
The Chain Gate ( ar, باب السلسلة, ) is one of the gates to the
Al-Aqsa Mosque compund on the
Temple Mount
The Temple Mount ( hbo, הַר הַבַּיִת, translit=Har haBayīt, label=Hebrew, lit=Mount of the House f the Holy}), also known as al-Ḥaram al-Sharīf (Arabic: الحرم الشريف, lit. 'The Noble Sanctuary'), al-Aqsa Mosque compoun ...
in the
Old City of Jerusalem
The Old City of Jerusalem ( he, הָעִיר הָעַתִּיקָה, translit=ha-ir ha-atiqah; ar, البلدة القديمة, translit=al-Balda al-Qadimah; ) is a walled area in East Jerusalem.
The Old City is traditionally divided into ...
. It was previously known as David's Gate.
It was also known as ( Gate of the Law Court), named after the nearby
Tankiziyya
The at-Tankiziyya (, ar, التنكزية, "the ") is a historic building in Jerusalem that included a madrasa.
It is part of the west wall of the al-Aqsa Compound.
It is also known as the building.
History
The building was created in 1328� ...
(the Maḥkama).
Description and history
Its rectangular doors are 4.5 m high. There is a small opening large enough for one person to pass through when the gate is closed.
It was considered the most beautiful of the Temple Mount gates. According to
Nasir-i-Khusraw
Abu Mo’in Hamid ad-Din Nasir ibn Khusraw al-Qubadiani or Nāsir Khusraw Qubādiyānī Balkhi ( fa, ناصر خسرو قبادیانی, Nasir Khusraw Qubadiani) also spelled as ''Nasir Khusrow'' and ''Naser Khosrow'' (1004 – after 1070 CE) w ...
, in order to reach the gate one had to pass through the market in the eastern section of the city and the gate itself had two openings that led into a large hall.
Its twin gate

is the northern half of the double gate that includes the Chain Gate.
[
It is always closed.
Its names:
* (): the Gate of the Divine Presence, the Gate of God's Presence, or the Gate of Tranquillity.] (cf & )
** Originally was the name of another gate at the Southern Wall
The Southern Wall ( ''HaKotel HaDromi'') is the retaining wall of the Temple Mount at the southern end. It was built during King Herod's expansion of the Temple Mount platform southward on to the Ophel.
Construction
The Southern Wall is in len ...
, possibly one of the Double Gate.
* (): the Gate of Peace.
Environs
The southwestern part of the Muslim Quarter is outside the gate. The neighborhood () is named after the gate. Chain Gate Street leads toward a market () and eventually the gate.
Once inside the compound, one can immediately see the Dome of Moses (south) and Fountain of Qasim Pasha
The Fountain of Qasim Pasha ( ar, سبيل قاسم باشا) is an ablution and drinking fountain (''sebil'' or ''sabil'') in the western esplanade of the al-Aqsa Compound in the Old City of Jerusalem. It is in front of the Chain Gate. (north, also named , after the gate). The southwestern colonnade is the closest of the Mawazin.
The Chain Gate Minaret
The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem has four minarets in total: three on the western flank and one on the northern flank.
The four minarets
Al-Fakhariyya Minaret
About half a year after they conquered Jerusalem (Al-Quds), ...
is just north of it. And north of that, one finds the al-Ashrafiyya Madrasa.
South of the gate, and part of the compound wall, one sees the at-Tankiziyya Madrasa
The at-Tankiziyya (, ar, التنكزية, "the ") is a historic building in Jerusalem that included a madrasa.
It is part of the west wall of the al-Aqsa Compound.
It is also known as the building.
History
The building was created in 1328� ...
.
See also
* Dome of the Chain, also in the compound
References
{{coord, 31.77727, 35.23431, display=title
Gates in Jerusalem's Old City Walls
Muslim Quarter (Jerusalem)