Jerusalem
city in the Middle East, holy to the three Abrahamic religions
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the oldest cities in the world and is considered a holy city to the three major Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Both Israel and Palestine claim Jerusalem as their capital city; Israel maintains its primary governmental institutions there, while Palestine ultimately foresees it as its seat of power. Neither claim is widely recognised internationally.
At present, the status of Jerusalem remains one of the core issues in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Under the 1947 United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine, Jerusalem was to be "established as a corpus separatum under a special international regime" administered by the United Nations. Following the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, an armistice agreements were reached in 1949 resulting in the division of Jerusalem into Israeli-controlled West Jerusalem and Jordanian-controlled East Jerusalem. This agreement remained until 1967, when Israel occupied East Jerusalem from Jordan following the Six-Day War and subsequently annexed it into the city's municipality, together with additional surrounding territory. One of Israel's Basic Laws, the 1980 Jerusalem Law, refers to Jerusalem as the country's undivided capital. All branches of the Israeli government are located in Jerusalem, including the Knesset (Israel's parliament), the residences of the prime minister and president, and the Supreme Court.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Jerusalem” is city in the Middle East, holy to the three Abrahamic religions. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Jerusalem, city and Middle, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “city in the Middle East, holy to the three Abrahamic religions” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1218. VIAF identifies the subject as 131280745. The Library of Congress control number is n81126877. Authority coordinates are 31.777, 35.234. 3 of 7 selected statements include explicit references; 5 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1947, 1948, 1949 and 1967.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Jerusalem”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Jerusalem primary sources, Jerusalem archive and Jerusalem research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Jerusalem”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Jerusalem” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.