even-handed, this book offers a compelling new portrait of the many souls of Jerusalem. --(Neil Asher Silberman, co-author of The Bible Unearthed)
Sari Nusseibeh
Simon Goldhill has written an elegant and evocative multi-religious history of Jerusalem. Rock by rock, myth by myth, the book guides the reader through an exhilarating visit to the city, exposing its magnetism and fragility, its light and darkness. --(Sari Nusseibeh, author of Once Upon a Country: A Palestinian Life)
Neil Asher Silberman
A fascinating journey through Jerusalem's most memorable places—and among its most colorful personalities, and epoch-making events. Simon Goldhill is a master historian and expert guide who reveals much that is unexpected about this revered, fought-over, and often misunderstood city. Engaging in tone, superbly written, and admirably even-handed, this book offers a compelling new portrait of the many souls of Jerusalem. Neil Asher Silberman, co-author of The Bible Unearthed