21st Century Jerusalem

Yesterday was the last day of class! The research papers were due by the end of class so that was pretty stressful. But basically today's class was all about the current day Jerusalem.  It was pretty much talking about the dominance of Western power over Israel.  We kind of bombard them with Western influence.  Professor Cargill went through a timeline starting from 2000 to the present day, emphasizing important wars and attacks, such as the September 11th attack.  After that day, Israel began the construction of the West Bank barrier, in an attempt to distinguish and separate themselves.  I attached a picture of the barrier in the beginning.  Banksy, a contemporary political activist artist, actually did pieces on Israeli rights concerning apartheid, independence, and the barrier. I thought this was relevant, especially after the crayon graffiti left in Westwood.  His work is so inspirational.  I attached some of those too. But anyways, the remainder of class was discussing the issue of Israel and Jerusalem as a part of a individual, two state, or three state party.  The independence of Israel from overpowering rule, especially Palestine, is currently an issue.  We'll see where this goes. Its been a cool quarter!

{Beautiful}

{Banksy's interpretations of a "paradise" on the outside}

{Banksy in our very own Westwood!}

20th Century Jerusalem

This class discussed the British Mandate Period all the way until the present day.  The British Mandate Period lasted from 1918-1948, and it incorporated the Balfour Declaration, the Sykes-Picot Agreement, the Peel Plan, and World War II.  Correspondingly, Professor Cargill discussed the Israeli state, which lasted from 1948-present.  In 1882, the British conquered Egypt.  Correspondingly, during World War I, the Ottomans aligned with Germany against France and Britain.  This agreement is known as the Sykes-Picot Agreement.  This agreement was a secret agreement between France and England.  they divided the Ottoman empire; the French got Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria, and the English got Palestine, Jordan, and Southern Iraq.  They used Palestine to break the stalemate, conquering them in 1917.  In 1917, a document that  came to be known as the Balfour Declaration promises the Jewish a National Homeland.  Professor Cargill then continued to discuss the British response to the Balfour Declaration, saying that they at first did not support a Jewish National Home but supported the idea of a continuation of a community in Palestine.  They ultimately partitioned the area to the west of the Jordan for Jewish settlement.  Eventually, tensions between the the Arabs and Jews escalated and fights broke out, leading to the Arab-Isaeli War.  After truce was called, Israel centralized Jerusalem, making West Jerusalem the Capital of the new Israeli state.  Soon after, Jerusalem called siege on the Old City, attacking Syria.  As a result, the Jews were forbidden to pray on the Temple Mount, although it "united" Jerusalem.  In November 15, 1988, the Palestinian declare independence.  The most important war, perhaps, was the war of independence in 1948, where Jerusalem was divided, in 1948-1967.  The Old City is under Jordanian control, and the New City is under Israeli control.  Since then, there has been the formation of Palestinian support organizations, such as the PLO.  This was thought to be a terrorist organization until the early nineties.  Eventually, the creation of the Oslo agreements called for peace between Israel and the PLO.  The tensions are somewhat relieved now.

Mamluk and Ottoman Jerusalem

Today we discussed the Mamluk Period (1244-1516) as well as the Ottoman Period (1517-1918).  In the Mamluk Period, Jerusalem was economically impoverished, as the population of Jews began to slowly increase.  In addition, during this time, Jerusalem became a key religious center, most notably with the construction of Al-Madrasa al-Ashrafiyya, a Qur'anic school. The Jewish quarter began to grow, and Jerusalem became spiritualized.  In other words, the Temple became a symbol of the path to God. Correpsondingly, the development of the Haram steadily progressed, and there was an intensive building of schools, hospices, and hostels.  HTe architecture during this time was characterized by the typical use of domes, and of black and white geometric designs.  During the Ottoman Period, leader Suleiman "the Magnificent" rebuilt all the walls, including the "Tower of David" and the Damascus Gate.  The Damascus is the largest of the seven gates of Jerusalem.  It was built in order to defend Jerusalem from siege or attack.  Jerusalem was essentially more prosperous under his rule.  Jewish refugees were encouraged to settle in Jerusalem, in order to increase the prosperation that was occurring.  After Suleiman's death, there was a gradual decline in the power and success of Jerusalem, as its inhabitants began to suffer from neglect.   In the 19th century, Jewish settlements begin to form outside the city walls.  More specifically, spanish expulsions in the 15th-16th century lead to immigration to Jerusalem.  This period is significant because it marked the period of tolerance between Muslims, Jews, and Christians.

