ebooks Medieval European Pilgrimage; C.700 - C.1500 by Diana Webb in History

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SPLENDID . . . Eminently sane and patient . . . Essential reading for Jews; Christians; and Muslims alike.--The Washington PostVenerated for millennia by three faiths; torn by irreconcilable conflict; conquered; rebuilt; and mourned for again and again; Jerusalem is a sacred city whose very sacredness has engendered terrible tragedy. In this fascinating volume; Karen Armstrong; author of the highly praised A History of God; traces the history of how Jews; Christians; and Muslims have all laid claim to Jerusalem as their holy place; and how three radically different concepts of holiness have shaped and scarred the city for thousands of years.Armstrong unfolds a complex story of spiritual upheaval and political transformation--from King David's capital to an administrative outpost of the Roman Empire; from the cosmopolitan city sanctified by Christ to the spiritual center conquered and glorified by Muslims; from the gleaming prize of European Crusaders to the bullet-ridden symbol of the present-day Arab-Israeli conflict. Written with grace and clarity; the product of years of meticulous research; Jerusalem combines the pageant of history with the profundity of searching spiritual analysis. Like Karen Armstrong's A History of God; Jerusalem is a book for the ages."THE BEST SERIOUS; ACCESSIBLE HISTORY OF THE MOST SPIRITUALLY IMPORTANT CITY IN THE WORLD."--The Baltimore Sun"A WORK OF IMPRESSIVE SWEEP AND GRANDEUR."--Los Angeles Times Book Review