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In 1948, the armies of seven Arab nations invaded Israel. They failed to wipe out the newly reborn nation, but Jordan occupied part of Jerusalem and ethnically cleansed its Jews. Among the former Jewish neighborhoods was a small area named Shimon HaTzadik or Simon the Righteous after a high priest who became famous for talking Alexander the Great out of putting up an idol in the Temple. The Arab Muslim colonists who had occupied the area however called it Sheikh Jarrah after an associate of the Iraqi invader Saladin. Saladin had invaded Israel some 1500 years after Shimon HaTzadik’s death....

In 1187, Saladin managed to defeat the Crusader states and reconquer Jerusalem, prompting Richard to initiate another military campaign to regain Christian control over the Holy Land. After Acre surrendered to him, the king started to descend along Israel's coast with his forces. "Ultimately, Richard and the Crusaders wanted to reconquer Jerusalem, but first the monarch decided to march south to capture Jaffa," the archaeologist explained. The march along the shore allowed the troops to be protected by the Mediterranean Sea on their right side and to receive the logistical support of their fleet. Lewis pointed out that Richard proved...

Dorin Cioba the leader of three million Roma around the world, landed in Israel on Wednesday. Roma are widely known as Gypsies. On his first visit to Israel, Cioba, who is president of the International Romani Union, plans to visit the Roma community in Jerusalem as well as the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial. The photographer Roni Ben-Ari invited Cioaba to Israel for the opening of her exhibit that documents the life of Gypsies in the city of Lugoj, Romania. The exhibit opens on Thursday at the Museum of Israeli Art in Ramat Gan. "This is the first time that I...

The great Library of Alexandria, established by Ptolemy II (circa 280 BC), has come to symbolize the receptacle of knowledge of Classical civilization. This great repository was barbarously razed in the Middle Ages. At its height, the Library contained an estimated forty thousand volumes on a wide variety of topics. It held works on astronomy, mathematics, physics, medicine, and philosophy -- many of which were copied from the hieroglyphic and cuneiform texts of the Egyptians and Babylonians. It also stored histories of all the countries of the known world: histories of Egypt, of Babylonia, of Persia, of the lands of...

Carbon nanotubes are no longer the proud boast of 21st century materials scientists. It appears their discovery was unwittingly pre-empted by mediaeval Muslim sword-smiths whose tough Damascus blades taught the Crusaders the true meaning of cold steel when they fought over the Holy Land. Peter Paufler and colleagues at Dresden’s Technical University discovered carbon nanotubes in the microstructure of a 17th century Damascus sabre. Intriguingly, the nanotubes could have encapsulated iron-carbide nanowires that might give clues to the mechanical strength and sharpness of these swords. To Europeans, Damascus steel blades seemed magical. Not only could they cut a piece of...

Modern society obsessively avoids suffering, risk and danger. It secures everything with seatbelts and safety rails, air conditions the summer heat, prints warnings on coffee cups and advises that that safety glasses should be used while working with hammers. Certainly such precautions have prevented misfortune. However, since heroism and excellence are born from confronting rather than avoiding suffering and peril, the mania for safeguards has also diminished the notion of these qualities. This is unfortunate since only those intrepid souls who confront danger, endure suffering and overcome obstacles merit mention in the annals of history. A shining example is the...

FOB WARRIOR, Iraq (Army News Service, Aug. 29, 2005) — Governors from the Iraqi provinces of Kirkuk, Sulaymaniyah, Diyala and Saladin met Aug. 24 at the Iraqi Army’s K-1 military installation near Kirkuk to discuss issues affecting north-central Iraq. Top coalition leaders from the region were also present at the event, including 42nd Infantry Division Commander Maj. Gen. Joseph Taluto and 116th Brigade Combat Team Commander Brig. Gen. Alan Gayhart, as well as the commanders of sister units in the 42nd division. Governors Mustafa Abdulrahman of Kirkuk, Dana Ahmed Majid of Sulaymaniyah, Raad Rashid Mullah Jowad of Diyala and Deputy...

FOB WARRIOR, Iraq— Governors from the Iraqi provinces of Kirkuk, Sulaymaniyah, Diyala and Saladin met August 24 at the Iraqi Army’s K-1 military installation near Kirkuk to discuss issues affecting north-central Iraq. Governors Mustafa Abdulrahman of Kirkuk, Dana Ahmed Majid of Sulaymaniyah, Raad Rashid Mullah Jowad of Diyala and Deputy Governor Abdulla Hasan Jobara of Saladin represented their provinces at the meeting. Top coalition leaders from the region were also present at the event, including 42nd Infantry Division Commander Maj. Gen. Joseph Taluto and 116th Brigade Combat Team Commander Brig. Gen. Alan Gayhart, as well as the commanders of sister...

These days it seems that whenever Hollywood meets history, history gets the squeeze. Last year "King Arthur," "Troy" and "Alexander" were put through the revisionist wringer. Today it's the factually challenged movie "Kingdom of Heaven" whose historical content appears to have been schmushed. "Kingdom of Heaven"'s director Ridley Scott recently took a cue from Cecil B. DeMille and chose the Crusades as the subject of his latest epic. This is the same fellow who brought us "Gladiator" and "Blade Runner," which makes me wonder: How did a talented filmmaker like Scott get stuck with an incoherent script like this? It's...

“Kingdom of Heaven”: Bin Laden’s Slanted Crusade Movie May 5, 2005 By Debbie Schlussel Mark Twain said, “History tells us that the truth is not hard to kill, but a lie told well is immortal.” “Kingdom of Heaven,” Ridley Scott’s extremely boring movie version of the Crusades, is Twain’s words in action. Scott is serial killer of truth—giving immortality to 1,000 lies—in this propaganda film. The wannabe-epic is being panned for its lack of accuracy by a host of Islam experts, like Robert Spencer. Crusades expert Jonathan Riley-Smith says it’s basically “Osama bin Laden’s version of History.” But the folks...

1204: What really happened? When Saladin retook the crusader kingdom of Jerusalem for Islam in 1187,Pope Innocent III declared a new crusade to recapture it. But the crusaders ran into financial difficulties and took advantage of Greek imperial in fighting to raise money. The scheme was a disaster, laying Constantinople to waste, gutting its churches and sending many of its citizens into slavery in Europe. The crusaders never went on to Jerusalem, but calcified the mistrust between eastern and western Christendom IN THE history of crusading, the idea that Christians should unite against Muslims for the defence of the Holy...

Hollywood producer could bring Arab hero Saladin to the silver screen Zeidan Consultancy, a Middle East public relations consultancy, revealed that it is in talks with Zinkler Films of Hollywood to produce a motion picture on the life of the Arab world’s historic hero Saladin El Din Al-Ayubi. Zeidan Consultancy plans to film and produce parts of the movie in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) due to the attractive media infrastructure and suitable film locations for this project. “World class movie production costs, excluding actors fees, start at $30 million. To our knowledge this would be the first Hollywood...

Does Saddam Think He's a Modern-Day Saladin? By Eric H. Cline Mr. Cline is assistant professor of ancient history and archaeology in the Department of Classical and Semitic Languages and Literatures, with courtesy appointments in history, anthropology, and Judaic studies. His latest book, Jerusalem Besieged: From Ancient Canaan to Modern Israel, is scheduled to be published by the University of Michigan Press. As George Santayana cogently observed, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Valid comparisons can certainly be made between ancient and modern societies -- including Rome and the United States. It is also true...