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case, the defeat of the Moors in Spain
had given way to the Inquisition and
the resultant expulsion of some
100,000 Jews from the country,
accused of having too close ties with
the vanquished Arabs.
THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE
Mameluke control of Palestine ended
in 1516 with defeat at the hands of the
Ottoman army. Originating in north-
west Turkey, the Ottoman Turks had
captured Constantinople in 1453,
renaming it Istanbul. Under the rule
of their greatest sultan, Suleyman the
Magnificent (1520-66), vast architec-
tural projects were carried out in
Jerusalem, most notably the con-
struction of the city walls and gates.
However, a series of weak sultans
meant that by the 18th century the
enormous Ottoman empire was no
longer so secure, particularly in the
provinces where corruption was often
a system of administration. This was
the case in Palestine, where the peo-
ple frequently suffered heavy taxes
and poor government. But the Jews
continued to return, largely because
they were safer under Turkish rule
than they were in Europe. Many
chose to settle in Galilee, around
Tiberias and Safed, joining the
Sephardic Jewish communities
that had fled Spain several
centuries earlier. At the same
time, Europe was making its
first real entry into the
region since the Crusades;
N apol eon l and e d in
Egypt in 1798 and the
following year he had
to be repelled from
invading at Akko by
the Ottoman governor,
Ahmed Pasha el-Jazzar.
-
Mameluke horsemen training
for battle, from a 15th-century manuscript
PALESTINE UNDER THE MAMELUKES
In the wake of the Crusades, Jerusalem
slowly declined to the status of a
provincial city. The Mameluk e s (for-
mer slave guards of Saladin's Ayyubid
A
dynasty) ruled the Holy Land from
Egypt, and the Holy City became a
place of banishment for officials who
fell from court favour in Cairo.
While the Mamelukes had driven the
Christian knights from the Holy
Land, they did make allowance
for Christian pilgrims. In 1333
the Franciscan Friars were per-
mitted a presence in Jerusalem,
living in the supposed Hall of the
Last Supper. In 1342 Pope
Clement VI ratified this
mission, which took on the
name of the Franciscan
Custody of the Holy Land.
The following century saw
the beginning of a flow
of Jews into Palestine
escaping persecution in
Europe, a movement that
has continued through into
the 20th century. In this
Suleyman I, the Magnificent,
Ottoman sultan, 1520-66
TIMELINE
14th century
Development of the
area round the Haram
esh-Sharif in Jerusalem
1492 Edict signed by
King Ferdinand
expelling all professing
Jews from Spain
1516 Ottomans defeat
the Mamelukes and
seize control of
Palestine and Egypt
1300
1400
1500
1600
1333 Franciscans
permitted to settle
in Jerusalem
Jaffa Gate, one of
seven gates built by
Suleyman's engineers
1537 Suleyman the
Magnificent orders the
construction of the
walls of Jerusalem
1400 Mamelukes
halt westward
advance of Mongol
ruler Tamerlane
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