Alchemy and the Umayyad Dynasty
Alchemy and the Umayyad Dynasty Following Caliphs Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali ibn Abi Talib, who are considered to be the four Rightly Guided Caliphs, the Umayyad dynasty rose…
Early Sufis and Jerusalem
Early Sufis and Jerusalem Towards the end of the 8th century CE, holy individuals began to appear throughout the Middle East, claiming to possess mystical knowledge passed down to them…
Iconography and John of Damascus
Iconography and John of Damascus Alongside the establishment of Islam in the Land of Israel, the rise of the Umayyad Empire, the construction of the Dome of the Rock and…
Abbasids and Jerusalem
Abbasid Dynasty and Jerusalem In the year 750 CE, the Abbasid dynasty ascended to power over the vast Muslim Empire, moving the capital from Damascus to Iraq and establishing Baghdad.…
Second Generation Sufism
Bāyazīd Bisṭāmī – Annihilation in God (Fanāʾ) Sufism during the Golden Age of the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad developed along two main currents: one was the sober, “calm” path of…
Fatimid Shi’ite Spirituality
Ismailism In 969, the Fatimid forces conquered Jerusalem and ruled it for over a century, until 1073—and for an additional year in 1098, just before the arrival of the Crusaders.…
Karaites and Israel Yeshiva
The Yeshiva of the Land of Israel Shortly after the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem, Jews were permitted to return and live in the city. The Jews viewed the Muslim conquest…
Crusader Spirituality
Christian Messianic Expectation Towards the end of the first millennium, Christian messianic expectation intensified, especially in Catholic Europe, with a concrete anticipation of Jesus’ return. This led to a renewed…
Templars, Holy Grail and Lance
Spear of Destiny The sanctity of Jerusalem is magnified by its being home to holy relics—both the bones of people and sacred objects. One such relic is the Holy Lance,…