Jerusalem Explored Part 37

NOTE XXVI. Saladin, before reconverting the "Temple of the Lord" into a mosque, had it wholly cleansed with rose-water, which he had procured from Damascus. Then he removed all the ornaments and whatever else could recall the Christian occupation, and set there himself the pulpit which had been built by Norradin.

NOTE XXVII. When the news of the discovery of the fountain spread over Jerusalem, all the people gathered in crowds to see it, but the most eager were the Israelites. They rejoiced at the sight of it, and pressed forward, anxious to touch the rock, to taste the water, or to take a little of it in small pitchers, some in order to preserve it as a relic, others to carry it to the infirm who could not crawl to the spot. From the chief Rabbi to the old women, all ran to the place, and all gave vent to cries of joy, or were moved even to tears. Why was all this? The Israelites were influenced by a tradition deeply graven on their hearts, to the effect that when certain springs in Jerusalem had been discovered, the coming of Messiah was at hand, the temple should rise again from its ruins, and with it the glory of their nation.

NOTE XXVIII. The sites where the stones are found greatest in length and in cubical content in the walls of Jerusalem, are the following:

In the wall, which starts from the line of the eastern enclosure, at the north-east corner of the quadrilateral of the Haram (Plate XVII.); one is found which is about 23 feet in length and 3-1/2 in height.

Between this and the golden gate, in the wall, is another 12 feet long and 5 feet high: and in the inner jamb of the golden gate, on the north, one is found of nearly the same dimensions as the preceding.

At the south-east corner of the Haram there are some of large dimensions; there are none greater in the whole city. Of the stones of 20 cubits in length, and 10 in height, of which Josephus writes (Wars, V. 4, -- 2), I have not found a single one on the soil of Jerusalem.

NOTE XXIX. It seems that the use of the two gates may be attributed to their being situated in the most frequented part of the city; they served for the pa.s.sage, the one of persons going out, the other of persons coming in, so as to avoid all crowding, and the stoppages which might result from it. Indeed, on the eastern side of the temple, where a great part of the Court of the Gentiles was, there must always have been a great mult.i.tude of people. The real ground for its being closed (though so many ridiculous causes are alleged) is that the Turks consider the temple enclosure sacred in all its parts. Therefore, they do not allow any trade to be carried on there, nor any buying or selling, or transaction of business, or even walking for pleasure: accordingly, the gate on that side becomes entirely useless, the more so, that there is in its neighbourhood the gate of S. Mary.

NOTE x.x.x. There was a time when the Christians in Palestine adopted the practice of representing the entry of Jesus into the Temple on Palm Sunday, entering Jerusalem in procession by the Golden Gate. The custom may be traced up to the time of G.o.dfrey of Bouillon. On this subject the reader may consult, as contemporary authorities, Albert of Aix (Book XIII. Chap. 17) and William of Tyre (Book VIII. Chap. 3, and Book XI.

Chap. 35).

NOTE x.x.xI. In the times of Alberto Floresi, an Italian traveller who visited Jerusalem in 1630, it was by the Dung gate (called also the gate of the Mogarabins) that the procession entered, which some centuries before, as I mentioned above, starting from Bethphage, and crossing the Mount of Olives, pa.s.sed through the Golden Gate. (MS. Travels of Floresi, communicated to the Abbe Mariti by Dr Octavio Targioni Tozzetti, L'etat present de Jerusalem, p. 21.)

NOTE x.x.xII. The Mohammedans say that the mare el-Borak was the steed ordinarily ridden by the Angel Gabriel, who used often to lend it to Mohammed to take his night-journeys. They portray it as having the head and the neck of a beautiful woman, with a crown and wings.

NOTE x.x.xIII. Many are the stories which are told of the Golden Gate, as well by Mohammedans as by Christians: I quote some of them.

The Mohammedans say that the two divisions of the Golden Gate were made in memory of the _repentance_ of Adam and Eve, for having disobeyed the orders which G.o.d had given them in Paradise, and at the same time of the _mercy_ of G.o.d shown towards them. Hence they call the southern aisle the Gate of _Mercy_, and the other, the Gate of _Repentance_.

