1.
Torah
The Torah is the central reference of Judaism. It has a range of meanings and it can most specifically mean the first five books of the twenty-four books of the Tanakh, and it usually includes the rabbinic commentaries. In rabbinic literature the word Torah denotes both the five books and the Oral Torah, the Oral Torah consists of interpretations and amplifications which according to rabbinic tradition have been handed down from generation to generation and are now embodied in the Talmud and Midrash. According to the Midrash, the Torah was created prior to the creation of the world, the words of the Torah are written on a scroll by a scribe in Hebrew. A Torah portion is read publicly at least once every three days in the presence of a congregation, reading the Torah publicly is one of the bases for Jewish communal life. The word Torah in Hebrew is derived from the root ירה, the meaning of the word is therefore teaching, doctrine, or instruction, the commonly accepted law gives a wrong impression.
Other translational contexts in the English language include custom, guidance, the earliest name for the first part of the Bible seems to have been The Torah of Moses. This title, however, is neither in the Torah itself. It appears in Joshua and Kings, but it cannot be said to refer there to the entire corpus, in contrast, there is every likelihood that its use in the post-Exilic works was intended to be comprehensive. Other early titles were The Book of Moses and The Book of the Torah, Christian scholars usually refer to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible as the Pentateuch, a term first used in the Hellenistic Judaism of Alexandria, meaning five books, or as the Law. The Torah starts from the beginning of Gods creating the world, through the beginnings of the people of Israel, their descent into Egypt, and it ends with the death of Moses, just before the people of Israel cross to the promised land of Canaan. Interspersed in the narrative are the teachings given explicitly or implicitly embedded in the narrative.
This is followed by the story of the three patriarchs and the four matriarchs, God gives to the patriarchs a promise of the land of Canaan, but at the end of Genesis the sons of Jacob end up leaving Canaan for Egypt due to a regional famine. They had heard there was a grain storage and distribution facility in Egypt. Exodus begins the story of Gods revelation to his people of Israel through Moses, Moses receives the Torah from God, and teaches His laws and Covenant to the people of Israel. It talks about the first violation of the covenant when the Golden Calf was constructed, Exodus includes the instructions on building the Tabernacle and concludes with its actual construction. Leviticus begins with instructions to the Israelites on how to use the Tabernacle, leviticus 26 provides a detailed list of rewards for following Gods commandments and a detailed list of punishments for not following them. Numbers tells how Israel consolidated itself as a community at Sinai, set out from Sinai to move towards Canaan, even Moses sins and is told he would not live to enter the land
2.
Ministry of Jesus
The Gospel of Luke states that Jesus was about 30 years of age at the start of his ministry. A chronology of Jesus typically has the date of the start of his ministry estimated at around AD 27–29, Jesus Early Galilean ministry begins when after his Baptism, he goes back to Galilee from his time in the Judean desert. The Major Galilean ministry which begins in Matthew 8 includes the commissioning of the Twelve Apostles, the Final Galilean ministry begins after the death of John the Baptist as Jesus prepares to go to Jerusalem. In the Later Judean ministry Jesus starts his journey to Jerusalem through Judea. As Jesus travels towards Jerusalem, in the Later Perean ministry, about one third the way down from the Sea of Galilee along the River Jordan, the Final ministry in Jerusalem is sometimes called the Passion Week and begins with Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The gospels provide more details about the final ministry than the other periods, the gospel accounts place the beginning of Jesus ministry in the countryside of Roman Judea, near the River Jordan.
Jesuss Baptism is generally considered the beginning of his ministry and the Last Supper with his disciples in Jerusalem as the end, some authors consider the period between the Resurrection and the Ascension part of the ministry of Jesus. Luke 3,23 states that Jesus was about 30 years of age at the start of his ministry, there have been different approaches to estimating the date of the start of the ministry of Jesus. In the New Testament, the date of the Last Supper is very close to the date of the crucifixion of Jesus, scholarly estimates for the date of the crucifixion generally fall in the range AD 30-36. The three Synoptic Gospels refer to just one passover during his ministry, while the Gospel of John refers to three passovers, suggesting a period of three years. However, the Synoptic gospels do not require a ministry that lasted one year. The gospels present John the Baptists ministry as the precursor to that of Jesus, John 1,28 specifies the location where John was baptizing as Bethany beyond the Jordan.
