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Raymond Of Aguilers

Raymond of Aguilers

Raymond of Aguilers was a chronicler of the First Crusade (1096-1099). He followed the Provençal army of crusaders, guided by count Raymond IV of Toulouse, to Jerusalem. He was educated as a clerk in a monastery of Vézelay and all traces of him are lost after the capture of Jerusalem. As an eyewitness of the events of the First Crusade, he is one of the most important chroniclers of the crusade, even though he was mostly describing some visions and miracles of the crusaders - for example the discovering of the Holy Lance of Peter Bartholomew. For this reason some modern historians do not take his work very seriously, but his description of the capture of Antioch (from 1097-1098) may be the only authentic explanation of this event. His work is entitled Historia Francorum qui ceperunt Iherusalem and was translated from Latin into modern French in the beginning of the 19th century by French erudite François Guizot. Category:Crusade literature Category:Medieval historians

Chronicler

Generally a chronicle (Latin chronica) is historical account of facts and events in chronological order. Typically equal weight is given for important events and less important events, the purpose being the recording of events that occurred. This is in contrast to a narrative or history, which focuses on important events and excludes those the author does not see as important. chronological, British Museum, London]] Scholars categorize the genre of chronicle into two subgroups: live chronicles, and dead chronicles. A dead chronicle is one where the author gathers his list of events up to the time of his writing, but does not record further events as they occur. A live chronicle is where one or more authors add to a chronicle in a regular fashion, recording contemporary events shortly after they occur. Because of the immediacy of the information, historians tend to value live chronicles over dead ones. The term often refers to a book written by a chronicler in the Middle Ages describing historical events in a country, or the lives of a nobleman or a clergyman, although it is also applied to a record of public events. Various contemporary newspapers or other periodicals have adopted "chronicle" as part of their name.

List of notable chronicles

- Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
- Annals of Inisfallen
- Annals of the Four Masters
- Annals of Spring and Autumn
- Croyland Chronicle
- Dioclean Priest's Chronicle
- Froissart's Chronicles
- Galician-Volhynian Chronicle
- Henry of Livona Chronicle
- Jermone Chronical
- Kano Chronicle
- Lethrense Chronicle
- Maha Wamsa or Mahavamsa
- Paschale Chronicle
- Russian Primary Chronicle
- Sanguo Zhi
- Slavorum Chronicle
- Swiss illustrated chronicles

Provence

Provence is a former Roman province and is now a region of southeastern France, located on the Mediterranean Sea adjacent to France's border with Italy. It is now part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. The traditional region of Provence encompasses the départements of Var, Vaucluse, and Bouches-du-Rhône in addition to parts of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Alpes-Maritimes.

History

Provence has been inhabited since prehistoric times. It was known in ancient times as part of Narbonensis, inhabited by Ligurians and later Celts. The coastal strip was settled by Greeks and Phoenicians from around 600 BC onwards, with Marseille becoming one of the great trading cities of the Mediterranean. It was progressively settled by the Romans from the 2nd century BC, eventually becoming a province of the Roman Empire. This gave it its name, from the Latin provincia, as Provence was one of the first and most romanised provinces of the Roman Empire.Christianity arrived in Provence very early and the region was already extensively Christianised by the 3rd century AD, with numerous monasteries and churches being constructed. Provence fared badly in the aftermath of the fall of the Roman Empire, suffering repeated invasions: Visigoths in the 5th century, Franks in the 6th century and Arabs in the 8th century, as well as repeated raids by Berber pirates and slavers. From 1032 to 1246 the county was part of the Holy Roman Empire. It became a fief of the French Crown from 1246, under the rule of the Angevin dynasty. Upon the death of Charles du Maine in 1481, Provence was inherited by Louis XI. It was definitively incorporated into the French royal domain in 1486. Significant enclaves existed within Provence for many years afterwards: Orange remained under the control of the House of Orange-Nassau until 1672; the Comtat Venaissin, centred on Avignon, was under Papal rule until 1791; and Nice and Menton were not added to Provence until as late as 1860. The now-extinct title of Count of Provence belonged to local families of Frankish origin, to the House of Barcelona, to the House of Anjou and to a cadet branch of the House of Valois.

Geography

Provence is bounded by the Alps to the east and the Rhône River to the west, with the Mediterranean Sea providing its southern border. It has an unusually varied physical aspect, with landscapes ranging from fertile plains in the Rhône valley, to mountains in the east (notably Mont Ventoux, the Luberon and the Alpilles) and marshlands in the south (the Camargue). The Principality of Monaco is nestled between Nice and Italy. Marseille, Aix-en-Provence, Avignon and Arles are other cities of note in Provence. Marseille is by far the largest city in Provence, and is the chef-lieu (capital city) of both the Bouches-du-Rhône département and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur région.

Climate

The climate of Provence is typically Mediterranean, warm and dry. The Mistral is a strong, cold wind from the north that occurs mostly in the winter and spring .

Sights

Many remains from the Roman times can be seen in Provence, including:
- Arles, monuments listed as World Heritage Sites since 1981.
- Glanum, near Saint Rémy de Provence
- Orange
- Vaison-la-Romaine

Culture

Provence is noted for its landscapes and climate, its cuisine, some of its wines, and its perfumes. The major perfume-making region of Grasse is located near Nice. Provençal cuisine is characterized by the use of vegetables such as tomatoes, courgettes, eggplants, herbs such as thyme, and olive oil. Much rosé wine is produced under the Côtes de Provence appellation, using some of the typical grapes of southern France, Grenache, Syrah, Carignan, and Cinsault. It is often at its best young. The other Appelations of Provence are Bandol AOC, Les Baux de Provence AOC, Bellet AOC, Cassis AOC, Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence AOC, Coteaux Varois AOC and Palette AOC. Provençal is the adjective used to describe things originating from this region, as well as being the name of the local Romance language. Provençal is a dialect of Occitan, and is not mutually intelligible with either Parisian French or standard Italian. Instead, it is part of the Romance languages' dialect continuum that stretches from Italy to Portugal. Authors who have written about Provence include:
- Alphonse Daudet
- Frédéric Mistral
- Jean Giono
- Marcel Pagnol
- Peter Mayle Painters of Provencal scenes and landscapes include:
- Paul Cézanne
- Vincent van Gogh Music written about Provence include:
- The saxophone concerto Tableaux de Provence (Pictures of Provence) composed by Paule Maurice

External links

- [http://www.provencebeyond.com/ ProvenceBeyond] - Thousands of detailed information pages, photos and clickable maps on Provence.
- [http://www.residencelesmarronniers.com/en/blog/overview/ Provence Blog] - Daily news for the Provence-Côte d'Azur region.
- [http://provence.angloinfo.com/ AngloINFO Provence] - information in English
- [http://www.go-provence.com/ Provence from Fayence outwards] - News, views, rumours & links for the Fayence, Callian, Seillans, Mons area
- zh-min-nan:Provence

Jerusalem

Jerusalem (; Hebrew: ; Yerushalayim; Arabic: al-Quds; official Israeli Arabic: أُورْشَلِيم Urshalim; see also names of Jerusalem) is an ancient Middle Eastern city of key importance to the religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The State of Israel has its capital at Jerusalem. With a population of 704,900 (as of December 31, 2004 [http://www.cbs.gov.il/population/new_2004/tab_3.pdf]), it is a richly heterogeneous city, representing a wide range of national, religious, and socioeconomic groups. The section called the "Old City" is surrounded by walls and consists of four quarters: Jewish, Christian, Armenian, and Muslim. The status of the city is hotly disputed. The 1949 cease-fire line between Israel and Jordan, also known as the Green Line, cuts through the city. Since its victory in the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel has controlled the entire city and claims sovereignty over it. According to an Israeli law from January 1950 Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. A Basic Law of Israel enacted in 1980 (the Jerusalem Law) affirmed that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, and is the center of Jerusalem District; indeed, since 1950, it serves as the country's seat of government and its capital. The UN Security Council Resolution 478 condemned the Jerusalem Law as "a violation of international law" and most countries prefer to keep their embassies in Tel Aviv.

