Four Paths to Jerusalem

Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Secular Pilgrimages, 1000 BCE to 2001 CE

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About the Book

Jerusalem has long been one of the most sought-after destinations for the followers of three world faiths and for secularists alike. For Jews, it has the Western (Wailing) Wall; for Christians, it is where Christ suffered and triumphed; for Muslims, it offers the Dome of the Rock; and for secularists, it is an archeological challenge and a place of tragedy and beauty.
This work concentrates on Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and secular pilgrimages to Jerusalem over the last three millennia, drawing from over 165 accounts of travels to the ancient city. Chapters are devoted to ghostly and other pilgrims, the significance of Jerusalem, the beginnings of the pilgrimage in the time of kings David and Solomon, pilgrimages under Roman and Byzantine rule, Christian and Muslim pilgrimages in the early Islamic period, pilgrimages in the First Crusade and its aftermath, more crusades and pilgrims during the Ayyubid and Mamluk dynasties, pilgrimages under Ottoman rule, pilgrimages under the British and Israelis, and the unity among pilgrims and the symbolism of the journey.

About the Author(s)

Hunt Janin is an American writer living in southwestern France. He has written numerous nonfiction and scholarly books on a range of subjects, including medieval history and cross-cultural studies.

Bibliographic Details

Hunt Janin
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 272
Bibliographic Info: 44 photos, maps, notes, chronology, appendices, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2006 [2002]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-2730-7
eISBN: 978-1-4766-0880-8
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents

List of Maps viii

Preface      ix

Introduction      1

I. Ghostly and Other Pilgrims      9

II. A Primer on the Importance of Jerusalem      19

III. The Old City      36

IV. Beginnings of the Jerusalem Pilgrimage: The First and Second Temples (c. 1000 BCE–63 BCE)      42

V. Pilgrims Under Roman and Byzantine Rule (63 BCE–638 CE)      50

VI. The Early Islamic Period: Christian and Muslim Pilgrimages (638–1095)      69

VII. “A Pilgrimage in Arms”: The First Crusade and Its Aftermath (1095–1187)      86

VIII. More Crusades and More Pilgrims: The Ayyubid and Mamluk Dynasties (1187–1517)      110

IX. Pilgrimages Under Ottoman Rule (1517–1917)      148

X. Pilgrimages During the British Mandate and Under the Israelis (1917–2001)      187

XI. A Summing-Up: “Unity in Diversity” and the Symbolism of the Journey      202

Selected Chronology      207

Appendix I. Selected List of Accounts Cited, in Chronological Order      215

Appendix II. The Destruction of the Herodian Temple: An Account by Flavius Josephus, 70 CE      217

Appendix III. The Travels of St. Willibald, 720–726      219

Appendix IV. List of the Presents Brought Home from Jerusalem by Nompar de Caumont, 1420      221

Appendix V. Instructions for Christian Pilgrims, c. 1484      223

Appendix VI. Balfour and the Zionists      225

Appendix VII. Reports by Albright Fellows, 1990-2000      227

Notes      229

Selected Bibliography      249

Index      259

List of Maps

Israel today (CIA World Factbook 2000)      2

Circular map of the world, thirteenth century (The British Library)      17

Jerusalem: the Old City (Eklectica Graphic Design)      37

Mini-map from Bernhard von Breydenbach’s map of Jerusalem, 1486

(Courtesy of the Osher Map Library, University of Southern Maine)      138

Medieval “T in O” map (Eklectica Graphic Design)      171

Book Reviews & Awards

“rich with historical details”—Catholic Library World.