This is not the village Bethany just east of Jerusalem, but the town Bethany, first-century historian Flavius Josephus wrote in the Antiquities of the Jews that John the Baptist was imprisoned and killed in Machaerus on the border of Perea. Assuming that there were two incidences of Cleansing of the Temple, which was located in Jerusalem, a reference to an early Judean ministry may be John 2. The Early Galilean ministry begins when Jesus goes back to Galilee from the Judean desert, after rebuffing the temptation of Satan. In this early period, Jesus preaches around Galilee and, in Matthew 4, 18-20, his first disciples encounter him, begin to travel with him and eventually form the core of the early Church. The Gospel of John includes Marriage at Cana as the first miracle of Jesus taking place in early period of ministry. A few villages in Galilee have been suggested as the location of Cana, the return of Jesus to Galilee follows the arrest of John the Baptist
3.
Jewish holidays
Certain terms are used very commonly for groups of holidays. These include the first and seventh days of Passover, Shavuot, by extension, outside the Land of Israel, the second-day holidays known under the rubric Yom tov sheni shel galuyot are included in this grouping. Colloquially, Yom Kippur, a Biblically-mandated date on which even food preparation is prohibited, is included in this grouping. The English-language term High Holy Days refers to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur collectively, the term Three Pilgrimage Festivals refers to Passover and Sukkot. Within this grouping Sukkot normally includes Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, certain terminology is used in referring to different categories of holidays, depending on their source and their nature, Shabbat, or Sabbath, is referred to by that name exclusively. Similarly, Rosh Chodesh is referred to by that name exclusively, plural moadim, refers to any of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals of Passover and Sukkot. When used in comparison to Yom Tov, it refers to Chol HaMoed, Ḥag or chag, plural chagim, can be used whenever yom tov or moed is.
It is used to describe Hanukkah and Purim, as well as Yom Haatzmaut, Taanit, or, less commonly, refers to a fast. These terms are used to describe the rabbinic fasts, although tzom is used liturgically to refer to Yom Kippur as well. The most notable feature of Shabbat and the Biblical festivals is the requirement to refrain from melacha on these days. Melacha is most commonly translated as work, perhaps a translation is creative-constructive work. Strictly speaking, Melacha is defined in Jewish law by 39 categories of labor that were used in constructing the Tabernacle while the Jews wandered in the desert, as understood traditionally and in Orthodox Judaism, On Shabbat and Yom Kippur all melacha is prohibited. On a Yom Tov which falls on a weekday, not Shabbat, some melacha related to preparation of food is permitted. On weekdays during Chol HaMoed, melacha is not prohibited per se, melacha should be limited to that required either to enhance the enjoyment of the remainder of the festival or to avoid great financial loss.
On other days, there are no restrictions on melacha, in principle, Conservative Judaism understands the requirement to refrain from melacha in the same way as Orthodox Judaism. In practice, Conservative rabbis frequently rule on prohibitions around melacha differently from Orthodox authorities, there are a number of Conservative/Masorti communities around the world where Sabbath and Festival observance fairly closely resembles Orthodox observance. However, many, if not most, lay members of Conservative congregations in North America do not consider themselves Sabbath-observant, at the same time, adherents of Reform Judaism and Reconstructionist Judaism do not accept halacha, and therefore restrictions on melacha, as binding at all. Jews fitting any of these descriptions refrain from melacha in practice only as they see fit
4.
