History of the Gates of Jerusalem

 

There are eight gates around Old City Jerusalem. Seven are open, and one is closed (Eastern Gate). We'll look at these gates in a clockwise (right to left) circle, starting at the Jaffa Gate.

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Overview

• The Old City of Jerusalem covers about one square mile (2.6 square kilometers). The gates are the portals or entry passages into the city.

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• The number of gates has varied over time. Until the Crusader Period (1099–1291), there were just four gates, one on each side of the city.

  • Jaffa Gate (West)

  • Damascus Gate (North)

  • Eastern Gate (East)

  • Zion Gate  (South)

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• From 1535 to 1542, the Ottoman ruler Suleiman the Magnificent restored and rebuilt the crumbling Old City walls to protect the city from a feared Crusader invasion. In addition to restoring many of the gates, Suleiman rebuilt two destroyed gates from previous years: 

  • ​Dung Gate

  • Lions' Gate

  • Herod's Gate​

  • Suleiman reclosed the Eastern Gate in 1541 AD.

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• In modern times (1875-1889), two additional gates were opened into the city walls.

  • Herod's Gate - Reopened in 1875

  • New Gate - 1889

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• Each gate has openings in the wall above it that enable the release of “weapons” such as boiling liquids, arrows, or stones aimed at the attackers below.

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• The Bible records various uses of city gates. At the gates, people finalized business deals (Genesis 23), arranged marriages (Ruth 4), and settled disputes in the presence of witnesses (Amos 5). The king used gates to address his subjects (2 Samuel 18).

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• Many of the gates are named after the location or destination they led toward.

• A number of the gates are shaped like an "L," designed to slow attackers attempting to enter the city.

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Jaffa Gate

• The Jaffa Gate is named so because the road leading from this gate heads westward to the port city of Jaffa, or Joppa.

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• The gate as it stands today was rebuilt in 1538 by the Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Great over the previous gate, which dates back to the time of the Hasmoneans around 140 BC.

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• Facing due west, the Jaffa Gate is the best-known and busiest of the gates of Jerusalem.

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• It is the only gate on the western side of the Old City.

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• Today, it is the primary vehicle entry point into the Old City and one of only two gates in Jerusalem that allow vehicle access. 

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• When the German Kaiser Wilhelm II visited the Holy Land and Jerusalem in 1898, the Ottoman authorities opened the city wall beside Jaffa Gate so the Kaiser (emperor) could enter with his vehicle escorts. They also filled in the moat that surround the Tower of David complex. 

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• There are many bullet holes in the face of the gate due to wars before and during the Six-Day War in 1967.

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New Gate

• It's one of Jerusalem's newer gates. It was built in 1889 with the permission of the Turkish Sultan Abdul Hammid II, who gave it the alternative name The Gate of Hammid.

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• The New Gate is in the northwest corner of the city. It is the only gate in Jerusalem that leads directly into the Christian Quarter.

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• The Gate was built to allow easy access from the many Christian monasteries outside the walls to the Christian Quarter within. 

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• The New Gate is the simplest and least adorned of the gates of Jerusalem.

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Damascus Gate

• It's located on the northern side of the Old City walls, facing due north to Shechem and beyond to Damascus.

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• The Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent completed the Damascus Gate between 1537 and 1542. It was built over previous gate ruins dating back to the time of Roman Emperor Hadrian, around 135 AD.

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• It is the busiest of Jerusalem's gates, and many claim the most splendid. On Fridays and Saturdays, markets and bazaars make this one of the busiest parts of the city.

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• Directly inside the gate is the Muslim Quarter, which serves as the Old City's Arab business center.

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• During the Byzantine period (324 - 638 AD), it was known as St. Stephen's Gate (although the Lions' Gate is also known as such). Christian tradition claims Stephen was drug out of the city through this gate and stoned on the other side of today's road, becoming the first martyr. Of the two gates of Jerusalem, also named St. Stephen's Gate, this is the most likely sight of Stephen's stoning.

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• The gate is one of the highest in the city because the northern part of the city was the most vulnerable to attacks due to the slope of the terrain.

