Orel Beilinson Harari College Worldwide HISTORY Jerusalem AP WORLD HISTORY CITIES THROUGH THE AGES AP is a registered trademark of the US CollegeBoard, who were not involved nor endorse this publication.
HISTORY Jerusalem Just like the rest of the Cities Across the Ages series, this booklet briefly surveys the history of Jerusalem from its founding at around 4500 BCE until our era. We will discuss important continuities and changes along the way as well as offering a comparative point of view. In the scope of its existence, Jerusalem suffered was destroyed twice, fell to 23 sieges, 52 attacks and 44 captures and recaptures. From the Proto-Canaanite period through the Jewish settlement and Muslim rule and again to Jewish sovereignity, it is definitely a city we should look at. Period #1 KC: 1.3-II, III Period #2 Period #3 Period #4 Period #5 Period #6
Tiberias Founded in 20CE, Tiberia is the fourth holiest place to Judaism. At around 30 CE, Jesus moved his base of operations to Tiberias. Oren Peles Tel Aviv One of the first Jewish cities outside the walls, it is the home of Israel s cultural life. Some countries that do not believe in Jerusalem as the Israeli capital sit there. Amos Meron Jerusalem Israel s capital and our city of focus in this booklet. Joshua Paquin
HISTORY David captured the fortress of Zion, which is the City of David. 2 SAMUEL, 5, 7 Archaeology suggests that humans first settled near Gihon Spring in the City of David, the core of Jerusalem, anytime between 4500-3500 BCE. However, the first textual references are found in execration texts from the Middle Egyptian Kingdom period, where it is mentioned as as Rusalimum. The city is also mentioned in the Amarna letters. PERIOD #1: TECHNOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSFORMATIONS, C. 8000 BCE TO C. 600 BCE unto the entire Levant. However, the power of Egypt began to decline in the 12th century BCE and eventually space was open for individual kingdom to prosper. According to the Bible, the dwellers of Jerusalem, before it became the capital of the Independent Israel and Judah, were the Jebusites. was a common punishment in the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian to rebels, and it was done again during the reign of Zedekiah, who was placed on throne by the Babylonian king, for cooperating with the Egyptians. It was not until 587, only ten years after the Babylonian capture of Jerusalem, that the Kingdom of Judah fell, and ended the first major era in the history of Jerusalem. Its name is of obscure source. Semitic root s-l-m has a fundamental meaning of peace, but it might also has something to do with Shalim, the Canaanite god of dusk. By the 17th century, the Canaanites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, had built immense walls in the Eastern part of Jerusalem in order to protect their water system. Moving forward, the history of Jerusalem gets interesting again at around 1550-1400 BCE when it became a vassal of Egypt under the rule of Ahmose I and Thutmose I (The New Kingdom), who reunited and expanded Egypt Almost all we know about the Israeliate Kingdom and its split to two kingdoms (Judah and Israel) is from the biblical narrative, and archaeologists are still fighting over interpretation and dating, trying to understand whether the artefacts support or refute the biblical narrative. We do know, however, that after 400 years of Judean rule, it was besieged in 701 by Sennacherib of Assyria and survived it, unlike the capital of the Northen Kingdom of Israel. The end of the Kingdom of Judah is a bit after 597, when the Babylonians besieged Jerusalem and overthrew its king to an exile in Babylonia with the aristocracy. Exiling the upper class Continuities and Changes: This period was characterised by many political changes: shifting from independence to vassalness, shifting again to independence and finally being annexed by the Assyrians and later the Babylonians. Another major change is the shift from the polytheistic rule of the Jebusites to the first Jewish
PRIMARY SOURCE - ABDI HIBA OF JERUSALEM TO THE KING, NO. 2 (FROM THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF EL AMARNA RESEARCH TOOL; AMARNA LETTERS) What have I done to the king, my lord? They slander me to the king, the lord: `Abdi-Heba has become faithless to the king, his lord. Behold, neither my father nor my mother has put me in this place. The mighty hand of the king has led me into the house of my father. Why should I practice mischief against the king, the Lord? As long as the king, my lord, lives I will say to the deputy of the king, [my] lo[rd]: `Why do you love the Habiru, and hate the regents? But therefore am I slandered before the king, my lord. Because I say: `The lands of the king, my lord, are lost, therefore am I slandered to the king, my lord. Because I say: `The lands of the king, my lord, are lost, therefore am I slandered to the king, my lord. But let the king, my lord, know (this): After the king, my lord, had appointed a garrison, Esenhamu took i[t] [al]l... E[g] ypt... of the k[in]g, the lord; [There is n]o garrison here. [So] let the king [c]are for his land. [Let] the king [ca]re for his land. [The land]s of the king, the lord, have all deserted. Ilimilku has devastated the whole land of the king. So let the king, the lord, care for his land. I say: `I will enter into the presence of the king, my lord, and I will see the two eyes of the king, my lord. But hostility has become mighty against me, and so I cannot come to the king, my lord. So, let it seem right to the king to send a garrison, and I will enter and see the two e[yes] of the king, my lord. So long as the king, [my] lor[d] lives, so long as de[puties] go forth, I will say: `The lands of the king are going to ruin. (But) you do not listen to me. All regents are lost; there remains not a regent to the king, the lord. Let the king turn his attention to the archers so that archers of the king, my lord, will go forth. No lands of the king remain. The Habiru plunder all lands of the king. If archers are here this year, then the lands of the king, the lord, will remain; but if archers are not here, then the lands of the king, the lord, are lost. [T]o the scribe of the king, my lord, thus saith Abdi-Heba, thy servant: Bring words, plainly, before the king, my lord: [A]ll the lands of the king, my lord, are going to ruin.
