TheTower of David (Hebrew:מגדל דוד,romanized: Migdál Davíd), also known as theCitadel (Arabic:القلعة,romanized: al-Qala'a), is an ancientcitadel and contemporarymuseum, located near theJaffa Gate entrance to theOld City ofJerusalem.
The citadel that stands today dates to theMamluk andOttoman periods. It was built on the site of a series of earlier ancient fortifications of theHasmonean,Herodian,Byzantine andEarly Muslim periods, after being destroyed repeatedly during the last decades ofCrusader presence in theHoly Land by their Muslim enemies.[1] It contains artifacts from theIron Age including a quarry dated to theSecond Temple period and pottery, fishbones, and other archaeological finds dating from theFirst Temple Period,[2] and is a venue for benefit events, craft shows, concerts, and sound-and-light performances.
Dan Bahat, an Israeli archaeologist, writes that the original three Hasmonean towers standing in this area of the city were altered byHerod, and that "the northeastern tower was replaced by a much larger, more massive tower, dubbed the 'Tower of David' beginning in the 5th centuryCE"[3] Originally referring to the Herodian tower in the northeast of the citadel, in the 19th century the nameTower of David began to refer to the 17th-centuryminaret at the opposite side of the citadel, and since1967 officially refers to the entire citadel.[4]
The nameTower of David was first used for the Herodian tower in the 5th century CE by the Byzantine Christians, who believed the site to be the palace of KingDavid.[3][1] They borrowed the nameTower of David from theSong of Songs, attributed toSolomon, King David's son, who wrote: "Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men" (Song of Songs, 4:4).[5]
An Arabic name of the massive Herodian-Mamluk northeast tower is theBurj al-Qalʾa (برج القلعة, 'Citadel Tower').[6]
During the Early Muslim andAyyubid periods it was known in Arabic asMiḥrāb Dāwūd,lit. 'David'smiḥrāb (prayer place)'. Note that there is also another mihrab calledMiḥrāb Dāwūd, built into the inner side of theSouthern Wall of theHaram esh-Sharif/Temple Mount.[7]
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During the 2nd century BCE, theOld City of Jerusalem expanded further onto the so-called Western Hill. This 773-metre (2,536 ft) high prominence, which comprises the modernArmenian andJewish Quarters as well asMount Zion, was bounded by steep valleys on all sides except for the north. The first settlement in this area was about 150 BCE, around the time of theHasmonean kings,[3] when whatJosephus Flavius called "the First Wall" was constructed.
Herod, who wrested power from the Hasmonean dynasty, added three massive towers to the fortifications in 37–34 BCE. He built these at the vulnerable northwest corner of the Western Hill, where the citadel is now located. His purpose was not only to defend the city, but to safeguard his own royal palace located nearby on Mount Zion.[dubious –discuss] Herod named the tallest of the towers, 44 metres (144 ft) in height,Phasael, in memory of his brother who had committed suicide while in captivity. Another tower was calledMariamne, named for his second wife whom he had executed and buried in a cave to the west of the tower. He named the third tower Hippicus after one of his friends. Of the three towers, only the base of one of them survives today—either the Phasael or, as argued by archaeologistHillel Geva who excavated the citadel, the Hippicus Tower.[8] Of the original tower itself (now called theTower of David[dubious –discuss]), some 16 courses of the Herodian stoneashlars still rise from ground level (partially hidden by a much later builtglacis), upon which were added smaller stones in a later period, that added back significantly to the height of the remaining stump of the Herodian tower.
During theJewish war with Rome,Simon bar Giora made the tower his place of residence.[9] Following thedestruction of Jerusalem by theRomans in 70 CE, the three towers were preserved as a testimony of the might of the fortifications overcome by the Roman legions, and the site served as barracks for theRoman troops.