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• It was built in a double "L" shape to slow down would-be attackers.

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• It was the beginning point of the Cardo Street, which the Roman Emperor Hadrian built around 135 AD. 

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• Part of the original gate Hadrian built can be seen to the left and below the newer gate. Ruins from previous gates can also be seen here. 

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• The gate Hadrian built was magnificent, with three arches.

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• Arabs mainly use the gate today.

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Herod's Gate

• It bears this name because it was once believed to have led to a structure erroneously identified by Christians as Herod Antipas' Palace.

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• The Jewish and Muslim communities know the gate as the Flower Gate, which derives from the floral designs in its architecture.

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• It is located in the northern wall, to the east of the Damascus Gate.

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• Herod's Gate leads into the Muslim Quarter, which provides Muslims with direct access to the Temple Mount.

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• The gate as it stands today was built in 1875. Making it the newest gate of the city.

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• Its main purpose before 1875 was to relieve traffic flow in the city's northern part. 

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• It was built with an internal L-shaped structure, like many of the other gates of Jerusalem. 

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• The Crusaders broke through the wall in this area to capture the city.

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Eastern Gate (Golden Gate)

• Perhaps the most intriguing of the gates of Jerusalem faces east toward the rising sun.

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• East was the direction the Jewish Temple faced and opened up to.

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• The gate was located along Jerusalem's eastern walls, facing east towards the Kidron Valley and Mount of Olives.

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• It is the closest gate to the Temple Mount and, as such, has taken on special significance throughout Jerusalem's history.

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• The Golden Gate is the oldest in Jerusalem, and scholars and archaeologists debate its exact timeline. Ancient stones at the base of the wall strongly suggest it dates back to the time of Solomon or Hezekiah (950-700 BC).

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• It contains many biblical prophecies concerning the Messiah's entrance through it. Many of which have already been fulfilled.

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• The Muslims established a cemetery in front of it, thinking this would stop the Messiah from entering through it in the future.

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Lions' Gate

• It is the eastern entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem.

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• Like many of Jerusalem's gates, it was built by the Ottomans in 1538-39 AD along the same stretch of walls as the Golden Gate.

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• The Lion's Gate faces the Kidron Valley and Mount of Olives.

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• The gate was originally built with an L-shaped structure, similar to the other Ottoman gates of Jerusalem. However, this L-shaped structure was later altered to allow vehicle access. The gate was also named St. Stephen's Gate, though the Damascus Gate is the likeliest site of Stephen's martyrdom.

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• Four lions decorate the gate's facade, lending the gate its name. These lions were said to have been built by Suleiman under the influence of a dream. The legend goes that Suleiman desired to punish the Jews of Jerusalem. However, he had a dream in which lions devoured him, thus swaying his mind. Instead, he built the Lion's Gate, adding the lions to commemorate the occasion.

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Dung Gate

• Of all the gates of Jerusalem, the Dung Gate has unquestionably the most interesting name, and for obvious reasons. It is the smallest, possessing the lowest archway, and is built into the south walls.

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• Like most of Jerusalem's other gates, the present gate was built by Suleiman around 1538 AD. The Dung Gate only allowed foot traffic until 1967, when the opening was enlarged.

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• The Dung Gate derives its name from the fact that refuse and ash were escorted out of the city through this gate and dumped in the Hinnom Valley. It was a gate for trash from not only the Old City but also the Temple Mount.

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• To the west of the gate, part of the original Cardo Minor Roman Emperor Hadrian, built in 135 AD, can be seen.

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• It is the only gate without much defense abilities. This was so because of its location.

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• Today, it's the closest and most used gate to the Western Wall.

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Tanners' Gate

• It's not included as one of the main eight gates of Old City Jerusalem.

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• It was a small side entrance a short distance west of the Dung Gate. 

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• It's directly over the Cardo Minor Roman Emperor Hadrian, built in 135 AD.

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• It was used to access animal purchases for sacrifices at the temple. 

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• It was named the "Tanners' Gate" because of those who tanned the hides of the animals slaughtered for temple sacrifices.