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a military conflict fought from October 1853 to March 1856 in which the Russian Empire lost to an alliance of France, the Ottoman Empire, and Sardinia. The immediate cause involved the rights of Christian minorities in the Holy Land, the French promoted the rights of Roman Catholics, while Russia promoted those of the Eastern Orthodox Church. The longer-term causes involved the decline of the Ottoman Empire and the unwillingness of Britain and France to allow Russia to gain territory and power at Ottoman expense. While the churches eventually worked out their differences and came to an agreement, Nicholas I of Russia, Nicholas issued an ultimatum that the Orthodox subjects of the Empire be placed under his protection. Britain attempted to mediate and arranged a compromise that Nicholas agreed to, when the Ottomans demanded changes, Nicholas refused and prepared for war. Having obtained promises of support from France and Britain, the Ottomans declared war on Russia in October 1853.
The war started in the Balkans, when Russian troops occupied the Danubian Principalities, until under Ottoman suzerainty and now part of modern Romania, led by Omar Pasha, the Ottomans fought a strong defensive campaign and stopped the advance at Silistra. A separate action on the town of Kars in eastern Anatolia led to a siege. Fearing an Ottoman collapse and Britain rushed forces to Gallipoli and they moved north to Varna in June, arriving just in time for the Russians to abandon Silistra. Aside from a skirmish at Köstence, there was little for the allies to do. Karl Marx quipped that there they are, the French doing nothing, after extended preparations, the forces landed on the peninsula in September 1854 and fought their way to a point south of Sevastopol after a series of successful battles. The Russians counterattacked on 25 October in what became the Battle of Balaclava and were repulsed, a second counterattack, ordered personally by Nicholas, was defeated by Omar Pasha. The front settled into a siege and led to conditions for troops on both sides.
Smaller actions were carried out in the Baltic, the Caucasus, Sevastopol fell after eleven months, and neutral countries began to join the Allied cause. Isolated and facing a bleak prospect of invasion from the west if the war continued and this was welcomed by France and Britain, as their subjects were beginning to turn against their governments as the war dragged on. The war was ended by the Treaty of Paris, signed on 30 March 1856, Russia was forbidden from hosting warships in the Black Sea. The Ottoman vassal states of Wallachia and Moldavia became largely independent, Christians there were granted a degree of official equality, and the Orthodox Church regained control of the Christian churches in dispute. The Crimean War was one of the first conflicts to use technologies such as explosive naval shells, railways
5.
Syria
Syrias capital and largest city is Damascus. Religious groups include Sunnis, Alawites, Mandeans, Salafis, Sunni Arabs make up the largest religious group in Syria. Its capital Damascus and largest city Aleppo are among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, in the Islamic era, Damascus was the seat of the Umayyad Caliphate and a provincial capital of the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt. The post-independence period was tumultuous, and a number of military coups. In 1958, Syria entered a union with Egypt called the United Arab Republic. Syria was under Emergency Law from 1963 to 2011, effectively suspending most constitutional protections for citizens, Bashar al-Assad has been president since 2000 and was preceded by his father Hafez al-Assad, who was in office from 1970 to 2000. Mainstream modern academic opinion strongly favours the argument that the Greek word is related to the cognate Ἀσσυρία, Assyria, in the past, others believed that it was derived from Siryon, the name that the Sidonians gave to Mount Hermon.
However, the discovery of the inscription in 2000 seems to support the theory that the term Syria derives from Assyria. The area designated by the word has changed over time, since approximately 10,000 BC, Syria was one of centers of Neolithic culture where agriculture and cattle breeding appeared for the first time in the world. The following Neolithic period is represented by houses of Mureybet culture. At the time of the pre-pottery Neolithic, people used vessels made of stone, finds of obsidian tools from Anatolia are evidences of early trade relations. Cities of Hamoukar and Emar played an important role during the late Neolithic, archaeologists have demonstrated that civilization in Syria was one of the most ancient on earth, perhaps preceded by only those of Mesopotamia. The earliest recorded indigenous civilisation in the region was the Kingdom of Ebla near present-day Idlib, gifts from Pharaohs, found during excavations, confirm Eblas contact with Egypt. One of the earliest written texts from Syria is an agreement between Vizier Ibrium of Ebla and an ambiguous kingdom called Abarsal c.2300 BC.
