Gates of the Old City of Jerusalem

Last updated
Gates of the Old City of Jerusalem: 1. Jaffa
2. Zion
3. Dung
4. Golden (walled up)
5. Lions
6. Herod
7. Damascus
8. New Gate
Quarters:
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Christian
Armenian
Jewish
Muslim
Temple Mount Jerusalem Old City blank map.svg
Gates of the Old City of Jerusalem: 1. Jaffa
2. Zion
3. Dung
4. Golden (walled up)
5. Lions
6. Herod
7. Damascus
8. New Gate
Quarters:
   Christian
   Armenian
   Jewish
   Muslim

This article lists the gates of the Old City of Jerusalem . The gates are visible on most old maps of Jerusalem over the last 1,500 years.

Contents

During different periods, the city walls followed different outlines and had a varying number of gates. During the era of the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (1099–1291), Jerusalem had four gates, one on each side.[ citation needed ]

The current walls of the Old City of Jerusalem were built between 1533 and 1540 on orders of Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, who provided them with seven gates: six new gates were built, and the older and previously sealed Golden Gate was reopened (only to be re-sealed again after a few years). The seven gates at the time of Suleiman were, clockwise and by their current name: the Damascus Gate; Herod's Gate; Lions' Gate; Golden Gate; Dung Gate; Zion Gate; and Jaffa Gate.

With the re-sealing of the Golden Gate by Suleiman, the number of operational gates was only brought back to seven in 1887, with the addition of the New Gate.

Until 1887,[ citation needed ] each gate was closed before sunset and opened at sunrise.

List

The seven gates at the time of Solomon were: Damascus Gate; Golden Gate; Herod's Gate; Jaffa Gate; Lions' Gate; Silwan Gate (also known as Mughrabi Gate, and now as Dung Gate); and Zion Gate. After the re-sealing of the Golden Gate already in Solomon's time, the number of operational gates was only brought back to seven with the addition of the New Gate in 1887.

EnglishHebrewArabicAlternative namesConstruction yearLocationStatusImage
Golden Gate Sha'ar HaRahamim

שער הרחמים

"Gate Of Mercy"

Bab al-Dhahabi / al-Zahabi, "Golden Gate"

باب الذهبي

A double gate, last sealed in 1541. In Arabic also known as the Gate of Eternal Life.[ citation needed ] In Arabic each door has its own name:
  • Gate of Mercy, Bab al-Rahma (باب الرحمة) – the southern door
  • Gate of Repentance, Bab al-Taubah (باب التوبة) – the northern door
6th centuryNorthern third of eastern sideSealed Golden Gate Jerusalem 2009.JPG
Damascus Gate Sha'ar Shkhem

שער שכם

"Nablus Gate"

Bab al-Amoud

باب العمود

Sha'ar Damesek, Nablus Gate, Gate of the Pillar1537Middle of northern wallOpen Jerusalem Damaskustor BW 1.jpg
Herod's Gate Sha'ar HaPerachim

שער הפרחים

"Gate Of The Flowers"

Bab al-Sahira

باب الساهرة

Sha'ar Hordos, Flower Gate, Sheep Gate1537; greatly expanded in 1875East part of northern wallOpen Herods Gate Jerusalem.jpg
Dung Gate / Silwan Gate / Maghrabi Gate Sha'ar HaAshpot

שער האשפות

"Gate Of Trash"

Bab al-Maghariba

باب المغاربة

Gate of Silwan, Sha'ar HaMugrabim1538–40East part of southern wallOpen Jerusalem Dungtor BW 1.JPG
Lions' Gate Sha'ar HaArayot

שער האריות

Bab al-Asbatt

باب الأسباط

Gate of Yehoshafat,

St. Stephen's Gate, Gate of the Tribes, St. Mary's Gate (باب ستي مريم, Bab Sittna Maryam)

1538–39North part of eastern wallOpen LionsGate Jerusalem.JPG
Jaffa Gate Sha'ar Yafo

