Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 05.djvu/307

LEFT JERUSALEM 251 JERUSALEM the sea) within the fork of two ravines, the Valley of Jehoshaphat on the E. and the Valley of Hinnom on the S. and W., while a third ravine or valley • — the Tyropoeon — partially traverses it from S. to N. On the E. side of this valley is Mount Moriah, now the Moham- medan quarter of the city, where an- ciently stood the palace and temple of Solomon. Immediately S. of this stood the mountain fortress of Zion, known as the City of David, and later as the Akra or Lower City. Of the three walls which Jerusalem latterly possessed, the first wall, that of David was for the defense of the Upper City (the traditional, but the number of pilgrims by whom it is visited. A large area in the E. of the city is occupied by the inclosure known as El Haram-Esh-Sherif (The Noble Sanctuary), The most conspicuous building within it is the Mosque of Omar, called also Kubbet-es-Sakhrah (Dome of the Rock), a splendid structure of octa- gonal form which occupies the site of the Jewish Temple. Among the notable convents are the Latin convent, and the still more extensive Armenian convent capable of accommodating 1,000 pilgrims. The first railway to Jerusalem was opened in 1893. Pop. about 60,000. Jerusalem is not mentioned by name THE DAMASCUS GATE, JERUSALEM ond wall took in a considerable area on the E. and N. E., while a new town or suburb, Bezetha, which grew up on the N. of this, was inclosed by a third wall, built by Agrippa I. The present limits are much the same as those indicated by the third wall, only that the old Lower City and the S. part of the old Upper City are unpopulated places outside the modern walls. Of the seven gates only five are now used. The interior of the city is much occupied by mosques, churches, and convents. In the N. W. quarter is the Church of the Holy Se- pulcher, so called because alleged to con- tain under its roof the very grave in which the Saviour lay. This church, which was built by Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great, is remarkable for the richness of its decorations and till about 1500 b. c, when it was in the hands of the Jebusites. The lower part was wrested from them by Joshua, but the upper part continued in their posses- sion till the time of David, who took up his residence in the stronghold of Zion and made Jerusalem the capital of his kingdom. It reached the height of its glory under Solomon after whose time it declined. In 586 Nebuchadnezzar took and destroyed the city after a long siege, and carried off those of the inhabitants whom the sword had spared as captives to Babylon. On the return from the captivity the temple was rebuilt, 515 B. c. The walls were not rebuilt till the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, 455 B. c The city had regained a considerable degree of prosperity, when it was sacked and its walls leveled by Antiochus of Syria in 168. Under the Maccabees
 * )robably not the ancient Zion). The sec-