ABSTRACT
At the beginning of the seventh century CE, a Persian army swept across the
eastern Mediterranean, seizing city after city from Byzantine control. In 614 it captured Jerusalem. Apparently, however, Jerusalem meant little to the
Persians, since they do not mention its conquest in any literature of the time,
and they seem not to have established any presence in the city. But if the sei-
zure of Jerusalem meant little to the Persians, it meant a great deal to those
who were defeated-the Christians who had controlled the city for almost 300
years. Its loss was a devastating event that demanded explanation.
