This map shows the extent of the British Mandate of Palestine, which includes Palestine and Transjordan. Note that Syria was a French mandated territory after WWI.
A look from the north at the Damascus Gate, which is one of the northern gates into the Old City of Jerusalem. The gate that you see at the center of the photograph, as well as the walls to its right and left, are Ottoman in date, built by Suleiman the Magnificent (1520-1566). To the left and below that gate you can also see a lower entrance into the Old City wall (in the shadow of the bridge coming out of the Damascus Gate). That gate is the Roman-period gate into the Old City, built during the time of Hadrian (117-138 CE). Beyond the walls are the buildings of the Muslim Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem.
This map of Jerusalem has a circle around the location of the modern Damascus Gate, one of the northern gates into the Old City of Jerusalem. The modern gate, which was built during the Ottoman period, sits atop a Roman gate that was built in the time of Hadrian (117-138 CE). We also know that this was the location of the gate from the Madaba map, a map that was found in the mosaic floor of a Byzantine church.
Palestine at the end of the 19th century CE: Map
This map shows the number of Arab villages on the eve of the arrival of the first Zionist colonies in the late 1800s. As you can see, Palestine was widely and fairly densely populated, which conflicts with Zionist claims about the land being largely empty. Note, however, the less populated areas.
This map was found to be part of the mosaic floor of a 6th century CE church in Madaba, Jordan (east of the Dead Sea), and includes this map of Byzantine Jerusalem. A broad, column-lined street runs from the north gate south through the center of the city (called a cardo, it is a common feature of Graeco-Roman cities). At its northern end is the Damascus Gate. The Damascus Gate that we see today was built in the Ottoman period, but archaeologists have found a Hadrianic Gate beneath it (117-134 CE), and the Madaba Map, shown here, depicts its existence in the 6th century CE. It is interesting to note that the Arabic name for the Damascus Gate is Bab el-'Amud ('Gate of the Column'). Note the depiction of the northern gate and column in the Madaba Map.
This photograph shows a street of the Old City of Jerusalem today. People still use the same layout as Suleiman's city.
This is a portrait of an Ottoman soldier. He carries a long rifle and has a pouch for gunpowder. The hat on his head is called a tarboosh.
Rome: The Arch of Titus - detail of the interior
This photograph shows details of the relief carving under the Arch of Titus, located near the eastern entrance to the Forum in Rome. The arch was erected by emperor Domitian, Titus' brother, to honor and commemorate the defeat of the Jews and the capture and destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE. Depicted on the relief is the triumphal procession after Titus' return to Rome, which included the golden menorah and other implements that were taken from the Temple.
This picture shows the Ecce Homo arch, which was the large central arch of Hadrian's east forum. It stands over the Via Dolorosa in the Old City of Jerusalem outside the Sisters of Zion Convent. Note how more modern buildings have been built around and on top of it and have incorporated the arch into their architecture.
Jerusalem: Lithograph of the Ecce Homo Arch
This 19th century lithograph shows two of three arches (there would have been another small arch on the right side of the large arch), which is typical of arches built during Hadrian's time. Arches built during Herod's time were typically double arches. In addition, the northern pier of the arch was found to sit on bedrock, with pavement running up against it (so the pavement must have been laid after the arch was built) and the pavement was found to have also lie directly over a huge cistern that Josephus said was open at the time of the siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE. So the arch must have been built afterwards. The conclusion? This lithograph depicts the arch that Hadrian built; some scholars believe it led to the east forum of the city.
This bronze coin, which was minted in Rome in 71 CE after the Romans captured Jerusalem, features the profile of the Emperor Vespasian on the recto (left), and, on the verso (right), a Roman soldier standing over a mourning woman who symbolizes the defeated Judaea. Between them is a palm tree. The inscription around these two figures reads IUDEA CAPTA, Latin for 'captured Judaea.'
This portrait—part of a mosaic floor found in the archaeological excavations at Beit-Shean—depicts Tyche (also known as Fortuna), the goddess of fortune. She wears a crown in the shape of the city walls and holds a horn full with fruit and vegetables representing the well-being of the city.
Edward Gibbon, pictured here, was an English historian and a member of the British Parliament. He wrote a 6-volume work called The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire between 1776-1788. Although he was widely criticized for treating Christianity as a historical phenomenon and being critical of Christianity's negative effects on the Roman Empire, his work was widely praised for its style of prose and its use of primary sources. It was one of the most influential works on ancient Rome for over 100 years.
This is a photograph of the synagogue of the ancient city of Tiberias. Several synagogues were built on this site over the centuries; much of the architecture that you see here dates to the 5th-8th centuries CE. The mosaic floor that you will see in other photographs dates to the 4th century CE.
