Editing Aelia Capitolina (section)

== Later history ==
{{Main|Jerusalem during the Byzantine period}}
The reign of Constantine the Great and the construction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the early fourth century initiated the process of Christian establishment in Jerusalem, eventually transforming the small colony into a prominent Christian center.<ref name=":22" /> The city was later ranked the fifth imperial patriarchate, alongside Rome, Alexandria, Constantinople, and Antioch.<ref name=":22" /> This transformation continued over the next three centuries during the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine period]] until the [[Siege of Jerusalem (636–637)|Muslim conquest of the city]] in 636/7.<ref name=":22" />

{{stack|[[File:Madaba_map.jpg|thumb|The [[Madaba Map]] depiction of 6th-century [[Jerusalem]] has the ''[[Cardo]] Maximus'', the town's main street, beginning at the northern gate (today's [[Damascus Gate]]), and traversing the city in a straight line south to "New Church".]]}}
The ban on Jewish entry remained in place after the [[Christianity as the Roman state religion|Christianization of the Roman Empire]],{{sfn|Friedman|1996|p=138}} and continued until the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Jerusalem.<ref>{{cite web |last=Zank |first=Michael |title=Byzantian Jerusalem |url=http://www.bu.edu/mzank/Jerusalem/p/period3-2.htm |access-date=1 February 2007 |publisher=Boston University}}</ref>{{sfn|Friedman|1996|pp=138–139}} Christians had been allowed to visit the city since the 4th century, when Constantine ordered the construction of Christian holy sites in the city. Burial remains from the Byzantine period are exclusively Christian, suggesting that the population of Jerusalem in Byzantine times probably consisted only of Christians.<ref>Gideon Avni, {{Google books|id=ZLucAgAAQBAJ|page=144|title=The Byzantine-Islamic Transition in Palestine: An Archaeological Approach}}, Oxford University Press 2014 p.144.</ref>

In the fifth century, the emperor based in [[Constantinople]] maintained control of the city, but following [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanian emperor]] [[Khosrow II]]'s early seventh-century advance through [[Syria]], his generals [[Shahrbaraz]] and [[Shahin Vahmanzadegan]] attacked Jerusalem, aided by the Jews of [[Palaestina Prima]], who had risen against the Byzantines.<ref name="AntiochusStrategos2">{{Cite book |last=Conybeare |first=Frederick C. |author-link=Frederick Cornwallis Conybeare |title=The Capture of Jerusalem by the Persians in 614 AD |year=1910 |series=English Historical Review 25 |pages=502–517}}</ref> In 614, after 21 days of siege, [[Sasanian conquest of Jerusalem|Jerusalem was captured]]. Byzantine chronicles relate that the Sasanian and Jewish forces slaughtered tens of thousands of Christians in the city, many at the [[Mamilla Pool]], and destroyed their monuments and churches, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The conquered city would remain in Sasanian hands for some fifteen years. It was reconquered by emperor [[Heraclius]] in 629.<ref>Rodney Aist,''The Christian Topography of Early Islamic Jerusalem,''Brepols Publishers, 2009 p.56:'Persian control of Jerusalem lasted from 614 to 629'.</ref>

Byzantine Jerusalem was conquered by the armies of [[Umar]], the [[Rashidun Caliph|Rashid caliph]], in 636,<ref>{{cite book |author=Dan Bahat |title=The Illustrated Atlas of Jerusalem |year=1996 |page=71}}</ref> which resulted in the removal of the restrictions on Jews living in the city. In this era, it was referred to in Arabic as ''Madinat Bayt al-Maqdis'' "City of the Temple",<ref>Ben-Dov, M. ''Historical Atlas of Jerusalem''. Translated by David Louvish. New York: Continuum, 2002, p. 171</ref> a name restricted to the Temple Mount. The rest of the city was called ''Ilyā'', reflecting the Roman name ''Aelia''.<ref>Linquist, J.M., ''The Temple of Jerusalem'', Praeger, London, 2008, p. 184</ref>{{efn|"Till the time of Constantine, and for at least two centuries later, Aelia remained the official name and usual geographical designation; was still longer continued in Christian writings; and even passed over into Arabic as 'Iliyā'."<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.cwru.edu/UL/preserve/Etana/SMITH.JERUv1/SMITH.JERUv1.250.273.pdf|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20031212012636/http://www.cwru.edu/UL/preserve/Etana/SMITH.JERUv1/SMITH.JERUv1.250.273.pdf |url-status= dead |archive-date= 2003-12-12 |title= The Name Jerusalem and its History }}</ref>}}