Mamluk and Ottoman Jerusalem

(March 3)


In this lesson, we finished up the lectures on Islamic and Crusader Jerusalem before diving into Mamluk and Ottoman Jerusalem.
In regards to Islamic Jerusalem, we talked about the Abbasid dynasty which lasted from 750 to 969 CE. These people tried to wipe out the memory of the Umayyid accomplishments by first destroying their palaces because these two groups do not get along. Caliph Al-Ma-mun tries to take credit for the building of the Dome of the Rock in the 9th century but he forgot to erase the original date of its construction in the 72nd year of the Moslem era. There is also a lot of hostility towards the Christians in this period. The Fatimids, who are from Egypt, rule Jerusalem from 969 to 1099. The population of Jerusalem begins to steadily increase during this period. In addition, the welfare of the Jews and Christians depend on the ruler, because near the end of the Fatimid rule, some governors that were appointed in Jerusalem were Jews and Christians. However, other rulers do not feel the need to get along with the Jews and Christians like Caliph al-Hakim who orders the destruction of all Jewish and Christian houses of prayer. Since the Muslims were fighting each other, this means they were also weakening each other. They weakened each other enough that the Byzantine army was able to reconquer Jerusalem.
To finish up on the Crusader Jerusalem lecture, Saladin conquers Jerusalem in 1187 CE.  They won the battle at the "Horns of Hattin" and Jerusalem then surrenders to Saladin in September of the same year. With Islamic rule, they re-purified and reclaimed the Haram. In addition, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was given to the Greek Orthodox and the settlement of the Jews began to grow again. Saladin allowed the other religions to live in Jerusalem under his rule, but they needed to acknowledge the fact that they will be under Islamic rule. He did not kick the Jews and Christians out, they were free to leave or stay but they must realize that if they stay, they are living under Islamic conditions. In addition, after the 5th crusade, the walls of Jerusalem were dismantled in 1219, meaning the population decreased tremendously because there was not as much protection in this city anymore.

Mamluk Jerusalem lasted from 1250 to 1516 CE and was not considered a political takeover because the walls of the city were dimished. During this period, many other buildings were constructed in Jerusalem, like schools and hostels, with the addition of Mamluk architecture. The development of the Haram begins to appear as well. The Jewish quarter begins to grow, but this city suffers from the plague, the Black Death, in 1352-1353.

The Ottoman Jerusalem appears in the year of 1516 and lasts until 1918. This was a political takeover. Selim I defeats the Mamluks in 1517 and Jerusalem peacefully surrenders in 1516. Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent rebuilds the walls of Jerusalem and campaigns to refurbish the Haram. All the work he has done in Jerusalem makes it the third most important city to Islam, with Mecca and Medina as the first two.