Name

See also names of Jerusalem. The origin of the name of the city is uncertain. It is possible to understand the name (Hebrew Yerushalayim) as either "Heritage of Salem" or "Heritage of Peace" - a contraction of "heritage" (yerusha) and Salem (Shalem literally "whole" or "in harmony") or "peace" (shalom). (See the Biblical commentator the Ramban for explanation.) "Shalem" is the original name used in Genesis 14:18 for the city. Similarly the Amarna Letters call the city Uru Salim in Akkadian, a cognate of the Hebrew Ir Shalem ("city of Salem"). Some consider a connection between the name and Shalim -- the deity personifying dusk known from Ugaritic myths and offering lists. The ending -ayim or -im has the appearance of the Hebrew dual or plural suffix respectively. It has been argued that it is a dual form representing the fact that the city lies on two hills however the treatment of the ending as a suffix makes the rest of the name incomprehensible in Hebrew. A Midrashic interpretation comes from Genesis Rabba, which explains that Abraham came to "Shalem" after rescuing Lot. Upon arrival, he asked the king and high priest Melchizedek to bless him, and Melchizedek did so in the name of the Supreme God (indicating that he, like Abraham, was a monotheist). According to exegetes, God immortalizes this encounter between Melchizedek and Abraham by renaming the city in honor of them: the name "Yeru" (derived from "Yireh", the name Abraham gives to Mount Moriah after unbinding Isaac, and explained in Genesis as meaning that God will be revealed there) is placed in front of "Shalem". The plural ending implies the community of all believers in the One God who testify to the city's holiness.

History

Antiquity (prehistory - 6 CE)

Isaac's time]] This city has known many wars, and various periods of occupation. According to one Jewish tradition, it was founded by Abraham's forefathers Shem and Eber. According to Genesis 14:18, "Salem" was ruled by Melchizedek, a priest of God -- in some traditions, identical with Shem. Later it was controlled by the Jebusites. After this it came under Israelite control. The Bible records that King David defeated the Jebusites in war and captured the city without destroying it. David then expanded the city to the south, and declared it the capital city of the united Kingdom of Israel. Later, according to the Bible, the First Jewish Temple was built in Jerusalem by King Solomon. The Temple became a major cultural center in the region, eventually overcoming other ritual centers such as Shilo and Bethel. Near the end of the reign of King Solomon, the northern ten tribes split off to form the Kingdom of Israel with its capital at Samaria. Jerusalem then became the capital of the southern kingdom, the Kingdom of Judah. By the end of the "First Temple Period," Jerusalem was the sole acting religious shrine in the kingdom and a center of regular pilgrimage. Although recent archaeological finds may push the date yet earlier (see Tel Dan Stele), clear historical records begin to corroborate some of the Biblical history from around the 9th century BCE, the kings of Judah become historically identifiable, and the significance the Temple had in Jewish religious life is clear. Jerusalem was the capital of the Kingdom of Judah for some 400 years. It had survived (or, as some historians claim, averted) an Assyrian siege in 701 BCE by Sennacherib -- unlike Samaria, the capital of the northern Kingdom of Israel, that had fallen some twenty years previously. However, the city was overcome by the Babylonians in 597 BCE, who then took the young king Jehoiachin into Babylonian captivity, together with most of the aristocracy. The country rebelled again under Zedekiah, prompting the city's repeated conquest and destruction by Nebuchadnezzar in 587/586 BCE. The temple was burnt, and the city's walls were ruined, thus rendering what remained of the city unprotected. After several decades of captivity and the Persian conquest of Babylonia, Cyrus II of Persia allowed the Jews to return to Judah and rebuild the city's walls and the Temple. It continued to be the capital of Judah and center of Jewish worship, as a province under the Persians, Greek and Romans, with a relatively short period of independence under the Hasmonean Kingdom. The Temple complex was upgraded and the Temple itself rebuilt under Herod the Great, a Jewish client-king under Roman rule, around 19 BCE. That structure is known as the Second Temple, and was the most important of the many improvements Herod made to the city. After Herod's death, the province and city came under direct Roman rule in 6 CE.

Roman rule (6 CE - 638)

Second Temple: "Shekel Israel, year 3". Reverse: "Jerusalem the Holy"]] Reverse Jerusalem became the birthplace of Christianity in the first century CE. According to the Bible it is the location of both the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. After a brief period of Roman rule, the city was ruined when a civil war, accompanied by the Great Jewish Revolt against Rome in Judea, led to the city's sack yet again, at the hands of Titus in 70 CE. The Second Temple was burnt and all that remained was a portion of an external (retaining) wall that became known as the Western Wall. After the end of this first revolt, Jews continued to live in Jerusalem in significant numbers, and were allowed to practice their religion. In the second century, the Roman Emperor Hadrian began to rebuild Jerusalem as a pagan city while restricting some Jewish practices. Angry at this affront, the Judeans again revolted, led by Simon Bar Kokhba. Hadrian responded with overwhelming force, putting down the revolution, killing as many as a half million Jews, and resettling the city as a pagan polis under the name Aelia Capitolina. Jews were forbidden to enter the city but for a single day of the year, Tisha B'Av, (the Ninth of Av, see Hebrew calendar), when they could weep for the destruction of their city at the Temple's only remaining wall. For the next 150 years, the city remained a relatively unimportant Roman town. The Byzantine Emperor Constantine, however, rebuilt Jerusalem as a Christian center of worship, building the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in 335. Jews were still banned from the city, except during a brief period of Persian rule from 614-629.

Arab Caliphates, Christian Crusaders, and early Ottoman rule (638-1800s)

Church of the Holy Sepulcher, according to Arab geographers such as al-Muqaddasi.]] Although the Qur'an does not mention the name "Jerusalem", the hadith specify that it was from Jerusalem that Muhammad ascended to heaven in the Night Journey, or Isra and Miraj. The city was one of the Arab Caliphate's first conquests in 638 CE; according to Arab historians of the time, the Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab personally went to the city to receive its submission, cleaning out and praying at the Temple Mount in the process. Sixty years later, the Dome of the Rock was built, a structure in which there lies the stone where Muhammad is said to have tethered his mount Buraq during the Isra. This is also reputed to be the place where Abraham went to sacrifice his son (Isaac in the Jewish tradition, Ishmael in the Muslim one.) Note that the octagonal and gold-sheeted Dome is not the same thing as the Al-Aqsa Mosque beside it, which was built more than three centuries later. Umar ibn al-Khattab also allowed the Jews entry into the city and full freedom to live and worship after 400 hundred years. Jews were allowed to move back into their homes. Al-Aqsa Mosque Under the early centuries of Muslim rule, especially during the Umayyad (650-750) and Abbasid (750-969) dynasties, the city prospered; the geographers Ibn Hawqal and al-Istakhri (10th century) describe it as "the most fertile province of Palestine", while its native son the geographer al-Muqaddasi (born 946) devoted many pages to its praises in his most famous work, The Best Divisions in the Knowledge of the Climes. The early Arab period was also one of religious tolerance. However, in the early 11th century, the Egyptian Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah ordered the destruction of all churches and synagogues in Jerusalem, a policy reversed by his successors. Reports of this were one cause of the First Crusade, which marched off from Europe to the area, and, on July 15, 1099, Christian soldiers took Jerusalem after a difficult one month siege. They then proceeded to slaughter most of the city's Muslim and Jewish inhabitants. Raymond d'Aguiliers, chaplain to Raymond de Saint-Gilles, Count of Toulouse, wrote: :Piles of heads, hands, and feet were to be seen in the streets of the city. It was necessary to pick one's way over the bodies of men and horses. But these were small matters compared to what happened at the Temple of Solomon, a place where religious ceremonies were ordinarily chanted. What happened there? If I tell the truth, it will exceed your powers of belief. So let it suffice to say this much, at least, that in the Temple and porch of Solomon, men rode in blood up to their knees and bridle-reins. Indeed, it was a just and splendid judgment of God that this place should be filled with the blood of unbelievers, since it had suffered so long from their blasphemies. The city was filled with corpses and blood. (Edward Peters, The First Crusade: The chronicle of Fulcher of Chartres and other source materials, p. 214) Jerusalem became the capital of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, a feudal state, of which the King of Jerusalem was the chief. The Kingdom of Jerusalem lasted until 1291; however, Jerusalem itself was recaptured by Saladin in 1187, who permitted worship of all religions (see Siege of Jerusalem (1187). In 1173 Benjamin of Tudela visited Jerusalem. He described it as a small city full of Jacobites, Armenians, Greeks, and Georgians. Two hundred Jews dwelt in a corner of the city under the Tower of David. In 1219 the walls of the city were taken down by order of the Sultan of Damascus; in 1229, by treaty with Egypt, Jerusalem came into the hands of Frederick II of Germany. In 1239 he began to rebuild the walls; but they were again demolished by Da'ud, the emir of Kerak. Kerak In 1243 Jerusalem came again into the power of the Christians, and the walls were repaired. The Kharezmian Tatars took the city in 1244; and they in turn were driven out by the Egyptians in 1247. In 1260 the Tatars under Hulaku Khan overran the whole land, and the Jews that were in Jerusalem had to flee to the neighboring villages. Hulaku Khan In 1244, Sultan Malik al-Muattam razed the city walls, rendering it again defenseless and dealing a heavy blow to the city's status. In the middle of the 13th century, Jerusalem was captured by the Egyptian Mameluks. In 1517, it was taken over by the Ottoman Empire and enjoyed a period of renewal and peace under Suleiman the Magnificent - including the rebuilding of magnificent walls of what is now known as the Old City (however, some of the wall foundations are remains of genuine antique walls). The rule of Suleiman and the following Ottoman Sultans brought an age of "religious peace"; Jew, Christian and Muslim enjoyed the freedom of religion the Ottomans granted them and it was possible to find a synagogue, a church and a mosque in the same street. The city remained open to all religions, although the empire's faulty management after Suleiman meant slow economical stagnation. In 1482, the visiting Dominican priest Felix Fabri described Jerusalem as a dwelling place of diverse nations of the world, and is, as it were, a collection of all manner of abominations. As abominations he listed Saracens, Greeks, Syrians, Jacobites, Abyssianians, Nestorians, Armenians, Gregorians, Maronites, Turcomans, Bedouins, Assassins, a sect possibly Druze, Mamelukes, and the most accursed of all, Jews. Only the Latin Christians long with all their hearts for Christian princes to come and subject all the country to the authority of the Church of Rome. (A. Stewart, Palestine Pilgrims Text Society, Vol 9-10, p. 384-391)