The Northwest Semitic language of the Amorites is the earliest attested of the Canaanite languages, Mari reemerged during this period, and saw renewed prosperity until conquered by Hammurabi of Babylon. Ugarit arose during this time, circa 1800 BC, close to modern Latakia, Ugaritic was a Semitic language loosely related to the Canaanite languages, and developed the Ugaritic alphabet. The Ugarites kingdom survived until its destruction at the hands of the marauding Indo-European Sea Peoples in the 12th century BC, Yamhad was described in the tablets of Mari as the mightiest state in the near east and as having more vassals than Hammurabi of Babylon. Yamhad imposed its authority over Alalakh, the Hurrians states, the army of Yamhad campaigned as far away as Dēr on the border of Elam
6.
Lebanon
Lebanon, officially known as the Lebanese Republic, is a sovereign state in Western Asia. It is bordered by Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, Lebanons location at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian hinterland facilitated its rich history and shaped a cultural identity of religious and ethnic diversity. At just 10,452 km2, it is the smallest recognized country on the entire mainland Asian continent, the earliest evidence of civilization in Lebanon dates back more than seven thousand years, predating recorded history. Lebanon was the home of the Canaanites/Phoenicians and their kingdoms, a culture that flourished for over a thousand years. In 64 BC, the region came under the rule of the Roman Empire, in the Mount Lebanon range a monastic tradition known as the Maronite Church was established. As the Arab Muslims conquered the region, the Maronites held onto their religion, however, a new religious group, the Druze, established themselves in Mount Lebanon as well, generating a religious divide that has lasted for centuries.
During the Crusades, the Maronites re-established contact with the Roman Catholic Church, the ties they established with the Latins have influenced the region into the modern era. The region eventually was ruled by the Ottoman Empire from 1516 to 1918, following the collapse of the empire after World War I, the five provinces that constitute modern Lebanon came under the French Mandate of Lebanon. The French expanded the borders of the Mount Lebanon Governorate, which was populated by Maronites and Druze. Lebanon gained independence in 1943, establishing confessionalism, a unique, foreign troops withdrew completely from Lebanon on 31 December 1946. Lebanon has been a member of the Organisation internationale de la francophonie since 1973, despite its small size, the country has developed a well-known culture and has been highly influential in the Arab world. Before the Lebanese Civil War, the experienced a period of relative calm and renowned prosperity, driven by tourism, commerce. At the end of the war, there were efforts to revive the economy.
In spite of troubles, Lebanon has the highest Human Development Index and GDP per capita in the Arab world. The name of Mount Lebanon originates from the Phoenician root lbn meaning white, occurrences of the name have been found in different Middle Bronze Age texts from the library of Ebla, and three of the twelve tablets of the Epic of Gilgamesh. The name is recorded in Ancient Egyptian as Rmnn, where R stood for Canaanite L, the name occurs nearly 70 times in the Hebrew Bible, as לְבָנוֹן. The borders of contemporary Lebanon are a product of the Treaty of Sèvres of 1920 and its territory was the core of the Bronze Age Phoenician city-states. After the 7th-century Muslim conquest of the Levant, it was part of the Rashidun, Abbasid Seljuk, with the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, Greater Lebanon fell under French mandate in 1920, and gained independence under president Bechara El Khoury in 1943
7.
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in the Middle East, on the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and the northern shore of the Red Sea. The country contains geographically diverse features within its small area. Israels economy and technology center is Tel Aviv, while its seat of government and proclaimed capital is Jerusalem, in 1947, the United Nations adopted a Partition Plan for Mandatory Palestine recommending the creation of independent Arab and Jewish states and an internationalized Jerusalem. The plan was accepted by the Jewish Agency for Palestine, next year, the Jewish Agency declared the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Israel, to be known as the State of Israel. Israel has since fought several wars with neighboring Arab states, in the course of which it has occupied territories including the West Bank, Golan Heights and it extended its laws to the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem, but not the West Bank. Israels occupation of the Palestinian territories is the worlds longest military occupation in modern times, efforts to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict have not resulted in peace.
