Jerusalem (Think Before You Act)

Jerusalem is one of France’s most renowned cities in the province of Palestine. It is known as the empire’s oldest city, located in the Judean Mountains, between the Northern Dead Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. The city is much larger than its older counterpart.

Despite only havinga population of 1,670,000 and covering just 125.1 km2 (or 48.3 sq mi), the city has held very high religious importance. It is the holy city to all the Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. According to the Judaism religion, it has been the religion’s holiest city. According to the Biblical Old Testament, King David of Israel conquered it from the Jebusites, which has been known at that time Jebus. David made it as the capital of the Kingdom of Israel in 1000 BCE. After his death, his successor and son Solomon commissioned the building of the First Temple in the city. However, it no longer exists due to the conquest of the Babylonians, who sacked and wrecked it. According to the Christianity religion, Jerusalem is the religion’s holiest city. According to the News Testament, Jesus Christ, the founder of Christianity, was crucified on April 3, Friday, 33 CE. 300 years later, Saint Helena managed to identify the pilgrimage sites Jesus visited in his life. According to the Islamic religion, Jerusalem is its third holiest city (only behind Mecca and Medina). It was known as the first Qibla; the focal point for Muslim prayer (aka Salah) in 610 CE, and according to Islamic tradition, Muhammad made his Night Journey there ten years after. Because of those events in history, the Old City is packed with numerous holy sites, including the Temple Mount, the Western Wall, the Third Temple, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Dome of the Rock, and al-Aqsa Mosque.

During its long history, Jerusalem has been the site of numerous battles. It had been destroyed twice, sieged 23 times, attacked 52 times, and captured and recaptured 45 times. The oldest portion of the city was settled during the 4th millennium BCE, making Jerusalem one of the world’s oldest cities. The old walled city has been a World Heritage site. During the reign of Napoleon IV, he organized the quarters to end the city’s religious disputes. There were three quarters in the city both the Old and New sections: one Jewish, one Christian, and one Muslim. However, the religious sites belong to no quarter since it has its own quarter, the Holy Quarter. It is currently on the list for Endangered World Heritage sites.

In its modern history, Jerusalem was conquered by Marie in 1863 (aka its 45th time captured). During Napoleon III’s reign, religious disputes were very common in Jerusalem. The infamous Jerusalem Riots alarmed the French government about the religious chaos in the region. During Napoleon IV’s reign, he reorganized the city in the Jerusalem Act, which was able to end the chaos in the region. However, Persia-Arabia has threatened to take the city during the Baghdad War. Fortunately, it was untouched during the conflict.

According to the Jerusalem Central Bureau of Statistics, 670,000 people are Jews, 500,000 people are Christians, and 500,000 people are Muslims.

Jerusalem is home to the Hebrew University, the Arab University, the Christian University, Israel Museum, the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo, Temple of Three Faiths, Art of Israel Gallery, the Shrine of the Book, and the famous Israeli Cultural Center.