Revival of Jerusalem (1800s-1917)

Mameluke]] The modern history of Jerusalem began in the mid-nineteenth century, with the decline of the Ottoman Empire. At that time, the city was a backwater, with a population that did not exceed 8,000. Nevertheless, it was, even then, an extremely heterogeneous city because of its significance to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The population was divided into four major communities--Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Armenian--and the first three of these could be further divided into countless subgroups, based on precise religious affiliation or country of origin. An example of this would be the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which was meticulously partitioned between the Greek Orthodox, Catholic, Armenian, Coptic, and Ethiopian churches. Tensions between the groups ran so deep that the keys to the shrine were kept with a 'neutral' Muslim family for safekeeping. At that time, the communities were located mainly around their primary shrines. The Muslim community surrounded the Haram ash-Sharif or Temple Mount (northeast), the Christians lived mainly in the vicinity of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (northwest), the Jews lived mostly on the slope above the Western Wall (southeast), and the Armenians lived near the Zion Gate (southwest). In no way was this division exclusive, however, it did form the basis of the four quarters during the British Mandate period (1917-1948). Zion Gate Several changes occurred in the mid-nineteenth century, which had long-lasting effects on the city: their implications can be felt today and lie at the root of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict over Jerusalem. The first of these was a trickle of Jewish immigrants from the Middle East and Eastern Europe which shifted the balance of population so that Jews formed the largest religious group in the city by the 1844 census. The first such immigrants were Orthodox Jews: some were elderly individuals, who came to die in Jerusalem and be buried on the Mount of Olives; others were students, who came with their families to await the coming of the Messiah, and adding new life to the local population. At the same time, European colonial powers also began seeking toeholds in the city, hoping to expand their influence pending the imminent collapse of the Ottoman Empire. This was also an age of Christian religious revival, and many churches sent missionaries to proselytize among the Muslim and especially the Jewish populations, believing that this would speed the Second Coming of Christ. Finally, the combination of European colonialism and religious zeal was expressed in a new scientific interest in the biblical lands in general and Jerusalem in particular. Archeological and other expeditions made some spectacular finds, which increased interest in Jerusalem even more. proselytize] By the 1860s, the city, with an area of only 1 square kilometer, was already overcrowded. Thus began the construction of the New City, the part of Jerusalem outside of the city walls. Seeking new areas to stake their claims, the Russian Orthodox Church began constructing a complex, now known as the Russian Compound, a few hundred meters from Jaffa Gate. The first attempt at residential settlement outside the walls of Jerusalem was begun by Jews, who built a small complex on the hill overlooking Zion Gate, across the Valley of Hinnom. This settlement, known as Mishkenot Sha’ananim, eventually flourished and set the precedent for other new communities to spring up to the west and north of the Old City. In time, as the communities grew and connected geographically, this became known as the New City.

British Mandate (1917-1948)

Mishkenot Sha’ananim The British were victorious over the Turks in the Middle East and with victory in Palestine, General Sir Edmund Allenby, commander-in-chief of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force entered Jerusalem on foot, out of respect for the Holy City, on December 11th, 1917. By the time General Allenby took Jerusalem from the Ottomans in 1917, the new city was a patchwork of neighborhoods and communities, each with a distinct ethnic character. This continued under British rule, as the New City of Jerusalem grew outside the old city walls and the Old City of Jerusalem gradually emerged as little more than an impoverished older neighborhood. One of the British bequests to the city was a town planning order requiring new buildings in the city to be faced with sandstone and thus preserving some of the overall look of the city, even as it grew. During the 1930s, two important new institutions, the Hadassah Medical Center and Hebrew University were founded in Jerusalem's Mount Scopus. Mount ScopusBritish rule marked a period of growing unrest. Arab resentment at British rule and the influx of Jewish immigrants (by 1948 1 in 6 Jews in Palestine lived in Jerusalem) boiled over in anti-Jewish riots in Jerusalem in 1920, 1929, and the 1930s that caused significant damage and several deaths. The Jewish community organized self-defense forces in response to the Jerusalem pogrom of April, 1920 and later disturbances; while other Jewish groups carried out bombings and attacks against the British, especially in response to suspected complicity with the Arabs and restrictions on immigration during World War II imposed by the White Paper of 1939. The level of violence continued to escalate throughout the 1930s and 1940s. On November 29, 1947, the United Nations General Assembly approved a plan which partitioned the British Mandate of Palestine into two states: one Jewish and one Arab. Each state would be composed of three major sections, linked by extraterritorial crossroads, plus an Arab enclave at Jaffa. The Greater Jerusalem area would fall under international control. After partition, the fight for Jerusalem escalated, with heavy casualties among both fighters and civilians on the British, Jewish, and Arab sides. By the end of March, 1948, just before the British withdrawal, and with the British increasingly reluctant to intervene, the roads to Jerusalem were cut off by Arab irregulars, placing the Jewish population of the city under siege. The siege was eventually broken, though massacres of civilians occurred on both sides, before the 1948 Arab-Israeli War began with the end of the British Mandate in May of 1948.