However, peace treaties between Israel and both Egypt and Jordan have successfully been signed, the population of Israel, as defined by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, was estimated in 2017 to be 8,671,100 people. It is the worlds only Jewish-majority state, with 74. 8% being designated as Jewish, the countrys second largest group of citizens are Arabs, at 20. 8%. The great majority of Israeli Arabs are Sunni Muslims, including significant numbers of semi-settled Negev Bedouins, other minorities include Arameans, Assyrians, Black Hebrew Israelites, Circassians and Samaritans. Israel hosts a significant population of foreign workers and asylum seekers from Africa and Asia, including illegal migrants from Sudan, Eritrea. In its Basic Laws, Israel defines itself as a Jewish, Israel is a representative democracy with a parliamentary system, proportional representation and universal suffrage. The prime minister is head of government and the Knesset is the legislature, Israel is a developed country and an OECD member, with the 35th-largest economy in the world by nominal gross domestic product as of 2016.
The country benefits from a skilled workforce and is among the most educated countries in the world with one of the highest percentage of its citizens holding a tertiary education degree. The country has the highest standard of living in the Middle East and the third highest in Asia, in the early weeks of independence, the government chose the term Israeli to denote a citizen of Israel, with the formal announcement made by Minister of Foreign Affairs Moshe Sharett. The names Land of Israel and Children of Israel have historically used to refer to the biblical Kingdom of Israel. The name Israel in these phrases refers to the patriarch Jacob who, jacobs twelve sons became the ancestors of the Israelites, known as the Twelve Tribes of Israel or Children of Israel. The earliest known artifact to mention the word Israel as a collective is the Merneptah Stele of ancient Egypt. The area is known as the Holy Land, being holy for all Abrahamic religions including Judaism, Islam
8.
Christian pilgrimage
Christianity has a strong tradition of pilgrimages, both to sites relevant to the New Testament narrative and to sites associated with saints or miracles. The first pilgrimages were made to sites connected with the ministry of Jesus, the Itinerarium Burdigalense, the oldest surviving Christian itinerarium, was written by the anonymous Pilgrim of Bordeaux recounting the stages of a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in the years 333 and 334. Pilgrimage was encouraged by church fathers like Saint Jerome and established by Helena, pilgrimages began to be made to Rome and other sites associated with the Apostles and Christian martyrs, as well as to places where there have been apparitions of the Virgin Mary. The Seljuk Turks now systematically disrupted Christian pilgrimage routes, which one of the major factors triggering the crusades in the 11th century. Under the Ottoman Empire travel in Palestine was once again restricted, Rome has been a major Christian pilgrimage site since the middle ages. Pilgrimages to Rome can involve visits to a number of sites.
The stairs were, brought to Rome by St. Helena in the 4th Century, for centuries, the Scala Santa has attracted Christian pilgrims who wished to honour the Passion of Jesus. Traditionally, pilgrims in Rome visit the seven churches in 24 hours. This custom, mandatory for each pilgrim in the Middle Ages, was codified in the 16th century by Saint Philip Neri. The seven churches are the four major Basilicas, while the three are San Lorenzo fuori le mura, Santa Croce in Gerusalemme and San Sebastiano fuori le mura. At some point between 818 and 842, during the reign of Alfonso II of Asturias, bishop Theodemar of Iria claimed to have some remains which were attributed to Saint James the Greater. Around the place of the discovery a new settlement and centre of pilgrimage emerged, which was known to the author Usuard in 865, santiago would become in the course of the following century a main Catholic shrine second only to Rome and Jerusalem. In the 12th century, under the impulse of bishop Diego Gelmírez, Compostela became an archbishopric, attracting a large, marian apparitions are responsible for tens of millions of Christian pilgrimages worldwide.
