Out of the North Evil Will Come
Throughout history, many enemies invaded the Land of Israel from the north, and because of this, the north became a source of danger and evil in the collective mind of the people of Israel. The prophet Jeremiah referred to this in his well-known prophecy: "Then the Lord said to me, Out of the north evil will come, bursting out on all the people of the land.” (1:10), predicting the Babylonian invasion that ultimately led to the destruction of the Kingdom of Judah in 586 BC.
Jeremiah's prophecy is also valid in the case of the city of Jerusalem itself. Most of the invasions and break-ins into the city over the years happened from the north, due to its topography. On the east and west sides it is protected by two deep valleys which connect in the south, and the only accessible approach for an attacking army is from the north.
The Damascus Gate, located in the northern wall of Jerusalem, is the most important, the largest and the most magnificent of the gates of the city wall. Due to its strategic location, it was built in a particularly fortified and protected manner. Two strong guard posts were set up above the gate, and the entrance to the city through the gatehouse winds twice, and not just once as at the Jaffa Gate for example, in order to block the charge of the enemy's army.
In Hebrew the gate is called "The Nablus Gate" because the road that led north to the city of Nablus came out of it. For a similar reason it is called the "Damascus Gate" in other languages, because the same road continued north towards Damascus. In Arabic, the gate is called "Bab el Amud", or the Gate of the Pillar, after a tall pillar that stood in the gate square during Roman times.
The current gate was built by the Ottomans in 1538 AD, after the conquest of Jerusalem by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, on top of earlier remains. In the 1st century BC, Herod built a gate tower on the same site as part of the city wall during the Second Temple period. After the brutal suppression of the Bar Kokhba revolt that broke out in 132 AD, the Roman emperor Hadrian destroyed Jerusalem to the ground, and built in its place a Roman city called Aelia Capitolina. Among other things, the emperor built a magnificent triumphal arch in the place where the Damascus Gate is located today. The triumphal arch was constructed in the classic Roman style - a large and decorated central opening, and two smaller openings on both sides. Hadrian built another triumphal arch inside the city, the remains of which can be seen on the Via Dolorosa street. Next to the gate, the Romans built two high watchtowers, the stones of which were taken from the ruins of Jerusalem, some of them still preserve the typical Herodian decoration. A wide city square was built in front of the gate, and in its center a large column 22 meters high was erected, on top of which stood a statue of the emperor. The column, referenced till this day by the Arabic name of the gate, was used as a central and important landmark - the zero point from which the distances to other cities throughout the province were measured. Even during the Byzantine period, the square continued to serve as the main entrance to the city, but the statue of the emperor at the top of the column was replaced by a statue of Christ. From the gate the Cardo, the main street of the Roman city, stretched as far as the present-day Church of the Sepulchre. In the Madaba Map, the famous mosaic map discovered in the town of Madaba in Jordan, which depicts Byzantine Jerusalem, the Cardo and the Pillar Square at its end are clearly marked.
The eastern arch of the Roman triumphal arch can be seen below the present-day Ottoman gate. The Roman Square Museum is located at the gate house, showing the remains of the Roman square with the original stone pavement. The eastern watchtower has also been preserved almost to its entire height - about 12 meters, and the original staircase can still be climbed today, leading to the northern walls promenade. On the floor of the square there is a game board engraved by the Roman soldiers - similar carvings can be found on Mount Zion and in the Monastery of the Sisters of Zion in Via Dolorosa.
The Damascus Gate continues to serve as a central entrance to the Old City, and tens of thousands of people pass through it - especially when crowds of Muslim followers arrive for Friday prayers at the Temple Mount. In the early 2000s, a new entrance plaza in the form of an amphitheater was built in front of the gate, which is used by the residents of Eastern Jerusalem for commerce and recreation.
(Anecdote authored by: עמיר)
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