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The City of Bethlehem
Bethlehem is thought to have been inhabited since the Stone Age, though its origins have been lost in history. The first historical reference to it is in Al Amarneh letters of the 14th century. It did not however gain the importance it holds today until the Edict of Milan of AD 313 by which the Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity. During the Byzantine period, Bethlehem was a walled city with two towers: it figures in the famous map of Madeb, a 6th century Byzantine map in mosaics representing the Holy Land, and in the accounts of early pilgrims. By AD 600, many monasteries and churches had been erected in the then flourishing town.
During the Moslem period, the sites revered by Jews and Christians were protected. In 683, Omar Ibn al Khattab prayed in the southern apse of the Church of the Nativity: the mosque of Omar with its fine minaret opposite the Church commemorates this gesture. With the Crusader invasion of 1099, Bethlehem was captured by Tancred. It became the site for the crowning of Crusader kings and enjoyed royal favor. Salah al Din's forces recaptured Bethlehem in 1187, but the Ayubid Sultan Al Kamil surrendered Bethlehem to the Crusaders in 1229, and they held it until they were finally ousted from the country in 1291.
The name of the city means house of meat in Arabic, and the house of bread in Hebrew. In ancient Cananite the name probably designated the god of war or of food, Lechmu. Bethlehem was also called Ephrath, meaning fertile in Aramic.
Bethlehem is currently one of three designated cities by the Pope for the official millenium celebrations. Together with Nazareth and Rome, Bethlehem will be a focal point for the 17-month celebrations starting November 28th 1999 until Easter 2001. The city is currently undergoing major infrastructure work and renovation, hoping that by the end of this year it will be ready to receive the influx of tourists for the last Christmas of the second millenium.