Mamluk/Ottoman Jerusalem

Mamluk and Ottoman Jerusalem: will take right up until the 20th century
Up until 1918

Mamluk: 1250-1516
-means owned
-soldier of slave origin who had converted to Islam
-it was a movement of slaves
-Jerusalem becomes a religious center
Ziyara(visit) to Jerusalem: as opposed to a formal pilgrimage to Mecca
30 antologies made in praise of Jerusalem - began during the crusades
Muhammed reportedly said “he who lives in Jerusalem is considered a warrior of the jihad- this eternal struggle of isla
-symbolic purpose of defending Jerusalem
-became powerful movements in Islam
-they even attained the rank of sultan in some cases
-more of a movement and not a dynasty
-politically and militarily Jerusalem is insignificant
-haram is developed under the mamluk- build up the temple mount: building schools, hospices, hostels.
-many buildings built around the haram
1351-1353: suffers from the balck death- the plague in Jerusalem

Mamluk architecture:
-walls built of alternating red and white courses of stone
-a lot of dome structures
-a muwarnas- decorative technique inside domes and above entrances

Al-madrasa al- ahsrafiyya
-Qur’anic school
-called the third jewel after the dome of the rock and the al-aqsa mosque
-built in 1482
-built by sultan al- ashraf qaitbey 1486-96: his reign remarkable for the number of fine buildings erected by him and his emirs
-typical use of domes and of black and white geometric designs- no graven images

Ghawanima Minaret
-on the northwester corner of the haram
-1298 by the chief judge of Jerusalem
-reuse of crusader columns and capitals
-built on the foundations of an Umayyad minaret
-northwest corner of the temple mount

Growing jewish quarter:
-rabbi moses be Nachman (Nachmanides) makes aliyah in 1267 BCE
-he founds ramban synagogue which becomes jewish center
-under muslim rule
-attracts jews coming to study with him
-argues that aliyah is a commandment upon all jews
-develops kabbalah, jewish mysticism: spiritualized Jerusalem, temple symbolized path to god, zion-divine presence- final innermost stage on path to god, kabbalah made spiritual aliyah to god possible. Zion is no longer the physical mountain but in mystic Judaism is in divine presence.
-ramban: from spain, physician and scholar, he was a mystic, one of the first ones to incorporate mystics into Judaism. Kicked out of spain and came to Jerusalem and came during the crusades. First Zionist- one of histories- could call him that- go to Israel and live there- number 33

Ottoman Jerusalem 1516- 1918
-take Constantinople in 1453
- Jerusalem surrenders in 1516
-described as the possessor of the first kiblah- direction of prayer- selim I
-ottoman administration: Turkish ottoman kingdom flourished in 16th century, Jerusalem under strong centralized government
-sultan Suleiman the magnificent 1520-1566: Jerusalem lost of mohammad ali in Egypt in 1831, ottomon rule restored in 1849 and revived in 1869

Suleiman the Magnificent:
1520-1566
-repairs and enlarges aqueducts and sultans pool in 1532
-rebuilds walls of Jerusalem 1536-1541
-extensive campaign to refurbish to the Haram and its monuments- replaces mosaics on exteriors of dome of the rock with Syrian tiles
-return Jerusalem to a city that is protected
-took pride in jerusalem
-rebuilds and renovates the markets, builds the khassaki sultan complext, huge public charity for Jerusalem’s inhabitants, his work in Jerusalem parrallels that at Mecca and Meddina- the 3rd great city of Islam.
-remake powerful center of Islam
-establishes a sharia court- sharia law- law based upon the quran- based upon their text
-jewish refugees encourage to settle in Jerusalem to restore city- 1553 pop 12284 including 1650 jews.
-more jews coming back to the city

Restorations of holy places:
-Suleiman to Abdulhamid II: restorations of the haram coincided with the granting of concessions to foreign rulersa and religious groups abroad and in Jerusalem.
-restoration of all holy places

Ottoman architecture:
-Damascus Gate- facing north towards Damascus*** on test: Jews called it the Schem gate
-largest of the seven gates: Damascus gate
-Jaffa gate and opening in wall
-western wall of old city- actual city wall
-northwester wall of old city- city wall
-st. stepjen’s gate (lions gate)

The western wall
-given to jews by Suleiman as a place of prayer
-begins to attract myth: Suleiman himself cleared the site and purified it
-shoeshine settled there after the destruction of the temple
-gate of heaven situated directly above the wall
-moses yerusahlmi 1685 writes the it is one wall left from the temple
-symbol of the destruction of the temple 9th of ab
-western wall of the retaining structure upon which the temple was built.

I always believed that the western wall was a remaining wall from the temple, it was interesting to learn that it was the outer retaining wall and that Suleiman the Magnificent gave it to the Jewish people.