Tower of David and Walls of Jerusalem—From Jaffa Gate
Solomon’s Song 4:4—“Thy neck is like the tower of David, builded for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men.”
The only castle of any importance in modern Jerusalem is that at the Jaffa Gate, commonly called the Tower of David. The lower part of it is built of huge stones, roughly cut and with a deep bevel around the edges. They are undoubtedly ancient but the interspersed patchwork proves that they are not in their original positions.
“The Tower was the last point in Jerusalem to yield when the city was captured by the Crusaders, and when the other turrets were destroyed by the Moslems in the thirteenth century, this admirable specimen of mural masonry was spared.”—(Stoddard).
The Tower of David (Hebrew: מגדל דוד, Migdal David, Arabic: برج داود, Burj Daud), also known as the Jerusalem Citadel, is an ancient citadel located near the Jaffa Gate entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem.
The citadel that stands today dates to the Mamluk and Ottoman periods. It was built on the site of an earlier ancient fortification of the Hasmonean, Herodian,Byzantine and Early Muslim periods, after being destroyed repeatedly during the last decades of Crusader presence in the Holy Land by Ayyubid and Mamluk[dubious ] rulers. It contains important archaeological finds dating back over 2,000 years including a quarry dated to the First Temple period, and is a popular venue for benefit events, craft shows, concerts, and sound-and-light performances.
Dan Bahat writes that the original three Hasmonean towers were altered by Herod, and that "The northeastern tower was replaced by a much larger, more massive tower, dubbed the "Tower of David" beginning in the 5th century C.E."[1] The name "Tower of David" is due to Byzantine Christians who believed the site to be the palace of King David.[2] They borrowed the name "Tower of David" from the Song of Songs, attributed to Solomon, King David's son, who wrote: "Thy neck is like the Tower of David built with turrets, whereon there hang a thousand shields, all the armor of the mighty men." (Song of Songs, 4:4)
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