SENNACHERIB S LETTER TO GOD IN AZEKAH (BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN SCHOOLS OF ORIENTAL RESEARCH) (3) [ Ashur, my lord, encourage]ed me and against the land of Ju[dah I marched. In] the course of my campaign, the tribute of the ki[ngs of Philistia? I received (4) [ with the mig]ht of Ashur, my lord, the province of [Hezek]iah of Judah like [ (5) [ ] the city of Azekah, his stronghold, which is between my [bo]rder and the land of Judah (6) [like the nest of the eagle? ] located on a mountain ridge, like pointed iron daggers without number reaching high to heaven [ (7) [Its walls] were strong and ricaled the highest mountains, to the (mere) sight, as if from the sky [appears its head? (8) [by means of beaten (earth) ra]mps, mighty? Battering rams brought near, the work of [ ], with the attack by foot soldiers, [my] wa[rriors (9) [ ] they had seen [the approach of my cav]alry and they had heard the roar of the mighty troops of the god Ashur and [their] he[arts] became afraid [ (10) [The city Azekah I besieged,] I captured, I carried off its spoil, I destroyed, I devastated, [I burned with fire SENNACHERIB S ANNALS (TAYLOR PRISM, BRITISH MUSEUM) Because Hezekiah, king of Judah, would not submit to my yoke, I came up against him, and by force of arms and by the might of my power I took 46 of his strong fenced cities; and of the smaller towns which were scattered about, I took and plundered a countless number. From these places I took and carried off 200,156 persons, old and young, male and female, together with horses and mules, asses and camels, oxen and sheep, a countless multitude; and Hezekiah himself I shut up in Jerusalem, his capital city, like a bird in a cage, building towers round the city to hem him in, and raising banks of earth against the gates, so as to prevent escape... Then upon Hezekiah there fell the fear of the power of my arms, and he sent out to me the chiefs and the elders of Jerusalem with 30 talents of gold and 300 talents of silver, and diverse treasures, a rich and immense booty... All these things were brought to me at Nineveh, the seat of my government.
PRIMARY SOURCE - 2 KINGS 18 18 In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Hezekiah son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother s name was Abijah[a] daughter of Zechariah. 3 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done. 4 He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan. 5 Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. 6 He held fast to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. 7 And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. 8 From watchtower to fortified city, he defeated the Philistines, as far as Gaza and its territory. 9 In King Hezekiah s fourth year, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria marched against Samaria and laid siege to it. 10 At the end of three years the Assyrians took it. So Samaria was captured in Hezekiah s sixth year, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel. 11 The king of Assyria deported Israel to Assyria and settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River and in towns of the Medes. 12 This happened because they had not obeyed the Lord their God, but had violated his covenant all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded. They neither listened to the commands nor carried them out. 13 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 14 So Hezekiah king of Judah sent this message to the king of Assyria at Lachish: I have done wrong. Withdraw from me, and I will pay whatever you demand of me. The king of Assyria exacted from Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. 15 So Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the temple of the Lord and in the treasuries of the royal palace. 16 At this time Hezekiah king of Judah stripped off the gold with which he had covered the doors and doorposts of the temple of the Lord, and gave it to the king of Assyria.
17 The king of Assyria sent his supreme commander, his chief officer and his field commander with a large army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They came up to Jerusalem and stopped at the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Washerman s Field. 18 They called for the king; and Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went out to them. 19 The field commander said to them, Tell Hezekiah: This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: On what are you basing this confidence of yours? 20 You say you have the counsel and the might for war but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel against me? 21 Look, I know you are depending on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff, which pierces the hand of anyone who leans on it! Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who depend on him. 22 But if you say to me, We are depending on the Lord our God isn t he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, You must worship before this altar in Jerusalem? 23 Come now, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses if you can put riders on them! 24 How can you repulse one officer of the least of my master s officials, even though you are depending on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? 25 Furthermore, have I come to attack and destroy this place without word from the Lord? The Lord himself told me to march against this country and destroy it. 26 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, and Shebna and Joah said to the field commander, Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Don t speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall. 27 But the commander replied, Was it only to your master and you that my master sent me to say these things, and not to the people sitting on the wall who, like you, will have to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine? 28 Then the commander stood and called out in Hebrew, Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! 29 This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot deliver you from my hand. 30 Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord when he says, The Lord will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. 31 Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then each of you will eat fruit from your own vine and fig tree and drink water from your own cistern, 32 until I come and take you to a land like your own a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey. Choose life and not death!
