Jerusalem from a distance
The walls of Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the desert near the easternmost end of the Mediterranean Sea in the Far East.
Background[]
It was built over the location of the older city of King Hezekiah, north of the Pool of Siloam.
It was also where the location where Christ was crucified.
During the Crusade, Jerusalem was besieged by Christians, Greeks and Syrians joined in the assault. Count Raymund, Duke Godefrey, also Robert Count of Normandy and Robert of Flanders were there.
They built a siege tower of small pieces of wood and attacked with catapults and other contraptions and daring soldiers laucned stones and arrows from the siege tower. The Saracens within hurled from their slings torches and flaming brands soaked in oil and fat and thus many died upon both sides. By noon the day dedicated to Venus, the walls were breached and taken. Franks and others poured in and pursued the Saracens so that the enemy were driven to take refuge inside the holy places.
Within the Temple of Solomon, 10,000 Saracens were decapitated. Not a soul was spared, neither the women nor children. The squires and poorest soldiers slit the bellies to search for jewels that had been swallowed, then burned the bodies to thus search in the ashes for coins. After the massacre, the Crusaders sacked the homes and took whatever they found there, rich or poor.
However, Count Raymund allowed Turks, Arabs and some 500 dark Ethiopians who had taken refuge in the Temple of David to depart alive, after leaving all their money within the citadel.
During the Third Crusade, King Richard the Lionheart sailed across the sea to defend Jerusalem, besieging the infidels, the battles were bloody, and the city was ultimately lost. Richard was forced to make a long journey home, where he was captured in Austria by King Leopold's forces.
Locations[]
- Zion Gate
- Jaffa Gate
- Street of David
- Catacombs
- Temple of Aphrodite
- Dome of the Rock
- Temple of Solomon
- Temple of David
Behind the scenes[]
In the game what we see is the Old City of Jerusalem. After passing the sourthern Zion Gate (A) guarded by the Mercenaries, Arthur enters the city by the Jaffa gate (H) which leads to the David Street, today known as El-Bazar (marked with the red line).
The yellow circle marks the Dome of the Rock seen in the game. The pink shape is the Church of the Anastasis which is the spot of the former Temple of Aphrodite; the catacombs of the game which connect it to the David Street, supposedly lie below the area marked as Muristan