Jerusalem and the Arab-Israeli conflict (1948-)

Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Jerusalem was divided. The Western half of the New City became part of the new state of Israel, while the eastern half, along with the Old City, was annexed by Jordan. Jordan did not allow Jewish access to the Western Wall (also known to non-Jews as the Wailing Wall) and Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest sites, in the Old City, though it had agreed to under the cease fire agreement. Temple Mount (right); General Uzi Narkiss (left), entering Old Jerusalem in June 1967]] The United Nations proposed, in its 1947 plan for the partition of Palestine, for Jerusalem to be a city under international administration. However, on January 23, 1950 the Knesset passed a resolution that stated Jerusalem was the capital of Israel. The city recovered from the Arab seige of 1948 and became the second largest city in the country, after Tel Aviv. Growth was limited in that the city was surrounded on three sides by hostile Arabs, and the major highway linking the city to the rest of the country fell into Arab hands in 1948 and a smaller, newly built roadway was now the only way to reach the city. East Jerusalem was captured by Israel Defense Force following the Six Day War in 1967. Most Jews celebrated the event as a liberation of the city; a new Israeli holiday was created, Jerusalem Day (Yom Yerushalayim), and the most popular secular Hebrew song, "Jerusalem of Gold" (Yerushalayim shel zahav), became popular in celebration. Following this the medieval Moroccan Quarter containing several hundred homes was demolished and their Palestinian inhabitants expelled, and a huge public plaza was built in its place adjoining the Western Wall, to accommodate the influx of Jewish worshippers to their holy site. Moroccan Quarter plaza]] Many large state gatherings of the State of Israel take place there now, including the official swearing-in of different Israel army officers units, national ceremonies such as memorial services for fallen Israeli soldiers on Yom Hazikaron, huge celebrations on Israel Independence Day (Yom Ha'atzmaut), huge gatherings of tens of thousands on Jewish religious holidays, and ongoing daily prayers by regular attendees. It is also a major high-point for tourists visiting Jerusalem. Under Israeli control, members of most religions are largely granted access to their holy sites. The major exceptions being the limitations placed on Palestinian Muslims and Christians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip from accessing holy sites due to their inadmissibility to Jerusalem, as well as limitations on Jews from visiting the Temple Mount due to both politically-motivated restrictions (where they are allowed to walk on the Mount in small groups, but are forbidden to pray or study while there) and religious edicts that forbid Jews from trespassing on what may be the site of the Holy of the Holies. Concerns have been raised about attacks on the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the last of which was a serious fire in 1969 (arson by an Australian tourist), and tunnels opened near the Mount, discovered in 1981, 1988 and 1996. The status of East Jerusalem remains a highly controversial issue.

Current status

Israeli law designates Jerusalem as the capital of Israel; only a few countries recognize this designation. See Status as Israel's capital. According to the 1947 UN Partition Plan, Jerusalem was supposed to be an international city, not part of either the proposed Jewish or Arab state. Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, West Jerusalem was occupied by Israel, while East Jerusalem (including the Old City) was occupied by Jordan, along with the West Bank. The Jordanian annexation of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) was not internationally recognized, except by the United Kingdom and Pakistan. In the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel captured East Jerusalem, and began taking steps to unify the city under Israeli control. In three legal measures passed by the Knesset on 27 and 28 June 1967 Israel extended its laws to 6.4 km² of Jordanian Jerusalem and 64 km² of the nearby West Bank, effectively annexing them (see [http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/world/2001/israel_and_palestinians/key_maps/3.stm Maps of Jerusalem pre- and post-1967]). Residents of the annexed territory were offered Israeli citizenship on condition they renounce their Jordanian citizenship, which most of them refused to do. In 1988, Jordan withdrew all its claims to the West Bank (including Jerusalem) in favor of the Palestine Liberation Organization. The status of Palestinians in East Jerusalem is also controversial. The Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem have a 'permanent resident' status, which allows them to move within Israel proper. However should they move out of Israel proper (e.g. into the Palestinian territories), this status will be lost and they will not be able to return. Since many have extended families in the West Bank, only miles away, this often implies enormous hassles. By Israel's Citizenship Law, they are entitled to Israeli citizenship, which they can receive automatically or almost automatically, provided that they do not have any other citizenship. Thus, many Palestinians who would like to hold their Jordanian passports have to retain the status of permanent residents. Some Palestinians decline to accept citizenship since they consider it equivalent to accepting Israel's annexation. Another issue is the status of family members not recorded in the census preceding the Israeli annexation of East Jerusalem. They must apply for entry into East Jerusalem for family reunification with the Ministry of the Interior. Palestinians complain that such applications have been arbitrarily denied for purposes of limiting the Palestinian population in East Jerusalem, while Israeli authorities claim they treat Palestinians fairly. These and other aspects have been a source of criticism from Palestinians and Israeli human rights organizations, such as B'Tselem.

Status as Israel's capital

B'Tselem In 1980, the Israeli Knesset confirmed Jerusalem's status as the nation's "eternal and indivisible capital", by passing the Basic Law: Jerusalem — Capital of Israel. All the branches of Israeli government (Presidential, Legislative, Judicial, and Administrative) are seated in Jerusalem. The Knesset building is well known in Jerusalem. As of 2004, only two states, Costa Rica and El Salvador, have their embassies in Jerusalem (since 1984). Other foreign consulates such as Consulate General of Greece as well as those of the United Kingdom and the United States are based there and primarily serve the Palestinian population in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Consul-Generals of those countries do not submit their letters of credintials to the Israeli President or foreign ministry, but to the administrative governor of the city. Additionally, Bolivia and Paraguay have their embassies in Mevasseret Zion, a suburb of Jerusalem. The Netherlands hold an office in Jerusalem that serves almost exclusively Israelis.

Palestinian aspirations

Palestinian groups claim either all of Jerusalem (Al-Quds) or East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

UN position

The position of the United Nations on the question of Jerusalem is contained in General Assembly resolution 181(11) and subsequent resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council concerning this question. The UN Security Council, in UN Resolution 478, declared that the 1980 Jerusalem Law declaring Jerusalem as Israel's "eternal and indivisible" capital was "null and void and must be rescinded forthwith" (14-0-1, with United States abstaining). The resolution instructed member states to withdraw their diplomatic representation from the city as a punitive measure. Before this resolution, thirteen countries maintained their embassies in Jerusalem: Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, the Netherlands, Panama, Uruguay, Venezuela. Following the UN resolution, all thirteen moved their embassies to Tel Aviv. Costa Rica and El Salvador moved theirs back to Jerusalem in 1984.

United States position

The United States Jerusalem Embassy Act, passed by Congress in 1995, states that "Jerusalem should be recognized as the capital of the State of Israel; and the United States Embassy in Israel should be established in Jerusalem no later than May 31, 1999". Since then, the relocation of the embassy from Tel Aviv is being suspended by the President semi-annually, each time stating that "[the] Administration remains committed to beginning the process of moving our embassy to Jerusalem". As a result of the Embassy Act, official U.S. documents and web sites refer to Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Section 214 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, 2003 states: :"The Congress maintains its commitment to relocating the United States Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and urges the President [...] to immediately begin the process of relocating the United States Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem". [http://www.mideastweb.org/jeruembassy2002.htm] However, President Bush has argued that this section is merely "advisory", stating that it "impermissibly interferes with the President's constitutional authority". [http://www.state.gov/m/rm/rls/rm/2002/13888.htm] The U.S. Constitution reserves the conduct of foreign policy to the President and acts of Congress which make foreign policy are arguably invalid for that reason. The U.S. Congress, however, has the "power of the purse," and could prohibit the president from expending any funds on any embassy that is located outside Jerusalem. It has not done so.

United Kingdom position

UK government statement [http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1076522475865] :"In line with the Declaration of Principles of 13 September 1993 and the Interim Agreement of 28 September 1995, both agreed by Israel and the PLO, the Government regards the status of Jerusalem as still to be determined in permanent status negotiations between the parties. Pending agreement, we recognise de facto Israeli control of West Jerusalem but consider East Jerusalem to be occupied territory. We recognise no sovereignty over the city." :"Jerusalem has a unique religious and cultural importance for Christians, Jews and Muslims, and we attach great importance to ensuring access to Jerusalem and freedom of worship there for those of all faiths." It should be noted that whilst the United Kingdom maintains a Consulate-General in Jerusalem, this is not accredited to Israel. It administers the UK's relations with the Palestinian Authority and looks after the interests of British citizens in the occupied territories and Jerusalem. Israelis and British citizens in Israel proper must deal with the UK's embassy in Tel Aviv.

Arguments for and against internationalization

The proposal that Jerusalem should be under international administration is still made at times by Christians, whose population in the city is much smaller than the Muslim and Jewish populations. (Internationalization is the solution favored by the Holy See.) However, most negotiations regarding the future status of Jerusalem have been based on partition; for example, one scheme would have Israel keep the Jewish quarter and the Western Wall (the "Wailing Wall"), with the rest of the Old City and the Temple Mount being transferred to a new Palestinian state. Some Israelis are opposed to any division of Jerusalem, based on cultural, historic, and religious grounds. Others believe that areas such as the Old City which are sacred to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam should be under international or multilateral control. Palestinians have argued for an open city, though its feasibility has been challenged given the existence of mutual distrust.

