After a captivity of half a century, the Jews were permitted by Cyrus to rebuild it, but, owing to the opposition of their enemies, the work was not completed till the time of Nehemiah. Jerusalem was involved in the troubles caused by the fall of the Persian Empire. The city opened its gates to Alexander, who not only treated it with humanity, but also conferred upon it several privileges. After his death it was taken by Ptolemy, son of Lagus, king of Egypt. Under the Ptolemies, and for a while under the Seleucidæ, it on the whole enjoyed peace and honour, until the barbarity of the tyrant Antiochus Epiphanes renewed the sorrows of the unhappy city. The heroic sons of the house of Mattathias delivered their country from this yoke, and it remained under the princes of the Asmonean family until Palestine was conquered by the Romans. Pompeius the Great, who entered Jerusalem as a conqueror 63 B.C., respected the lives and property of the inhabitants. The temple was protected by him, only to be plundered by Crassus. The liberality of Herod the Great added much to the splendour of Jerusalem; but after his death the spirit of sedition spread more and more every day among the Jews, producing frequent revolts against the Romans, which were terminated by the destruction of the city by Titus, A.D. 71. Thus were the predictions of the prophets fulfilled.
After lying in ruins for sixty years it was rebuilt by the Emperor Hadrian upon a part of its former site, and called Ælia Capitolina[18]; but the Jews were forbidden to enter it under pain of death. When Christianity triumphed in the reign of Constantine, the heathen temples were replaced by churches in honour of every memorial of the Saviour's life and death.
Chosroes II., king of the Persians, took the city by assault, A.D. 614; it was regained by the Emperor Heraclius A.D. 629, and again taken by the Khalif Omar A.D. 636. After this it was successively under the dominion of the Persian Khalifs, of the Fatimites of Egypt, and of the Seljukians, in whose time the Crusades were commenced, owing to the preaching of Peter the Hermit. The Christian army, led by Godfrey of Bouillon, entered the Holy City A.D. 1099. The Latin kingdom was brought to an end by the victories of Saladin A.D. 1187. Sultan Malek el-Kamel ceded the city to Frederick II. of Germany, but it was recovered by the Mohammedans under Jenghiz Khan, A.D. 1244. It then remained subject to the different dynasties of the Sultans of Egypt and Syria, until it was conquered by the Turks under Selim I. A.D. 1517. Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt took possession of it A.D. 1832, but the Great Powers restored it to the Porte A.D. 1840[19]. The spirit of the present Turkish government, influenced as it is by the nations of Europe, induces us to think that a happier and more peaceful future is in store for Jerusalem, and that under their protection the furious contests, so common among the rival sects of Christians, who struggle for the possession of the Holy Places, will be appeased. By these quarrels only will the soil of Jerusalem be stained with blood, not by the fanaticism of the Mohammedan; he is, and will be, restrained by the power of the local authorities, the energy of the Consuls, and the bribes paid by the Convents to pacify the more restless spirits. We may also hope that European civilization will speedily penetrate into Palestine, and that Jerusalem will become an inviolable asylum, open to every devout man; for all, without distinction of creed, are entitled to mourn, to hope, and to pray, on the spot consecrated by the sacrifice of our Divine Master.
The city of Jerusalem[20] is situated about 31° 47' north latitude and 33° east longitude (Paris) in the highest part of the mountains of Judea, and upon the ancient boundaries of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin (Joshua xviii. 6). It is surrounded on every side by rising ground, and therefore cannot be seen by the traveller until he approaches near it. The most distant view of it is obtained from the village of Neby Samwîl[21] (Prophet Samuel), three hours (about twelve miles) distant on the north-west; and it was from this height that the first Crusaders, under Godfrey of Bouillon, saluted Jerusalem with shouts of exultation.
On the north the city is overshadowed by the mountain of Shafat (fair prospect), the ancient Scopus. It was from this position that Titus made his first general survey of the city, which at that time he had no intention of destroying[22]. On the east rises Mount Olivet; on the south, an eminence known as the Hill of Evil Counsel, and also as the Mount of the Sepulchres, from the great number of tombs existing there. To the west are the summits of Mount Gihon. Valleys separate all these mountains from the city and the high table-land to the north, entirely surrounding it except on the north-west and a small portion of the north side, where the ground is so nearly level as to admit of an easy approach.
On the north commences the valley of Kidron, at first not deep but sinking as it approaches the east, and continuing to do so along the whole of that side, until it reaches the lower extremity of the gardens of Siloam. Here it unites with the valley of Hinnom, which runs parallel to the south of the city. On the west is the valley of Gihon, which is very deep at the point where it takes the name of Hinnom, on the south-west. From this conformation of the ground, it is obvious that, in times when only the weapons and military engines of ancient warfare were employed, the city was an important stronghold, well defended by nature, except on the north-west and a small portion of the north side, where the almost level ground exposed it to an attack. From the most remote periods of antiquity until the time of the Crusades and Saladin, Jerusalem was invariably assaulted at these points by those who made themselves masters of the city.
A few olive-trees, a bare argillaceous soil scattered over with stones and flints, some ruins of ancient sepulchres, four water-tanks, some cisterns almost entirely dilapidated, and bare rocks, some of which exhibit traces of chiselling, are the only objects that meet the eye throughout the whole region of the north and north-west.
On the east, along the course of the valley of Kidron, nothing is seen but rocks and accumulations of earth and rubbish: these continue likewise along the south, but the desolate effect is somewhat concealed by the growth of vegetation, and by the gardens of the peasants of Siloam. The ruins still existing, and the nature of the soil, which is mostly grey in colour and full of lime, shew that the ground on this side was once occupied by houses. Finally, on the west are seen the reservoir of Mamillah, accumulations of earth and rubbish, argillaceous soil, bare rocks, and a few recent plantations,—the work of the improver of cultivation in Palestine, the Greek Archimandrite, Nicoferus.
As may be inferred from this description, the environs of Jerusalem present an appearance of wretchedness and desolation, that cannot fail to strike the eye of the traveller: and the feeling of melancholy is further increased by the thought that the Holy City itself is surrounded by tombs which are daily being opened, and that the inhabitants have only cemeteries for their public promenades. The memories of the past alone are able to attract the traveller and the pilgrim to Jerusalem,—not its present condition; for the miserable spectacle presented by the monuments still existing above ground would certainly not repay the trouble and fatigue of so long a journey. But those memories, together with the subterranean remains, afford ample recompense to any one possessing imagination and religious feeling, who wishes to study the Bible in its own peculiar country, where its use will inevitably lead him to the truth.
During the past few years several buildings have been erected in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, more especially on the north-west. Of these, the most remarkable, both for their extent and for their site, which commands the city on every side, are those belonging to Russia. This great nation, though the last to establish a mission here, has been the first to choose a fine situation and erect suitable buildings upon it. The occupants have also the advantage of escaping from the bad smells of the city. I was the first to offer this site to Cyril, Bishop of Melitopolis, and head of the Mission, but it was declined. I renewed the offer to His Excellency M. de Mansouroff, who at first refused it, but afterwards gave orders that the purchase should be made.