Crusader Jerusalem

Today we discussed Crusader Jerusalem, taking place from 1099-1291.  In 1099, Jerusalem was conquered by Godfrey de Bouillon.  The Crusades were known as the Holy War.  It is distinguished by battles between Roman Catholic forces versus Muslims.  The Crusaders took vows and were granted penance for past since, called indulgences.  Their efforts were an attempt to recapture Jerusalem from Islam.  Professor Cargill continued on to talk about the causes of the crusades.  It was caused from a long-building tension of political, religious, and socio-economic stress.  The Christians felt undermined and underrepresented, and retaliated.  Thus, from 1099-1187, they reformed Jerusalem to become Christian.  Within these crusades, the Islamic shrines the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque were modified.  In addition, they rebuilt Christian influenced Byzantine churches (ie. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher), as well as other new churches.  In addition, they established four new quarters of Jerusalem: the Patriarch's quarter, the Templar's quarter, the Syrian quarter, and the Armenian quarter.  They rebuilt the Church of the Holy Sepulcher after its destruction in 1009.  Lastly after the second crusade was finished, under Saladin's rule, Jerusalem rule came to be known as Ayyubid Jerusalem.  During this time period, there was the re-settlement of Jews back into Jerusalem oncea gain.  Christian influences were slowly dissipating back into the Greek Orthodox.  Christian topography was replaced with Muslim shrines.  After the 5th crusade, the walls of Jerusalem were dismantled, causing the population to grow.  By the 6th crusade, Jerusalem was recaptured by the Crusaders and the Crusaders regained power.  The last crusader outpost was in 1291.

Islamic Jerusalem

Last class, we talked about Jerusalem in the context of the Christian religion.  Today, we continued to talk about Jerusalem in the context of the Islamic religion.  Quite helpful, actually, considering this is precisely the topic that I am discussing in my research paper :). Well, anyways, Professor started class, discussing the end of the Byzantine Empire.  Byzantine rulers, were extremely mean to Jewish people in Jerusalem, forbidding them to live there.  Towards the end of Byzantine Jerusalem, when Caliph Umar takes control of the city, Jews were slowly allowed to move back, and the population slowly increased.  The next ruler, Abd al-Malik, built the Dome of the Rock in 691 CE, in attempt to divert the pilgrimage from Mecca to Jerusalem.  In 1099, the Crusaders conquered Jerusalem and converted the Dome of the Rock into a church.  in 1187, Salah ad-Din re-conquers Jerusalem and restores the Dome of the Rock.  The Dome of the Rock was built with Byzantine Martyria influence.  This is also seen in the Holy Sepulcher.  Abd al-Malik attemped to incorporated Christian architectural traditions in order to outshine Christian monuments, emphasizing the importance and prestige of Islam.  In addition, Abd al-Malik made mosaic inscriptions of Qur-anic verses around the interior of the shrine, repudiating Christianity's view of Jesus as the son of God.  The location of the Dome of the Rock is especially significant because it is the site of the Holy of Holies. In addition, it is traditionally believed to be the site of Muhummad's pilgrimage.  Under it is believed to be the underworld, and the place of Final Judgement of the Lord at death.  Overall, both shrines are equally important in sanctifying their individually specific Messiahs.  Both demonstrate Byzantine architecture, have related Biblical contexts, and are memorializing a specific Messiah.

Byzantine Jerusalem

Today we focused on the impact of Jerusalem in the context of Christianity.  This is important because the Messiah of Christianity, Jesus, has a large association with Jerusalem.  Jerusalem is where Jesus was said to have been crucified, buried, and resurrected.  Professor Cargill began speaking about a ruler named Constantine the Great, who ruled from 312-337 CE.  In 313, he ratified the Edict of Milan, legalizing Christianity as an official religion.  In 324 CE, Constantine's mother, Helena, came to Jerusalem, and rededicated the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.  The Church of the Holy Sepulcher gradually gained the reifications that the Temple once had.  That is, it became considered the ""new axis mundi."  In 391, Theodosius named Christianity the state religion, further emphasizing the importance of Christianity in Jerusalem.  As the popularity of Christianity in grew, Justinian expanded Jerusalem, eradicating the "Nea Church."  With the foundation of the "Nea Chruch," the evolution of the Christian pilgrimage developed.  Constantine brought the benefit of a physical being in a scared space.  In addition, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher has a eticule in the middle that takes up most of the rotunda.  With the popularization and centralization of Christianity as a world religion, primal myths that were once associated with Judaism are transferred over to Christianity.

