| What makes it historical? |
In the Jewish tradition, there is no site holier than the Temple Mount. It is where, they believe, G-d collected the dust to create Adam and where Abraham almost sacrificed his son, Isaac! It’s also where it’s believed King Solomon built the first huge Temple to house the presence of G-d in 1000 BC, making it a place so holy that Jewish folks are not permitted to set foot at its center even today! The reason we can’t see the temple in all its grandeur is that it was destroyed twice, first by the Babylonians around 600 BC, then by the Romans in 70 AD!
Today, it’s a controversial site, because between 685 and 715 AD, the Umayyads under Caliph ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwan built two Islamic sites on top of the ruined Temple: the golden Dome of the Rock (Qubbat al-Sakhrah) and the Al-Aqsa (“the farthest”) Mosque! Why’d they build here? Well, there are two theories, one that this is where the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) ascended to Heaven and another that it was the Caliph asserting Islam’s legitimacy in Jerusalem. It’s hard to know for sure, because on account of this site’s holiness, archaeological digs are pretty much forbidden!
Though this site is not as crucial to Christian tradition as with the other two, during the Crusades, the Dome of the Rock was one of the headquarters of the Knights Templar, whose name derived from their mission to protect this site. Once they took over, the Dome served as a church from 1099 until 1187 AD! The Templars are also believed to have kept their horses in the underground tunnels here at the Temple Mount!
Since the Six Day War in 1967, Jerusalem has been under control of the Jewish-run state of Israel, but the structures on the Temple Mount are run by the Islamic council known as the Waqf. Though there is a status quo keeping the peace here, it’s an uneasy and fragile one, which pretty much sums up the history of this site! |
