1516 to present

Ottoman Period
and Modern Era

The modern era is the period that begins at the end of the Middle Ages with the end of Mamluk rule. This period is divided into a number of sub-periods: the Turkish-Ottoman period, the period of British rule, and the State of Israel.

Ottoman Turkish period

In 1516 the land was conquered by the Ottoman Turkish Empire. During the sixteenth century the Ottomans imposed restrictions on the Jews in Jerusalem, which made possible the golden age in Safed. During the time of Suleiman the Lawgiver the Ottomans fortified Jerusalem and Safed, built caravansaries, fortresses and more.

However, at the end of the sixteenth century the first signs of the decline of the Ottoman Empire and the entire country were already visible, a decline that persisted until the nineteenth century. During this time, thanks to the involvement of the great powers of the day and increasing modernization (steamships, the telegraph and trains), the Land of Israel went from the neglected backwater of the empire to a lodestone for pilgrims, scholars and tourists.

Scientific study of this country began in the nineteenth century, at the end of which the first neighborhoods were built outside the walls of Jerusalem and the Zionist waves of immigrations began. The status of Jerusalem grew stronger and its population increased. In 1839 Jews were a majority in the city and in 1870, the Jewish community was bigger than all the other communities together (11,000 out of a total population of 22,000). At the beginning of the twentieth century, a great deal of land was purchased in the City of David by the Baron Rothschild, and ownership of these lands was later transferred to the State of Israel.

READ MORE CLOSE
1516–1917

British period

The British period brought great changes to the country in general and to Jerusalem in particular. Electricity, running water and the construction of modern roads and buildings changed the face of the city. Urban master plans prepared by the British helped maintain the fabric of the city walls and the Old City and its surroundings. Municipal bylaws were passed to ensure that Jerusalem’s buildings would be built or covered with stone to preserve its character. The various government institutions were located in Jerusalem, the area of the city grew fourfold and the population tripled.

READ MORE CLOSE
1917–1948

War of Independence and the State of Israel

On November 29, 1947, the land was divided between the Jews and the Arabs according to a United Nations resolution. The Arabs, who refused to accept the resolution, launched a war. On the eve of the War of Independence there were approximately 100,000 Jews living in Jerusalem out of a countrywide total of 600,000 Jews. As the Arabs besieged the city, great efforts were made to prevent its fall, out of the realization of Jerusalem’s special status and its importance to the steadfastness of the entire Jewish community.

READ MORE CLOSE
1948 onward
Ottoman Period and Modern Era Bronze Age (Canaanite period) Iron Age I The period of the Settlement and Judges Iron Age II - King David and the First Temple Period Return to Zion and the Second Temple Period Roman and Byzantine periods Middle Ages