An ornamental inscription found on the side of the stone bridge leading to David’s Citadel. The inscription bears the name of Suleiman the Magnificent and reads- “Glory to our master Suleiman el-Malik el-Muzaffar Abu en-Nasir Suleiman Shah Ibn Uthman.”
The inscription is decorated in the style similar to that of the Mamluk inscriptions of this type, and was probably influenced by them. The gate, the gate tower, the drawbridge, the external fortifications and the internal stone bridge on which the inscription was found, were repaired during the renovations carried out by Suleiman the Magnificent.
The members of the Pro-Jerusalem Society, who carried out extensive repair work in the Citadel from 1918 to 1920, claimed the discovery of the inscription. However, it seems that it was known to scholars already in 1914, but as it was concealed by the foliage which covered the bridge rail, its existence was forgotten.
See also-
- David’s Citadel / Tower of David, 37 BCE
- Tower of David
- Herod the Great 37-4, Teddy Kollek and Moshe Pearlman, Jerusalem- Sacred City of Mankind, Steimatzky Ltd., Jerusalem, 1991.
- Kingdom of Jerusalem/Crusader Period, 1099-1295
- General Allenby Enters Jerusalem
- Tower of David Museum of the History of the Jewish People