The Heart of Roman Jerusalem
The destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans did not occur, contrary to popular opinion, with the suppression of the Great Revolt in 70 AD. Although Jerusalem suffered a severe blow and the Temple was destroyed, Jewish life in the city and in the Land of Israel continued even after that. About 60 years later, the Bar Kokhba Rebellion broke out, the last great struggle of the in Israel against Roman rule, during the reign of Emperor Hadrian between 132-136 AD. The Bar Kokhba rebellion was severely suppressed, and the country lay devastated in absolute ruin. Hundreds of towns and villages were destroyed and hundreds of thousands of Jewish residents were killed or exiled. Jerusalem was almost completely wiped out this time, and on top of its ruins the Romans built a Roman city called Aelia Capitolina.
The layout of Roman cities, as well as Roman army camps, was based on a grid of orthogonal streets. The main street that crossed the city from north to south was called Cardo, and the perpendicular street that crossed it from east to west was called Decomanos. The two streets divided the city into four quarters - hence the nickname "quarter" for a part of a city to this day. The Cardo was the main commercial street of the Roman city - a wide road was paved along it and shops and commercial buildings were built next to it. The large square that was established at the crossroads of the Cardo and Documenus, where a Roman Forum resided, was the main meeting and gathering place for the city's residents and used to handle public affairs.
The Romans built a cardo in Aelia Capitolina too, which extended from the Nablus Gate to the area of today's Church of the Holy Sepulchre. A few hundred years later, during the reign of Emperor Justinianus, the Byzantines extended the cardo to the Zion Gate area.
After the Six Day War, archaeological excavations were conducted in the old city and the remains of the Byzantine cardo were uncovered in the heart of the Jewish quarter. Part of the street was left open and contains remains of columns and shops, while another part was rebuilt and is used today for residential homes and commerce - just as it was 1500 years ago. In the Madaba Map, the well-known mosaic map from the 6th or 7th century AD that was discovered in the church of St. Gaugorius in the town of Madaba in Jordan, the main Aardo and Decumenus streets of Jerusalem at that time can be clearly seen. A painting of the Madaba Map can be found on the Cardo today, as well as a large wall painting illustrating how it might have looked during the Byzantine period.
(Anecdote authored by: עמיר)
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