Aelia Capitolina

Aelia Capitolina (Latin: Colonia Aelia Capitolina [kɔˈloːni.a ˈae̯li.a kapɪtoːˈliːna]) was a Roman colony founded during the Roman emperor Hadrian's visit to Judaea in 129/130 CE. It was founded on the ruins of Jerusalem, which had been almost totally razed after the siege of 70 CE. This act marked a significant transformation of the city from a Jewish metropolis to a small pagan settlement dedicated to the cult of Capitoline Jupiter. The population of Aelia Capitolina consisted primarily of Roman legionaries, veterans, and other non-Jewish settlers. Jews were forbidden entrance to the city. The city's urban layout was redesigned with broad colonnaded streets, arched gateways, and forums that served as commercial and social hubs. The religious landscape also shifted, with the worship of Roman deities replacing the Jewish religious practices that had been centered around the Temple in Jerusalem. Aelia Capitolina remained a relatively minor city within the Roman Empire, with an estimated population of around 4,000, significantly lower than the population during the late Second Temple period. The modest colony would change dramatically starting in the early 4th century, when Constantine the Great granted Christianity legal status within the Roman Empire. This led to the construction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, laying the groundwork for its eventual transformation into a prominent Christian center during the Byzantine period. The ban on Jews was maintained until the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem in 636. The Aelia part of the name was used in Arabic as Īlyāʾ during the Umayyad Caliphate.

Aelia came from Hadrian's Aelia gens, while Capitolina meant that the new city was dedicated to Jupiter Capitolinus, whom the Romans believed had vanquished and replaced the God of the Jews. A temple to Jupiter was built in the city. The Latin name Aelia is the source of the much later term Īlyāʾ (إيليا), a 7th-century early Arab name for Jerusalem.

Archaeological site data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).