Religious significance

Jerusalem plays an important role in three major religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Jerusalem, Jews and Judaism

major religions of peace (shalom) with the Western Wall's blocks in the background]]

Jerusalem in Torah and Tanakh

Jerusalem has long been embedded into the religious consciousness of the Jewish people. Jews have always studied and personalized the struggle by King David to capture Jerusalem and his desire to build the Jewish temple there, as described in the Book of Samuel and the Book of Psalms. Many of King David's yearnings about Jerusalem have been adapted into popular prayers and songs.

Jerusalem and the Jewish religious calendar

Book of Psalms Two major Jewish festivals observed by most Jews conclude with the words: "Next Year in Jerusalem" ("l'shanah haba'ah birushalayim") or "Next Year in the Rebuilt Jerusalem" ("l'shanah haba'ah birushalayim hab'nuyah"):
- At the conclusion of the Passover Seder on each night, participants break out into joyous, repetitious singing of "Next Year in Jerusalem".
- The holiest day on the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur, also concludes the synagogue service with the exclamation and singing of "Next Year in Jerusalem". Each of these days has an associated holy text, the Hagada for Pesach (Passover) and the Machzor for Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), which stresses the desire to return to Jerusalem. Today, with over a quarter million Jews practicing Orthodox Judaism living in Jerusalem, the Jewish festivals come to life in the Old and New Cities. The Western Wall, as well as synagogues throughout the city, host tens of thousands of fervent worshippers and celebrants. Western Wall.]] The saddest day on the Jewish religious calendar is the Ninth of Av, when Jews traditionally spend the day mourning over the loss of their two Holy Temples and the destruction of Jerusalem. In accordance with Jewish mourning custom, hundreds of people come to the Western Wall, site of the former Temples, throughout the night and day of this 24-hour fast to sit on the ground and cry over the destruction. Besides the Ninth of Av, two minor, dawn to dusk fast days also commemorate aspects of the destruction of Jerusalem. On the Tenth of Tevet, Jews mourn the time when Babylonia laid siege to the First Temple. On the Seventeenth of Tammuz, the mourning recalls the day that the army of Rome broke through the outer walls of the Second Temple. The words used when Jews console any mourner during the customary Seven Days of Mourning are: :"May God comfort you among all the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem"

Jerusalem and prayer

Seven Days of Mourning, at the Western Wall Plaza, a huge yeshiva building used for Torah study and prayers is built today]] The daily prayers, recited by religious Jews three times a day over the last two thousand years, mention Jerusalem and its functions multiple times. Some examples from the siddur and the amidah are: :(Addressing God): "And to Jerusalem, your city, may you return in compassion, and may you rest within it, as you have spoke. May you rebuild it soon in our days as an eternal structure, and may you speedily establish the throne of (King) David within it. Blessed are you God, the builder of Jerusalem...May our eyes behold Your return to Zion in compassion. Blessed are you God, who restores his presence to Zion." Additionally when partaking of a daily meal with bread, the following is part of the required "Grace After Meals" which must be recited: :"Have mercy Lord our God, on Israel your people, on Jerusalem your city, on Zion the resting place of your glory, on the monarchy of (King David) your anointed, and on the great and holy (Temple) house upon which your name is called...Rebuild Jerusalem, the holy city, soon in our days. Blessed are you God who rebuilds Jerusalem in his mercy, amen." After partaking of a light meal, the thanksgiving blessing states: :"...Have mercy, Lord, our God, on Israel, your people; on Jerusalem, your city; and on Zion, the resting place of your glory; upon your altar, and upon your temple. Rebuild Jerusalem, the city of holiness, speedily in our days. Bring us up into it and gladden us in its rebuilding and let us eat from its fruit and be satisfied with its goodness and bless you upon it in holiness and purity. For you, God, are good and do good to all and we thank you for the land and for the nourishment..." When the Jews were exiled, first by the Babylonian Empire about 2,500 years ago and then by the Roman Empire 2,000 years ago, the great rabbis and scholars of the mishnah and Talmud instituted the policy that each synagogue should replicate the original Jewish temple. Moreover, it should be constructed in such a way that all prayers in the siddur (prayer book) would be recited while facing Jerusalem, as that was where the ancient temple stood and that location was the only permissible place for the sacrificial offerings. Thus synagogues in Europe face south, synagogues in North America face east, synagogues in countries to the south of Israel, such as Yemen or South Africa, face north, and synagogues in countries to the east of Israel, such as India or Thailand, face west. Even when a Jew prays privately, he faces Jerusalem, as mandated by Jewish law compiled by the rabbis in the Shulchan Aruch. In Jerusalem itself, he should face the direction of the Western Wall in the Old City, and when he is standing at the Western Wall, he turns slightly to the left to face the location of the Holy of Holies (which is currently covered by the Dome of the Rock.

Customs in remembrance of Jerusalem

Dome of the Rock today, center, with right foot raised, about to break glass cup (covered by a small white cloth) with his right heel, recalling Jerusalem's destruction]] In some circles, a tiny amount of ash is touched to the forehead of a Jewish groom before he goes to stand beneath the bridal canopy. This symbolically reminds him not to allow his own rejoicing to be "greater" than the ongoing need to recall Jerusalem's destruction. The well-known custom of the groom breaking a glass with the heel of his shoe after the wedding ceremony is also related to the subject of mourning for Jerusalem. The groom recites the sentence from Psalms, "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning." (Psalms 137:5). The translation given is from the KJV, the italicized words are not present in the Hebrew. All traditional Jewish commentators, however, agree with this translation; it was common in Biblical Hebrew to not explicitly express any possible negative consequence. Another ancient custom is to leave a patch of interior wall opposite the door to one's home unpainted, as a remembrance of the destruction (zecher lechurban), of the Temples and city of Jerusalem.

Western Wall in Jerusalem

The Western Wall, in the heart of the Old City of Jerusalem, is generally considered to be the only remains of the Second Temple from the era of the Roman conquests. There are said to be esoteric texts in Midrash that mention God's promise to keep this one remnant of the outer temple wall standing as a memorial and reminder of the past. Hence the significance of the "Western Wall" (kotel hama'aravi) - also called the "Wailing Wall" by non-Jews, attesting to their perception of Jews' propensity to cry whenever they came before it.

Rabbis and Jerusalem

The Talmud records that the rabbinical leader Yohanan ben Zakkai (c. 70 C.E.) urged a peaceful surrender, in order to save Jerusalem from destruction, but was not heeded as the city was under the control of the Zealots. An early expression of the Jewish desire to "return to Zion" is the journey of Yehuda Halevi, who died in about 1140. Jewish legend relates that as he came near Jerusalem, overpowered by the sight of the Holy City, he sang his most beautiful elegy, the celebrated "Zionide" Tzion ha-lo Tish'ali and that at that instant he was ridden down and killed by an Arab. 1140 He was followed by Nahmanides, the Ramban, who, in 1267 emigrated to the land of Israel, and came for a short stay to live in Jerusalem. He wrote that he found barely ten Jews, as it had been desolated by the Crusades, nevertheless, together they built a synagogue that is the oldest that still stands to this day, known as the "Ramban Synagogue". Both Elijah ben Solomon (d. 1797) known as the Vilna Gaon, and Israel ben Eliezer (d. 1760) known as the Ba'al Shem Tov instructed and sent small successive waves of their disciples to settle in Jerusalem then under Turkish Ottoman rule. They created a Jewish religious infrastructure that remains the core of the Haredi Jewish community in Jerusalem to this day. The British Mandate of Palestine authorities created the new offices of "Chief Rabbi" in 1921 for both Ashkenazi Jews and Sephardic Jews with central offices in Jerusalem. Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook (d. 1935) moved to Jerusalem to set up this office, associated with the "Religious Zionist" Mafdal group, becoming the first modern Chief Rabbi together with Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yaakov Meir. The official structure housing the Chief Rabbinate was completed in 1958 and is known as Heichal Shlomo. Jerusalem is also home to a number of the world's largest yeshivot (Talmudical and Rabbinical schools), and has become the undisputed capital of Jewish scholarly, religious and spiritual life for most of world Jewry.

