JEWISH MOMENTS IN THE LAND OF ISRAEL

1187-1229
Return from Exile:
Jews in Jerusalem Under Saladin’s Benevolent Rule

After nearly ninety years of systematic exclusion from their holiest city, Jews throughout the Mediterranean world received extraordinary news: Saladin, the Kurdish sultan who had just conquered Jerusalem from the Crusaders, was formally inviting them to return to the city of their ancestors. This momentous proclamation marked a dramatic reversal of Crusader policy, which had banned all Jewish settlement in Jerusalem since the devastating conquest of 1099.

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The dramatic transformation of Jerusalem’s status began with Saladin’s crushing victory over the Crusader army at the Battle of Hattin on July 4, 1187. This decisive battle in the Lower Galilee effectively destroyed Crusader military power in the region and opened the way for Muslim reconquest. Within three months, Saladin’s forces had captured virtually every major Crusader stronghold, from Acre and Nablus to Jaffa and Ashkelon. Jerusalem itself came under siege on September 20, 1187. With a population swollen by refugees but defended by just a handful of knights, the city surrendered on October 2, 1187.

Saladin’s conquest of Jerusalem marked not merely a military........

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