Gates of the Old City of Jerusalem

The article lists the Gates of the Old City of Jerusalem (Hebrew: שערי ירושלים‎), not including the Gates of the Temple Mount. The gates are visible on most old maps of Jerusalem over the last 1,500 years.

The gates: 1. Jaffa; 2. Zion; 3. Dung; 4. Golden (walled up); 5. Lions; 6. Herod; 7. Damascus; 8. New

During different periods, the city walls followed different outlines and had a varying number of gates. During the era of the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem for instance, Jerusalem had four gates, one on each side. The current walls were built by Suleiman the Magnificent, who provided them with six gates; several older gates, which had been walled up before the arrival of the Ottomans, were left as they were. As to the previously sealed Golden Gate, Suleiman at first opened and rebuilt it, but then walled it up again as well. The number of operational gates increased to seven after the addition of the New Gate in 1887; a smaller eighth one, popularly known as the Tanners' Gate, has been opened for visitors after being discovered and unsealed during excavations in the 1990s. The sealed historic gates comprise four that are at least partially preserved (the double Golden Gate in the eastern wall, and the Single, Triple, and Double Gates in the southern wall), with several other gates discovered by archaeologists of which only traces remain (the so-called Gate of the Essenes on Mount Zion, the gate of Herod's royal palace south of the citadel, and the vague remains of what 19th-century explorers identified as the Gate of the Funerals (Bab al-Jana'iz) or of al-Buraq (Bab al-Buraq) south of the Golden Gate[1]).

Until 1887, each gate was closed before sunset and opened at sunrise. As indicated by the chart below, these gates have been known by a variety of names used in different historical periods and by different communities.

List


English	Hebrew	Arabic	Alternative names	Construction Year	Location	Status
New Gate	HaSha'ar HeHadash השער החדש	Al-Bab al-Jedid الباب الجديد	Gate of Hammid	1887	West part of northern wall	Open
Damascus Gate	Sha'ar Shkhem שער שכם	Bab al-Amoud باب العمود	Sha'ar Damesek, Nablus Gate, Gate of the Pillar	1537	Middle of northern wall	Open
Herod's Gate	Sha'ar HaPerachim שער הפרחים	Bab al-Sahira باب الساهرة	Sha'ar Hordos, Flower Gate, Sheep Gate	1875	East part of northern wall	Open
Lions' Gate	Sha'ar HaArayot שער האריות	Bab al-Asbatt باب الأسباط	Gate of Yehoshafat, St. Stephen's Gate, Gate of the Tribes, Bab Sittna Maryam (باب ستي مريم, "St. Mary's Gate")	1538–39	North part of eastern wall	Open
Excavators' Gate			Excavation Gate. (Eastern gate of the main Umayyad palace, attributed to Caliph Al-Walid I (705–715). Destroyed by an earthquake around 749, walled up when the Ottoman wall was built (1537–41), reopened and rebuilt by archaeologists led by Benjamin Mazar and Meir Ben-Dov in 1968.)[2][3]	705–715, 1968	Wall south of Al-Aqsa Mosque	Open
Dung Gate	Sha'ar HaAshpot שער האשפות	Bab al-Maghariba باب المغاربة	Gate of Silwan, Sha'ar HaMugrabim	1538–40	East part of southern wall	Open
"Tanners' Gate"	Sha'ar HaBursekaim שער הבורסקאים			12th century	East part of southern wall	Open
Zion Gate	Sha'ar Tzion שער ציון	Bab al-Nabi Da'oud باب النبي داود	Gate to the Jewish Quarter	1540	Middle of southern wall	Open
Jaffa Gate	Sha'ar Yafo שער יפו	Bab al-Khalil باب الخليل	The Gate of David's Prayer Shrine, Porta Davidi	1530–40	Middle of western wall	Open
Golden Gate	Sha'ar HaRahamim שער הרחמים	Bab al-Dhahabi / al-Zahabi, "Golden Gate" باب الذهبي	A double gate, last sealed in 1541. In Arabic also known as the Gate of Eternal Life. In Arabic each door has its own name: Gate of Mercy, Bab al-Rahma (باب الرحمة) – the southern door Gate of Repentance, Bab al-Taubah (باب التوبة) – the northern door	6th century	Northern third of eastern side	Sealed
Single Gate			This gate led to the underground area of the Temple Mount known as Solomon's Stables	Herodian period	Southern wall of Temple Mount	Sealed
Huldah Gates	Sha'arei Chulda שערי חולדה		Two gates: The Triple Gate, as it comprises three arches. Also known as Bab an-Nabi (باب النبي, "Gate of the Prophet Muhammad") The Double Gate, two arches, partially hidden from view by mediaeval building	Herodian period	Southern wall of Temple Mount	Sealed

References

Gülru Necipoğlu (2008). "The Dome of the Rock as a palimpsest: 'Abd al-Malik's grand narrative and Sultan Süleyman's glosses" (PDF). Muqarnas: An Annual on the Visual Culture of the Islamic. Leiden: Brill. 25: 20–21. ISBN 9789004173279. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
"The Function and Plan of the 'Palaces'". The Jerusalem Archaeological Park – Davidson Center. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
Meir Ben-Dov (1987). The Excavation Gate (18). The Ophel archaeological garden. Jerusalem: East Jerusalem Development Ltd. p. 20. Thus for all intents and purposes, a ninth gate has been opened in the walls of Jerusalem.

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[Necipoğlu-1] Gülru Necipoğlu (2008). "The Dome of the Rock as a palimpsest: 'Abd al-Malik's grand narrative and Sultan Süleyman's glosses" (PDF). Muqarnas: An Annual on the Visual Culture of the Islamic. Leiden: Brill. 25: 20–21. ISBN 9789004173279. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.

[2] "The Function and Plan of the 'Palaces'". The Jerusalem Archaeological Park – Davidson Center. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2016.

[3] Meir Ben-Dov (1987). The Excavation Gate (18). The Ophel archaeological garden. Jerusalem: East Jerusalem Development Ltd. p. 20. Thus for all intents and purposes, a ninth gate has been opened in the walls of Jerusalem.

Gates of the Old City of Jerusalem

List

See also

References