Synopsis
Simon Sebag Montefiore begins a history of Jerusalem by exploring how it came into being and how it became so important to Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
- Programme: Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City
- Episode: 1: Wellspring of Holiness
- Channel: BBC Four
- Broadcast year: 2011
- History
Licence: ERA Licence required
UK only
Staff and students of licensed education establishments only
Cannot be adapted
Add Notes
More clips from 01: Wellspring of Holiness

Babylon | Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City
Babylon | Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City
Simon Sebag Montefiore discusses the story of Nebuchadnezzar destroying the temple in Jerusalem and the exile of the Jewish pe...

Constantine and the origins of Christianity | Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City
Constantine and the origins of Christianity | Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City
Simon Sebag Montefiore discusses the origins of Christianity and the Church of the Holy Se...

Jesus | Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City
Jesus | Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City
Simon Sebag Montefiore tells the story of Jesus in Jerusalem.

King David | Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City
King David | Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City
Simon Sebag Montefiore explains how King David united the divided Israelites.

King Solomon's Temple | Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City
King Solomon's Temple | Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City
Simon Sebag Montefiore recounts the history of King Solomon's Temple and its importance to Judaism.

Origins of Jerusalem in the Bible | Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City
Origins of Jerusalem in the Bible | Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City
Simon Sebag Montefiore discusses the Bible and its first references to Jerusalem.

The Siege of Jerusalem | Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City
The Siege of Jerusalem | Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City
Simon Sebag Montefiore investigates the events of the siege of Jerusalem.
More resources about Islamic civilisations (e.g., baghdad c. 900)

1: Medicine and Religion | History File
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Programme begins with looking at Ancient Greece, then the Roman Empire then looking at Muslim and Christian links.

1: Medicine, Religion and Natural Causes | History File
1: Medicine, Religion and Natural Causes | History File
This programme looks at ancient Egypt, Hippocrates, Christianity and Islam.

2: Clash of the Titans | The Crusades
2: Clash of the Titans | The Crusades
Dr Thomas Asbridge examines the two figures who have come to embody Crusader war: Richard the Lionheart and Saladin.

2: Invasion, Invasion, Invasion | Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City
2: Invasion, Invasion, Invasion | Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City
Simon Sebag Montefiore continues his history of Jerusalem by discovering the impact of Islam and the c...

2: The Cross and the Crescent | Africa's Great Civilisations
2: The Cross and the Crescent | Africa's Great Civilisations
Henry Louis Gates Jr explores how the emergence of Christianity and Islam reshaped Africa over centuries.

24: 1979: God Fights Back | People's Century
24: 1979: God Fights Back | People's Century
Religion makes a comeback into people's lives in the Islamic world and elsewhere, as people seek guidance and spiritual sustenan...

Al-Khwarizmi's digit and numerical system | Science and Islam
Al-Khwarizmi's digit and numerical system | Science and Islam
Jim Al-Khalili explains how our numerical system spread to Europe through the work of the Arabic mathematician ...

Algebra | Science and Islam
Algebra | Science and Islam
Jim Al-Khalili describes the invention of algebra by medieval Islamic mathematicians.

Arabic, the language of God | Science and Islam
Arabic, the language of God | Science and Islam
Jim Al-Khalili looks at how Islamic caliphs encouraged scientific research and made Arabic the official language of their vas...

Episode 1 | The Ottomans: Europe's Muslim Emperors
Episode 1 | The Ottomans: Europe's Muslim Emperors
Rageh Omaar examines the history of the Ottoman empire. He starts by looking at the unlikely roots of the Ottomans, as nom...

Episode 2 | The Ottomans: Europe's Muslim Emperors
Episode 2 | The Ottomans: Europe's Muslim Emperors
Rageh Omaar explores the contrasts between two very different Ottoman sultans, Suleiman the Magnificent in the 16th centur...

Episode 3 | The Ottomans: Europe's Muslim Emperors
Episode 3 | The Ottomans: Europe's Muslim Emperors
Rageh Omaar ends his series with a look at how the collapse of the Ottoman Empire created a legacy of tension and conflict...

Islamic Medicine | Science and Islam
Islamic Medicine | Science and Islam
Jim Al-Khalili explains the importance of medical knowledge to medieval Islam.

Map-making | Science and Islam
Map-making | Science and Islam
Jim Al-Khalili explains why Al-Ma'mun, a medieval caliph, funded a programme of map-making.

Medieval Islamic Compassion | Science and Islam
Medieval Islamic Compassion | Science and Islam
Jim Al-Khalili talks about the enduring legacies of medieval Islamic medicine.

Melisende, Queen of Jerusalem | Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City
Melisende, Queen of Jerusalem | Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City
Simon Sebag Montefiore investigates the extraordinary life of Melisende, Queen of Jerusalem.

Pact of Omar | Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City
Pact of Omar | Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City
Simon Sebag Montefiore discusses the circumstances in which the Pact of Omar between Christian and Muslim rulers was nego...

Printing press | Science and Islam
Printing press | Science and Islam
Jim Al-Khalili looks at how the printing press shifted the centres of scientific research from East to West.

The Crusades
The Crusades
Dr Thomas Asbridge re-examines the story of the Crusades. He traces the epic journey of the first crusaders as they marched from Europe to recapture the city of...

The first crusade | Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City
The first crusade | Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City
Simon Sebag Montefiore discusses the events of the first crusade.