Do not listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, The Lord will deliver us. 33 Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? 34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah? Have they rescued Samaria from my hand? 35 Who of all the gods of these countries has been able to save his land from me? How then can the Lord deliver Jerusalem from my hand? 36 But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, Do not answer him. 37 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went to Hezekiah, with their clothes torn, and told him what the field commander had said. PRIMARY SOURCE - 2 CHRONICLES 32 After all that Hezekiah had so faithfully done, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities, thinking to conquer them for himself. 2 When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that he intended to wage war against Jerusalem, 3 he consulted with his officials and military staff about blocking off the water from the springs outside the city, and they helped him. 4 They gathered a large group of people who blocked all the springs and the stream that flowed through the land. Why should the kings of Assyria come and find plenty of water? they said. 5 Then he worked hard repairing all the broken sections of the wall and building towers on it. He built another wall outside that one and reinforced the terraces of the City of David. He also made large numbers of weapons and shields. 6 He appointed military officers over the people and assembled them before him in the square at the city gate and encouraged them with these words: 7 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. 8 With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles. And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said.
PRIMARY SOURCE - 2 CHRONICLES 32 Later, when Sennacherib king of Assyria and all his forces were laying siege to Lachish, he sent his officers to Jerusalem with this message for Hezekiah king of Judah and for all the people of Judah who were there: 10 This is what Sennacherib king of Assyria says: On what are you basing your confidence, that you remain in Jerusalem under siege? 11 When Hezekiah says, The Lord our God will save us from the hand of the king of Assyria, he is misleading you, to let you die of hunger and thirst. 12 Did not Hezekiah himself remove this god s high places and altars, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, You must worship before one altar and burn sacrifices on it? 13 Do you not know what I and my predecessors have done to all the peoples of the other lands? Were the gods of those nations ever able to deliver their land from my hand? 14 Who of all the gods of these nations that my predecessors destroyed has been able to save his people from me? How then can your god deliver you from my hand? 15 Now do not let Hezekiah deceive you and mislead you like this. Do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver his people from my hand or the hand of my predecessors. How much less will your god deliver you from my hand! 16 Sennacherib s officers spoke further against the Lord God and against his servant Hezekiah. 17 The king also wrote letters ridiculing the Lord, the God of Israel, and saying this against him: Just as the gods of the peoples of the other lands did not rescue their people from my hand, so the god of Hezekiah will not rescue his people from my hand. 18 Then they called out in Hebrew to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to terrify them and make them afraid in order to capture the city. 19 They spoke about the God of Jerusalem as they did about the gods of the other peoples of the world the work of human hands. 20 King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz cried out in prayer to heaven about this. 21 And the Lord sent an angel, who annihilated all the fighting men and the commanders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king. So he withdrew to his own land in disgrace. And when he went into the temple of his god, some of his sons, his own flesh and blood, cut him down with the sword.
22 So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all others. He took care of them on every side. 23 Many brought offerings to Jerusalem for the Lord and valuable gifts for Hezekiah king of Judah. From then on he was highly regarded by all the nations. 24 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. He prayed to the Lord, who answered him and gave him a miraculous sign. 25 But Hezekiah s heart was proud and he did not respond to the kindness shown him; therefore the Lord s wrath was on him and on Judah and Jerusalem. 26 Then Hezekiah repented of the pride of his heart, as did the people of Jerusalem; therefore the Lord s wrath did not come on them during the days of Hezekiah. 27 Hezekiah had very great wealth and honor, and he made treasuries for his silver and gold and for his precious stones, spices, shields and all kinds of valuables. 28 He also made buildings to store the harvest of grain, new wine and olive oil; and he made stalls for various kinds of cattle, and pens for the flocks. 29 He built villages and acquired great numbers of flocks and herds, for God had given him very great riches. 30 It was Hezekiah who blocked the upper outlet of the Gihon spring and channeled the water down to the west side of the City of David. He succeeded in everything he undertook. 31 But when envoys were sent by the rulers of Babylon to ask him about the miraculous sign that had occurred in the land, God left him to test him and to know everything that was in his heart. 32 The other events of Hezekiah s reign and his acts of devotion are written in the vision of the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 33 Hezekiah rested with his ancestors and was buried on the hill where the tombs of David s descendants are. All Judah and the people of Jerusalem honored him when he died. And Manasseh his son succeeded him as king.
PRIMARY SOURCE - 2 KINGS 19 When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the Lord. 2 He sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz.... Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria: He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow here. He will not come before it with shield or build a siege ramp against it. 33 By the way that he came he will return; he will not enter this city, declares the Lord. POST-READING QUESTIONS 34 I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant. 35 That night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning there were all the dead bodies! 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there. 37 One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisrok, his sons Adrammelek and Sharezer killed him with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son succeeded him as king. 1. Compare the biblical narrative of Chronicles, the biblical narrative of Kings and the Assyrian documents, put special emphasis on the rebellion, the conquest, Hezekiah s surrdender, the fiscal fine and the results of the war. 2. The biblical author ofthe book of Chronicles believes in personal reward (if you do good deed, you will enjoy good deeds) and is Pro-David. How does that shape his narrative? 3. What is Sennacherib s point-of-view? How does it affect his version of the war?