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Concept
Tower of David
Summary
The Tower of David (Migdál Davíd), also known as the Citadel (al-Qala'a), is an ancient citadel located near the Jaffa Gate entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem.
The citadel that stands today dates to the Mamluk and Ottoman periods. It was built on the site of a series of earlier ancient fortifications of the Hasmonean, Herodian, Byzantine and Early Muslim periods, after being destroyed repeatedly during the last decades of Crusader presence in the Holy Land by their Muslim enemies. It contains important archaeological finds dating back over 2,500 years including a quarry dated to the First Temple period, and is a popular venue for benefit events, craft shows, concerts, and sound-and-light performances.
Dan Bahat, the Israeli archeologist, writes that the original three Hasmonean towers standing in this area of the city were altered by Herod, and that "The northeastern tower was replaced by a much larger, more massive tower, dubbed the "Tower of David" beginning in the 5th century C.E." The name "Tower of David" migrated in the 19th century from the Herodian tower in the northeast of the citadel, to the 17th-century minaret at the opposite side of the citadel, and after 1967 has been officially adopted for the entire citadel.
The name "Tower of David" was first used for the Herodian tower in the 5th century CE by the Byzantine Christians, who believed the site to be the palace of King David. They borrowed the name "Tower of David" from the Song of Songs, attributed to Solomon, King David's son, who wrote: "Thy neck is like the Tower of David built with turrets, whereon there hang a thousand shields, all the armor of the mighty men" ().
An Arabic name of the massive Herodian-Mamluk northeast tower is the Burj al-Qalʾa ().
During the Early Muslim and Ayyubid periods it was known in Arabic as Miḥrāb Dāwūd, David's miḥrāb (prayer place).
Please note that there is also another mihrab (prayer niche) called Miḥrāb Dāwūd, built into the inner side of the Southern Wall of the Haram esh-Sharif/Temple Mount.
Official source
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