Jerusalem in the Tanakh and (Old Testament)

Jerusalem is mentioned over 700 times in the Torah and Tanakh, and Old Testament, a text sacred to both Judaism and Christianity. In Judaism it is considered the Written Law, the basis for the Oral Law (Mishnah, Talmud and Shulkhan Arukh) studied, practiced and treasured by Jews and Judaism for three millennia (list of Jewish prayers and blessings). In Christianity, it is considered as the account of God's relationship with His chosen people - the original covenant - and the essential prelude to the events narrated in the New Testament, including both universal commandments (eg the Ten Commandments) and obsolete or Judaism-specific ones. For example, the book of Psalms, which has been frequently recited and memorized by Jews and Christians for centuries, says: (etc.)
- "By the rivers of Babylon we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion." (Psalms 137:1)
- "For there they that carried us away captive required of us

Clerk

---- A clerk can be someone who works in an office and whose duties include record-keeping or correspondence. Alternatively a clerk is a person who sells items in a store. In a medieval context, the word means "Scholar" and related to the word "cleric". In British English, although spelt clerk, the word is pronounced as if spelt with an 'a' (i.e clark)

Siege of Jerusalem (1099)

The Siege of Jerusalem took place from June 7 to July 15, 1099 during the First Crusade.

Background

After the successful siege of Antioch in June of 1098, the crusaders remained in the area for the rest of the year. The papal legate Adhemar of Le Puy had died, and Bohemund of Taranto had claimed Antioch for himself. Baldwin of Boulogne remained in Edessa, captured earlier in 1098. There was dissent among the princes over what to do next; Raymond of Toulouse, frustrated, left Antioch to capture the fortress at Ma'arrat al-Numan. By the end of the year the minor knights and infantry were threatening to march to Jerusalem without them.

The siege of Arqa

At the end of December or early in January, Robert of Normandy and Bohemund's nephew Tancred agreed to become vassals of Raymond, who was wealthy enough to compensate them for their service. Godfrey of Bouillon, however, who now had revenue from his brother's territory in Edessa, refused to do the same. On January 5, Raymond dismantled the walls of Ma'arrat, and on January 13 began the march south, barefoot and dressed as a pilgrim, followed by Robert and Tancred. Proceeding down the coast of the Mediterranean, they encountered little resistance, as local Muslim rulers preferred to make peace and give supplies rather than fight. The local Sunnis may have also preferred Crusader control to Shi'ite Fatimid rule. Raymond planned to take Tripoli for himself to set up a state equivalent to Bohemund's Antioch. First however, he besieged nearby Arqa. Meanwhile, Godfrey, along with Robert of Flanders, who had also refused to become Raymond's vassal, joined together with the remaining crusaders at Latakia and marched south in February. Bohemund marched out with them but quickly returned to Antioch. At this time Tancred left Raymond's service and joined with Godfrey, due to some unknown quarrel. Another separate force, though linked to Godfrey's, was led by Gaston IV of Béarn. Godfrey, Robert, Tancred, and Gaston arrived at Arqa in March, but the siege continued. The situation was tense not only among the military leaders, but also among the clergy; since Adhemar's death there had been no real leader, and ever since the discovery of the Holy Lance by Peter Bartholomew in Antioch, there had been accusations of fraud among different clerical factions. Finally, in April, Arnulf of Chocques challenged Peter to an ordeal by fire. Peter underwent the ordeal and died of his wounds, thus discrediting the holy lance as a fake and one of Raymonds holds on his ultimate authority over the Crusade.

The siege of Jerusalem

left The siege of Arqa lasted until May 13 when the crusaders left, having captured nothing. The Fatimids had attempted to make peace, on the condition that the crusaders not continue towards Jerusalem, but this was of course ignored; Iftikhar ad-Dawla, the Fatimid governor of Jerusalem, apparently did not understand why the crusaders were there at all. On the 13th they came to Tripoli where the ruler of the city gave them money and horses. According to the anonymous chronicle Gesta Francorum, he also vowed to convert to Christianity if the crusaders succeeded in capturing Jerusalem from his Fatimid enemies. Continuing south along the coast, the crusaders passed Beirut on May 19, Tyre on May 23, and turning inland at Jaffa, reached Ramlah on June 3, which had already been abandoned by its inhabitants. The bishopric of Ramlah-Lydda was established there at the church of St. George (a popular crusader hero) before they continued on to Jerusalem. On June 6, Godfrey sent Tancred and Gaston to capture Bethlehem, where Tancred flew his banner from the Church of the Nativity. On June 7 the crusaders reached Jerusalem itself. Many cried upon seeing the city they had journeyed so long to reach. As with Antioch the crusaders put the city to a siege, in which the crusaders themselves probably suffered more than the citizens of the city, due to the lack of food and water around Jerusalem. The city was well-prepared for the siege, and the Fatimid governor had expelled most of the Christians. Of the estimated 7,000 knights who took part in the Princes' Crusade, only about 1,500 remained, along with another 12,000 healthy foot-soldiers (out of perhaps as many as 20,000). Godfrey, Robert of Flanders, and Robert of Normandy (who had now also left Raymond to join Godfrey) besieged the north walls as far south as the Tower of David, while Raymond set up his camp on the western side, from the Tower of David to Mount Zion. A direct assault on the walls on June 13 was a failure. Without water or food, both men and animals were quickly dying of thirst and starvation and the crusaders knew time was not on their side. Coincidentally, soon after the first assault, a number of Christian ships sailed into the port at Jaffa, and the crusaders were able to re-supply themselves for a short time. The crusaders also began to gather wood from Samaria in order to build siege engines. They were still short on food and water, and by the end of June there was news that a Fatimid army was marching north from Egypt.

The barefoot procession

Faced with a seemingly impossible task, their spirits were raised when a priest by the name of Peter Desiderius claimed to have a divine vision in which the ghost of Adhemar instructed them to fast for three days and then march in a barefoot procession around the city walls, after which the city would fall in nine days, following the Biblical example of Joshua at the siege of Jericho. Although they were already starving, they fasted, and on July 8 they made the procession, with the clergy blowing trumpets and singing psalms, being mocked by the defenders of Jerusalem all the while. The procession stopped on the Mount of Olives and sermons were delivered by Peter the Hermit, Arnulf of Chocques, and Raymond of Aguilers.

The final assault and massacre

Throughout the siege, attacks were made on the walls, but each one was repulsed. Meanwhile, three siege engines were completed and were rolled up to the walls on the night of July 14 much to the surprise and concern of the garrison. On the morning of July 15, Godfrey's tower reached his section of the walls near the northeast corner gate, and according to the Gesta a Flemish knight named Lethold was the first to cross into the city, followed by Godfrey, his brother Eustace, Tancred, and their men. Raymond's tower was at first stopped by a ditch, but as the other crusaders had already entered, the Muslim guarding the gate surrendered to Raymond. Once the Crusaders had breached the outer walls and entered the city almost every inhabitant of Jerusalem was killed over the course of that afternoon, evening and next morning. Muslims, Jews, and even any remaining Christians were all massacred with indiscriminate violence. Many Muslims sought shelter in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, where, according to one famous account in Gesta, "...the slaughter was so great that our men waded in blood up to their ankles..." According to Raymond of Aguilers "men rode in blood up to their knees and bridle reins." Tancred claimed the Temple quarter for himself and offered protection to some of the Muslims there, but he could not prevent their deaths at the hands of his fellow crusaders. The Fatimid governor withdrew to the Tower of David, which he soon surrendered to Raymond in return for safe passage for himself and bodyguards to Ascalon. They were the only ones to escape alive.

