3 Review(s)

Jerusalem: The Biography is the story of a city which lies at the centre of three of the world’s most powerful religions. Simon Sebag Montefiore tells the story of the city’s past and how it boasts a culture 3000 years in the making. Summary of the Book Jerusalem. The mere name of that city sends shivers down the spine of Jews, Christians and Muslims. And it is not without good reason either. It is the capital of two peoples, and at its heart lies the centre of three different yet kindred faiths. Time and again, empires and civilizations have clashed for control over the city. In 3000 years, this city has been captured, burned, destroyed, rebuilt and revered again and again. Once a small town, withdrawn from all society, it became the hub of the Middle East, and the centre of Judaic Faith. How did this once tiny town become the crucial position of strategic control over the Middle East? How is it that kings, empresses, prophets, poets, knights and saints hungered for a piece of this city? How is it that Jerusalem rose from its remains several times in the past, like its temple, to become the high seat of heaven on earth? Here, some believe, Apocalypse will begin. And it is here, others believe, that mankind will find salvation. This is the story of Jerusalem, a city of legend. About Simon Sebag Montefiore Simon Jonathan Sebag Montefiore is a British historian, journalist and writer known for his books on popular history, most notably Monsters – History's Most Evil Men and Women, Potemkin: Catherine the Great's Imperial Partner and A History of Caucasus. Montefiore graduated from Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, and eventually went on to be a banker and foreign affairs journalist.