Jerusalem Explored, Volume 1—Text

NOTES TO CHAPTER III.

T. G. (Thomas George) Bonney translation

See also Ammian. Marcell. Hist. lib. 23, c. 1; Rufinus, Theodoret, Socrates, and Sozomen, in their respective histories; the fathers of the Church, who were contemporary with the event, admit the miracle, as S. Cyril, bishop of Jerusalem. See Clinton, Fasti Rom. A.D. 363.

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 XXXIII. 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 God had given them in Paradise, and at the same time of the mercy of God 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 pass 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 pass that threshold in all humility; whereupon he was able to pass.

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

The rock is guarded by an army of Angels, who keep watch there night and day, in prayer to God. 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.

Notes in this chapter

Note 1 · Some maintain that the building of this basilica is to be attributed to S. Helena; but this opinion is not admissible, for Eusebius who wrot Note 2 · Omar found the old site of the threshing-floor of Araunah full of impurities, and was the first to set the example of cleansing it; the foll Note 3 · William of Tyre, Book I. Chap. 2. "There are, moreover, in the same temple-building, within and without, very old monuments in mosaic work, Note 4 · An Arab chronicler relates, that "Abd-el-Malek, khalif of the dynasty of the Ommiades, gave orders for the construction of the great dome wh Note 5 · Khondemir, a celebrated Persian historian, who wrote in the fifteenth century, attributes the enlargement of the building to Valid. He is an Note 6 · The invasion of the Carmathians having stopped for a time the pilgrimages to Mecca, the Mosque of Omar took the place of the Kaaba, and for Note 7 · As regards the date of this inscription it is not necessary to calculate rigorously, whether the works of the building took place after that Note 8 · A Christian writer, an eye-witness, says, "that under the dome, and in the porch of the mosque the blood ran up to the knees, and up to the Note 9 · This building was consecrated by Albericus, bishop at that time in Syria, whither Pope Innocent II. had sent him as Apostolical Legate. A nu Note 10 · It is at this period of the Crusades that the mosque began to be known under the name of "Temple of the Lord," which has often caused many w Note 11 · The behaviour of Saladin to the Christians is deserving of all praise: he gave liberty to a large number of poor persons who could not pay a Note 12 · Saladin, before reconverting the "Temple of the Lord" into a mosque, had it wholly cleansed with rose-water, which he had procured from Dama Note 13 · 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 t Note 14 · The sites where the stones are found greatest in length and in cubical content in the walls of Jerusalem, are the following:Note 15 · 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 th Note 16 · There was a time when the Christians in Palestine adopted the practice of representing the entry of Jesus into the Temple on Palm Sunday, en Note 17 · 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 Mo Note 18 · 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 ta Note 19 · "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 Note 20 · 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.Note 21 · The Mohammedans say that in this place King David, during his life, administered justice in the following way. When he was sitting in judgme Note 22 · 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 li Note 23 · 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 Note 24 · 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, Note 25 · The Mohammedans say that it is supported in the air by the following cause. When Mohammed died, and ascended to heaven, the sacred stone wis Note 26 · By the side of the Minbar, the Mohammedan guide, with all seriousness, points out the place where is an invisible balance, which is called W Note 27 · 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 o Note 28 · The Holy City, by the Rev. George Williams, B.D., Fellow of King's College, Cambridge; Second Edition, including an Architectural History of Note 29 · List of the bishops of Jerusalem, extracted from Michel le Quien's Oriens Christianus, Tom. III. pp. 139 sq. Paris, 1740.Note 30 · The following is Edrisi's account of the western gate. "The church is entered by the western gate, and the traveller finds himself under the