Israel-©-MEA-20171220-(N146)-Historical-Sites-in-Israel–Tower-of-David
Historical Sites in Israel –Tower of David
The Tower of David, also known as the Jerusalem Citadel is home to the Museum of the History of Jerusalem. The tower is an ancient citadel located near the Jaffa Gate entrance at the western edge of the Old City of Jerusalem. This citadel dates back to the Mamluk and Ottoman periods. It was built on the site of an earlier ancient fortification of the Hasmonean, Herodian-era, Byzantine and Early Muslim periods, after being destroyed repeatedly during the last decades of Crusader presence in the Holy Land by Ayyubid and Mamluk rulers. King Hezekiah was the first to specifically fortify this area.
It contains important archaeological finds dating back over 2,000 years including a quarry, dated to the First Temple period, and is a popular venue for benefit events, craft shows, concerts, and especially its highly attended ‘Light and Sound Show Spectacular’. The walls of the Citadel, about 150 metres wide, are used as the backdrop screen—very impressive. Amidst the archaeological remains in the Citadel’s courtyard and to the sound of original music, the story of Jerusalem unfolds through giant breathtaking, virtual reality images, which is the first of its kind in the world.
The name Tower of David is due to Byzantine Christians who believed the site to be the palace of King David. They borrowed the name “Tower of David” from the Song of Songs, attributed to Solomon, King David’s son, who wrote: “Thy neck is like the Tower of David built with turrets, whereon there hang a thousand shields, all the armour of the mighty men.” (Song of Songs, 4:4).
When the empire adopted Christianity as its favoured religion in the 4th century, a community of monks established itself in the citadel. It was during the Byzantine period that the remaining Herodian tower, and by extension the Citadel , acquired its alternative name – the Tower of David – after the Byzantines, mistakenly identifying the hill as Mount Zion, presumed it to be David’s palace, cited in 2 Samuel 5:11, 11:1-27, 16:22.
“David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for forty years”. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months: and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah.” … “So, David dwelt in the fort, and called it the city of David. And David built round about from Milo and inward”. (2 Sam 5:4-5,9)
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