When theRoman Empire adoptedChristianity as its favoured religion in the 4th century, a community of monks established itself in the citadel. It was during the Byzantine period that the remaining Herodian tower, and by extension the citadel as a whole,[dubious –discuss] acquired its alternative name—the Tower of David—after the Byzantines, mistakenly identifying the hill as Mount Zion, presumed it to be David's palace mentioned in2 Samuel.[10]
After theArab conquest of Jerusalem in 638, the newMuslim rulers refurbished the citadel.[dubious –discuss] This powerful structure withstood the assault of theCrusaders in 1099, and surrendered only when its defenders were guaranteed safe passage out of the city.[citation needed]
During the Crusader period, thousands of pilgrims undertook the pilgrimage to Jerusalem by way of the port atJaffa. To protect pilgrims from the menace of highway robbers, the Crusaders built a tower surrounded by a moat atop the citadel,[dubious –discuss] and posted lookouts to guard the road to Jaffa.[dubious –discuss] The citadel also protected the newly erected palace of the Crusaderkings of Jerusalem, located immediately south of the citadel.[11]
In 1187, SultanSaladin captured the city including the citadel. In 1239, the Ayyubid emir ofKarak,An-Nasir Dawud, attacked the Crusader garrison and destroyed the citadel. In their1244 siege of the city, theKhwarazmians defeated and banished the Crusaders from Jerusalem for a last time, destroying the entire city in the process. TheMamluks destroyed the citadel in 1260.[citation needed][dubious –discuss]
In 1310 the citadel was rebuilt by Mamluk sultanAl-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun, who gave it much of its present shape.[12]
The citadel was expanded between 1537 and 1541 by theOttoman sultanSuleiman the Magnificent, whose architects designed a large entrance, behind which stood a cannon emplacement.[dubious –discuss] For 400 years, the citadel served as agarrison for Turkish troops. The Ottomans also installed amosque near the southwest corner of the citadel commonly known as theMihrab el-Qal'a ed-Dawood ('Prayer niche of David's fortress'),[13] erecting a minaret during the years 1635–1655. In the 19th century the conspicuous minaret, which still stands today, became commonly referred to as theTower of David. At least two mosques are known to exist within the citadel.[4][14]
DuringWorld War I, British forces under GeneralEdmund Allenby successfullycaptured Jerusalem. Allenby formally proclaimed the event standing on a platform at the outer eastern gate of the citadel.
During the period ofBritish rule (1917–1948), theHigh Commissioner for Palestine established thePro-Jerusalem Society to protect the city's cultural heritage. This organisation cleaned and renovated the citadel and reopened it to the public as a venue for concerts, benefit events and exhibitions by local artists. In the 1930s, a museum of Palestinian folklore was opened in the citadel, displaying traditional crafts and clothing.[15]
Following the1948 Arab–Israeli War, theArab Legion captured Jerusalem and converted the citadel back to its historical role as a military position, as it commanded a dominant view across the armistice line into Jewish Jerusalem. It would keep this role until 1967.
Since theSix-Day War in 1967, the citadel's cultural role was revived.[clarification needed]
The Tower of David Museum of the History of Jerusalem was opened in 1989 by theJerusalem Foundation. Located in a series of chambers in the original citadel, the museum includes a courtyard which contains archeological remains dating back 2,700 years.
The exhibits depict 4,000 years of Jerusalem's history, from its beginnings as aCanaanite city to modern times. Using maps, videos,holograms, drawings and models, the exhibit rooms each depict Jerusalem under its various rulers. Visitors may also ascend to the ramparts, which command a 360-degree view of the Old City and New City of Jerusalem.
As of 2002, the Jerusalem Foundation reported that over 3.5 million visitors had toured the museum.
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In 2010, a survey of the site was conducted by Yehudah Rapuano on behalf of theIsrael Antiquities Authority (IAA).[16]
al-Suyūṭī […] regarding the location of Miḥrāb Dāwūd in his time [1470s]. 1. The Great Miḥrāb in the wall adjacent to theminbar insideal-ʾAqṣā Mosque; 2. The Great Miḥrāb in thesouthern wall of the Ḥaram; 3. In the citadel (al-Qalʾa) of Jerusalem. […]Mujīr states that the Miḥrāb in the southern wall of the Ḥaram, near the "Cradle of Jesus", is widely accepted as Miḥrāb Dāwūd.
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31°46′34″N35°13′40″E / 31.77611°N 35.22778°E /31.77611; 35.22778
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