TheChurch of the Holy Sepulchre, otherchurches,synagogues,Torah scrolls and other non-Muslim religious artifacts and buildings in and aroundJerusalem, were destroyed starting on 28 September 1009 on the orders of theFatimid CaliphAl-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, known by his critics as "the mad Caliph"[1] or "Nero of Egypt".[2] His son, the Fatimid CaliphAl-Zahir, allowed the Byzantines to rebuild the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in 1027–28. The construction of a much diminished ensemble was wrapped up by 1048.[3] This was the second of the two times the church was seriously damaged, the first being in614 during theByzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628.
AtEaster in 1008, Al-Hakim started tightening controls onreligious freedoms in Jerusalem, forbiddingChristians from making their annualPalm Sunday procession fromBethany.[4] A strict and pious Muslim, Al-Hakim had a demonstrated distaste at the religious practice of both Christians and Jews in the city of Jerusalem.[5]
On 29 September 1009, Al-Hakim ordered a governor ofRamla called Yarukh to demolish the area aroundConstantine's originalChurch of the Holy Sepulchre. Yarukh, along with his son Yusuf, Al-Husayn ibn Zahir al-Wazzan and Abu'l-Farawis Al-Dayf, were among those who started destroying various buildings. Some Christians believe the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is built on the site ofCalvary orGolgotha, whereJesus wascrucified, near a rock-cut room thatHelena andMacarius identified as the location of theresurrection.[1] The destruction was chronicled byYahya ibn Sa'id ofAntioch who noted it"cast down as far as the foundations" and the rock cut tomb was demolished in the attempt to"cause all trace of it to disappear". All sacred remains and holy relics were"completely annihilated".[1] Iron hammers were ineffectual against the bedrock foundations of the tomb, so they resorted to burning it with fire.[4]
The desecration was not only carried out on Christian sites in and around Jerusalem. In campaigns of 1011 and 1013–14, Al-Hakim continued his campaign of destruction againstJewish synagogues and Torah scrolls along with churches all overSyria. Unlike other Fatimids, Al-Hakim launched persecutions againstdhimmis that lasted throughout his reign.[6] Christians were made to wear crosses and Jews forced to wear wooden blocks around their necks.[7] He only stopped for fear of retaliatory attacks onmosques in Christian lands.[8]
When the news reachedEurope, Christians were horrified;Pope Sergius IV sent acircular letter to all churches, calling for aholy fight in theMiddle East, and expulsion ofMuslims from theHoly Land.[9] The events would later be recalled byPope Urban II, in hispreaching for the Crusade at Clermont.[10] Although thecrusades happened almost a century after the desecration (and were motivated by various other complex political intrigues), with the church rebuilt and pilgrimages from Europe resuming during that period, it was still very much in the public mind as a cause.[11] It was considered so byWilliam of Tyre.[12]
Adémar de Chabannes wrote about the events, drawing associations between Al-Hakim (who is considered important to theDruze faith and self-proclaimed himself to be the representative of theMahdi[13]) and theAntichrist, blaming theJews for inspiring his desecration of the Holy Sepulchre.[14]Rodulfus Glaber also wrote, circa 1040, a history of the events blaming French Jews fromOrléans, claiming that they had sent a message to the caliph via a Jew disguised as a pilgrim. The message was said to have been hidden inside a hollow staff, and urged the caliph to destroy the sepulchre lest Christians take over his empire otherwise. Rodulfus portrayed Al-Hakim as gullible, and firmly cast blame on the Jews.[6] This led to outbreaks ofantisemitism and violence against Jews across Europe; KingRobert II of France orderedforced conversions, and the Holy RomanEmperor Henry II expelled Jews fromMainz, condemningJudaism asheresy.[15]
Al-Qalanisi andAl-Djawizi suggested that Al-Hakim was angered by the supposedmiracle of theHoly Fire, which had been reported as early as the 9th century.Taqi al-Din Ahmad ibn 'Ali al-Maqrizi suggested that it was a fraudulent miracle caused by the use ofblack elder andquicksilver.[8]Bar Hebraeus andSeverus ibn al-Muqaffa report accounts of a Christian monk named John who had become disenchanted with the patriarch of Jerusalem informed the caliph of the fraud to disparage him.[6] Severas notes the patriarch was arrested at the time of the sepulchre's destruction and Adémar confirms he was killed.[6] The patriarch of Jerusalem who was secretly put to death over the matter wasArsenius, also apatriarch of Alexandria and apparently an uncle of Al-Hakim.[16]
Al-Hakim's motivations for the desecration are unclear and have been variously attested. John J. Saunders states that his anti-Christian policies were intended to mitigate the discontent aroused by his father's liberal attitude towards non-Muslims.[17] There were also suspicions of Christians colluding withBedouin tribes to undermine Fatimid power.[18] It was possibly in retaliation forByzantine attacks.[19] InMaster of the Age, historian Paul. E Walker writes that in the popular imagination of the era, Al-Hakim's actions were interpreted by some Muslims as "doing what aMuslim leader should do" by destroying the pre-Islamiccultural heritage as part of a policy seen to be "commanding the good and forbidding the bad".[20]William of Tyre's account claimed that Al-Hakim had been born to a Christian mother, and that he desecrated Jerusalem in order to dispel suspicions of Christian allegiance.[21] Some note Al-Hakim's shifting religious allegiances finally starting a newAbrahamic religion (Druze).[22] Other sources simply posit that he was mentally disturbed.[23]