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Article THE TOPOGRAPHY OF JERUSALEM. Page 1 of 2 →
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The Topography Of Jerusalem.
THE TOPOGRAPHY OF JERUSALEM .
A short sketch of the topography of Jerusalem may not be uninteresting : — Jerusalem is a mountain city . It was preeminently so to the Jew ; for , with the exception of Samaria aud Hebron , the other great cities
within his ken ; those of Egypt and Mesopotamia , Damascus , Tyre , Gaza , Jezreel , Jericho , were emphatically cities of the plain . The Temple pavement stood some 2 , 400 ft . above the Mediterranean , distant 25 miles as the crow flies ; some
3 , 700 ffc . above the Dead Sea , distant 12 miles . The Bible , indeed , teems with allusions to this local peculiarity of its site as a mountain city . The plateau on which the city stauds is of tertiary limestone ; the strata are usually nearly horizontal ,
and the landscape shows generally a succession of plateaux and flat-topped hills , broken here and there by deep narrow gullies , and generally a marked resemblance can be traced to the
characteristic scenery of parts of the limestone districts of our own country . At the point where the city stands , a tongue of land is enclosed between two of these ravines , and on this the modern , like the ancient city , is built .
The easternmost of these ravines , the valley of Jehoshaphat or of the Kedron , has a course nearly north and south ; the westernmost , the valley of Hinnom , after running a short distance to the southward , makes a bold sweep to the east , and
forming the southern limit to the tongue of land above-mentioned , joins the valley of Kedron , not far from the Beer Eyub , or Well of Joab . Both ravines commence as a mere depression of the ground , but their floor sinks rapidly , and their sides , encumbered as they are now with the
accumulated debris of centuries , and the ruins of buildings thrown down by successive invaders or domestic factions , are still steep and difficult of access . In ancient times the bare rock must have shown itself in many places , and in more than
one place the researches of Bro . Warren have shown that the natural difficulties of the ground were artificially increased in ancient times by the scarping of the rock surface . Hence , we find Jerusalem to have been at all times , before the invention of
gunpowder , looked upon as a fortress of great strength ; on three sides , the east , the south , and the west , the encircling ravines formed an impregnable obstacle to an assailant ; the attack could only be directed against the northern face of the city , where , as we are informed by Josephus ,
the absence of natural defences was at the time of the famous siege by Titus supplied by three distinct lines of wall . To determine the actual course of these walls is , notwithstanding the detailed description of them in Josephus , one of the most difficult problems before us .
Besides these two principal ravines a third ravine of less importance splits the tongue of land into two unequal portions . This is the Tyropeeon valley , the valley of cheesemakers , or as some would have it , of the Tyrian merchants . A marked
depression of the ground runs from north to south through the midst of the modern city from the Damascus gate to a point in the Kedron valley somewhat north of its junction with the valley of Hinnom , forming in its course the boundary between the
Mahometan , and the Christian and Jewish quarters of the modern city . At one part of its course it forms the western boundary of the Haram es-Shereef . This depression has generally been identified in its whole course with the Tyropeeon valley
of Josephus , though Dr . Robinson and others would place this latter along the line of a depression of the ground running between the western , or Jaffa gate and the Haram es-Shereef . All , however , are agreed in identifying the lower portion
which runs under the west wall of the Haram , and thence to the Kedron , with the Tyropeeon ; and Bro . Warren ' s researches have shown that in ancient times this valley was much deeper than at present , and that its ancient course was to the eastward of its present course . It is filled np with debris 30 ft ., 50 ft ., and even 85 ft . in depth .
The city being thus split in the midst into two ridges by this valley , it may be observed , by a reference to the Ordnance Map of Jerusalem , that the westeim ridge is the most elevated and most important . Most authorities are agreed in placing
on some portion of this ridge the original city of Jeb ' us , captured by King David , and the Upper City of Josephus . All again are agreed in fixing Ophel on the end of the tongue of land on which stands the Haram es-Shereef , and in making the
site of the Temples of Solomon , Zerubbabel , and Herod , and of the castle of Antonia , either coincide with or occupy some portion of the Haram itself .
But here all agreement may be saicl to stop . There are differences of opinion whether Ave should fix the Mount Zion of the Bible and the Mount Zion of the writers of Christian times on the same or on opposite hills ; whether the name is to be
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Topography Of Jerusalem.
