Church of the Holy Sepulchre Destroyed (1009) by al-Hakim

The destruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre began in Jerusalem on 18 October 1009, on the orders of the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah. The church, built by the Roman emperor Constantine in the fourth century over the site venerated as the tomb of Jesus, was torn down and the rock-cut tomb itself was largely hacked away. The event shocked Christians from Byzantium to Western Europe and was remembered long after the church was rebuilt.

Background: Jerusalem under the Fatimids

Jerusalem had been under Muslim rule since the 630s. In the 970s it passed to the Fatimid Caliphate, the Ismaili Shia dynasty ruling from Cairo. Christians and Jews lived in the city as protected communities (dhimmis), paying a special tax, and pilgrims continued to visit the holy places.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was the holiest site in Christianity. Constantine’s complex, dedicated in 335, included a great basilica and a rotunda called the Anastasis (“Resurrection”) built around the tomb. It had been damaged by the Persians in 614 and by fire in 966, but repaired each time.

Al-Hakim and his policies

Al-Hakim became caliph in 996 at the age of eleven. His reign is famous for unpredictable and harsh decrees. He banned certain foods, restricted women’s movements, and executed many officials.

From about 1004 he turned against Christians and Jews. Decrees ordered them to wear distinctive clothing and badges, confiscated church property and ordered the destruction of churches and synagogues across Egypt and Syria. Some Christian officials converted to Islam under pressure. Medieval reports of the number of churches destroyed vary widely and are probably exaggerated.

What happened in 1009

According to the eleventh-century Christian historian Yahya of Antioch, al-Hakim sent an order to Yaruq, governor of Ramla, to demolish the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Yahya links the decision to the caliph’s anger over the Easter ceremony of the Holy Fire, when a flame was said to appear miraculously at the tomb, which al-Hakim’s informants called a fraud.

Work began on 18 October 1009. The workmen demolished the basilica and tried to remove the tomb itself, cutting away the rock until debris covered what remained. The walls of the rotunda survived to a certain height. Other churches in Jerusalem were also damaged or destroyed. Yahya’s account, written within a few decades of the event, is the most detailed source, and modern archaeological study of the tomb shrine has broadly confirmed the scale of the damage.

Reaction and later policy

News of the destruction spread to Europe. The French chronicler Ademar of Chabannes and others wrote about it, and some writers falsely blamed the Jews of Western Europe for encouraging the caliph. This accusation was linked to attacks on Jewish communities in France around 1010.

In later years al-Hakim reversed many of his measures. From about 1013 the persecution eased, and in his last years (around 1020) he allowed forced converts to return to their faith and restored some church property. Al-Hakim also sought better relations with the Byzantine Empire, a powerful neighbour in northern Syria. He disappeared mysteriously on the night of 13 February 1021 while riding in the Muqattam hills near Cairo. The Druze, a religious community that emerged in his reign, regard him as a divine figure.

Rebuilding

Al-Hakim’s successors negotiated with the Byzantine Empire over the church’s restoration as part of wider treaties. The work was carried out mainly under Emperor Constantine IX Monomachos and was largely finished by about 1048. The new church was smaller: the rotunda was restored with an apse, but Constantine’s great basilica was never rebuilt.

After the Siege of Jerusalem in 1099, the Crusaders rebuilt and enlarged the church in Romanesque style and consecrated it on 15 July 1149. Much of today’s building, including its famous facade, dates from that work.

Myths and facts

“The destruction caused the Crusades.” The First Crusade was preached in 1095, more than 85 years later, after the church had been rebuilt. Its causes lay in Byzantine appeals for help and conditions in Europe in the 1090s.

“Pope Sergius IV called for a crusade in 1009.” A letter attributed to Sergius IV calling for an expedition to avenge the church does survive, but many historians consider it a later forgery, probably written around the time of the First Crusade.

Timeline

• 335: Constantine’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre is dedicated.
• 996: Al-Hakim becomes Fatimid caliph.
• c. 1004: Al-Hakim begins measures against Christians and Jews.
• 1009, 18 October: Demolition of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre begins.
• c. 1013: Al-Hakim begins to relax his anti-Christian measures.
• 1021, 13 February: Al-Hakim disappears near Cairo.
• c. 1048: Rebuilding under Constantine IX Monomachos largely completed.
• 1149, 15 July: Crusader rebuilding of the church is consecrated.

Why it matters

The demolition of 1009 was one of the most dramatic attacks on a holy site in medieval history. It shows how much religious coexistence depended on individual rulers, and it left a lasting memory in Christian Europe that crusade preachers later used.