Jerusalem

Outline

Jerusalem: The Biography (2011) tells the story of the Holy City from its first appearance in Egyptian texts to the Six-Day War, through the rulers, believers and builders who shaped it. Simon Sebag Montefiore follows Jerusalem through its Jewish, Roman, Christian, Islamic, Crusader, Mamluk, Ottoman and British chapters, showing how each power believed its rule would last forever and how the city outlived them all. It is a history of three faiths and of the wider Middle East, told as the life story of one place.

• Jerusalem's story begins with its first appearance in Egyptian texts and runs through to the Six-Day War of 1967.
• The book tells the city's history through the rulers, believers and builders who shaped it.
• Each ruling power, from Jewish and Roman to Ottoman and British, believed its rule would last forever.
• Jerusalem outlived every empire that claimed it, which is the book's central thread.
• It treats the city as the life story of one place, tied to three faiths and the wider Middle East.

Simon Sebag Montefiore (born 1965) is a British historian and novelist. His books include Catherine the Great and Potemkin, Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar, Young Stalin, The Romanovs and The World: A Family History. Jerusalem: The Biography was an international bestseller and has been translated into more than forty languages. He writes popular history built on archives and on the lives of the people who made events happen.