User:Chetsford/roman

A Roman Temple in Jerusalem, possibly dedicated to Jupiter, was built on the Temple Mount following the destruction of the Second Temple in the First Jewish–Roman War. The Roman temple was, in turn, destroyed in the fourth century and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher constructed in its place.

At some point during or after 130 A.D., Emperor Hadrian directed that a Roman temple be constructed on the Temple Mount.

In or around 326, the temple was demolished. During excavation of the ruins, workers purportedly discovered the tomb of Jesus Christ over which was constructed what became the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

In 2009, Hebrew University professor Moshe Sharon, expanding on the work of Tuvia Sagiv, suggested that the foundations of the Al Aqsa Mosque replicated that of the Roman temple that formerly occupied the site. Sharon cites similarities in the design of the Jupiterian temple in Baalbek to that of Al Aqsa. The theory has proved controversial as, according to the Jerusalem Post, it suggests the mosque "was not designed according to Muhammad’s famous Night Journey to Jerusalem".