Tips

Many (if not most) modern scholars use the name **Jerusalem** to refer to the ancient city.

Here’s why and some important nuances:

1. **Direct Continuation:** The city of Jerusalem has a continuous history spanning millennia. The ancient city is directly on the same site as the modern city, with layers of occupation building upon the past. It’s not a completely lost city whose name is unknown.

2. **Biblical and Historical Consistency:**
* **Hebrew Bible/Old Testament:** The city is consistently called יְרוּשָׁלַיִם (Yerushalayim) in the Hebrew texts.
* **Greek Septuagint and New Testament:** The Greek form Ἱερουσαλήμ (Hierousalēm) or Ἱεροσόλυμα (Hierosolyma) is used.
* **Roman/Byzantine Eras:** While the Romans renamed it “Aelia Capitolina” after its destruction in 135 AD, the name Jerusalem eventually returned to common usage, especially by Christians and later Muslims.

3. **Scholarly Convention:** When archaeologists, historians, and biblical scholars discuss the city in any period from its earliest known settlements (e.g., during the Early Bronze Age, Middle Bronze Age, Late Bronze Age, Iron Age, Persian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, early Islamic periods), they almost universally refer to it as Jerusalem. If they need to specify a particular era, they’ll say “Iron Age Jerusalem” or “Herodian Jerusalem,” but the name “Jerusalem” remains constant.

**In summary:** There is no common, distinct name for the ancient city of Jerusalem used by modern scholars *other than* “Jerusalem.” The name itself has a continuous lineage that makes it appropriate for all periods of the city’s history.

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