The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fátima, in Cova da Iria, Fátima, Latin America has a number of pilgrimage sites, which have been studied by anthropologists and scholars of religion. In Mesoamerica, some pre-date the arrival of Europeans and were transformed to Christian pilgrimage sites. One such is the Hill of Tepeyac with the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe outside Mexico City, HCPT – The Pilgrimage Trust List of Christian pilgrimage sites List of pilgrimage churches Brown, Peter. The Cult of the Saints, Its Rise and Function in Latin Christianity, crumrine, N. Ross and E. Alan Morinis. Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture, Anthropological Perspectives, database of Shrines and Pilgrimage in the Netherlands Galilean Destinations for Christians Herbermann, Charles, ed
9.
Holy places
Holy places, are sites that a religion considers to be of special religious significance. They are usually visited by pilgrims. Located in Bahji near Acre, the Shrine of Baháulláh is the most holy place for Baháís and their Qiblih and it contains the remains of Baháulláh, founder of the Baháí Faith and is near the spot where he died in the Mansion of Bahjí. The second holiest site is the Shrine of the Báb in Haifa, in Iran, the Bahais possessed several important holy sites, including the House of the Bab in Shiraz, the House of Baha Allahs father in Tehran, the shrine and grave of Quddus. Since the Revolution, all places have been demolished. The Buddha is said to have identified four sites most worthy of pilgrimage for Buddhists, India, is where the Buddha attained Parinirvana after his death. Lumbini, Nepal, is where Queen Maya gave birth to Prince Siddhartha Gautama, India, is the deer park where the Buddha first taught the Dhamma after realizing enlightenment. Sravasti is the place where Buddha spent the largest amount of time, Place of the subduing of Nalagiri, the angry elephant, through friendliness.
Rajgir was another city of ancient India. Sankassa, Place of the descending to earth from Tusita heaven, Place of receiving an offering of honey from a monkey. Vaishali was the capital of the Vajjian Republic of ancient India, lhasa in Tibet contains many culturally significant Tibetan Buddhist sites such as the Potala Palace, Jokhang temple and Norbulingka palaces. In Christianity, the Holy places are significant because they are the place of birth, ministry and Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth and it contains the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Via Dolorosa, Mount Zion and the Dormition Abbey, and Gethsemane. Nazareth is Jesuss hometown and the site of holy places, including the Church of the Annunciation. Bethlehem is the birthplace of Jesus, qana is where Jesus made his first miracle Al-Maghtas, this site has been recognized as the original site where Jesus was baptized by all the major traditional Christian Churches. The site is in Jordan Machaerus, the Herodias fortress where John the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded, the site is in Jordan Mount Nebo, traditional site of the death of Moses and where he looked over to the promised land.
The site is in Jordan During the Crusades, Christian pilgrims often sought out the Holy Places in the Outremer, stonehenge is a site of religious significance in Neo-Druidism. Druids perform pilgrimage there, The first modern Druids to make ceremonies at this site is the Ancient Order of Druids, the Seven Ancient Holy Towns are Ayodhya, Haridwar, Kanchipuram, Dvārakā, and Ujjain. Every year millions of Muslims from all over the world visit Masjid al-Haram and Al-Masjid al-Nabawi to perform Hajj
10.
Religious significance of Jerusalem
The city of Jerusalem is significant in a number of religious traditions, including the Abrahamic religions Judaism and Islam, which consider it a holy city. Some of the most sacred places for each of these religions are found in Jerusalem, Jerusalem has been the holiest city in Judaism and the ancestral and spiritual homeland of the Jewish people since the 10th century BCE. During classical antiquity, Jerusalem was considered the center of the world, the city of Jerusalem is given special status in Jewish religious law. In particular, Jews outside Jerusalem pray facing its direction, any expansion of the city for these purposes must be approved by the Sanhedrin. Also, when the Temple in Jerusalem was standing, Jerusalem observed special laws regarding the Four Species on Sukkot, Jerusalem has long been embedded into Jewish religious consciousness. Jews have studied and personalized the struggle by King David to capture Jerusalem and his desire to build the Jewish temple there, as described in the Book of Samuel, many of King Davids yearnings about Jerusalem have been adapted into popular prayers and songs.
