The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Rothberg International School

Division of Undergraduate Studies

Autumn 2025

 

48207: The Urban Geography of Jerusalem Through the Ages

 

Prof. Noam Shoval

 

 

Office: 3612, Geography Department

Office Hours: By appointment

Telephone: 972-2-5881433

Email: noamshoval@huji.ac.il

 

 

The course follows the history of Jerusalem, a city which for thousands of years was, and still is, a meeting place between religions and cultures. Through a series of lectures, using a multi-disciplinary approach, the students will explore political, cultural, urban and geographical topics related to one of the holiest cities on earth, in order to better understand the complex processes which shaped both its history, geography and its present situation. Topics include: an overview of the history of Jerusalem from the 19th century B.C. to modern times; the historical geography and archaeology of the city; religious traditions of the three major monotheistic religions within the city and the reasons why Jerusalem has become one of the holiest cities on earth; encounters with the primary texts related to Jerusalem.

 

Course Requirements:

Submission of two assignments (15% + 15%) during the semester

Final Exam (70%)

 

Please ensure you are modestly dressed for visits to holy sites on field trips. i.e. no shorts, tank tops etc.

 

 

Recommended books for purchase:

Bahat, D. (2011) The Illustrated Atlas of Jerusalem. Jerusalem: Carta. Overseas Library E114(084) B151

 

Sebbag-Montefiori, H. (2012) Jerusalem: The Biography. London: Phoenix Ebook; Overseas Library E114 S443

 

 Course outline

 

Meeting

Date

Topic

1

  October 20, 2025

Lecture in class: Introduction to the Course and Geographical and Geological Setting of Jerusalem

Jerusalem during the First Temple Period

2

  October 27, 2025

Lecture in class: Jerusalem during the Second Temple Period

3-4

October 30, 2025

Full day trip (on a Thursday: 0900-1700): Jerusalem during the First and Second Temple Periods

5

  November 3, 2025

Field trip: The Model of Second Temple Jerusalem at the Israel Museum

6

November 10, 2025

Lecture in class: Jerusalem during the late Roman Period and the Byzantine Period

 

November 17, 2025

 No class

7-8

November 20, 2025

Full day trip (on a Thursday: 0900-1700): Jerusalem during the late Roman and Byzantine Periods

9

November 24, 2025

Lecture in class: Jerusalem in the Early Muslim Period.

10

December 1, 2025

Lecture in class: Crusader Period: The Capital of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.

11

December 8, 2025

Field trip: Jerusalem during the Early Muslim and Crusader Periods

12

December 15, 2025

Lecture in class: Late Muslim Period 12th-19th Centuries: Religious Center, Political Periphery

13

December 22, 2025

Field trip: The Mamluq and Ottoman periods and conclusion of the course (The Citadel of Jerusalem – "David's Tower")

14

December 29, 2025

Concluding Lesson


 

 

 

Course outline and reading assignments

Week 1

(October 20, 2025)

Lecture in class: Introduction to the Course and Geographical and Geological Setting of Jerusalem

Reading:

Avnimelech, M. (1961) Influence of Geological Condition on the Development of Jerusalem, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research. vol. 181, pp. 24-21. Ejournal

Lecture in class: From the Bronze Age to the End of the First Temple Period

Reading:

Ronny Reich, Excavating the City of David: Where Jerusalem’s History Began, Jerusalem 2011, pp. 279-290. Overseas library E114 R347; Ereserve          

 

Week 2

(October 27, 2025)

Lecture in class: Jerusalem during the Second Temple Period

Reading:

Dan Bahat, The Carta Jerusalem Atlas, 2011, pp. 34-63. Overseas Library E114(084) B151; Ereserve      

(October 30, 2025)

Full day trip (on a Thursday): Jerusalem during the First and Second Temple Period

Reading:

Ronny Reich, Excavating the City of David: Where Jerusalem’s History Began, Jerusalem 2011, pp. 291-317. Overseas library E114 R347; Ereserve               

Week 3

(November 3, 2025)

Field trip: The Model of Second Temple Jerusalem at the Israel Museum

 

Week 4

(November 10, 2025)

Lecture in class: Jerusalem during the late Roman and the Byzantine Periods

Reading:

