Tower of David

The Tower of David, also known as the Citadel, is an ancient citadel and contemporary museum, located near the Jaffa Gate entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem [1]. The citadel that stands today dates to the Mamluk and Ottoman periods [1]. It was built on the site of a series of earlier ancient fortifications of the Hasmonean, Herodian, Byzantine and Early Muslim periods [1]. Herod, who wrested power from the Hasmonean dynasty, added three massive towers to the fortifications in 37–34 BCE [1]. He built these at the vulnerable northwest corner of the Western Hill, where the citadel is now located [1]. In 1310 the citadel was rebuilt by Mamluk sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun, who gave it much of its present shape [1]. The citadel was expanded between 1537 and 1541 by the Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, whose architects designed a large entrance, behind which stood a cannon emplacement [1].