Jerusalem die heilige viereckete Stadt / In grundt gelegt / und eigentlich abgemahlet. 38

Title

Jerusalem die heilige viereckete Stadt / In grundt gelegt / und eigentlich abgemahlet. 38

Description

Imaginary view of the city of Jerusalem from a bird's eye perspective.

ca. 1581

Artist

Bünting (1545-1606)

Heinrich Bünting (1545 – 1606) was a Protestant pastor and theologian. He is best known for his book of woodcut maps titled Itinerarium Sacrae Scripturae (Travel book through Holy Scripture) first published in 1581. Bünting was born in Hannover, Germany, in 1545. He studied theology at the University of Wittenberg graduating in 1569 and became a Protestant pastor in Lemgo. He was dismissed in 1575 and moved to Gronau an der Leine. In 1591 he was appointed superintendent in Goslar. When a dispute arose over his teachings in 1600 he was dismissed and retired from the ministry. He spent the rest of his life as a private citizen in Hannover. His book of woodcut maps, Itinerarium Sacrae Scripturae, first published in Magdeburg in 1581, was a very popular book in its day. It was reprinted and translated several times. The book provided the most complete summary of biblical geography available and described the Holy Land by following the travels of various notable people from the Old and New Testaments. In addition to conventional maps, the book also contained three figurative maps; the world depicted using a cloverleaf design thought to possibly represent the Trinity with Jerusalem in the center, Europe in the form of a crowned and robed woman, and Asia as the winged horse Pegasus.

Historical Description

The first archaeologically proven traces of an early or proto-Israelite settlement in the Mashrek region go back to the period between the 12th and 11th centuries BC. BC back. According to biblical tradition, Jerusalem was founded around 1000 BC. Conquered by David from the Jebusites and chosen as the capital of his great empire. The country subsequently became part of the Persian Empire, then the Empire of Alexander the Great, and finally the Empire of the Seleucids. The Maccabees revolt in 165 BC BC brought Israel once more state independence for about 100 years. 63 BC The time of Roman supremacy began. The Romans divided the area into two provinces: Syria in the north, Judea in the south. In the course of the Islamic expansion, the area came under Arab rule in 636. Since then, Palestine has been predominantly inhabited by Arabs. The crusaders ruled from 1099 to 1291 what they called the "Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem". This was followed by the Mamluks from 1291 to 1517 and then the Ottoman rule from 1517 to 1918. None of these authorities had planned their own administration for Palestine or viewed the area as an independent geographical unit. The region was also part of Syria for the Ottomans, probably going back to the Roman name Syria.