the Middle East in the fourth century
b
.
c
.
e
., Jeru-
salem fell into the hands of his general Seleucus
I Nicator (r. 312–281
b
.
c
.
e
.) and his heirs, the
Seleucids. Under the influence of Hellenistic
culture, the city was embellished with a stadium
and gymnasium, and worship of Hellenistic gods
was introduced in the Temple. Jewish rule was
restored by the Hasmoneans (or Maccabees)
around 166
b
.
c
.
e
. The last Hasmoneans were
subjugated by Rome about a century later in 63
b
.
c
.
e
., and Jerusalem became part of the Roman
Empire, governed by Rome’s clients, the Herodian
Dynasty (63
b
.
c
.
e
.–50
c
.
e
.). Herod the Great (r.
40
b
.
c
.
e
.–4
b
.
c
.
e
.), under the patronage of Julius
Caesar and other prominent Romans, conducted
major building projects in Jerusalem. He rebuilt
the Temple, enlarged the Temple Mount, and
enhanced the city’s fortifications. Herod’s succes-
sors ruled Judaea during the ministries of Jesus
and his disciples and were implicated in their per-
secution. The Hellenization of the city continued
during this time, as reflected in its theater, temples
to Greco-Roman deities, and luxurious homes for
the wealthy on the hillsides west of the Temple
Mount. Tensions among Jews opposed to Helle-
nization and Roman rule erupted into an outright
revolt in 66
c
.
e
., resulting in the destruction of
the Second Temple, the slaughter of the civilian
population, and the devastation of much of the
city in 70. Jewish religious life found fertile soil
elsewhere in p
alestine
, the east Mediterranean
region, and Mesopotamia. Jesus’ followers, who
came to be known as Christians, followed their
Jewish brethren into towns and cities of Palestine
and the east Mediterranean region.
During the second century, another Jewish
uprising, known as the Bar-Kochba Revolt, broke
out when the Romans decided to build a temple
to Jupiter on the Temple Mount in 130. The revolt
was violently crushed, and Jews were banned from
living in the city. Jerusalem was transformed into a
Roman garrison named Aelia Capitolina after the
family of the emperor Hadrian (r. 117–138) and
the Temple Mount became a place of desolation.
The city continued to languish under its Roman
overlords until the emperor Constantine (r. 306–
337) converted to Christianity and, with the help
of his mother Helena, gave new life to it. Helena
identified the site of Jesus’ crucifixion, burial,
and resurrection on Golgotha, the hill situated
west of the Temple Mount. She was authorized
by her son to construct a church there to house
the relic of the True Cross. This was the Church
of the Resurrection (or Holy Sepulcher). She also
had basilicas built on the Mount of Olives and
in Bethlehem. During the reign of the emperor
Justinian (r. 527–565) the “new” (Nea) Church
of the Theotokos was built near the Church of
the Resurrection in honor of m
ary
as the “mother
of God.” Jerusalem and environs then became a
major focus of early Christian pilgrimage activity.
By the late sixth century, the city had at least 17
churches. It was one of the major patriarchates
in the Byzantine Empire, where Christianity had
become the religion of state. At about the same
time, though often excluded from the city by
Christian authorities, Jews were assembling tradi-
tions (found in the Talmud and rabbinic midrash)
about the sacredness of the Temple Mount and its
Stone of Foundation, identifying it as the loca-
tion of the biblical creation account, the place
from underneath which the floodwaters came in
the time of Noah, the location of Abraham’s near-
sacrifice of his son Isaac, and where the Messiah
would stand to proclaim the new messianic age.
During the first half of the seventh century,
Jerusalem underwent ongoing political and reli-
gious turbulence. Sassanian armies invaded the
region from Persia, defeating Byzantine forces.
They captured Jerusalem in 614, which led to
considerable loss of life and destruction in the
city, and they carried the relic of the True Cross
back to their capital, Ctesiphon, in Mesopotamia.
Persians left the city temporarily in the hands of
the Jews, who anticipated the onset of a new age.
Meanwhile, the Byzantine emperor Heraclius (r.
610–641) launched a counterattack against the
Persians, finally returning to Jerusalem in triumph
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