The history of this great city fascinates almost everyone and is central to three of the world’s greatest religions. There are just so many intricate layers of history ranging from the earliest Bronze Age to ongoing conflicts today, and each one has an amazing story to tell. We will construct a historical time line tracing the development of the city and the events around its evolution under Canaanite, Hebrew, Greek, Roman, Idumean, Byzantine, Persian, Islamic, European, Mamluk, Ottoman, and British control. Our class will focus on two primary facets: archaeological evidence in excavation and archives, and the colorful personalities involved. Everyone knows about David and Solomon and Vespasian. We’ll meet the likes of Sheshonq, Ahab, Jezebel, Herod the Great, Agrippa II, Salome, Berenice the Jewish Cleopatra, Simon bar Kochba, Saladin the Great, al-Hakim the Mad Caliph, a Persian warlord known as the Royal Boar, and Frederick Stupermundi. As exciting as the Old Testament is, it only tells part of the story.