The seventh volume of the CIAP dedicated to the inscriptions of Jerusalem during the first five centuries of the Islamic rule, follows the groundbreaking volumes of Max van Berchem’s Matériaux pour un Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarum (MCIA), deuxième partie, Syrie du Sud, tome premier Jérusalem “Ville”, tome deuxième Jérusalem “Ḥaram”, tome troisième Jérusalem “Planches.” The references to the Jerusalem volumes are “CIA 1”, “CIA 2,” and “CIA 3”. The reference to the first volume of the MCIA dedicated to Egypt (Première partie Égypte, 1903) is “CIA 1, Egypt.” Where there is no reference to the CIA or to any other publication, it means that the inscription is new and unedited. However, an inscription, which van Berchem recorded but did not include, for some reason, in the CIA, is treated as published, and the reference to it will be “Publication: MvB” combined with the reference to its place in van Berchem’s archives.
In his volumes on the inscriptions of Jerusalem, van Berchem divided his study of the epigraphic material according to sites. He first divided the material into two parts, the first 143 inscriptions in the first volume are the inscriptions found in the city itself, outside the Ḥaram (Ville) and the ones found in the Ḥaram (nos. 144 to 300) make up the second volume (Ḥaram). He divided this volume into three parts according to the major monuments; first the inscriptions found in, or next to the esplanade of the sanctuary with its relatively minor sites, followed by the inscriptions of the Dome of the Rock (Ṣakhrah) and finally the inscriptions of the Aqṣā mosque.
I followed a different method. Since the inscriptions in the whole CIAP are arranged according to chronological order, the inscriptions of Jerusalem are also arranged chronologically. A special index is attached that indicates the site of each inscription. I made a point to refer to the work of van Bercham, and particularly to his rich scholarly apparatus, which enabled me to limit my notes to the main references, so that the reader is always exposed to his work.
Unlike other sites, Jerusalem has been the object of endless studies which have covered every possible aspect of the holy city. I therefore did not engage myself with writing a long dissertation on it, and preferred to deal with the issues emerging from the particular study of each inscription which put the reader into the historical context of each individual inscription. Following the method used in this Corpus (and van Berchem’s), the inscriptions are always studied against their historical, cultural, linguistic and theological context. The sum total of these studies adds up to a clearer understanding of Jerusalem under the Muslims. Like in most of the previous volumes, this volume also begins with a section of Addenda to volumes 2, 3, 5, and 6 followed by the main Corpus.
This is an opportunity to thank Dr. Necati Alkan for his contribution to the Turkish material in the Addenda. His work is acknowledged in situ. For many years now, my long-time student and colleague Dr. Ami M. Schrager has always been a great help to me, and many times has contributed his keen eye and excellent familiarity with the computer to solve reading and bibliographical problems, concurrently proving himself a professional epigrapher with independent research qualities. Thanks are due to my colleagues who are always ready to answer questions relating to their fields of expertise: Reuven Amitai, Albert Arazi, Joshua Blau, Amikam Elad, Isaac Hasson, Yohanan Friedman, Benjamin Z. Kedar and the late Bernard Lewis, my teacher and longtime friend, who passed away during the preparation of this volume. Much help was extended by Ms. Sylvia Krapiwko, the custodian of the archives of the IAA, who did not spare time or effort when asked to provide visual material for the Corpus.
I could not carry out the work on the CIAP without the financial support of the Fondation Max van Berchem in Geneva and without the availability of the van Berchem archives and the friendly attitude and encouragement of Professor Charles Genequand and Mrs. Antoinette Harri who has always been available to contribute her professional support which makes my work in the van Berchem archives for more than 20 years fruitful and enjoyable. I must emphasize that I was particularly encouraged when the Académie des inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, Paris, acknowledged my work and awarded me a prize for volume 6 of the Corpus. The constant encouragement of E.J. Brill, my faithful publishers that always drive me to supply them with yet another new volume of the Corpus, is always a source of pride. Their professional production of the CIAP is a masterpiece.
I cannot but recall with great sadness that this volume of the Corpus has been written the second time over. It had been already composed, and nearly ready for publication in 1987, the year of my return with my family from a sabbatical in South Africa. The complete volume on Jerusalem was supposed to be the first volume of the Corpus. It was all hand-written and the photographs of the inscriptions and sites were on paper (fortunately I had negatives of the photographs). By mistake, the hand-written material was put into the container with all our belongings and sent by boat to Eilat. After safe arrival, the container was stolen. The household goods were plundered, and the pages of the Corpus were scattered and blown away by the winter wind, and destroyed by the rain and mud. There was no copy. This volume, however, is not an exact replica of the lost one because in the many years that have elapsed since 1987 many more inscriptions have been discovered and I have changed the method of publication and in the over thirty years since then, I have created a new, solid method of research and publication.
My wife Judy accompanies me at every stage of this project, her encouragement, and professional contribution as proofreader accompany the birth of each one of its volumes.
Moshe Sharon
Jerusalem, December 2020