Jerusalem

Judges was written between 1220-1050 BC. This verse captured me today, "The people of Judah attacked and captured Jerusalem, subduing the city by sword and then sending it up in flames."

The pain they caused to the people of that great city would boomerang on them in the centuries to come, once it was their territory. The temple in Jerusalem, according to Wikipedia, refers to one of a series of structures located on the Temple Mount in the old city of Jerusalem. Historically, it functioned as the center of ancient Jewish worship.

The First Temple was built in 957 BC by King Solomon. As the sole place of Jewish sacrifice, the Temple replaced the portable sanctuary constructed in the Sinai Desert under the auspices of Moses (sound familiar?). It was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC when they sacked the city.

Construction of the Second Temple began in 538 BC, and it was dedicated 23 years later, in 515. According to the Book of Ezra, rebuilding of the Temple was authorized by Cyrus the Great and ratified by Darius the Great. It suffered desecration by Antiochus Epiphanes in 167 BC, but was rededicated under Judas Maccabaeus in 164 BC. Over a century later in around 20 BC, the building was renovated by Herod the Great and became known as Herod's Temple. During the Roman occupation of Judea, the Temple remained under control of the Jewish people. It was later destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD during the Siege of Jerusalem.

It is believed that only part of the Western Wall of the complex remains standing. During the last revolt of the Jews against the Romans in 132–135 AD, Simon bar Kokhba and Rabbi Akiva wanted to rebuild the Temple, but bar Kokhba's revolt failed and the Jews were banned from Jerusalem by the Roman Empire. The emperor Julian failed to have the Temple rebuilt in 363 AD.

After the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem in the 7th century, Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan ordered the construction of an Islamic shrine, the Dome of the Rock on the site of the Temple. The shrine has stood on the mount since 691 AD.

I guess what goes around comes around. Does anyone ever really win a game of king of the hill?