Vincent Lemire

An expansive history of Jerusalem as a cultural crossroads, and a fresh look at the urban development of one of the world's most mythologized cities. Jerusalem is often seen as an eternal battlefield in the "clash of civilizations" and in endless, inevitable wars of religion. But if we abandon this limiting image when reviewing the entirety of its concrete urban history—from its beginnings to today—we discover a global city at the world's crossroads. Jerusalem is the common cradle of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, whose long and intertwined pasts include as much exchange and reciprocal influence as conflict and confrontation. This synthetic account is the first to make available to the general public Jerusalem's whole history, informed by the latest archaeological finds, unexplored archives, and ongoing research and offering a completely renewed understanding of the city's past and geography. This book is an indispensable guide to understanding why the world converges on Jerusalem.

For 4.000 år siden var Jerusalem en lille, isoleret landsby, beliggende på en højderyg mellem Middelhavet og ørkenen. I dag er det en storby med næsten en million indbyggere, som tiltrækker verdens opmærksomhed og besøgende fra hele kloden. I mellemtiden har de tre store monoteistiske religioner haft byen som deres arnested, de største erobrere har indtaget den, og verdens mægtigste imperier har udkæmpet slag om den. Skiftevis egyptisk, persisk, jødisk, græsk, romersk, byzantinsk, arabisk, korsfarer, mamelukkisk, ottomansk, britisk, jordansk, israelsk og palæstinensisk – Jerusalem har altid stået i centrum for verdens interesser og lidenskaber. Som vugge for jødedommen, kristendommen og islam er byen i dag en åndelig hovedstad for over halvdelen af menneskeheden. I 10 kapitler fortæller aktører og vidner – berømte som anonyme – historien om Jerusalem gennem århundrederne og viser dette lag-på-lag af sammensatte påvirkninger. Intet er opfundet: scener og dialoger stammer fra over 200 publicerede kilder og hidtil uudgivne arkiver, for at give liv til denne fælles fortælling. 4.000 års universel historie – for første gang fortalt i en enestående tegneserie.

The 4,000-year history of the city of Jerusalem unfolds in an exceptional graphic narrative that touches on the birth of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, as well as famous conquerors and mighty empires, and more. This engaging and even-handed 256-page graphic novel, written by renowned historian Vincent Lemire and illustrated by cartoonist and animator Christophe Gaultier, is an excellent choice for the classroom and for anyone who wants to explore the fascinating story of Jerusalem. The story of Jerusalem is in many ways the story of the development of Western civilization—religions were born on its streets, famous conquerors laid siege to it, and great empires clashed over it. Four thousand years ago, Jerusalem was a small, isolated village perched on a ridge line between the Mediterranean and the desert. Today it is a bustling metropolis with almost one million inhabitants, attracting visitors from all over the world. Considered the cradle of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—the three major monotheistic religions—and a spiritual capital for more than half of humanity, Jerusalem's history gives us a unique perspective into the histories of these different religious identities. Readers will meet Abraham, King Herod, Empress Helena (the mother of Constantine I), Queen Melisende of Jerusalem, Saladin, Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, General Edmund Allenby, Palestinian nationalist Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni, former Mayor Teddy Kollek, and many other famous people who have helped build the story of Jerusalem. But it takes many hands to make a city, and the history of the city is the history of the residents who lead lives both great and small within its walls. As Lemire and Gaultier guide us through the lives of Jerusalem’s most famous residents, so too do they introduce us to the people, priests, craftsmen, architects, and residents who have built the history of Jerusalem over the last five millennia.

The Maghrebi Quarter of Jerusalem long sat in the shadow of the Western Wall, the last vestige of the Second Temple. Three days after the June '67 War, Israeli forces razed the Quarter, its narrow alleys widened and homes removed, to create the Western Wall Plaza. With this book, Vincent Lemire offers the first history of the Maghrebi Quarter—spanning 800 years from its founding by Saladin in 1187 to house North African Muslim pilgrims through to its destruction. To bring this vanished district back to life, Lemire gathers its now-scattered documentation in the archives of Muslim pious foundations in Jerusalem and the Red Cross in Geneva, in Ottoman archives in Istanbul and Israeli state archives. He engages testimonies of former residents and looks to recent archaeological digs that have resurfaced household objects buried during the destruction. Today, the Western Wall Plaza extends over the former Maghrebi Quarter. It is one of the most identifiable places in the world—yet one of the most occluded in history. In the Shadow of the Wall offers a new point of entry to understand this consequential place.

The Maghrebi Quarter of Jerusalem long sat in the shadow of the Western Wall, the last vestige of the Second Temple. Three days after the June '67 War, Israeli forces razed the Quarter, its narrow alleys widened and homes removed, to create the Western Wall Plaza. With this book, Vincent Lemire offers the first history of the Maghrebi Quarter—spanning 800 years from its founding by Saladin in 1187 to house North African Muslim pilgrims through to its destruction. To bring this vanished district back to life, Lemire gathers its now-scattered documentation in the archives of Muslim pious foundations in Jerusalem and the Red Cross in Geneva, in Ottoman archives in Istanbul and Israeli state archives. He engages testimonies of former residents and looks to recent archaeological digs that have resurfaced household objects buried during the destruction. Today, the Western Wall Plaza extends over the former Maghrebi Quarter. It is one of the most identifiable places in the world—yet one of the most occluded in history. In the Shadow of the Wall offers a new point of entry to understand this consequential place.

Around 1900 the small Ethiopian community in Jerusalem found itself in a desperate struggle with the Copts over the Dayr al-Sultan monastery located on the roof of the Holy Sepulchre. Based on a profoundly researched, impassioned and multifaceted exploration of a forgotten manuscript, this book abandons the standard majority discourse and approaches the history of Jerusalem through the lens of a community typically considered marginal. It illuminates the political, religious and diplomatic affairs that exercised the city, and guides the reader on a fascinating journey from the Ethiopian highlands to the Holy Sepulchre, passing through the Ottoman palaces in Istanbul. Have a look inside the book

Perhaps the most contested patch of earth in the world, Jerusalem's Old City experiences consistent violent unrest between Israeli and Palestinian residents, with seemingly no end in sight. Today, Jerusalem's endless cycle of riots and arrests appears intractable even unavoidable and it looks unlikely that harmony will ever be achieved in the city. But with Jerusalem 1900, historian Vincent Lemire shows us that it wasn't always that way, undoing the familiar notion of Jerusalem as a lost cause and revealing a unique moment in history when a more peaceful future seemed possible. In this masterly history, Lemire uses newly opened archives to explore how Jerusalem's elite residents of differing faiths cooperated through an inter-community municipal council they created in the mid-1860s to administer the affairs of all inhabitants and improve their shared city. These residents embraced a spirit of modern urbanism and cultivated a civic identity that transcended religion and reflected the relatively secular and cosmopolitan way of life of Jerusalem at the time. These few years would turn out to be a tipping point in the city's history a pivotal moment when the horizon of possibility was still open, before the council broke up in 1934, under British rule, into separate Jewish and Arab factions. Uncovering this often overlooked diplomatic period, Lemire reveals that the struggle over Jerusalem was not historically inevitable and therefore is not necessarily eternal. Jerusalem 1900 sheds light on how the Holy City once functioned peacefully and illustrates how it might one day do so again.