The Walls of Jerusalem ( he, חומות ירושלים, ar, أسوار القدس) surround the Old City of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

(approx. 1 km²). In 1535, when Jerusalem was part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, Sultan Suleiman I ordered the ruined city walls to be rebuilt. The work took some four years, between 1537 and 1541. The walls are visible on most

old maps of Jerusalem The cartography of Jerusalem is the creation, editing, processing and printing of maps of Jerusalem from ancient times until the rise of modern surveying techniques. Almost all extant maps known to scholars from the pre-modern era were prepared by ...

over the last 1,500 years. The length of the walls is 4,018 meters (2.4966 mi), their average height is 12 meters (39.37 feet) and the average thickness is 2.5 meters (8.2 feet). The walls contain 34 watchtowers and seven main gates open for traffic, with two minor gates reopened by archaeologists. In 1981, the Jerusalem walls were added, along with the Old City of Jerusalem, to the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

List.

Pre-Israelite city

The city of Jerusalem has been surrounded by walls for its defense since ancient times. In the Middle

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

, a period also known in biblical terms as the era of the

Patriarchs The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certa ...

, a city named Jebus was built on the southeastern hill of Jerusalem, relatively small (50,000 square meters) but well fortified. Remains of its walls are located above the Siloam Tunnel. The identification of Jebus with Jerusalem has been disputed, principally by

Niels Peter Lemche Niels Peter Lemche (born 6 September 1945) is a biblical scholar at the University of Copenhagen, whose interests include early Israel and its relationship with history, the Old Testament, and archaeology. Career In 1971 Lemche received his underg ...

. Supporting his case, every non-biblical mention of Jerusalem found in the

ancient Near East The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq, southeast Turkey, southwest Iran and northeastern Syria), ancient Egypt, ancient Iran ( Elam, ...

refers to the city as 'Jerusalem'. An example of these records are the Amarna letters which are dated to the 14th century BCE, several of which were written by the chieftain of Jerusalem Abdi-Heba and call Jerusalem either () or () (1330s BCE). Also in the Amarna letters, it is called Beth-Shalem, the house of Shalem.

Israelite city (ca. 1000–587/86 BCE)

According to Jewish tradition, as expressed in the

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Jebusite city until the rise of

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, who conquered Jebus, renamed it

City of David "City of David" is a biblical and religious epithet for the ancient city of Jerusalem. It may also refer to: * City of David (archaeological site) - an archaeological excavation associated with ancient Jerusalem * Jerusalem Walls National Park ...

and started expanding it. His city was still located on the low southeastern hill, outside today's Old City area. Solomon, David's son, built the

First Temple Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple (, , ), was the Temple in Jerusalem between the 10th century BC and . According to the Hebrew Bible, it was commissioned by Solomon in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited by th ...

on the hilltop rising right above the city he had inherited, the Temple Mount, and then extended the city walls in order to protect the temple. During the First Temple period the city walls were extended to include the northwest hill as well, i.e. the area where today's Jewish Quarter (Jerusalem), Jewish and Armenian Quarter (Jerusalem) Quarters are located. The entire city was destroyed in 587/86 BCE during the siege led by Nebuchadnezzar II, Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.

Jewish postexilic city

After the Babylonian captivity of Judah, Babylonian captivity and the Achaemenid Empire, Persian conquest of Babylonia, Cyrus II of Persia allowed the Jews to return to Judea and rebuild the Temple. The construction was finished in 516 BCE or 430 BCE. Then, Artaxerxes I or possibly Darius II allowed Ezra and Nehemiah to return and rebuild the city's walls and to govern Judea, which was ruled as Yehud (Persian province), Yehud province under the Persians. During the Second Temple period, especially during the Hasmonean period, the city walls were expanded and renovated, constituting what Josephus calls the First Wall. Herod the Great added what Josephus called the Second Wall somewhere in the area between today's Jaffa Gate and Temple Mount. Agrippa I (r. 41–44 CE) later began the construction of the Third Wall, which was completed just at the beginning of the First Jewish–Roman War. Some remains of this wall are located today near the Mandelbaum Gate gas station.

Aelia Capitolina and Byzantine Jerusalem

In 70 CE, as a result of the Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE), Roman siege during the First Jewish–Roman War, the walls were almost completely destroyed. Jerusalem would remain in ruins for some six decades and without protective walls for over two centuries. The pagan Roman city, Aelia Capitolina, which was built after 130 by Emperor Hadrian, was at first left without protective walls. After some two centuries without walls, a new set was erected around the city, probably during the reign of Emperor Diocletian, sometime between 289 and the turn of the century. The walls were extensively renewed by the Empress Aelia Eudocia during her banishment to Jerusalem (443–460).

Middle Ages

Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls-108391

In 1033, most of the walls constructed by Eudocia were 1033 Jordan Rift Valley earthquake, destroyed by an earthquake. They had to be rebuilt by the Fatimids, who left out the southernmost parts that had been previously included: Mount Zion with its churches, and the southeastern hill (the City of David) with the Jewish neighborhoods which stood south of the Temple Mount. In preparation for the expected Crusades, Crusader siege of 1099, the walls were strengthened yet again but to little avail. The conquest brought some destruction followed by reconstruction, as did the reconquest by Saladin in 1187. In 1202 to 1212 Saladin's nephew, Al-Mu'azzam Isa, Al-Malik al-Mu'azzam 'Isa, ordered the reconstruction of the city walls, but later on, in 1219, he reconsidered the situation after most of the watchtowers had been built and had the walls torn down, mainly because he feared that the Crusaders would benefit of the fortifications if they managed to reconquer the city. For the next three centuries, the city remained without protective walls, the Temple Mount/Haram ash-Sharif and the Tower of David, citadel then being the only well-fortified areas.

Ottoman period

In the 16th century, during the reign of the

in the region, Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent decided to rebuild the city walls fully, partly on the remains of the ancient walls. Being built in circa 1537–1541, they are the walls that exist today. Frontage of Northwestern wall in Jerusalem

Frontage of Northwestern wall in Jerusalem

An inscription in Arabic from the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent states:

Has decreed the construction of the wall he who has protected the home of Islam with his might and main and wiped out the tyranny of idols with his power and strength, he whom alone God has enabled to enslave the necks of kings in countries (far and wide) and deservedly acquire the throne of the Caliphate, the Sultan son of the Sultan son of the Sultan son of the Sultan, Suleyman.Building inscription commemorating the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem
Accession number: IAA 1942-265

Qasr Jalud

At the northwest corner of the Ottoman wall, archaeologists have discovered the meager remains of a large tower, c. 35x35 metres, probably first built in the 11th century during the Fatimid period, that fell to the Franks at the end of the First Crusade in 1099, and was apparently expanded by the Ayyubids after Saladin's reconquest of the city in Battle of Hattin, 1187. The tower is known in Arabic as Qasr al-Jalud (Goliath's Tower), and to the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Crusaders as Turris Tancredi (Latin for Tancred's Tower), after Tancred of Hauteville, the commander whose troops breached the Fatimid defenses at this specific point during the Siege of Jerusalem (1099), 1099 siege. The tower as well as the entire city wall were long destroyed by the time the Ottoman Turks built theirs, possibly since 1219 when Ayyubid ruler Al-Mu'azzam Isa razed most of the city fortifications.Tancred's Tower / Qasr Jalud (Goliath's Castle)
Institute for International Urban Development (I2UD), accessed June 2020

References

{{World Heritage Sites in Jerusalem and Palestine City walls, Jerusalem World Heritage Sites in Asia World Heritage Sites in the State of Palestine Buildings and structures in Jerusalem Tourist attractions in Jerusalem