There is a general belief amongst Mohammedans that a day will come when Jerusalem will fall into the hands of a Christian prince, who will take it on a Friday. This is one of the reasons why it remains a fortified town.

The Christians have no less traditions on this head. For example, they report, that when the Emperor Heraclius returned victorious to Jerusalem, bringing back thither the wood of the Holy Cross which he had recovered in Persia, he wished to pa.s.s through the Golden Gate on horseback, and decked out in all the insignia of royalty, but that an invisible hand held him back, whilst a voice ordered him to dismount, to divest himself of his regal robes, and to pa.s.s that threshold in all humility; whereupon he was able to pa.s.s.

NOTE x.x.xIV. "From Sion (we went) to the Church of St Mary, where is a large body of monks, and countless companies of women, and where beds for the sick can be provided, from three to five thousand. And we offered up prayer in the judgment-hall, where the Lord had hearing, in which is now the Church of S. Sophia. Before the ruins of the Temple of Solomon, under the street, there runs water from the Fountain of Siloam.

Near Solomon's porch, in the church itself, is the seat on which Pilate sate, when he heard the Lord. There is a square stone on which the accused was elevated, that He might be heard and seen by all. On it was our Lord raised when He had hearing of Pilate, and there remained an impression of a small, handsome, and delicate foot. By the rock itself, too, many miracles are wrought: they take the measure of the foot-print, and tie it over a weak part, which is immediately healed." (Anton.

Placent. Itin. Sect. 23 in Ugolini, Thes. Tom. VII. page 1216.)

NOTE x.x.xV. In the year 1118 Hugues de Payens, and Geoffroid de St Aldemar, and certain other knights, applied for a rule for the formation of an order. In 1128 the Pope Honorius gave them a charter, which was adopted at the Council of Troyes in Champagne. The members of this order took the name of Templars, and wore a white robe with a red cross. Their name was derived from their having their first house close to the temple, for King Baldwin had given up to them a part of his palace, to the south of the temple. (William of Tyre, Book XII. Chap. 7.)

NOTE x.x.xVI. The Mohammedans say that in this place King David, during his life, administered justice in the following way. When he was sitting in judgment, and wished to know if the deponents in their examination were stating what was true, he made a chain descend from heaven, and ordered that each of the two parties who had thus stated their cases should touch it. When one of the parties had told a lie, at his touch a ring fell from the chain, and so the wise king learnt which was in the right. I may be allowed to remark that now the chain no longer descends from heaven, so we may conclude that all the rings have fallen, from its having been too much used.

It is on this same site that David will return to judge the people of Israel at the final judgment.

NOTE x.x.xVII. The keeper of the mosque relates, that when Solomon wished to build a Temple to the Lord, he called not only men to his aid, but also the living creatures of the earth. All came together to help him with all their power; but the _magpie_ sought to disobey Solomon, whereupon the great King turned it into stone, to be an example to all those who were disposed not to execute his orders. This is the stone that the keeper shews.

NOTE x.x.xVIII. The mosaics which adorn the interior of the mosque _es-Sakharah_ above the pointed arches that spring from the columns, and in the drum which supports the dome, date, according to Mohammedan Chronicles, from the time of Selim I. and Solyman, but I imagine they are of still greater antiquity. The internal ornamentation of the dome has a thoroughly Saracenic character; I conclude that it is perhaps anterior to Solyman, though there is no doubt that he restored it a good deal. All the other decorations are of Solyman's time. The Count de Vogue has just completed a long examination of the mosques _es-Sakharah_, and _el-Aksa_, and we may fairly expect that he, with his clear judgment, and ready intelligence, will not deprive science of the result of his labours.

