A change from the standard procedure, this article will not be about an aspect of Assassin's Creed, as posts alternate between Assassin's Creed and important information about and around the real Assassins, but will be about the city of Jerusalem. A reaction to the beginning of Assassin's Creed will be posted in tomorrow's post.
Throughout history, Jerusalem has been a major point of contention. According to Biblical texts, around 1000 B.C.E., King David defeated the Jebusites and made their city his capital. David's son, Solomon, built a temple to the Hebrew God, and placed the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark of the Covenant is most famously known for its role in the film by Stephen Spielburg, Raiders of the Lost Ark. The Ark was said to contain the smashed tablets that contained the Ten Commandments and an Omar of Mana from when the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years. When King Solomon died in about 931 B.C.E., the Israelites became devided, and Jerusalem became part of the Kingdom of Judah. Because of it's position geographically, the Kingdom of Judah was almost constantly under attack by a bordering nation. In 597 B.C.E., King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon captured Jerusalem and scattered the Jews living there. Nebuchadnezzar also credited for the destruction of the temple after looting it. In 560 B.C.E., Cyrus the Great, leader of the Persian Empire, conquered Palestine and allowed the Jews to return to their homes. The Jews built a second temple in blace of the one that had been destroyed. It was completed in 516 B.C.E. and during that time, the Jewish peoples rebounded and began to inhabit surrounding areas. In 332 B.C.E., Alexader the Great conquered Jerusalem and tried to impose Hellenistic ways and ideals. The Jews fought against this and in 170 B.C.E., they drove out the Greeks. In 91 B.C.E., the Romans, after three years of laying siege, conquered Jerusalem. During the following years, King Herod added four retaining walls to the Temple of Solomon. In 66 C.E., the Jews began revolting against the Romans, and were initially successful, but the Romans fought back in larger numbers and crushed the rebellion and destroyed the Temply of Solomon. Another revolt began in 132 C.E. and was crushed three years later by the Romans for a second time. 500 years later, the Muslims conquered Jerusalem and the rest of Palestine. In 1095 C.E., Crusaders invaded and conquered Jerusalem in 1099 C.E. Saladin took back Jerusalem in 1187 C.E. and successfully defended it agains the attacks of Richard the Lionheart.