Jerusalem appears in the Tanakh 669 times and Zion appears 154 times, the Tanakh, is a text sacred to both Judaism and Christianity. In Judaism it is considered the Written Law, the basis for the Oral Law studied and treasured by Jews, the Talmud elaborates in great depth the Jewish connection with the city. When the Babylonians captured the city in 580 BC, they destroyed the temple and that is, all worshiping was practiced in the temple and only the temple. From the Babylonian capture, Judaism was codified, the Tanakh laid the foundation for both Christianity and Islam. In Christian tradition, Jerusalems place in the life of Jesus gives it great importance, Jerusalem is the place where Jesus was brought as a child, to be presented at the Temple and to attend festivals. According to the Gospels, Jesus preached and healed in Jerusalem, there is an account of Jesus cleansing of the Temple, chasing various traders out of the sacred precincts. The earliest Christians were outcast and used the symbol to recognize one another to avoid being killed or reprimanded for being Christian by Roman rule.
Christianity became more popular over time, but made a huge expansion when the Roman Emperor Constantine claimed Christianity as his religion, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is said to have been built over the location where Jesus was crucified and where the tomb was buried. In medieval times, Christians thought Jerusalem was the center of the world, Byzantine hymns speak of the Cross being planted in the center of the earth, and the imagery is tied to the concept of the Death and resurrection of Jesus being for the benefit of all mankind. Medieval maps of Europe usually placed the east —Jerusalem—at the top, Jerusalem is considered a sacred site in Sunni Islamic tradition, along with Mecca and Medina. Islamic tradition holds that previous prophets were associated with the city, due to such significance, it was the first Qibla for Muslims and the prophet Muhammad designated the Al-Aqsa for pilgrimage. Born in 570 AD, Muhammad is believed by Muslims to be a messenger for God and he reformed the perspective that God should be worshiped through prayer, reciting Gods messages and only worshiping God
11.
Hebron
Hebron is a Palestinian city located in the southern West Bank,30 km south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies 930 meters above sea level, the city is divided into two sectors, H1, controlled by the Palestinian Authority and H2, roughly 20% of the city, administered by Israel. All security arrangements and travel permits for local residents are coordinated between the Palestinian Authority and Israel via military administration of the West Bank, the settlers are governed by their own municipal body, the Committee of the Jewish Community of Hebron. In Judaism it is considered the second-holiest city after Jerusalem, while Islam regards it as one of the four holy cities. Hebron is a hub of West Bank trade, responsible for roughly a third of the areas gross domestic product. It is locally known for its grapes, limestone, pottery workshops and glassblowing factories. The old city of Hebron is characterized by narrow, winding streets, flat-roofed stone houses, the city is home to Hebron University and the Palestine Polytechnic University.
Hebron is attached to cities of ad-Dhahiriya, Yatta, Hebron Governorate is the largest Palestinian governorate with its population of 600,364. The name Hebron traces back to two Semitic roots, which coalesce in the form ḥbr, having reflexes in Hebrew and Amorite and denoting a range of meanings from colleague, in the proper name Hebron, the original sense may have been alliance. The Arabic term derives from the Quranic epithet for Abraham, Khalil al-Rahman Beloved of the Merciful or Friend of God, Arabic Al-Khalil thus precisely translates the ancient Hebrew toponym Ḥebron, understood as ḥaber. Archaeological excavations reveal traces of strong fortifications dated to the Early Bronze Age, the city flourished in the 17th–18th centuries BCE before being destroyed by fire, and was resettled in the late Middle Bronze Age. This older Hebron was originally a Canaanite royal city, abrahamic legend associates the city with the Hittites. In Biblical lore they are represented as descendants of the Nephilim, in settling here, Abraham is described as making his first covenant, an alliance with two local Amorite clans who became his ba’alei brit or masters of the covenant.
