Solomons Temple: Myth, Conflict, and Faith

Alan Balfour, a leading architectural historian, combines scrupulous research, primary documentation and ample illustration, with an authoritative and elegant narration to chronicle the history of a place that serves as a cultural nexus of Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike.  He vividly re–creates the will of the players – Solomon, Herod, Christ, Paul, Muhammad – and the epic events that have been played out on this sacred ground, which continues to compel the imagination of all the religions of the book. The book details the constructions and reconstructions from its founding  into the present and the continuing struggle after the Israel–Arab wars; anticipating the future controversies about the possession and use of the site. Alongside the pilgrims, plunderers, and power brokers, Solomon’s Temple depicts the many travellers and artists who have passed through, narrated, and imagined the Temple across the millennia.

List of Figures ix List of Plates xii Prologue 1 1 Solomon’s Temple 6 The Ark of the Covenant 8 King David 19 The Temple of Solomon 21 Nebuchadnezzar II 28 2 Herod 37 The Maccabeans 41 Pompey 43 Herod 45 Herod Demolishes the Second Temple 48 The Third Temple 51 The Royal Portico 57 3 ‘‘Not . . . one stone upon another’’ 65 Moneychangers 68 Paul 72 The Temple Destroyed 74 4 The Holy Sepulcher 88 Hadrian and Aelia Capitolina 88 Constantine 93 The Plague 103 The Fall of Rome 105 Hagia Sophia 107 Madaba 110 The Persian War 111 5 Dome of the Rock 117 Muhammad and the Fall of Jerusalem 122 Umar in Jerusalem 123 The Dome of the Rock 129 The Rock 137 6 Templum Domini 146 The Jews Return 149 The First Crusade 154 Crusader Jerusalem 158 Templum Domini 160 The Templars in the Palace of Solomon 163 Saladin 167 7 Recreating the Temple 175 In the Imagination of Priests 178 The Temple in the Popular Imagination 199 Return to Mount Moriah 205 8 Jerusalem 217 Views 217 Maps 225 British Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem 234 The Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF) 240 Jerusalem and World War I 247 9 Al–Haram Al–Sharif 254 The Path to Conflict 254 Jerusalem Under Transjordan 257 An Naksah, The Six Day War 259 Liberation of Temple Mount 260 Archeology and the Western Wall 263 The Burning of Al–Aqsa Mosque 264 Jewish Prayer on Temple Mount 266 The Rabbi’s Tunnel 269 Continual Provocation 271 Rabbi’s Tunnel Revisited 275 Camp David Summit 276 The Second Intifada 277 Contents vii Epilogue 282 Acknowledgments, Sources, and Methods 290 Index 295

Alan Balfour is Professor and Dean of the College of Architecture at Georgia Tech. Formerly he has served as dean of Schools of Architecture in Texas and New York and was chairman of the Architectural Association in London. His books include Creating a Scottish Parliament and books on three world cities Shanghai , New York , and Berlin . He has received numerous awards, including the Topaz Medal, the highest recognition given in North America to an educator in architecture.

“If the Christian reader can hold his nose , Solomon’s Temple is worth a read as an introductory historical narrative. Scholars of the Temple’s theology, and not merely its history, will then move on to other sources to fill out what is missing in this work.”  ( The Institute for Sacred Architecture , 1 September 2013) "In a book that bears many crown – Jewish, classical, Christian, and Islamic – the writing is accurate, precise, and learned. Readers will learn two things from this book: nothing has changed in 3,000 years, and architecture reflects and refracts this ... Summing Up : Recommended. Upper–level undergraduates through researchers/faculty.”  ( Choice , 1 September 2013)