Julius Caesar was a Roman general, statesman, Consul, and author. Over the course of his military career he gained unmatched military power. When the Senate ordered him to lay down his arms and return to Rome, he refused and instead led a legion back to Rome, illegally entering Roman territory under arms. A civil war resulted, from which Caesar emerged as the unrivaled leader. This set a precedent for a sole leader to rule the Roman empire (previous to this Rome had been governed by a republic), and Julius Caesar's reign marks the historical transition from the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire. He was famously assassinated on the Ides of March (that is, March 15), 44 BCE.
During the Hellenistic period (332-63 BCE) the city of Beth Shean enjoyed a revival and came to be known as Scythopolis, or 'City of the Scythians', perhaps as a result of a unit of the Scythian cavalry in the army of Ptolemy II Philadelphus. During the 2nd century BCE it was also known as Nyssa, after the nurse of the god Dionysus, as legend says that she was buried here. The city fell into Jewish hands when it was conquered by the Hasmonaean king John Hyrcanus (134-104 BCE) but fell to Rome in 63 BCE. Josephus mentions Scythopolis as the capital of the Decapolis (the league of 10 cities). In this picture you can see the theater, which seated 8,000, the long colonnaded main street, and other public buildings.
This is a photograph of Yitzhak Rabin, who was the Israeli Prime Minister who signed the Oslo Peace Accords with Yassir Arafat (the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization) in 1993. He was assassinated in 1995 by a Israeli man who was opposed to the Oslo Accords.
Washington, DC: The Oslo Accords - Yitzhak Rabin, Bill Clinton, and Yassir Arafat
This famous photograph shows the handshake between Yitzhak Rabin, the Prime Minister of Israel, and Yassir Arafat, the Chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, after signing the Declaration of Principles of the Oslo Peace Accords at the White House in Washington, D.C.
Jerusalem: Dome of the Rock - fish-eye view of the interior
This fish-eye photograph was taken inside the Dome of the Rock. Above you can see the intricate artistic styling that decorates the underside of the dome; below you can see the section of bedrock around which the building was built. Muslims believe that this rock was the place from which the Prophet Muhammad left on his Night Journey.
Hammat Tiberias: the synagogue mosaic floor - central panel close-up
This photograph shows a close-up of the figure at the center of the zodiac that is in the central panel of the mosaic floor in the fourth century synagogue at Hammat Tiberias. This very fine mosaic shows a depiction of the sun god Helios riding his chariot above the sea. His right arm is raised in blessing and in his left arm he holds the orb of the universe, an emblem of his sovereign power.
This photograph shows a close-up of one of the panels of the mosaic floor in the 6th century CE synagogue at Beit Alpha. The panel tells the story of the Akedah, or the binding of Isaac (Genesis 22:1-19). At the left two servants stand with a beast of burden. At the right the altar blazes up, while Abraham (whose name appears in Hebrew above and to the left of his head) holds the knife in his right hand and Isaac (also labeled in Hebrew) in his left hand. In the center a ram stands tethered to a bush. The Hebrew above its head reads, 'And behold, a ram' (Genesis 22:13). Above the bush the hand of the angel of the Lord emerges from a cloud and the command 'Do not send forth [your hand]' (Genesis 22:12) appears below the hand. Underneath the main panel, between the lion and the ram, is a dual language inscription, in Greek and Aramaic. The first commemorates the artists who made the inscription and the second refers to the donations made toward its costs. The Aramaic inscription dates the event to the days of 'King Justin.' Two emperors by that name reigned in the sixth century.
Jerusalem: Temple Mount and Dome of the Rock
This aerial view of the Temple Mount, which is looking west, shows not just the massive Temple Mount complex with its retaining walls and the Dome of the Rock, but also the Al Aqsa Mosque (to the left, at the south end of the Temple Mount complex). Note the flat surface of huge stone slabs that makes up the Temple Mount, which was an artificial creation of King Herod and his engineers. Beyond the Temple Mount is the Old City of Jerusalem.
This photograph shows the Arch of Titus, which was erected near the eastern entrance to the Forum of the city of Rome to commemorate Titus's defeat of the Jews and the taking of Jerusalem in 70 CE. The inscription at the top reads 'The Roman Senate and People (dedicate this) to the divine Titus Vespasianus Augustus, son of the divine Vespasian.'
