Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 11.djvu/210

* JERUSALEM. 184 JERUSALEM. valleys called En Rogel (Job's or Joab's well). Seiiiiaoherib did not lay regular siege to Jerusa- liiii. and for nearly a iumdred years after Heze- Iciali Ibf city «ns in oonipanitive peace. Samaria had been ea|)tnred in n.c. 722, and .Jernsalem was now without a rival in Palestine, though Judah was but a vassal State of the Assyrian Empire. The city grew ; in the reign of .Josiiili ( ii.c. 039- (iOS) we read of a "second quarter' of the town ( U. Kings xxii. 14, Zeph. i. 10) and the mention of numerous gates in .Icreniiah and in Xeliemiah's account of his reconstruction of the old walls makes it likely that by the time of the capture by Xebiichadnezzar tlie city wall inclosed the 'second quarter' as well as the southwestern and eastern hills. This wall, perhaps begun by Heze- kiah (see above), probably extended westward from the temple area, which was already well fortified, along the line of .Josephus's second wall (H'ors, V. iv. 2). After submitting to Nebuchad- nezzar, H.c. 597, the city rebelled, and in 587-.5S;> sustained a long and terril)le siege of one year five months and seven days. On its capture the temple was burned, the walls broken down, the city laid in ruins, and the best part of the popu- lation deported. (II. Kings xxiv. and xxv.; also Jeremiah and Ezekiel, passini.) For fifty years the city was a desolation. In B.C. 530 Cyrus gave permission to the .Jews in Babylonia to return to Palestine. Upward of 50.000 availed themselves of the opportunity. But as the royal decree bad contained no pennis- sion to rebuild the city walls, the second temple, on the same site as the old one. but less preten- tious, and completed about 51(>. wa.s at first without walls (Ezra i.-vi. ; also Haggai and Zech. i.-viii.) . Xo permanent success in walling the city that again began to grow up near the temple was achieved until the arrival of Xchemiah (e.445 n.c.) as royal Governor. This energetic man re- traced and rebuilt the old wall of pre-exilic days, in the remarkably short time of fifty-two days, putting the whole available population at work. He also ccmipleted a fortification near the tem- ple — [jrobably the Baris (of Joseplnis) after- v.ards made over by Herod into the great castle of Antonia. The description contained in Xeh. ii. 12-16 and ili. is an invaluable source for the topography of the old city, but details must be omitted here. The city area thus walled in being sparsely inhabited. Xeheniiah persuaded many to take up their residence there (xi. 1 sqq.). The Law-book publicly read by Ezra was adopted as the constitution of the community. This act completed the transition from the old Hebre'V leligion to .Tudaism. and of .Tudaism Jerusalem now became the head. Foreigners were, as far as possible, excluded from citizenship. (See Ezra ix.-x. and Xeh. ix.-xiii.) In Xchcmiah's restora- tion the old palaces of David's city were not rebuilt. From Xehemiah to Alexander's conquest of the East, Jenisalem enjoyed a century of quiet pros- perity under Persian rule. AYhether the con- queror visited the city is doubtful. For a hun- dred years after .Alexander. .Jerusalem was sub- ject to Egypt, and though Ptolemy I. is .said to have worked some devastation (.Tosephus, Ant., xii. 1) this century wa.s one of prosperity. The high priest Simon II. (c. 220-200 B.C.) was an able ruler and did much to improve the city (see Ecclus. I. I-4I. In n.c. 107 .Ternsalem passed to the control of the Gr:eco-Syrian King- dom of Antioch. The growth of a liberal Hellen- istic party in .Jerusalem and the opposition it stirred up led to troublous times. At the acces- sion of Antiochus 1'. Epi])hancs, u.c. 175, a member of the pro-Greek party, was appointed high priest and a gymnasium was erei^lcd in Jerusalem. These measures enraged the con- servative element, and so bitter was the ojiposi- tion that Antiochus IV. in B.C. lliS determined to ]uit an end to the Jewish faith. Great mas- sacres took place in Jerusalem, the walls were broken down, a strong fortress, built on the site of the old City of David, was filled with a Syrian garrison, and finally, in December. 108, the teni- I)le was detilcil, the altar polluted l)y sacrifice of swine and by the erection thereon of an altar (or statue) to Jupiter. This was the 'abomina- tion of desolation' (cf. Dan. xi. 31: I. Mace. i. ; II. Mace, iii.-vii.: and .Josephus. Ant., XII. v. 1-4). After the first victories of .ludas Macca- bicus and his brothers, the temjjle was purified, worship restored (B.C. 11)5), and the temple hill strongly fortified. In B.C. 142 the Syrian garri- ion evacuated the fortress of the Citv of David, south of tlie temple (I. Jlace. xiii. 49-53). The Jews, under the leadership of Simon Maccaboeus, now restored and greatly strengthened the old walls (I. JIacc. xiv. 37). One great change was wrought by Sinum in the general ajipcarance of the city. The hill on wliieh the old City of David had stood was leveled and greatly reduced in height so as to make the tenqih' hill conunand the whole eastern part of the city. The result was that the ravine between the two eastern hills was now entirely filled up, and its existence was soon entirely forgotten. (.Joscjihus. llVir.s. V. iv. 1, according to the correct interpretation.) Under the Asmoncans .Jerusalem entered on an unprecedented era of pros]ierity. It was now the great pilgrim shrine of the .Jewish world. A palace was built on the hills west of the temple mount, the Tyropa'on Valley being bridged to permit of easy access to the temple. The Bira northwest of the t<'mple was also greatly strengthened. The capture of the city by Pom- pey, B.C. G3. entailed no serious disaster. The acme of prosperity was attained under Herod the CJreat (B.C. 37). Besides a complete reeon- stniclion of the temple on a scale trulj' mag- nificent, involving the expenditure of vast sums of money, he built the Xystus, an open place sur- rounded by a gallery beneath the palace of the .^-smoneans. his own great palace on the north- western part of the' western hill, with its three massive towers Phasael, Hippicus. and ilariamne, the large reservoir Amygdalon north of the pal- ace, a hippodrome probably south of the temple mount, and a theatre somcwliere in the south part of the city. In addition to these great works many minor improvements were made, such as paving, draining, leveling, and the gen- er.al strengthening of the fortilicaf ions. Other improvements were undertaken after Herod's day, such as the palaces built by the royal family of Adiabene on the southern extension of the temple hill (.Tosephus. iror.?, IV. ix. 11; V. vi. 1; VI. vi. 3). the enlargement of the Asinonean palace by .'grippa II. A.n. 02 (.Josephus. Ant.. XX., viii. 11) and the third wall, begun by Agrippa I. (a.d. 41-44). completed shortly before the siege by the Romans, rendered necessary by the growth of the city to the northwest and north. Such was the Jenisalem of New Testament times.