Siege of Jerusalem

Siege of Jerusalem Map

Jerusalem is home to the Temple Mount, where the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven, giving it religious importance to Muslims. Coupled with this, the location was key in the desire of Caliph Umar Ibn Khattab to capture it. Jerusalem was an important Byzantine stronghold on the Levant, an area on the east of the Mediterranean Sea of importance to the Rashidun Caliphate. Should they capture this strip of land, it would provide a gateway to Eastern Europe through Anatolia, Mesopotamia (western Asia, above the Arabian Peninsula) and North Africa (also known as the Maghreb).

The Siege of Jerusalem History

When the Prophet Muhammad died in 632, the influence of the Muslims mainly centred around Medina and Mecca on the Arabian Peninsula. However, after a few short years, the first Caliph Abu Bakr spread his influence across the Peninsula, quashing opposition. It was now time to broaden their horizons, but Abu Bakr suddenly died in 634. Umar Ibn Khattab was now the new caliph, charged with spreading the influence of the Rashidun Caliphate.

Let's now examine the battles during Umar's caliphate that led to the siege of the holy city of Jerusalem.

The Yarmouk victory also gave Umar's forces a free run at capturing Jerusalem.

Siege of Jerusalem 637

The Siege of Jerusalem began in late 636 and stretched into 637, though some sources believe it went on until 638. Sophronius, the patriarch of the city, was the reason that it lasted so long. He was adamant that he would only discuss terms of surrender with Umar. However, as Umar was in Medina, Khalid ibn al-Walid attempted to dupe the patriarch into believing he was the caliph, but was recognised.

The fury of the patriarch at this deception forced Umar to make the arduous journey. The story of his eventual arrival is a fascinating story and feeds into the cultivation of the caliph's legend.

When Umar arrived at the gates of the city, he left a resplendent Sophronius bewildered. Where was the fabled caliph, the great warrior? Encrusted in gold and fanned by two men, the patriarch peered across the desert, expecting a wondrous and fearsome sight, only to be greeted by a servant leading a camel. The servant, dressed in the clothes of a poor man, turned out to be Umar.

Fig. 2 - Caliph Umar enters Jerusalem

Rather than looting the city, Umar oversaw a peaceful transition, saying that all Byzantine politicians could leave with all that they could carry. He walked through the city with Sophronius, who assumed that Umar would like to use the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to say a prayer. However, Umar declined, allowing the Christians to keep their church for their religion.

When he came to the Temple Mount, he saw that it had become a landfill site to punish the Jews. The Byzantine forces had killed almost all the city's Jews in the wars with the Persian Sassanids and dumped rubbish on their holy site. Umar calmly began clearing the rubbish away and spoke to a Jewish Muslim convert, asking him to find 80 Jewish families to live in and diversify the city. Far from his warrior reputation, this casts Umar as a merciful leader, but we run into the problem that history is written by the victors. Indeed, Montefiore argues:

The Siege of Jerusalem Effects

Even with his entrance to the city, it was clear that Umar Ibn Khattab would approach the rule of Jerusalem differently from the Byzantine patriarchs. The city would come to be owned by the Muslims for almost 500 years until 1099. Revolution occurred in two areas in particular.

New Religious Sites

We know that Umar had grand plans for the Temple Mount, but his reign ended in 644 before anything could be built. With grand expansions and campaigns following the Siege of Jerusalem, it was not until the Ummayad Caliphate and Caliph Abd al-Malik in around 692 that a mosque was erected on the holy site. After it was, the Muslim stamp on the city was clear. A cultural identity began to blossom across the caliphate, with much of the architecture taking inspiration from the Dome of the Rock.

Even the position and the golden dome of the mosque were significant, showing a departure from Umar's humility once the rule was established.

Fig. 3 - The Dome of the Rock dominates the Jerusalem skyline

New Methods of Governance

Just as the new temple would come to demonstrate the shift in dominance from the Byzantines to the Muslims, their unique methods of governance were something not seen before. Umar Ibn Khattab promoted a culture of tolerance. He allowed Christians and Jews to continue practising their religions, even allowing Jews to worship at Temple Mount alongside Muslims. It is important to remember that this was only on the condition that they paid jizyah, a compulsory non-Muslim tax. This followed the blueprint of other conquered Byzantine territories. Non-believers still got a better deal than previously, where taxes were higher and there was no free trade.

As we have already mentioned, the dual use of the Temple Mount and the new methods of governance contrasted the bloody history of Jerusalem. The methods of Umar and his successors proved more practical and long-lasting. The key point was that, ultimately, members of other faiths were able to enjoy some stability and thrive under Muslim governance.