THE TOPOGRAPHY OF JERUSALEM .
A short sketch of the topography of Jerusalem may not be uninteresting : — Jerusalem is a mountain city . It was preeminently so to the Jew ; for , with the exception of Samaria aud Hebron , the other great cities
within his ken ; those of Egypt and Mesopotamia , Damascus , Tyre , Gaza , Jezreel , Jericho , were emphatically cities of the plain . The Temple pavement stood some 2 , 400 ft . above the Mediterranean , distant 25 miles as the crow flies ; some
3 , 700 ffc . above the Dead Sea , distant 12 miles . The Bible , indeed , teems with allusions to this local peculiarity of its site as a mountain city . The plateau on which the city stauds is of tertiary limestone ; the strata are usually nearly horizontal ,
and the landscape shows generally a succession of plateaux and flat-topped hills , broken here and there by deep narrow gullies , and generally a marked resemblance can be traced to the
characteristic scenery of parts of the limestone districts of our own country . At the point where the city stands , a tongue of land is enclosed between two of these ravines , and on this the modern , like the ancient city , is built .
The easternmost of these ravines , the valley of Jehoshaphat or of the Kedron , has a course nearly north and south ; the westernmost , the valley of Hinnom , after running a short distance to the southward , makes a bold sweep to the east , and
forming the southern limit to the tongue of land above-mentioned , joins the valley of Kedron , not far from the Beer Eyub , or Well of Joab . Both ravines commence as a mere depression of the ground , but their floor sinks rapidly , and their sides , encumbered as they are now with the
accumulated debris of centuries , and the ruins of buildings thrown down by successive invaders or domestic factions , are still steep and difficult of access . In ancient times the bare rock must have shown itself in many places , and in more than
one place the researches of Bro . Warren have shown that the natural difficulties of the ground were artificially increased in ancient times by the scarping of the rock surface . Hence , we find Jerusalem to have been at all times , before the invention of
gunpowder , looked upon as a fortress of great strength ; on three sides , the east , the south , and the west , the encircling ravines formed an impregnable obstacle to an assailant ; the attack could only be directed against the northern face of the city , where , as we are informed by Josephus ,
the absence of natural defences was at the time of the famous siege by Titus supplied by three distinct lines of wall . To determine the actual course of these walls is , notwithstanding the detailed description of them in Josephus , one of the most difficult problems before us .
Besides these two principal ravines a third ravine of less importance splits the tongue of land into two unequal portions . This is the Tyropeeon valley , the valley of cheesemakers , or as some would have it , of the Tyrian merchants . A marked
depression of the ground runs from north to south through the midst of the modern city from the Damascus gate to a point in the Kedron valley somewhat north of its junction with the valley of Hinnom , forming in its course the boundary between the
Mahometan , and the Christian and Jewish quarters of the modern city . At one part of its course it forms the western boundary of the Haram es-Shereef . This depression has generally been identified in its whole course with the Tyropeeon valley
of Josephus , though Dr . Robinson and others would place this latter along the line of a depression of the ground running between the western , or Jaffa gate and the Haram es-Shereef . All , however , are agreed in identifying the lower portion
which runs under the west wall of the Haram , and thence to the Kedron , with the Tyropeeon ; and Bro . Warren ' s researches have shown that in ancient times this valley was much deeper than at present , and that its ancient course was to the eastward of its present course . It is filled np with debris 30 ft ., 50 ft ., and even 85 ft . in depth .
The city being thus split in the midst into two ridges by this valley , it may be observed , by a reference to the Ordnance Map of Jerusalem , that the westeim ridge is the most elevated and most important . Most authorities are agreed in placing
on some portion of this ridge the original city of Jeb ' us , captured by King David , and the Upper City of Josephus . All again are agreed in fixing Ophel on the end of the tongue of land on which stands the Haram es-Shereef , and in making the
site of the Temples of Solomon , Zerubbabel , and Herod , and of the castle of Antonia , either coincide with or occupy some portion of the Haram itself .
But here all agreement may be saicl to stop . There are differences of opinion whether Ave should fix the Mount Zion of the Bible and the Mount Zion of the writers of Christian times on the same or on opposite hills ; whether the name is to be