My Name History–The Entire History of Jerusalem

Jerusalem is one of the world’s oldest cities, with over 5,000 years of history. It began around 3000 BCE near the Gihon Spring and first appeared in Egyptian texts around 2000 BCE. By the Canaanite period, Jerusalem had become a fortified city and later served as a vassal of Egypt during the Late Bronze Age.

The city’s importance grew around 1000 BCE when King David captured Jerusalem and made it the capital of Israel. His son Solomon built the First Temple, establishing it as the spiritual center of Judaism. After the Babylonian conquest in 586 BCE, the First Temple was destroyed and the Jewish population was exiled. Under Persian rule, the Jews were allowed to return and rebuild, marking the beginning of the Second Temple period. Jerusalem later fell under Hellenistic rule, briefly regained autonomy during the Hasmonean revolt, and was eventually incorporated into the Roman Empire in 63 BCE. Rome destroyed the Second Temple in 70 CE and rebuilt the city as Aelia Capitolina after the Bar Kokhba revolt.

Under the Byzantine Empire, Jerusalem became a major Christian center. In 638 CE, it was conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate, which built the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque, cementing its sacred role in Islam. During the Crusades, the city changed hands multiple times before remaining under Islamic rule through the Ayyubid, Mamluk, and later Ottoman empires.

In modern times, Jerusalem was divided between Israel and Jordan after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Israel captured East Jerusalem in 1967 and unified the city under its control. Today, Jerusalem remains one of the world’s most contested cities, with both Israelis and Palestinians claiming it as their capital—its history interpreted through competing national narratives.
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