The Walls of Jerusalem in the Early Islamic Period

Abstract

During the seventh century C.E., Moslem tribes from the Arabian peninsula swept through the Middle East and North Africa, creating a vast new empire. Recent excavations have revealed that the Umayyads, the first Moslem dynasty to establish its hegemony over the new empire, sponsored many building projects throughout Palestine, including numerous structures on and around the Temple Mount and a reconstruction of the city walls at the end of the Umayyad period.