This photograph shows the Dome of the Rock (Arabic: "Kubbat as Sakhra") looking east. For centuries it was misnamed the Mosque of Omar. Omar did erect a simple wooden mosque at the site, but that was replaced by his successor Caliph Abd al-Malik, who commissioned the present octagonal shrine, which was begun in 687 CE and completed in 691 CE. In the background, to the right, you can see the Mount of Olives with its ancient Jewish cemetery on the slopes. The distant bell tower is from the Russian Monastery of the Ascension and the onion-shaped domes just to the left of the Dome of the Rock belong to the Russian Church of St. Mary Magdalene, built in the 19th century. In the forefront are houses of the Old City of Jerusalem.
This close-up of the Dome of the Rock shows the beauty and riches of its present decoration. It was commissioned by Abd al-Malik in 687 CE and completed in 691 CE. Suleiman the Magnificent carried out extensive restorations of the building in the 16th century, but the gold sheathing had not survived the Middle Ages. An unattractive lead dome crowned the shrine until modern restorations began in 1958, when the building received its present golden-colored roof of bronze-aluminum alloy.
Jerusalem: Temple Mount - phases of the Sakhra
This 3-dimensional reconstruction of the Temple Mount shows the various stages of construction, as well as the piece of bedrock (the Sakhra) that sits at the center of the Dome of the Rock (the Kubbat as Sakhra).
Jerusalem: Temple Mount, Dome of the Rock, and Al Aqsa Mosque
This photograph of the Temple Mount shows the relationship of the Dome of the Rock (the Kubbat as-Sakhra) to the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Together they make up the Haram esh-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary), the Islamic sanctuary created in the days of the Umayyad Dynasty (in the 7th century CE).
This photograph of the Dome of the Rock shows its octagonal structure and its golden dome. Beneath the dome, at the center of the structure is the bedrock called the Sakhra. For centuries it was misnamed the Mosque of Omar. Omar did erect a simple wooden mosque at the site, but that was replaced by his successor Caliph Abd al-Malik, who commissioned the present octagonal shrine, which was begun in 687 CE and completed in 691 CE.
Jerusalem: Dome of the Rock and the Dome of the Spirits
This photograph, taken from the top of the Temple Mount platform, shows the Dome of the Rock in the background and the Dome of the Spirits in the foreground. The Dome of the Spirits is one of several lesser shrines that dot the top of the Temple Mount platform. According to Muslim accounts this small cupola marks the place where Mohammad conversed with the earlier Hebrew and Christian prophets. It is commonly called the Dome of the Spirits because this is also where Mohammad will summon the souls of the faithful on Judgment Day. There is an intriguing alternative interpretation of this smaller dome. It has another name: Dome of the Tablets, and it sits due west of the Golden Gate (the eastern entrance into the Second Temple's courts). This name and location has led some to suggest that it memorializes the site of the Holy of Holies in the Second Temple.
Hammat Tiberias: the synagogue mosaic floor - top panel
This photograph shows the upper panel of the mosaic floor in the center of the fourth century synagogue at Hammat Tiberias. It is the last panel that a worshipper would see/walk across as he walked toward the standing Torah shrine on the southern wall of the synagogue. In this panel we see the main doors of the Temple in Jerusalem, which may resemble also the ark of the Torah in the synagogue, flanked by two 7-branched menorahs. In the area below each menorah are a lulav (a palm branch bound with myrtle and willow) and an etrog (a citron), both ritual objects important for the festival of Sukkot, as well as a shofar (ram's horn) and an incense shovel.
Jerusalem: Dome of the Rock - interior view
This is a photograph of the interior of the dome that sits on the Dome of the Rock. It was planned as a deliberate imitation of the vault over the Anastasis of the Holy Sepulchre; even the size of this hemisphere is within a few feet of the Sepulchre's dome. It was the caliph's intention to raise a building that would be in the architectural tradition established by Constantine but would far outshine its Christian predecessor.
This photograph of the interior of the Dome of the Rock shows the symmetry of the architectural plan and the lavish geometric decoration adorning the walls and arches. Beneath the dome, at the center of the structure (just on the other side of the brown wooden barrier) is the bedrock called the Sakhra. In Islamic tradition and belief, this is the last place that the Prophet Muhammad touched the earth before he was taken on his Night Journey. Much of the artistry of the 7th-century Byzantine craftsmen is preserved here from the original building period, with major supplements and restorations by the Crusaders in the 12th century and Suleiman the Magnificent in the 16th century. For centuries the Dome of the Rock was misnamed the Mosque of Omar. Omar did erect a simple wooden mosque at the site, but that was replaced by his successor Caliph Abd al-Malik, who commissioned the present octagonal shrine, which was begun in 687 CE and completed in 691 CE.