Jerusalem Revolt

Today we learned specifically about the revolts that took place in Jerusalem after Rome took over.  After Herod's death in 4 BCE, his kingdom was divided among three of Herod's sons.  The first son, Arachelaus, took control as the ethnarch of Judea.  He was highly ineffective, and ruled from 4 BCE all the way until he was exiled in 6 CE.  Herod's second son, Herod Antipas, took control as the tetrarach of Perea and Galilee, and ruled all the way from 4 BCE until he, too was exiled in 39 BCE.  The last son, Herod Philip, got kind of the bad end of the stick, as he was the tetrarch of Hurea and Trachonitis, ruling from 4 BCE all the way until his death in 34 CE.  He ruled the longest out of his three brothers.  Herodian rulers were gradually replaced by Roman procurators, executing direct Roman rule.  The most famous of these procurators is Pontius Pilate, who was the Roman governor who was best known for deciding on the trial of Jesus.  He was the only Roman governor that was mentioned in the Gospels.  He was known for being a highly ineffective, selfish ruler.  He was so terrible that the Romans recalled him off his throne back to Rome in 36 CE.  The Roman rulers were known for being very inexperienced and corrupt.  Consequently, there was growing Jewish nationalism and declining law and order, thus giving rise to the first Jewish Revolt.  During this time, the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE by ruler Titus.  After the Temple was destroyed, there was again a renewed sense of cognitive dissonance that arose, causing Jews to feel a sense of uncertainty and loss of faith.  Ruler Titus built an arch in Rome to commemorate his victory over the Jews, also minting coins with the words "Judea Capta" engraved.  This eventually led to the second revolt, which took place from 132-135 CE.  During this time, Jews were forbidden to visit Jerusalem.  In addition, the emperor Hadrian punished the Jews, imposing a tax for only Jews to pay.  This forced the Jews to either deny their faith, avoiding the tax, or renouncing their faith, but paying taxes to the Romans.  Each way was a lose-lose situation for thew Jews.  In addition, the banishment of Jews from Jerusalem gave rise to the popularity of synagogues, localizing worship in things other than the Temple.

Herodian Jerusalem

Last class, we left off at the end of during the Hasmonean dynasty.  Its successors were the Romans, who ruled starting 63 BCE.  Jerusalem under Roman rule was also called the reign of Herod, or Jesus' Jerusalem.  During this time, Herod the Great ruled over Jerusalem.  Herod is depicted in the Bible as being harsh, tyranistic, and paranoid.  He ruled from 37-4 BCE.  Herod aimed to exert sensitivity to the Jews yet maintain a good relationship with Jerusalem's successor, Rome.  As a result, Herod became increasingly paranoid and impulsive, which is effective for Rome, yet made Herod hated by Jews.  Herod was well-liked by Rome because he took all of the negative publicity from the Jewish people.  However, this caused him to be hated among the commoners in Jerusalem.  Professor Cargill posed an interesting question, challenging us to think about whether Herod was actually a good or a bad ruler.  Although he may have been socially hated by Jews, he was still commemorated as a good leader because he economically and religiously supported Jerusalem.  He rebuilt the Temple, improved Jerusalem's economic welfare, and respected all religious Jewish views.  As a devout Christian, I am slightly conflicted as to what to believe, especially now knowing the historical and archaeological truths.

