Volume 2

Jerusalem: Volume 2

by George Adam Smith

Published 3 February 2010
First published in two volumes between 1907 and 1908, this major work by the Scottish biblical scholar and geographer Sir George Adam Smith (1856-1942) is organised into three books. Volume 2 contains the third book and consists of a historical narrative that clarifies political and religious developments in ancient Jerusalem. It contains a number of useful maps, plans and photographs. Best known for his celebrated Historical Geography of the Holy Land (1894), Smith provides here a more detailed and specialist analysis, based on first-hand knowledge derived from the visits he made to the region over the years. Spanning more than fourteen centuries of Jerusalem's history from 1400 BCE to 70 CE, these well-illustrated volumes remain a standard work of scholarship, expertly elucidating the changing shape of the city.

This book was immediately recognised on its publication in 1894 as a major work of scholarship, and reached twenty-five editions during its author's lifetime. The intention of George Adam Smith (1856-1942) was to produce a work which would 'give a vision of the land as a whole' and help the reader 'to hear through it the sound of running history'. Smith, an enthusiastic alpinist, had studied divinity in Edinburgh, and first visited Palestine in 1880, travelling around the country on foot. The book was written while Smith was teaching at Glasgow, and working on various social projects in Scotland. His detailed knowledge of the territory, together with his wide familiarity with the archaeological and historical background, gives the work authority. The book places the land in its historical context, and describes the physical geography and climate; the readability of its style is enhanced by detailed maps, some in colour.

Jerusalem: Volume 1

by George Adam Smith

Published 5 October 2014
First published in two volumes between 1907 and 1908, this major work by the Scottish biblical scholar and geographer Sir George Adam Smith (1856-1942) is organised into three books. Volume 1 contains the first two books. Book 1 covers the topography, geology and climate of ancient Jerusalem, while Book 2 focuses on the economic and political development of the city. Best known for his celebrated Historical Geography of the Holy Land (1894), Smith provides here a more detailed and specialist analysis, based on first-hand knowledge derived from the visits he made to the region over the years. Spanning more than fourteen centuries of Jerusalem's history from 1400 BCE to 70 CE, these well-illustrated volumes remain a standard work of scholarship, expertly elucidating the changing shape of the city.