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The Cave of the Patriarchs or Tomb of the Patriarchs, known to Jews as the Cave of Machpelah (Hebrew: מערת המכפלה, Me'arat HaMakhpela (help·info), lit. 'Cave of the Double Caves') and to Muslims as the Sanctuary of Abraham (Arabic: الحرم الإبراهيمي, al-Haram al-Ibrahimi (help·info)), is a series of caves situated 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of Jerusalem in the heart of the Old City of Hebron in the West Bank. According to the Abrahamic religions, the cave and adjoining field were purchased by Abraham as a burial plot, although archaeologists have been unable to prove that Abraham existed.[2][3]
Cave of the Patriarchs
מְעָרַת הַמַּכְפֵּלָה
الحرم الإبراهيمي
Southern view of the complex, 2009
Cave of the Patriarchs
Location within the West Bank
Show map of the West BankShow map of State of PalestineShow all
Alternative nameTomb of the Patriarchs, Cave of Machpelah, Sanctuary of AbrahamLocationHebron (Palestinian Territories)RegionIsraeli-occupied West BankCoordinates31.5247°N 35.1107°ETypeTomb, mosque, synagogue[1]HistoryCulturesHebrew, Byzantine, Ayyubid, Crusader, OttomanAssociated withAbraham
Over the cave stands a large rectangular enclosure dating from the Herodian era.[4] During Byzantine rule of the region, a basilica was built on the site; the structure was converted into the Ibrahimi Mosque following the Muslim conquest of the Levant. By the 12th century, the mosque and its surrounding regions had fallen under crusader-state control, but were retaken in 1188 by the Ayyubid sultan Saladin, who again converted the structure into a mosque.[5]
During the Six-Day War of 1967, the entire Jordanian-occupied West Bank was seized and occupied by the State of Israel, after which the structure was divided into a synagogue and a mosque.[6] In 1994, the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre occurred at the Ibrahimi Mosque, in which an armed Israeli settler entered the complex on the Jewish holiday of Purim—which had occurred during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan—and opened fire on Palestinian Muslims who had gathered to pray at the site, killing 29 people, including children, and wounding over 125.
The site is considered to be the second-holiest place in Judaism after the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem.[7]The Cave of the Patriarchs or Tomb of the Patriarchs, known to Jews as the Cave of Machpelah (Hebrew: מערת המכפלה, Me'arat HaMakhpela (help·info), lit. 'Cave of the Double Caves') and to Muslims as the Sanctuary of Abraham (Arabic: الحرم الإبراهيمي, al-Haram al-Ibrahimi (help·info)), is a series of caves situated 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of Jerusalem in the heart of the Old City of Hebron in the West Bank. According to the Abrahamic religions, the cave and adjoining field were purchased by Abraham as a burial plot, although archaeologists have been unable to prove that Abraham existed.[2][3]
Cave of the Patriarchs
מְעָרַת הַמַּכְפֵּלָה
الحرم الإبراهيمي
Southern view of the complex, 2009
Cave of the Patriarchs
Location within the West Bank
Show map of the West BankShow map of State of PalestineShow all
Alternative nameTomb of the Patriarchs, Cave of Machpelah, Sanctuary of AbrahamLocationHebron (Palestinian Territories)RegionIsraeli-occupied West BankCoordinates31.5247°N 35.1107°ETypeTomb, mosque, synagogue[1]HistoryCulturesHebrew, Byzantine, Ayyubid, Crusader, OttomanAssociated withAbraham
Over the cave stands a large rectangular enclosure dating from the Herodian era.[4] During Byzantine rule of the region, a basilica was built on the site; the structure was converted into the Ibrahimi Mosque following the Muslim conquest of the Levant. By the 12th century, the mosque and its surrounding regions had fallen under crusader-state control, but were retaken in 1188 by the Ayyubid sultan Saladin, who again converted the structure into a mosque.[5]
During the Six-Day War of 1967, the entire Jordanian-occupied West Bank was seized and occupied by the State of Israel, after which the structure was divided into a synagogue and a mosque.[6] In 1994, the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre occurred at the Ibrahimi Mosque, in which an armed Israeli settler entered the complex on the Jewish holiday of Purim—which had occurred during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan—and opened fire on Palestinian Muslims who had gathered to pray at the site, killing 29 people, including children, and wounding over 125.
The site is considered to be the second-holiest place in Judaism after the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem.[7]