Things Are Lookin' Up

This lecture focused on Jerusalem as a Hellenistic nation.  And, eventually, after Hellenism dies down, the emergence of the Hasmonean Rule.  Hellenism was started by Alexander the Great, a greek ruler that ruled from 336-323 BCE.  During his reign, Alexander the Great conquers a great majority of what is modern day Middle East, including Palestine in 332 BCE.  He also used coins as propaganda for his rule.  After the Battle of Issas at 333 BCE, when Alexander the Great defeats Persia, Jerusalem capitulates to Alexander, and was under Greek, or Hellenistic, rule.  After Alexander the Great dies, his kingdom was divided into two groups: Prolemies (Egyptians) and Seleucias (Syrians).  The Prolemies ruled from 300-201.  In addition Seleucias imposed Greek tradition on Jewish lifestyle.  They Hellenized Jews to speak greek, making it the universal language.  They claimed that achieved linguistic unity would yield imperial unity.  Hellenism attracted social and economic expansion.  And, with the assimilation of new ideas into old ideas,   the religion of Jerusalem became affected.  More specifically, aspects concerning Hellenistic linguistic and literature were brought into Jewish culture, causing even the Hebrew Bible to be Hellenized.  And, conservative Jews failed to sit well with this idea, and ultimately the Jewish people revolted against Serucias, overthrowing their power.  This revolt was called the "Maccabean Revolt," and it was led by Judas Maccabeaus in 165 BCE.  This regaining of self-control called for the creation of Hanukkah to commemorate the victory, and birthed the Hasmonean dynasty.  The Hasmonean dynasty restored the Golden Age, greatly expanding Jewish territory.  It governed by Jewish self-rule for around 100 years.  The rulers kept saying that they were temporarily ruling until a self-righteous ruler came along.  Eventually, though, Hasmonean rule became hellenized, secular, and corrupt.  They were insensitive to Jewish religious tradition and were based primarily on nationalistic motives.  It is said that although their reign was successful, it mirrored the same issues as David and Solomon's reigns.  Eventually, the Hasmonean rule came to an end, and the Romans conquered Jerusalem in 63 BCE.

Persian Reign

I dread the first class after midterms--usually information is super dry and uninteresting.  However, this class was surprisingly interesting.  It talked about the period under which the Persians ruled.  He began, introducing the rule of the 2nd Temple, mentioning that it is between 539 BCE-70 CE.  He then continued to speak about the importance of Prophet Ezekiel, and how he was exiled to Babylon in 596 BCE.  He compared Prophet Ezekiel to a "crazy" entrepreneur that you would see on Third Street, preaching absurdities.  Ezekiel had a utopian dream of a new Jerusalem.  That is, in the midst of the 2nd Temple being reconstructed, and eventually destroyed, Ezekiel felt that God was relentlessly there.  Olden perceptions suggested that God was physically tied to the Temple.  However, after the Temple was destroyed, the people were in a frenzy.  Instead, Ezekiel compared God to the ark of the covenant, saying God's presence is mobile; he is not physically tied to any landmark, but rather Jerusalem as a city.  Professor Cargill continues to talk about the Persian reign, saying that the ruler, King Cyrus now fosters the image of a "liberator," valorizing the return to Persia.  In his reign, Cryus was viewed by Judean exiles as the great deliverer, bringing a "Persian Messiah."  I feel that it was interesting when Professor Cargill said "the Biblical author must rationalize history, even if it involves a foreigner as God's chosen deliverer."  With this persian rule, the poverty of Jerusalem increased.  Persian Jerusalem was marked by a depopulated, heavily taxed, conflicted Jerusalem.  At this point, it seems as if there is no hope for Jerusalem.

The End of Jerusalem

Today Professor Cargill started out talking about the development of literacy and language in culture.  This is especially significant because as scholars, it is the landmark in which we know what concrete things occurred.  In other words, written text concretely demonstrates an occurrence; it provides us with evidence that things actually happened.  In the context of this class, there were letters and blessings that were written down, paralleling rules and prayers in the Hebrew Bible.  Now, this sparks some discussion, because scholars are forced to distinguish chronologically what happened first.  Did the letters come first to reflect the teachings of the Bible? Or did the Bible model what happened in the letters?  I believe that the adoption of writing just sanctified a tradition that was already there.  In other words, I feel that rules and prayers and such were passed through oral tradition before literacy was more common.  In addition, the emergence of literacy called for the rise of the Bible.  Consequently, the popularity of the Book rising causes a decline in the power of kings.

