Conny Waters – AncientPages.com – Till the mid-2nd century BCE, Jerusalem in the course of the Second Temple interval was a comparatively small and modest metropolis, albeit one among appreciable significance.
The town’s transformation started roughly 2,150 years in the past with the arrival of the Hasmonean household.
Picture credit score: Yaniv Berman, Israel Antiquities Authority.
Their goal was to reinforce Jerusalem’s standing as a political capital and to consolidate their authority inside the metropolis.
The Hasmonean household performed an important position as metropolis planners. Throughout their reign, Jerusalem underwent intensive building processes, which continued later underneath Herod the Nice and the Roman governors. These intervals had been marked by a wide range of important initiatives that formed the town’s growth.
Some of the vital adjustments was the growth of the town’s predominant attraction: the Temple.
Picture credit score: Yaniv Berman, Israel Antiquities Authority
“The growth of financial exercise within the metropolis created a layer of rich residents. The homes of Jerusalem’s rich had been luxurious, with a number of tales, bathhouses, ritual baths, and pantries.”
Tehillah Lieberman, an archaeologist with the Israel Antiquities Authority within the Jerusalem district, notes that Roman cultural affect is clearly seen within the architectural design of homes and the development of latest metropolis partitions.
One other important phenomenon that influenced the design of Jerusalem was the pilgrimage.
“Within the Second Temple interval, Jerusalem was the unique place of worship for the Jewish folks,” explains Dr. Joe Uziel, a Jerusalem researcher on the Israel Antiquities Authority.
Picture credit score: Yaniv Berman, Israel Antiquities Authority.
One of many predominant methods to direct the motion of pilgrims to Jerusalem was to handle the reception stage for pilgrims exterior the town itself.
After the lengthy journey to Jerusalem, which started, for a number of the pilgrims, within the Galilee – and even in Alexandria, Egypt – they had been acquired in a form of camp that welcomed them exterior the town, the place they may buy sacrifices for the Temple, refresh themselves and change cash – amongst different issues – with a view to pay the half-shekel tax to the Temple.
Picture credit score: Yaniv Berman, Israel Antiquities Authority.
Within the metropolis itself, a system of roads, bridges, and streets was constructed, directing the busy site visitors to the Temple.
The principle one was the “Stepped Avenue” – a avenue 8 meters broad and about 600 meters lengthy (situated in immediately’s Metropolis of David web site and excavated by the Israel Antiquities Authority).
Alongside it had been retailers and even-perhaps-a podium for delivering speeches to passersby.
Written by Conny Waters – AncientPages.com Employees Author
