Jerusalem 636 The Siege That Brought Islam to the Holy City

In 636 CE, Jerusalem surrendered to a new power: the Muslim Caliphate under Umar ibn al-Khattab. After a long siege, the Byzantine patriarch Sophronius handed over the keys to the city. This episode explores the dramatic negotiations, the terms of surrender (the 'Covenant of Umar'), and the immediate aftermath — how Umar walked into the Church of the Holy Sepulchre but prayed outside, how he cleansed the Temple Mount and built the first mosque there, and how the city transformed under early Islamic rule. We also look at the military context: the Battle of Yarmouk that broke Byzantine power, the role of Caliph Abu Bakr, and the logistical challenges of besieging Jerusalem. Drawing on contemporary accounts from Sophronius's sermons and later Muslim chronicles, we trace the pivot that made Jerusalem a Muslim holy city. This episode fills a gap between the Roman and Crusader periods, showing how the city's religious character shifted irreversibly.

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