The latter part of the class was spent talking about the Babylonian exile.  During exile, there was complete destruction in Jerusalem and extreme economic devastation.  Professor Cargill emphasizes that there were three Babylonian exiles, the second one being most important.  It happened in 586 BCE, and was marked by the destruction of the Temple, the Exile of the elites, and the people's flight to Egypt.  However, the religious people in Jerusalem were left baffled after the exile, because they refused to believe that their Lord had broken His promise to David.  As said in the Bible, the Lord said that he would dwell in Jerusalem forever, and there shall be a king there forever. However, with the Babylonian exile, this is apparently impossible.  As a result, the people attempted to reconcile his "promise" by twisting the words for redefinition.  For example, in the Bible, during the pre-exile, the Temple was known as God's physical residence.  However, after the exile, scribes changed the words to the Temple was the dwelling place for God's name.  They switched the words in order to ensure that their Lord did not fail to fulfill His promise to them.  This concept, according to Professor Cargill, is cognitive dissonance, the uncomfortability when your beliefs conflict with reality, and you attempt to reconcile for the differences by redefining measures.

Hezekiah's and Josiah's Jerusalem

In the beginning of class, Professor Cargill continued to talk about the reign of Hezekiah on Jerusalem.  As talked about before in class, Hezekiah had prepared a "barrier" around Jerusalem for them to survive.  He created a Tunnel that enabled for the citizens to retrieve water, and built a barrier around the walls of Jerusalem.  Thus, as the prosperity of Jerusalem expanded, the powerful Assyrians began to feel threatened.  Thus, the Assyrians attempted to attack.  Most specifically, there was a number of attacks from Sennacherib's Army, but for some odd reason, the entire army got sick and their mission was left uncompleted.  Jerusalem, under Hezekiah's reign, was victorious.  Their "immunity" from ambush from the Assyrians, as Professor Cargill theorized, "was the single greatest catalyst for the snowballing legend of the inviolable Jerusalem."  In other words, the fact that the Assyrians could not defeat them caused the introduction of the Zion myth.  Jerusalem's sanctity was enforced, because the people assumed that Jerusalem must be sacred if it survived such turmoil.  In addition, under Hezekiah's reign, he enforced a religious reform, where he removed foreign deities from the Temple and called for worship of God of Israel.

After Hezekiah's reign, Professor continued to focus on the reign of Josiah.  Josiah's reign took place during the decline of the Assyrians.  During his time, he, like Hezekiah, started a number of new religious reforms.  These include: Discovery of the “book of the law/covenant/Torah,” "Deuteronomistic” reform, and the elimination of foreign cults.  Furthermore, he suggested the textualization of religion, providing historians of evidence of their literacy levels.

The Reign of Assyria

Today Professor Cargill began class talking about the era after Solomon.  The era of Solomon is called "The Golden Age," from 970 BCE-930 BCE.   Solomon's son, Rehobam, took reign of this era, dividing the kingdom between the North and the South, Israel and Judah.  Jerusalem then becomes the capital of Judah, the southern state.  As time continues, different kings take the throne, the power of Assyrians grow, and they continue seizing all land and killing all protesters that stand in their way.  They use intimidation as a deterrent from rebellion.  They did obscene things to people, making sure to publicize their cruelty towards rebels.  Resultingly, as people grow a sense of fear from the Assyrians, they begin to flee into Jerusalem.  Thus, the growth of Jerusalem consequently grows.  Jerusalem begins a period of urbanization, expanding their city through industrialization, and farm cultivation.  There was a 400% increase in the population of Jerusalem during the reign of Assyria, calling for a quick dissipation into the cities, leaving a void in the countryside.  There was a development of social justice issues, including craft specialization and social class.  It seemed like Jerusalem was doing very well due to the scare tactics of the Assyrians. Professor Cargill ended the class with a discussion of Hezekiah, saying that he plotted a massive attack on Jerusalem, fortifying their resources for his benefit.  Its super interesting to see the story of Jerusalem from a historical standpoint rather than a religious standpoint.  We'll see where this story goes..

Era after David: Solomon.