Hammat Tiberias: the synagogue mosaic floor - central panel
This photograph shows the central panel of the mosaic floor in the fourth century synagogue at Hammat Tiberias. The stones running through the middle of it are a later wall that was built in such a way as to destroy the mosaic. At the center of the mosaic floor (the section that the wall runs through) is a zodiac with figures corresponding to the 12 months of the year. At the four corners are figural depictions of the four seasons. The arrow points to the figure in the middle of the zodiac, which is the sun god Helios. In the panel above the zodiac there is a depiction of the Temple in Jerusalem and Temple implements. Underneath the zodiac is a Greek inscription flanked by two lions, honoring the donors of the synagogue.
This photograph of the modern city of Nazareth, in Lower Galilee, shows the Church of the Annunciation, which was originally built in the 4th century CE by Helen, the mother of the emperor Constantine. It stands over the place where, according to Catholic tradition, Mary stood when an angel announced to her that she was pregnant with Jesus as a result of God's divine intervention. The current building is from the 1960s but it stands over archaeological remains of a Crusader church and other ancient structures.
Jerusalem: The Western Wall/Wailing Wall
This photograph shows the proximity of the Western Wall (sometimes called the Wailing Wall) to the Dome of the Rock. The Western Wall, at the center of the photograph, is the western wall of the Temple Mount that was built by Herod the Great and on top of which stood the Jewish Temple prior to 70 CE. It is often considered to be one of the holiest sites in Judaism. Above and to the left is the Dome of the Rock, which stands over a section of bedrock that Muslims believe is that last place that the Prophet Muhammad stood before embarking on his Night Journey. It is usually considered to be the third holiest site in Islam. The gray dome to the right is the Al Aqsa Mosque, which sits at the southern end of the Temple Mount. In the background is the Mount of Olives.
Jerusalem: Church of the Holy Sepulchre and Dome of the Rock
This photograph, looking east, shows the proximity of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (the two domes in the foreground) to the Dome of the Rock (in the background). The Mount of Olives and the Arab village of Et Tur (the smaller of the two towers on the hilltop) is in the distance. The large dome within the complex of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the Anastasis ('raising up'), and underneath it is the traditional location of Jesus' tomb. The smaller dome is over the main altar in the church's basilica and the place that many Christians believed was the 'navel of the earth'. The long rectangular roofed structure beyond them that looks a bit like the peaked roof a barn or a warehouse is the Chapel of St. Helena. To the right of the Anastasis Dome is a square, bulky tower from the period of the Crusades; to its right is the thin and tall minaret tower of the Mosque of Omar; just behind it is the whitish tall, square and pointed bell tower of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, a relatively new church build by the German Kaiser in 1893.
This photograph shows a page from the Codex Vaticanus, which was created in the 4th century CE and is arguably the most important ancient manuscript of the Greek Bible. Codex Vaticanus originally contained both the Old and the New Testaments, but only 759 of the original 820 pages have survived. However, it is an extremely high quality text and it serves as the basis for a number of authoritative editions of the Bible. It was acquired by the Vatican in the 15th century CE.
St. Catherine's Monastery: Codex Sinaiticus
This photograph shows a page from the Codex Sinaiticus, which was created in the 4th century CE. The extant pages (400 of an estimated 730) contain the oldest complete manuscript of the New Testament. It was found at St. Katherine's Monastery in the Sinai Desert and procured under controversial circumstances by Konstantin von Tischendorf in the 19th century.
This map shows the gradual expansion of the Roman Empire around the Mediterranean between the years 100 BCE and 150 CE. Red areas indicate Roman control in 100 BCE; yellow areas indicate the extent of the empire at the time of Julius Caesar's death in 44 BCE; green areas indicate areas annexed by Augustus (27-14 BCE); and blue areas indicate regions annexed between the death of Augustus (14 BCE) and 150 CE.
This map of Israel/Palestine in the time of Jesus shows the locations of Bethlehem and Nazareth, the two central sites associated with the birth of Jesus. Note also the anachronism in the previous statement: the region was not called 'Palestine' until a hundred years later, and was not called 'Israel' until more than 2,000 years later. Nazareth is in Galilee and Bethlehem is on the Central Hill, a few miles south of Jerusalem.
This map shows the region of Galilee. The circle is around the city of Nazareth, where Jesus grew up. The arrows point to the places that Jesus went during his ministry: toward Tyre and Sidon, on the Phoenician coast, and around the Sea of Galilee.
This photograph shows the landscape around the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus spent nearly all of his life.
