"Splendid . . . Eminently sane and patient . . . Essential reading for Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike."
-- The Washington Post
Venerated for millennia by three faiths, torn by irreconcilable conflict, conquered, rebuilt, and mourned for
again and again, Jerusalem is a sacred city whose very sacredness has engendered terrible tragedy. In this fascinating
volume, Karen Armstrong, author of the highly praised A History of God, traces the history of how Jews,
Christians, and Muslims have all laid claim to Jerusalem as their holy place, and how three radically different
concepts of holiness have shaped and scarred the city for thousands of years.
Armstrong unfolds a complex story of spiritual upheaval and political transformation -- from King David's capital
to an administrative outpost of the Roman Empire, from the cosmopolitan city sanctified by Christ to the spiritual
center conquered and glorified by Muslims, from the gleaming prize of European Crusaders to the bullet-ridden symbol
of the present-day Arab-Israeli conflict.
Written with grace and clarity, the product of years of meticulous research, Jerusalem combines the pageant
of history with the profundity of searching spiritual analysis. Like Karen Armstrong's A History of God, Jerusalem
is a book for the ages.
"The Best Serious, Accessible History of the Most Spiritually Important City in the World."
-- The Baltimore Sun
"A Work of Impressive Sweep and Grandeur. "
-- Los Angeles Times Book Review
Jerusalem has been venerated for centuries as a Holy City by Jews, Christians, and Muslims. How this came to
be and what it means both to the people of Jerusalem and to millions around the world is now richly told by the
author of the best-selling and widely acclaimed A History of God. In every major religion, a "holy place"
has helped men and women define their own place, indeed their own importance, in the world. Karen Armstrong shows
how Jerusalem has become that defining place for adherents of the three religions of Abraham. She makes us see
that the city has been not only a symbol of God but also a deeply rooted part of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim
identity. She traces Jerusalem's physical history and spiritual meaning from its beginnings during the third millennium
BC to its politically troubled and violent present. She explores the underlying currents that have played a part
in Jerusalem's long and turbulent past, and she considers as well its archaeology and ever-changing topography.
Throughout, Armstrong helps us understand the profound mythic sources of Jerusalem's holiness, its continuing power
to arouse passions, and why the primal ideal of sacred space is once again a vital issue in Middle Eastern politics.