Dan Bahat, The Carta Jerusalem Atlas, 2011, pp. 34-63. Overseas Library E114(084) B151; Ereserve      

Doron Bar, “Aelia Capitolina and the Location of the Camp of the Tenth Legion”, Palestine Exploration Quarterly, 1998 (130), pp. 8-19. Ejournal

Eilat Mazar, “Hadrian's Legion Encamped on the Temple Mount”, Biblical Archaeology Review, 2006 (32: 6), pp. 52-58, 82-83. Ereserve        

 Yoram Tsafrir, “Byzantine Jerusalem: The Configuration of a Christian City”, in Lee Levine (ed.), Jerusalem: Its Sanctity and Centrality to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, New York, 1999 pp. 133-150. Overseas library E114(08) L665; Ereserve

 

Week 5 

No class on Monday (November 17, 2025)

November 20, 2025 - Full day trip (on a Thursday): Jerusalem during the late Roman and Byzantine Periods

 

 

 

Week 6

(November 24, 2025)

Lecture in class: Jerusalem in the Early Muslim Period.

Reading:

Dan Bahat, The Carta Jerusalem Atlas, 2011, pp. 88-99. Overseas Library E114(084) B151

Hava Lazarus-Yaffeh, “Jerusalem and Mecca”, in Lee Levine (ed.), Jerusalem: Its Sanctity and Centrality to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, New York 1999 pp. 287-299. Overseas library E114(08) L665; Ereserve   

                                                                                                                                            

Week 7

(December 1, 2025)

Lecture in class: Crusader Period: The Capital of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Reading:

Meron Benvenisti, The Crusaders in the Holy Land, Jerusalem 1970, pp. 3-21. Overseas library E94 B478; Ereserve

 

Week 8 

(December 8, 2025)

Field trip: Jerusalem during the Early Muslim and Crusader Periods

 

Week 9

(December 15, 2025)

Lecture in class: Late Muslim Period 12th-19th Centuries: Religious Center, Political Periphery

 

Reading:

Dan Bahat, The Carta Jerusalem Atlas, 2011, pp. 116-137. Overseas Library E114(084)

Yehoshua Ben-Arieh, “Patterns of Christian Activity and Dispersion in Nineteenth Century Jerusalem”, Journal of Historical Geography, 2/1(1976), pp 49-69. Ejournal

Yehoshua Ben Arieh, “The Growth of Jerusalem in the Nineteenth Century”, Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol. 65, No. 2 (Jun., 1975), pp. 252-269. Ejournal       

 

Week 10 

(December 22, 2025)

Field trip: The Mamluq and Ottoman periods and conclusion of the course (The Citadel of Jerusalem – "David's Tower")

Week 11

(December 29, 2025)

Lecture in class: Concluding Lesson

 

 

Course Policies:

 

Integrity Policy: “Cheating/plagiarism will not be tolerated. Students suspected of violating the Hebrew University Policy on Academic Integrity will be required to participate in the outlined procedural process as initiated by the instructor. A minimum sanction of a zero score for the quiz, exam or paper will be imposed.”

 Plagiarism:  It is important that the written and oral work that you present in this course reflect your own reading, critical analysis, and writing. Plagiarism includes: a) submitting someone else’s work in your name whether that someone else is someone you know or someone who posted their work on the Internet; and whether you paid for the material or not; b) submitting your own work from another course without disclosure to the instructor; c) copying passages verbatim or in close paraphrase from published or unpublished material written by someone else without properly using quotation marks and/or without citing your source.

Citation of Sources:  In everything you write for this class, you must properly cite your sources using either the APA (footnote) or MLA (parenthetical citations and works cited) methods. For references on how to cite according to different academic styles: http://www.citationmachine.net/

Late papers: For every business day that a paper is late, your grade will be lowered by 10 points out of 100 for that assignment.

Rewrites:  Rewrites will not be allowed on the papers in this class. 

Technology ground-rules: Class lectures are video recorded for your personal use only. The materials provided in the course have copyright restrictions.

 

E-mail: “Each student is issued a University e-mail address. Students are expected to read e-mail sent to this account on a regular basis. Failure to read and react to University communications in a timely manner does not absolve the student from knowing and complying with the content of the communications.”