 

Zion Gate

• This gate faces south and is located along the southwestern walls of the Old City. It is named such because it faces Mount Zion and provides access to It.

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• The gate was rebuilt over previous ones by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1540.

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• It is one of the gates of Jerusalem that lead into the Jewish Quarter of the Old City.

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• Walls near the Zion Gate date from the Hasmonean and Herodian periods of the history of Jerusalem.

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• Like the previously mentioned gates of Jerusalem, the Zion Gate was built with an L-shaped internal structure. One window on each side of the gate lent its distinguishable characteristic.

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• It can support both foot and vehicle traffic. However, vehicles can only exit through the gate, not enter.

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• It has many bullet holes and damage from the 1947 and 1967 wars fought in this area.

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Other Notable Sites of Old City Jerusalem's Walls

 

Zedekiah's Cave

• The entrance to Zedekiah's Cave is just beneath the Old City wall, between the Damascus and Herod Gates.

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• It's on the north side of Old City Jerusalem, just outside its walls.​

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• Only the cave's mouth is natural. The interior was carved over several thousand years.​

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• Zedekiah’s Cave is a 5-acre (2 hectares) underground limestone quarry that stretches under five city blocks of the Muslim Quarter of Old City Jerusalem.

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• It was carved over several thousand years and is a remnant of the largest quarry in Jerusalem. 

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• Solomon very likely used this quarry to construct the temple and temple mount platform he built. 

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• Herod the Great likely used the main quarry at Zedekiah's Cave as building blocks to renovate the temple and its retaining walls.

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• Stones from the quarry may also have been used for Herod Agrippa I's building projects. ​

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• The cave was also said to have been King Zedekiah's hiding place when the Babylonians came to siege Jerusalem. 

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Archaeology by the Bethesda Pools

• Recent discoveries outside the current walls by the pools of Bethesda strongly suggest they were outside the city walls during the time of Christ.

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​Curious Bend in the Eastern Wall 

• This bend marks where the Hasmoneans added onto the Temple Mount Platform around 140 BC.​

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Seam in the Eastern Wall

• This marks where King Herod added onto the Temple Mount Platform around 19 BC.

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Southern Stairs 

• The Southern Stairs were one of the main entrances from the south to the Temple Mount during Christ's time. Two main gate entrances led from these stairs up to the Temple Mount Platform. These gates are commonly known as the Hulda Gates.

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• The gate for entering the Temple Mount Platform was on the right (east side), and the gate for leaving the Temple Mount was on the left (western side).​

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• King Herod had them redone and staggered them so no one could enter or depart the presence of God (signified by entering or departing the temple area) without being thoughtful in the process. 

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• They were the main access to the temple from the City of David and the city's western area, where most of the population lived.

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• There were also many purification mikvehs at the base of the Southern Stairs (around 48 in total).  

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• The Southern Stairs were also called “The Rabbis’ Stairs” or the “Teaching Stairs” as rabbis taught their disciples on them.

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• Jesus would have no doubt walked on these stairs and taught His disciples here. It’s also likely that the young Apostle Paul sat here under Gamaliel's teaching (Acts 22:3).

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• It’s very likely that part of Pentecost took place here or ended up here. The Royal Stoa was located just above us on the southern end of the Temple Mount. It was a huge covered portico that ran the whole length of the Temple Mount at the southern part. We don't have time to discuss all the reasons now, but the Hebrew word for house means the House, referring to the temple or a covered structure. It doesn't really refer to a home. So just think that you are in the area where Pentecost took place. And, of course, around here are all these Mikvehs where the 3,000 who received Christ on Pentecost would be baptized.​

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Pilate's Palace Judgment Seat

• This is the most likely place where Jesus was tried and condemned to crucifixion by Pilate. It has all the archaeological evidence to verify this event.

  • Gate Entrance to Pilate’s Palace from Outside the Palace

  • Steps Leading Up to the Gate Entrance to Pilate's Palace

  • Preserved Wall of Herod the Great

  • Preserved Stone Pavement

  • Bema Seat – Judgment Seat​

  • Bema Seat Stone​

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