שער יפו

Bab al-Khalil

باب الخليل

The Gate of David's Prayer Shrine,

Porta Davidi

1530–40Middle of western wallOpen Jerusalem Jaffa Gate BW 1.JPG
Zion Gate Sha'ar Tzion

שער ציון

Bab al-Nabi Da'oud

باب النبي داود

Gate to the Jewish Quarter1540Middle of southern wallOpen Jerusalem Ziongate BW 4.JPG
New Gate HaSha'ar HeHadash

השער החדש

Al-Bab al-Jedid

الباب الجديد

Gate of Hammid1887West part of northern wallOpen Jerusalem, Old City, New Gate 01.jpg

Previous gates

A smaller entrance, popularly known as the Tanners' Gate,[ citation needed ] has been opened for visitors after being discovered and unsealed during excavations in the 1990s.[ citation needed ]

Sealed historic gates, other than the Golden Gate, comprise three that are at least partially preserved (the Single, Triple, and Double Gates in the southern wall),[ citation needed ] with several other gates discovered by archaeologists of which only traces remain (the so-called Gate of the Essenes on Mount Zion, the gate of Herod's royal palace south of the citadel, and the vague remains of what 19th-century explorers identified as the Gate of the Funerals (Bab al-Jana'iz) or of al-Buraq (Bab al-Buraq) south of the Golden Gate). [1]

EnglishHebrewArabicAlternative namesConstruction yearLocationStatusImage
"Tanners' Gate" [ citation needed ]Sha'ar HaBursekaim

שער הבורסקאים

12th century [ citation needed ]East part of southern wallOpen SHrydy hmgdl hTSlbny.JPG
Excavators' Gate [ citation needed ]Excavation Gate. (Eastern gate of the main Umayyad palace, attributed to Caliph Al-Walid I (705–715). Destroyed by an earthquake around 749, walled up when the Ottoman wall was built (1537–41), reopened and rebuilt by archaeologists led by Benjamin Mazar and Meir Ben-Dov in 1968.) [2] [3] 705–715, 1968 [ citation needed ]Wall south of Al-Aqsa MosqueOpen
Single Gate [ citation needed ]This gate led to the underground area of the Temple Mount known as Solomon's Stables Herodian period Southern wall of Temple Mount Sealed Various views of the city wall (Jerusalem). The single gate. LOC matpc.05071.jpg
Huldah Gates Sha'arei Chulda

שערי חולדה

Two gates:
  • The Triple Gate, as it comprises three arches. Also known as Bab an-Nabi (باب النبي, "Gate of the Prophet Muhammad")
  • The Double Gate, two arches, partially hidden from view by mediaeval building
Herodian period Southern wall of Temple Mount Sealed Hulda gates.jpg

In culture

In his book Stirring Times: Or Records from Jerusalem Consular Chronicles of 1853 to 1856, James Finn described a custom that took place in the 19th century concerning the city gates. According to him, whenever the Ottoman Sultan died, the keys to the city gates were brought to the Jews. They would offer prayers over them and anoint them with perfumes, after which the keys were returned to the Muslim authorities. The Muslims permitted this practice, as some believed that the blessing of the "Children of Israel" was "worth having". [4]

See also

References

  1. Necipoğlu, Gülru (2008). "The Dome of the Rock as a palimpsest: 'Abd al-Malik's grand narrative and Sultan Süleyman's glosses" (PDF). Muqarnas: An Annual on the Visual Culture of the Islamic. 25. Leiden: Brill: 20–21. ISBN   9789004173279. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  2. "The Function and Plan of the 'Palaces'". The Jerusalem Archaeological Park – Davidson Center. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  3. Meir Ben-Dov (1987). The Excavation Gate (18). Jerusalem: East Jerusalem Development Ltd. p. 20. Thus for all intents and purposes, a ninth gate has been opened in the walls of Jerusalem.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  4. Finn, James (1878). Stirring Times, Or, Records from Jerusalem Consular Chronicles of 1853 to 1856. C. Kegan Paul. pp. 117–118.