Today Professor Cargill continued onto a new topic, talking about King Solomon and Jerusalem.  He started about, speaking about Jerusalem as a Sacred Space, once again emphasizing the idea of Jerusalem as the axis-mundi, the center of the world.  He implies that Jerusalem is the linkage between heaven and earth.  Its geographical location on Mount Moriah as well as its religious context (ie. the Temple of Solomon) dubs it the "link between heaven and earth."  Inhabitants believe that they can communicate to the heavens from Jerusalem.  There are many biblical accounts about the actual existence of the Temple.  However, Professor Cargill challenges us to think like archaeologists--questioning everything.  Turns out, although there are Biblical accounts about the existence of Solomon's Temple, there is no artifactual evidence that supports the claim of the existence of the Temple.  There is nothing substantial about the excavations.  Like Professor Cargill said, "is the absence of evidence, evidence of absence?"  Did the Temple of Solomon actually exist?  And, if followers have been aimlessly searching for the existence of a faux temple, what does that tell us about all the world religions of today?  I agree with the theory of Professor Cargill.  I believe that the Biblical accounts of Solomon's Temple was modeled after other Near Eastern Temples of Syria and Turkey.  He listed a number of temples, including "Tel-Ta'yinar" and "'Alin Darat," mentioning that they all have physical things as depicted in the Biblical description of Solomon's Temple.  I am suggesting that perhaps Solomon's temple did not rest on top of Mount Moriah, maybe it was on another mountain.  In spite of all this confusing and discrepancy, one thing remains certain.  We know that Solomon's Temple is patterned after existing surrounding Temples.  Hopefully future excavations magically call for new discoveries :)

City of David

On Tuesday, we learned about archaeological evidence that supported the existence of David.  These included things like The Stepped Stone Structure, the House of Ahiel, and the Tel Dan Inscription. The Tel Dan Inscription was the most interesting.  Basically, it is a small inscription that references the existence of David.  However, it is important to note that the existence of this inscription doesn't mean that David as King was in fact real, but it is substantial evidence that he was an influential person.  It reaffirmed the historical connotation that David existed.  Professor Cargill continued onward, talking about the creation of Solomon's Temple and questioned whether it was actually built at all.  He made an extremely intriguing argument, saying that in Biblical texts, there is a reason why David did not build the Temple.  He noted that David did a number of other things, conquering Jerusalem, bringing the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem, and on some Biblical accounts, built the Palace for the Lord's residence (2 Samuel 6:2-19).  I found this to be interesting because in other Biblical accounts, David did not build the Temple.  The Bible contradicts itself, with some accounts saying he did not build the Temple because God did not feel he was fit for the job.  However, despite the small "discrepancy," according to 2 Samuel 7, the Lord made a promise to David, providing to him a prophecy that "the Lord himself will make [him] a house, establishing the throne of his kingdom forever."  I found this to be extremely interesting because, as we know, the Babylonians eventually conquered the throne.  Thus, believers believe that there is perpetually a king of Jerusalem.  This leads to the belief that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah.  He claimed to be "son of David" and "King of the Jews."  I found this entire concept to be super intriguing, as I am a devote Catholic.  It was crazy to understand how Jesus' claims fit in historical terms.  It was David's promise that sparked a whole era of claimed apocalyptic messianism.

Early Jerusalem

Today, in class, we discussed Jerusalem in its early contexts of the Bible.  Professor Cargill started out speaking about early settlements in Jerusalem, starting from roughly 6000 years ago, which in my opinion, is a huge amount of time.  He continued to elaborate on why Jerusalem was an ideal place to reside, as the ideal factors of water, trade, and agriculture, were accommodated through nearby natural landscapes.  We then examined Jerusalem in the context of early Biblical texts.  He continued to provide us examples of execration, fortifications, and Amarna Letters.  All of these works reached back to 1900 BCE.  I found the Amarna Letters to be particularly interesting, as they were written from rulers in Canaan to Egyptian Pharaohs.  These letters are referencing to Jerusalem for aid in times of need.  It was extremely interesting to see how influential Jerusalem was in past times, especially on Egyptian culture. 

Professor Cargill continued to discuss a discrepancy within the book of Joshua.  In Joshua 10:40-42, the Bible implies that everyone in the city of Jerusalem was wiped out due to a military invasion.  However, this claim was negated in Joshua 15:63, which suggested that the invaders were unable to abolish all inhabitants, and the two societies were forced to be cohabitants.  This is clearly contradictory, and Professor Cargill attempted to make justifications as to how the Israelites got to Jerusalem, suggesting immigration, conquest, and assimilation.  He introduced the idea of a Caananite City, where the people were of mixed origins.  This theory, in my opinion, is a very reasonable way to explain how the Israelites came to exist in Jerusalem, as it is not far-fetched and is very plausible. 