Aftermath

Following the massacre, Godfrey of Bouillon was made Advocatus Sancti Sepulchri (Protector of the Holy Sepulchre) on July 22, refusing to be named king in the city where Christ had died. Raymond had refused any title at all, and Godfrey convinced him to give up the Tower of David as well. Raymond then went on a pilgrimage, and in his absence Arnulf of Chocques, whom Raymond had opposed due to his own support for Peter Bartholomew, was elected the first Latin Patriarch on August 1 (the claims of the Greek Patriarch were ignored). On August 5, Arnulf, after consulting the surviving inhabitants of the city, discovered the relic of the True Cross. On August 12, Godfrey led an army, with the True Cross carried in the vanguard, against the Fatimid army at the Battle of Ascalon on August 12. The crusaders were successful, but following the victory, the majority of them considered their crusading vows to have been fulfilled, and all but a few hundred knights returned home. Nevertheless, their victory paved the way for the establishment of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Sources

- Hans E. Mayer, The Crusades, Oxford, 1965.
- Jonathan Riley-Smith, The First Crusade and the Idea of Crusading, Philadelphia, 1999.
- [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/cde-jlem.html The Siege and Capture of Jerusalem: Collected Accounts] Primary sources from the Internet Medieval Sourcebook.
- [http://historymedren.about.com/library/prm/bl1cfc.htm Climax of the First Crusade] Detailed examanination by J. Arthur McFall originally appeared in Military History magazine. Jerusalem (1099) Jerusalem (1099) Category:Jerusalem

Holy Lance

:This article concerns the historical and religious issues regarding the lance used at the Crucifixion in Christian belief. For the elaborate Nazi mythology surrounding this relic and modern manufactured legend, see Spear of Destiny. In Christian mythology the Holy Lance is the lance used at the Crucifixion, which was later identified with a relic or relics that survive. The lance is only mentioned in the Gospel of John and not any other of the Synoptic Gospels. According to John, "one of the soldiers with a spear [lancea] opened his side and immediately there came out blood and water". The water was an indicator of death. The lance is unknown until the pilgrim St. Antoninus of Piacenza (AD 570), describing the holy places of Jerusalem, tells us that he saw in the Basilica of Mount Sion "the crown of thorns with which Our Lord was crowned and the lance with which He was struck in the side". A mention of the lance also at the church of the Holy Sepulchre occurs in the so-called Breviarus. Centuries later, the name of "Longinus" became associated with the unnamed soldier of the Crucifixion. In a miniature of the famous Syriac manuscript of the Laurentian Library, Florence, illuminated by one Rabulas in the year 586, the incident of the opening of Christ's side is given a significant prominence: the name LOGINOS is written in Greek characters above the head of the soldier who is thrusting his lance into Christ's side, the earliest record, if the inscription is not a later addition, of the legend. This leads one of the lance's many names, the Lance of Longinus. A spear was venerated as the Holy Lance at Jerusalem by the close of the 6th century, and the presence there of this important relic is attested half a century earlier by Cassiodorus (In Ps. lxxxvi, P.L., LXX, 621) and after him by Gregory of Tours, who had not been to Jerusalem. In 615 Jerusalem and its relics were captured by Persian forces of King Khosrau II. According to the Chronicon Paschale, the point of the lance, which had been broken off, was given in the same year to Nicetas, who took it to Constantinople and deposited it in the church of Hagia Sophia. This point of the lance, which was now set in an "yeona", or icon in 1244 was sold by Baldwin II of Constantinople to Louis IX of France, and it was enshrined with the Crown of Thorns in the Sainte Chapelle in Paris. During the French Revolution these relics were removed to the Bibliotheque Nationale, and disappeared. (The present "Crown of Thorns" is a wreath of rushes.) As for the larger portion of the lance, Arculpus saw it at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre around 670 in Jerusalem, where it must have been restored by Heraclius, but otherwise there is no further mention of it after the sack of Jerusalem in 615. There is consequently some reason to believe that the larger relic as well as the point had been conveyed to Constantinople before the tenth century, possibly at the same time as the Crown of Thorns. At any rate its presence at Constantinople seems to be clearly attested by various pilgrims, particularly Russians, and, though it was deposited in various churches in succession, it seems possible to trace it and distinguish it from the companion relic of the point. Sir John Mandeville declared in 1357, that he had seen the blade of the Holy Lance both at Paris and at Constantinople, and that the latter was a much larger relic than the former. Whatever the Constantinople relic was, it fell into the hands of the Turks, and in 1492, under circumstances minutely described in Pastor's History of the Popes, the Sultan Bajazet sent it to Innocent VIII to encourage the pope to continue to keep his brother Zizim prisoner. This relic has never since left Rome, where it is preserved under the dome of Saint Peter's Basilica. Benedict XIV (De Beat. et Canon., IV, ii, 31) states that he obtained from Paris an exact drawing of the point of the lance, and that in comparing it with the larger relic in St. Peter's he was satisfied that the two had originally formed one blade. M. Mély published for the first time in 1904, an accurate design of the Roman relic of the lance head, and the fact that it has lost its point is as conspicuous as in other, often quite fantastic, delineations of the Vatican lance. At the time of the sending of the lance to Innocent VIII, great doubts as to its authenticity were felt at Rome, as Johann Burchard's "Diary" (I, 473-486, ed. Thusasne) plainly shows, on account of the rival lances known to be preserved at Nuremberg, Paris, etc., and on account of the supposed discovery of the Holy Lance at Antioch by the revelation of St. Andrew, in 1098, during the First Crusade. Raynaldi, the Bollandists, and many other authorities believed that the lance found in 1098 afterwards fell into the hands of the Turks and was that sent by Bajazet to Pope Innocent, but from M. de Mely's investigations it seems probable that it is identical with the relic now jealously preserved at Etschmiadzin in Armenia. This was never in any proper sense a lance, but rather the head of a standard, and it may conceivably (before its discovery under very questionable circumstances by the crusader Peter Bartholomew) have been venerated as the weapon with which certain Jews at Beirut struck a figure of Christ on the Cross; an outrage which was believed to have been followed by a miraculous discharge of blood. Another lance claiming to be that which produced the wound in Christ's side is now preserved among the imperial insignia kept in the Schatzkammer in Vienna and is known as the lance of St. Maurice. This weapon was used as early as 1273 in the coronation ceremony of the Holy Roman Emperor and form an earlier date as an emblem of investiture. It came to Nuremberg in 1424, and it is also probably the lance, known as that of the Emperor Constantine, which enshrined a nail or some portion of a nail of the Crucifixion. The story told by William of Malmesbury of the giving of the Holy Lance to King Athelstan of England by Hugh Capet seems to be due to a misconception. One other remaining lance reputed to be that concerned in the Passion of Christ is preserved at Krakow, but, though it is alleged to have been there for eight centuries, it is impossible to trace its earlier history. Category:Crusades Category:Habsburg Category:History of Austria Category:History of Germany Category:Holy Roman Empire Category:Mythical objects Category:Relics attributed to Jesus

Peter Bartholomew

] Peter Bartholomew was a poor monk and mystic from France who accompanied the knights of the First Crusade. In December, 1097, during the siege of Antioch, Peter began to have visions, mostly of St. Andrew. Peter claimed St. Andrew took him to the Church of St. Peter, inside Antioch, and showed him where the relic of the Holy Lance could be found. St. Andrew instructed Peter to tell the Crusade leaders about this, and to give the Lance to Raymond of St. Gilles when it was found. Peter did not immediately inform Raymond or the other leaders, and was visited four more times before June of 1098. He began to lose his sight in February of 1098, probably because of the famine afflicting the Crusaders, although he believed St. Andrew was punishing him. After the Crusaders captured Antioch, Peter and Raymond began excavating the floor of the church. On June 14, 1098, Peter apparently discovered the Lance, and claimed to have been visited once more by St. Andrew that night, who told him to establish a feast day in honour of the discovery. Many people, including the papal legate Adhemar of Le Puy, believed Peter was a charlatan, and had simply brought a piece of iron with him to "find." After Adhemar's death later in 1098, Peter said Adhemar visited him to confirm the authenticity of the Lance. The discovery of the Lance was at first considered to be a good omen, and it boosted the morale of the Crusaders when they were themselves besieged by a Muslim army. The Lance was credited with ensuring the Crusader victory in this siege, just as St. Andrew had promised. Nevertheless, Peter's reputation was tarnished because many of the nobles still did not believe him. He later claimed Christ had visited him and instructed the Crusaders to march barefoot to Jerusalem, although this was largely ignored. Other visions, from Christ, St. Andrew, Adhemar, and others, revealed divine anger at the various sins and vices of the Crusaders. On April 8, 1099, Peter went through an ordeal by fire in an attempt to prove himself. It is very likely that he was severely burned in the process, although he claimed he was uninjured because Christ had appeared to him in the fire, and that he had been hurt afterwards when a crowd rushed to him. In any case, he died on April 20. Category:Crusades

Siege of Antioch

:The "Siege of Antioch" may also refer to the battle in 1268 when Baibars captured Antioch from the Crusader States; see Siege of Antioch (1268). The Siege of Antioch took place during the First Crusade in 1097 and 1098. The first siege, by the crusaders against the Muslim city, lasted from October 21, 1097, to June 2, 1098. The second siege, against the crusaders who had occupied it, lasted from June 7 to June 28, 1098.