NOTE x.x.xIX. The Mohammedan traditions concerning this rock are numerous; I quote a few of them. It has been the scene of the prayers of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Solomon, Mohammed, and many other prophets, and here they have received their inspiration from heaven. The rock retains the imprint of the foot of the patriarch Enoch, who was the handsomest, and the wisest man that lived upon the earth. He was learned in astronomy, in which he made great discoveries, and, to publish them, invented printing. G.o.d loved him so that he would not let him die, but translated him to heaven. The patriarch had such an attachment to Jerusalem, that he wished to leave some memorial of his having lived there, which accounts for his foot-print being there.

The rock is guarded by an army of Angels, who keep watch there night and day, in prayer to G.o.d. The canvas covering which is found on the rock is the same which was used by Adam and Eve, when the former found the latter after their separation of a hundred years, consequent on their expulsion from Paradise.

The stairs which lead into the vaults of the mosque contain the stone called _the tongue_, because it announced to Omar, that this was the rock on which Jacob had the vision.

NOTE XL. The Mohammedans say that it is supported in the air by the following cause. When Mohammed died, and ascended to heaven, the sacred stone wished to follow him, but the prophet ordered it to return to its place; whilst it hesitated the angel Gabriel pressed it down (this is the reason why they show the impression of his five fingers on the rock), and then it lowered itself again; but when it was already in contact, as it were, with the ground, and received no further orders, it remained in the position in which it is now found.

NOTE XLI. By the side of the _Minbar_, the Mohammedan guide, with all seriousness, points out the place where is an invisible balance, which is called _Wezn_, and tells how at the end of the world there will be three ages: and then Israfil, who has charge of the celestial trumpet (called _Boru_), will blow it the first time to give notice of the universal death. It will sound for the second time 40 years afterwards, and then all the dead of past ages shall rise: on that day Jesus, with the other prophets, will descend from heaven with their attendants, and when they have come to the _Haram es-Sherif_ Jesus will sit upon His throne for judgment: but not being sufficient in Himself for all, He will depute David and Solomon to judge the Jews, Mohammed to judge the Mohammedans, and will retain the Christians for His own jurisdiction. In this great Judgment the balance _Wezn_ will be used to decide who are to enjoy eternal felicity, and who to be punished by being appointed their portion for ever in fire with the fallen spirits. All those who are to undergo this trial will be gathered together in the Valley of Jehoshaphat.

NOTE XLII. Terrace-roofs have always been in general use in the East, even for ages; compare Judges xvi. 27, where we are told that there were people on the roof when Samson made the temple of Dagon fall. a.s.suredly if it had not been flat, 3000 persons could not have remained upon it.

NOTES TO CHAPTER IV.

NOTE I. The Holy City, by the Rev. George Williams, B.D., Fellow of King's College, Cambridge; Second Edition, including an Architectural History of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem, by the Rev.

Robert Willis, M.A., F.R.S., Jacksonian Professor in the University of Cambridge, 2 Vols. 8vo. 1849; Les eglises de la Terre Sainte, par le Comte Melchior de Vogue.

NOTE II. List of the bishops of Jerusalem, extracted from Michel le Quien's Oriens Christia.n.u.s, Tom. III. pp. 139 sq. Paris, 1740.

A.D.

30. S. James, the Apostle and brother of our Lord.

60. S. Simeon, or Simon, the Martyr.

107. Justus, or Jude I.

111. Zacchaeus, or Zacharias.

Tobias.

Benjamin.

John I.

Matthias, or Matthew.

Philip.

125. Seneca.

Justus II.

Levi.

Ephraim.

Joseph.

Jude II.

All the above are of Hebrew extraction. The following are of Gentile origin. The former were bishops of Jerusalem, properly so called, the latter bishops of aelia Capitolina, who are counted as bishops of Jerusalem.

136. Marcus.

156. Ca.s.sia.n.u.s.

Publius.

Maximus I.

Julian I.

Caius I., or Gaius.

Symmachus.

Caius II.

Julian II.

Capito.

185. Maximus II.

Antoninus.

Valens.

Dolichia.n.u.s.

Narcissus.

Dius.