This photograph shows the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, originally commissioned in the 4th century CE by the emperor Constantine and built under the supervision of his mother Helen over a cave that they identified as the site of the birth of Jesus. The current building dates to the days of the emperor Justinian in the 6th century CE. The front of the church is marked by a large apse (to the right of the building with the red roof); the church itself has a shape of a cross. The big open square in front of the church (with all of the cars) is called Manger Square and is the place where people from all over the world gather to hear the mass on Christmas Eve.
Tiberias was founded by Herod Antipas in 20 CE and has been continuously occupied since then. It is located on the west shore of the Sea of Galilee. At the top of the picture one sees the modern city of Tiberias which sits on the ruins of the Arab town. At the bottom of the picture is the Tiberian neighborhood known as Hammat Tiberias, which developed around the mineral springs that are located there. Between Hammat Tiberias and the modern city one can see an open, green space. That was the location of the Roman and then Byzantine cities. In 1033 CE an earthquake destroyed the Byzantine city and the Arab rulers rebuilt it to the north. At the top the hills of Upper Galilee are visible.
Jerusalem: Model of the Antonia Fortress
This scale model of Second Temple Jerusalem resides at the Israel Museum in modern Jerusalem. This particular photograph is looking from north to south at the Antonia Fortress, which sat at the north edge of the Temple Mount complex (the Temple building of which can be seen behind it). The Antonia Fortress was a military barracks that was built by King Herod and was used to garrison Roman troops when Judaea was ruled by a Roman procurator.
Jordan River: north of the Sea of Galilee
The main source of the Jordan River is located near Banias (Caesarea Philippi), 1,312 feet above sea level. It drops down into the Huleh Valley and then down to the Sea of Galilee and from there down to the Dead Sea (1,300 feet below sea level). This view of the upper Jordan River (above the Sea of Galilee) shows both the size and turbulence of the water and the more mountainous terrain of this part of the country.
This scale model of Second Temple Jerusalem resides at the Israel Museum in modern Jerusalem. This particular photograph is looking west and shows a reconstruction of the Second Temple itself (after King Herod's renovations). The Holy of Holies would have been at the far west of the main Temple building, behind the large doorway. The open-air altar stood in the inner court, between the large gate (known as the Gate of Nikanor) and the steps that are visible at the lower center of the photo. The walls in the immediate foreground (at the bottom of the photo) would have separated the Court of the Gentiles (where anybody was allowed) from the Court of the Women (where only Jews were allowed).
Jerusalem: phases of the ancient city walls
This image shows the growth of Jerusalem's walls and fortifications over the centuries of the Second Temple period (516BCE – 70CE). The first set of walls (in blue) shows the perimeter of the city during Hasmonean rule (second-first century BCE). King Herod added the Second Wall (Green) in late first century BCE to accommodate the extension of the city and the new neighborhood he added in the north. Note that the northern line of this wall and the way it connect to the fortress Antonia is disputed by modern scholars and the map shows a second alternative with the broken green line. The historian Josephus attributes the Third Wall (Red) to Herod Agrippa (41-44CE) and claims it was never really completed before the eruption of the great Revolt (in 66CE). Here too, the map shows two options for the northern line of this wall, one as suggested by the archaeologists Sukenik (at the top of the picture), and an alternative line that follows the walls of the current Old City. The present Old City Wall (Gray) was built by the Ottoman ruler Suleiman the Magnificent, completed in 1541 CE, and still stands to this day.
Paul was a Jew from Tarsus (modern Turkey). He embarked on three journeys to spread his ideas about the end of the world. His views were shaped by the Jewish scriptures which anticipated a time of divine judgment on all evil. At this time the world would be destroyed, but then recreated and restored. A divinely appointed leader, known as the “anointed one” (i.e., Messiah/Christ), was the figure to usher in the new world. Paul believed that Jesus, a Jew from Nazareth (Israel), was in fact this Messiah and that adherence to Jesus would secure passage through the time of judgment and into the era of restoration. Paul traveled the eastern Mediterranean and argued that Jesus was the key to salvation at the end of the world for both Jews and non-Jews. Many years later, these teachings became the basis of a new religion, called Christianity.
During the crusader period (1095–1291 CE) several European style castles were built in the land of Israel. These are located in geographically strategic locations. The Belvoir Castle, for example, was built by the Knights Hospitaller (a medieval Catholic military order) in northern Israel on a bluff overlooking the Jordan River valley, in eastern, lower Galilee. The castle guarded one of the roads leading to the Crusader “Kingdom of Jerusalem” to the south. The architecture of such castles is striking in the Middle East, because they include European style moats, useful where water was abundant, but an oddity in arid regions. The Belvoir Castle was built with two protective walls in concentric squares. After Saladin’s remarkable victory at the Horns of Hattin (1187 CE), the castle was besieged and fell to Arab rulers.