Background

June 28 Antioch had been captured from the Byzantine Empire by the Seljuks only very recently, in 1085. The Byzantine fortifications dated from the time of Justinian I and they had recently been rebuilt and strengthened; the Seljuks had taken the city through treachery and the walls remained intact. Since 1088, its Seljuk governor had been Yaghi-Siyan. Yaghi-Siyan was well aware of the crusader army as it marched through Anatolia in 1097, and he appealed for help from neighbouring Muslim states, but to no avail. To prepare for their arrival, he imprisoned the Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, John the Oxite, and exiled the Greek and Armenian Orthodox population, although the Syrian Orthodox citizens were permitted to stay.

Arrival of the crusaders

The crusaders arrived at the Orontes River outside Antioch on October 20, 1097. The three major leaders of the crusade at this point, Godfrey of Bouillon, Bohemund of Taranto, and Raymond IV of Toulouse initially disagreed over what to do next: Raymond wanted to make a direct assault, while Godfrey and Bohemund preferred to set siege to the city. Raymond reluctantly acquiesced and the crusaders partially encircled the city on October 21. The city's Byzantine fortifications were strong enough to resist a direct attack, although Yaghi-Siyan may not have had enough men to adequately defend the city, and he was relieved and emboldened when the crusaders did not attack immediately. Bohemund encamped on the northeast corner of the city at the Gate of St. Paul, Raymond set his camp further to the west at the Gate of the Dog, and Godfrey placed his troops at the Gate of the Duke, also further to the west, where a bridge of boats was built across the Orontes to the village of Talenki. To the south was the Tower of the Two Sisters and at the northwest corner the Gate of St. George, which was not blockaded by the crusaders, and were used throughout the siege to supply Yaghi-Sian with food. On the southern and western side of the city was the hilly area known as Mt. Silpius, where the citadel and the Iron Gate were located.

First siege

siege By mid-November Bohemund's nephew Tancred had arrived with reinforcements, and a Genoese fleet had sailed into the port at St. Symeon, bringing extra food and supplies. The siege dragged on, and in December Godfrey fell ill and food supplies that had been plentiful were running out with the approaching winter. At the end of the month Bohemund and Robert of Flanders took about 20,000 men and went foraging for food to the south, but while they were gone, Yaghi-Siyan made a sortie out of the Gate of St. George on December 29 and attacked Raymonds encampment across the river at Talenki. Raymond was able to turn him back but was not able to capture the city itself. Meanwhile, Bohemund and Robert were attacked by an army under Duqaq of Damascus, which had marched north to come to Antioch's aid. Although the crusaders were victorious here as well, they were forced to retreat to Antioch with little food. The month ended inauspiciously for both sides: there was an earthquake on December 30, and the aurora borealis the next night, and the following weeks saw such unseasonably bad rain and cold weather that Duqaq had to return home without further engaging the crusaders.

Famine

Due to lack of food there was a famine in the crusader camp, killing both men and horses, one in seven men was dying of starvation and only 700 horses remained. Supposedly some of the poorer soldiers, the remnants of the Peoples' Crusade led by Peter the Hermit and called Tafurs, became cannibals, eating the bodies of dead Turks. Others ate horses, although some knights preferred to starve. Local Christians, as well as the exiled Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Simeon, now living on Cyprus, attempted to send food but this did not relieve the famine. Some knights and soldiers began to desert in January of 1098, including Peter the Hermit, although he was quickly found and brought back to the camp by Tancred, his prestige tarnished.

Tatizius departs

In February, the Byzantine general and legate Tatizius, who had remained with the crusaders as an advisor and a representative of Emperor Alexius I, suddenly left the crusader army. According to Anna Comnena, who presumably spoke with Tatizius personally, the crusaders refused to listen to his advice and Bohemund had informed him that the other leaders were planning to kill him, as they believed Alexius was secretly encouraging the Turks. Bohemund, on the other hand, claimed that this was treachery or cowardice, reason enough to break any obligations to return Antioch to the Byzantines, and he too would leave unless he was allowed to keep Antioch for himself when it was captured. Knowing fully that Bohemund had designs on taking the city for himself, and that he had probably engineered Tatizius' departure in order to facilitate this, Godfrey and Raymond did not give in to his blackmail, but the minor knights and soldiers wanted to recognize his demands and he gained their sympathies. During these events, Yaghi-Siyan continued to seek help from his neighbours, and an army under Ridwan arrived at Antioch from Aleppo. Like Duqaq before him, he too was defeated, at Harim outside Antioch, on February 9.

English reinforcements

In March an English fleet led by Edgar Atheling arrived at St. Simeon from Constantinople, where Edgar was living in exile. They brought with them raw materials for constructing siege engines, but these were almost lost on March 6 when Raymond and Bohemund (neither of whom trusted the other enough to deliver the material alone) were attacked on the road back to Antioch by a detachment of Yaghi-Siyan's garrison. With Godfrey's help, however, the detachment was defeated and the materials were recovered. Although Edgar had been given his fleet and the siege materials by emperor Alexius, the crusaders did not consider this to be direct Byzantine assistance. The crusaders set to work building siege engines, as well as a fort, called La Mahomerie, to block the Bridge Gate and prevent Yaghi-Siyan attacking the Crusader supply line from the ports of Saint Simon and Alexandretta, whilst also repairing the abandoned monastery to the west of the Gate of Saint George, which was still being used to deliver food to the city. Tancred garrisoned the monastery, referred to in the chronicles as Tancred's Fort, for 400 silver marks, whilst Count Raymond of Toulouse took control of La Mahomerie. Finally the crusader siege was able to have some effect on the well-defended city. Food conditions improved for the crusaders as spring approached and the city was sealed off from raiders.

Fatimid embassy

In April a Fatimid embassy from Egypt arrived at the crusader camp, hoping to establish a peace with the Christians, who were, after all, the enemy of their own enemies, the Seljuks. Peter the Hermit, who was fluent in Arabic, was sent to negotiate. These negotiations came to nothing. The Fatimids, assuming the crusaders were simply mercenary representatives of the Byzantines, were prepared to let the crusaders keep Syria if they agreed not to attack Fatimid Palestine, a state of affiars perfectly acceptable between Egypt and Byzantine before the Turkish invasions. But the crusaders could not accept any settlement that did not give them Jerusalem. Nevertheless the Fatimids were treated hospitably and were given many gifts, plundered from the Turks who had been defeated in March, and no definitive agreement was reached.

Capture of Antioch

Jerusalem] The seige continued, and at the end of May 1098 a Muslim army from Mosul under the command of Kerbogha approached Antioch. This army was much larger than the previous attempts to relieve the siege. Kerbogha had joined with Ridwan and Duqaq and his army also included troops from Persia and from the Ortuqids of Mesopotamia. The crusaders were luckily granted time to prepare for their arrival, as Kerbogha had first made a three-week long excursion to Edessa, which he was unable to recapture from Baldwin of Boulogne, who had taken it earlier in 1098. The crusaders knew they would have to take the city before Kerbogha arrived if they had any chance of survival. Bohemund secretly established contact with Firouz, an Armenian guard who controlled the Tower of the Two Sisters but had a grudge with Yaghi-Siyan, and bribed him to open the gates. He then approached the other crusaders and offered to let them in, through Firouz, if they would agree to let him have the city. Raymond was furious and argued that the city should be handed over to Alexius, as they had agreed when they left Constantinople in 1097, but Godfrey, Tancred, Robert, and the other leaders, faced with a desperate situation, gave in to his demands. Despite this, on June 2, Stephen of Blois and som