Al-Quds is the most common Arabic name for Jerusalem and is used by many cultures influenced by Islam. The name may have been a direct translation of the Hebrew nickname for the city, "Ir HaKodesh" (עיר הקודש "The Holy City" or "City of the Holiness").
Arabic names
In Arabic, Jerusalem is most commonly known as القُدس, transliterated as al-Quds and meaning "The Holy" or "The Holy Sanctuary", cognate with Hebrew: הקדש, romanized: Ha-Qodesh, lit. 'The Holy'.
From its earliest name Ursalim, Jerusalem's name has mirrored the city's conquerors, passing through Jebus to the Roman Aelia Capitolina to al-Quds - and back to the ancient Israelite Yerushalayim.
After Muhammad established Mecca as the premier holy site of Islam, the Umayyads decided to make Jerusalem a sacred city, naming it Bayt al-Maqdis or al-Quds.
After World War I, Great Britain took over Jerusalem, which was part of Palestine at the time. The British controlled the city and surrounding region until Israel became an independent state in 1948. Jerusalem was divided during the first 20 years of Israel's existence.
Palestine's Early Roots
Throughout history, Palestine has been ruled by numerous groups, including the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Fatimids, Seljuk Turks, Crusaders, Egyptians and Mamelukes. From about 1517 to 1917, the Ottoman Empire ruled much of the region.
After Herodotus, the term `Palestine' came to be used for the entire region which was formerly known as Canaan.
Canaan (2000–1000 BCE)
Jerusalem, Hebrew Yerushalayim, Arabic Bayt al-Muqaddas or Al-Quds, ancient city of the Middle East that since 1967 has been wholly under the rule of the State of Israel.
Jerusalem remained under Muslim rule until it was captured by Crusaders in 1099 during the First Crusade.
Today, Jerusalem is called Yerushalayim (Hebrew: יְרוּשָׁלַיִם) and Al-Quds (Arabic: اَلْـقُـدْس).
In the eighth century, the city of Ramia was made the capital of the district which embraced Jerusalem. During the period of Mamluk rule (1250- 1516), the Land was ruled from Damascus; in Ottoman times (1517 - 1917), from Constantinople.
According to the Bible, Jerusalem at this time was known as Jebus and its independent Canaanite inhabitants at this time were known as Jebusites.
This country received the name of Palestine, from the Philistines, who dwelt on the sea coast: it was called Judea, from Judah: and is termed the Holy Land, being the country where Jesus Christ was born, preached his holy doctrines, confirmed them by miracles, and laid down his life for mankind.
The term "Palestine" first appeared in the 5th century BCE when the ancient Greek historian Herodotus wrote of a "district of Syria, called Palaistinê" between Phoenicia and Egypt in The Histories.
The name Syria-Palaestina was given to the Roman province of Judaea in the early 2nd century AD.
Archaeological work in the area suggests that the city was inhabited as far back as 4000BC. Its earliest known name may be Jebusite, the translation of a Canaanite town. Together with the later arriving Philistines, they are believed to be the earliest known ancestors to present day Palestinians.
In 1917, in order to win Jewish support for Britain's First World War effort, the British Balfour Declaration promised the establishment of a Jewish national home in Ottoman-controlled Palestine.
Israel's establishment as an independent sovereign state was officially declared in Tel Aviv on Friday May 14, 1948, by Zionist leader David Ben-Gurion, the day the British Mandate over Palestine was officially terminated, in accordance with UN Resolution 181.
The British controlled Palestine until Israel, in the years following the end of World War II, became an independent state in 1947.
From a purely historical perspective, “Israel” predates “Palestine” by more than a millennium. But, with the Jewish people then dispersed from their homeland, “Palestine” became home to a substantial Arab population, again for more than a millennium.
On November 29, 1947 the United Nations adopted Resolution 181 (also known as the Partition Resolution) that would divide Great Britain's former Palestinian mandate into Jewish and Arab states in May 1948 when the British mandate was scheduled to end.
Palestine was among former Ottoman territories placed under UK administration by the League of Nations in 1922.
The 1948 war ended with Israeli forces controlling approximately 78 percent of historical Palestine. The remaining 22 percent fell under the administration of Egypt and Jordan. In 1967, Israel absorbed the whole of historical Palestine, as well as additional territory from Egypt and Syria.
Islam was first brought to the region of Palestine during the Early Muslim conquests of the 7th century, when the Rashidun Caliphate under the leadership of ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb conquered the Shaam region from the Byzantine Empire. The Muslim army conquered Jerusalem, held by the Byzantine Romans, in November, 636.