The Hebron of the Bible was centered on what is now known as Tel Rumeida, the biblical narrative has King David reign from Hebron for some seven years. It is there that the elders of Israel come to him to make a covenant before Elohim and it was in Hebron again that Absalom has himself declared king and raises a revolt against his father David. It became one of the centers of the Tribe of Judah and was classified as one of the six traditional Cities of Refuge. It remained administratively and politically dependent on Jerusalem for this period, Jews appear to have lived there after the return from the Babylonian exile. During the Maccabean revolt, Hebron was burnt and plundered by Judah Maccabee who fought against the Edomites in 167 BCE, the city appears to have long resisted Hasmonean dominance and indeed as late as the First Jewish–Roman War was still considered Idumean
12.
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a persons beliefs and faith, a person who makes such a journey is called a pilgrim. As a common experience, pilgrimage has been proposed as a Jungian archetype by Wallace Clift. The Holy Land acts as a point for the pilgrimages of the Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity. Baháulláh decreed pilgrimage to two places in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the House of Baháulláh in Baghdad and the House of the Báb in Shiraz, Abdul-Bahá designated the Shrine of Baháulláh at Bahji, Israel as a site of pilgrimage. Other pilgrimage places in India and Nepal connected to the life of Gautama Buddha are, Pataliputta, Gaya, Sankasia, Kosambi, Varanasi, other famous places for Buddhist pilgrimage include, Sanchi, Ajanta. Thailand, Ayutthaya, Wat Phra Kaew, Wat Doi Suthep, Lhasa, Mount Kailash, Lake Nam-tso. Sri Lanka, Temple of the Tooth, malaysia, Kek Lok Si, Cheng Hoon Teng, Maha Vihara Myanmar, Sagaing Hill.
The Four Sacred Mountains Japan, Shikoku Pilgrimage,88 Temple pilgrimage in the Shikoku island, Japan 100 Kannon, pilgrimage composed of the Saigoku, Bandō and Chichibu pilgrimages. Saigoku 33 Kannon, pilgrimage in the Kansai region, Bandō33 Kannon, pilgrimage in the Kantō region. Chichibu 34 Kannon, pilgrimage in Saitama Prefecture, Chūgoku 33 Kannon, pilgrimage in the Chūgoku region. Christian pilgrimage was first made to sites connected with the birth, pilgrimages were, and are, made to Rome and other sites associated with the apostles and Christian martyrs, as well as to places where there have been apparitions of the Virgin Mary. A popular pilgrimage journey is along the Way of St. James to the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, in Galicia, chaucers The Canterbury Tales recounts tales told by Christian pilgrims on their way to Canterbury Cathedral and the shrine of Thomas Becket. According to Karel Werners Popular Dictionary of Hinduism, most Hindu places of pilgrimage are associated with events from the lives of various gods.
Almost any place can become a focus for pilgrimage, but in most cases they are sacred cities, lakes, Hindus are encouraged to undertake pilgrimages during their lifetime, though this practice is not considered absolutely mandatory. Most Hindus visit sites within their region or locale, Kumbh Mela, Kumbh Mela is one of the largest gatherings of humans in the world. The location is rotated among Allahabad, Nashik, Char Dham, The four holy sites Puri, Rameswaram and Badrinath compose the Char Dham pilgrimage circuit. Kanwar Pilgrimage, The Kanwar is Indias largest annual religious pilgrimage, as part of this phenomenon, millions of participants gather sacred water from the Ganga and carry it across hundreds of miles to dispense as offerings in Śiva shrines
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Palestine, Holiness of". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