Sanctity and Eliade

One of the required texts for this class is called The Sacred and the Profane by Mircea Eliade.  A compelling read, I must say.  It focuses on this idea of two realms of life: the sacred, or holy, and the profane, or common.  Eliade argues that these two realms are interconnected by this idea of an axis mundi, the center of the world. He suggests that Jerusalem is the center of the world, and is thus a sacred space.  In addition, he states that people of all religions, not just Jewish people, strive for a common goal--that is, to get closer to God.  That being said, he correlates the issue that living in the center of the world enables individuals to get closer to God.  Historically, especially in the purpose of this class, Jerusalem is considered the axis mundi of our "profane" world.  In the second lecture, Professor Cargill started to talk about the construction of Jerusalem as a sacred space.  That is, he emphasized a series of events that led to the growth of the "New Jerusalem."  Perhaps the first most important landmark is Solomon's temple.  Professor Cargill makes a good point that a place that is considered a "sacred space" requires tradition for it to be special.  Thus, in order for tradition to be upheld, a space needs to be built and consecrated.  And voila, Solomon's Temple is built in 950 BCE.  Over a period of time, Solomon's temple was destroyed, rebuilt, aggrandized, and again destroyed.  Finally, the Dome of the Rock was built in 691 CE (Dome of the Rock is known to be where Abraham nearly sacrificed his son Isaac, but thats a completely different story).  Anyways, Solomon's Temple, in my opinion, is the first huge landmark that seemed to spark the construction of other sacred spaces (ie. The Tower of Babel, the creation of the tabernacle, ("a portable temple") and the Arc of the Covenant).  Like Eliade stated, it is as if, by divine decree, places of sacred worship are pre-designated by God; everything happens as it should, since everything has a divine origin.  In addition to the concept of a sacred space, Professor Cargill (as well as Eliade) suggested this idea of a sacred time and space.  For example, the Sabbath.  The Sabbath is rooted in the story of Creation as told in Exodus 20:8 and Genesis 1: 1-24.  The Sabbath suggests that followers should rest on the Sabbath, designating this day for rest and renewal with God.  In total, Jerusalem, among other things, in all that it is sacred, (places, time, and space) are all created and consecrated. These consecrations all in the while connect heaven and hell, providing an outlet for communication between both the sacred and the profane.

Holy Water!

Prior to taking this class, my religious views were seemingly skewed.  Born and raised a Roman Catholic, my religious ideologies generally were closed off to any new ideas except Jesus.  Having attended Catholic school for 13 years, I've taken a number of religion courses that kind of told me what to believe.  Naturally, this Jerusalem class struck me as particularly interesting--I mean, after all of those references to Jerusalem in the Bible, I wanted to know where the root of all these ideologies branched from.  The first day was nothing too special, Professor Cargill cracked a few jokes, introduced the course information, introduced the TAs, and went over the monotonous logistical stuff, as in every first day of lecture.  The second day, however, we started talking about the topography of Jerusalem, focusing on the religious importance of Jerusalem's location.  Turns out, the landscape of Jerusalem resembles that one alien-esque sign that ignited me to think the words, "I come in peace."  It sits on a mountain (with Mount Moriah being a central place of worship), emphasizing that a heightened location puts the city closer to God.  There is a wall that surrounds Jerusalem, the Western Wall, for added protection.  In addition, it was compelling to learn that the whole city of Jerusalem thrives off of water; residents are continuously finding ways to retrieve a constant flow of water. In the religious sense, water is generally considered holy; Catholics believe there is Holy water that cleanses and purifies you, Muslims believe that water also acquires a cleansing power.  Thus, it is unsurprising that the locations from which the water is produced becomes a religious landmark.  These locations include: the Gihon spring, Hezekiel's Tunnel, and the Siloam Pool.  All of these landmarks are mentioned in Scripture, and it was super interesting to realize that the part of the stigma attached to water as "sacred" was correlated to Jerusalem's effort to get water.  Their location causes water to be a scarcity, and thus water is difficult to acquire, making it "sacred" and a novelty, in a sense.