ABSTRACT
When David captured Jerusalem from the Jebusites and made it his capital (2 Samuel 5, 6-9) it was not because of its strategic or economic importance, but simply because, being part of the territory of none of the Israelite tribes, it was neutral. Although Jerusalem is reasonably conveniently situated on the north-south route through the hill-country and has an adequate water supply, it is not otherwise in an obvious site for a great city. Despite Josephus’ encomium (War 5, 136-76) on the strength of the site and its fortifications (which was presumably largely designed to magnify Titus’ achievement in capturing the city) Jerusalem has not had a good record in resisting attacks. Josephus himself (War 6, 435-42) records five previous occasions on which it had been captured before its capture by Titus. Later it was taken by Hadrian in 135, by the Persians in 614, by the Arabs in 638 and by the crusaders in 1099. More usually, however, the city passed without resistance to whoever controlled the region. Situated in the hills at the edge of the Judaean desert, in an area with poor agriculture, on no important route, Jerusalem has been an important centre only when religious or political motives have taken precedence over economic or strategic considerations. The key to its significance was that the Temple there was the only place in the world where it was possible to sacrifice to the god of the Jews, which guaranteed its unique importance for Jews throughout history. Indeed, the religious significance of the city probably tended to inhibit its development as a centre of economic activity; the need to preserve the purity of the city by, for example, prohibiting the bringing in of any but sacrificial animals will not have encouraged traders (Hengel
1989: 74). Nevertheless, its religious importance meant that it supported a substantial population-according to a recent estimate more than 60,000, and perhaps as many as 120,000 (Reinhardt 1995:263)—augmented by perhaps a million pilgrims during the major festivals (Reinhardt 1995:262).
