Ezekiel's Tomb (; ) is revered by

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

as the resting place of

Ezekiel Ezekiel, also spelled Ezechiel (; ; ), was an Israelite priest. The Book of Ezekiel, relating his visions and acts, is named after him. The Abrahamic religions acknowledge Ezekiel as a prophet. According to the narrative, Ezekiel prophesied ...

, an Israelite prophet who was deported from the

Kingdom of Judah The Kingdom of Judah was an Israelites, Israelite kingdom of the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. Centered in the highlands to the west of the Dead Sea, the kingdom's capital was Jerusalem. It was ruled by the Davidic line for four centuries ...

during the

Babylonian captivity The Babylonian captivity or Babylonian exile was the period in Jewish history during which a large number of Judeans from the ancient Kingdom of Judah were forcibly relocated to Babylonia by the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The deportations occurred ...

and serves as the eponymous protagonist of the

Book of Ezekiel The Book of Ezekiel is the third of the Nevi'im#Latter Prophets, Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) and one of the Major Prophets, major prophetic books in the Christian Bible, where it follows Book of Isaiah, Isaiah and ...

in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

, it is now the location of the Al-Nukhailah Mosque, which was built on top of the original site and holds separate significance for

Shia Muslims Shia Islam is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political Succession to Muhammad, successor (caliph) and as the spiritual le ...

. The Jewish presence at Ezekiel's Tomb has greatly diminished since the

Jewish exodus from Iraq From 1951 to 1952, Operation Ezra and Nehemiah airlifted between 120,000 and 130,000 Iraqi Jews to Israel via Iran and Cyprus. The massive emigration of Iraqi Jews was among the most climactic events of the Jewish exodus from the Muslim World. ...

in the 1950s, shortly after the beginning of the

Arab–Israeli conflict The Arab–Israeli conflict is a geopolitical phenomenon involving military conflicts and a variety of disputes between Israel and many Arab world, Arab countries. It is largely rooted in the historically supportive stance of the Arab League ...

. The larger complex has been extensively redeveloped since the 2003 invasion of Iraq; it is widely regarded by

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

to be the resting place of

Dhul-Kifl Dhu al-Kifl (), also spelled Dhu l-Kifl, Dhul-Kifl, Zu al-Kifl, Zul Kifl, or Zu l-Kifl, is an Islamic prophet. Although his identity is unknown, his identity has been theorised and identified as various Hebrew Bible prophets and other figures, ...

, an unknown

Islamic prophet Prophets in Islam () are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God's message on Earth and serve as models of ideal human behaviour. Some prophets are categorized as messengers (; sing. , ), those who transmit divine revelation, mos ...

who is often identified with Ezekiel, and work was reportedly underway to convert the site's disused

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

into a

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

Description

Jewish documentation

According to the 8th-century rabbinical text '' Pirkei De-Rabbi Eliezer'', Ezekiel was buried in

Babylonia Babylonia (; , ) was an Ancient history, ancient Akkadian language, Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Kuwait, Syria and Iran). It emerged as a ...

and mention of his tomb is first made by the 10th-century Jewish sage

Sherira Gaon Sherira bar Hanina (), more commonly known as Sherira Gaon (; ), was the gaon of the Pumbedita Academy in Lower Mesopotamia. He was one of the most prominent geonim of the period. His son Hai succeeded him as gaon. He wrote the '' Iggeret of ...

. Ever since, Babylonian Jews were known to have visited the tomb and only in the 12th-century did

begin to associate the site with an

. The German-Jewish medieval explorer Petachiah reported in around 1180 that the Jews held the keys to the site and relates that between 60,000 and 80,000 Jews converged on the tomb during the week of

Sukkot Sukkot, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles or Feast of Booths, is a Torah-commanded Jewish holiday celebrated for seven days, beginning on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei. It is one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals on which Israelite ...

. The Jewish explorer and writer

Benjamin of Tudela Benjamin of Tudela (), also known as Benjamin ben Jonah, was a medieval Jewish traveler who visited Europe, Asia, and Africa in the twelfth century. His vivid descriptions of western Asia preceded those of Marco Polo by a hundred years. With his ...

mentioned that there were several

synagogues A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

at the location and noted that Muslim notables also frequented the site to pray.

Ownership dispute

In 1860, the tomb became a source of contention when Muslims attempted to wrest control of the site. The

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

consul in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

attempted to resolve the issue of ownership and wrote that the Jews claimed that "the tomb has been in their possession for upwards of 2,000 years and that their right to it has never before been questioned". Upon the intervention of the Anglo-Jewish Association, an Ottoman government emissary from

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

decided in favour of the Jewish claim. At the turn of the 20th century, the ''

Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, Oman and Central Arabia The ''Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, Oman and Central Arabia'' (nicknamed ''Lorimer'') is a two-volume encyclopedia compiled by John Gordon Lorimer. The ''Gazetteer'' was published in secret by the British government in India in 1908 and 1915 a ...

'' stated that the tomb is "more venerated by Jews than it is by Muhammadans." Until the mid-20th century, over 5,000 Jews used to come to the tomb from Baghdad and other major cities during

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday and one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Biblical Egypt, Egypt. According to the Book of Exodus, God in ...

. During this period, the tomb walls contained various inscriptions, including three poems honouring various donors. An adjoining room contained five tombs said to belong to five

Rabbis A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as '' semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

who transmitted and wrote the

Babylonian Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the centerpiece of Jewi ...

. Another room was referred to as "

Elijah Elijah ( ) or Elias was a prophet and miracle worker who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Ahab (9th century BC), according to the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible. In 1 Kings 18, Elijah defended the worsh ...

's Cave" and a third room contained the tombs belonging to Baghdad's prominent Daniel family, who were custodians of the site. A

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

plaque above the doorway dating from 1810 read "this is the tomb of our master Yehezkel the Prophet, son of Buzi the

Kohen Kohen (, ; , ، Arabic كاهن , Kahen) is the Hebrew word for "priest", used in reference to the Aaronic Priest#Judaism, priesthood, also called Aaronites or Aaronides. They are traditionally believed, and halakha, halakhically required, to ...

, may his merit shield us and all

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. Amen."

2003 invasion of Iraq

After the fall of Iraqi president

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...

in 2003, the new Iraqi authorities redeveloped the tomb complex and converted the old

courtyard into an area for Muslim prayer. Some Hebrew-language Jewish inscriptions from the tomb chamber were removed and replaced with

Quranic verses The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

. The large new Al-Nukhailah Mosque currently encompasses the tomb structure, with Muslims believing the tomb to be that of the unknown Islamic prophet

, who is often identified with

. On the walls inside, Hebrew script appears under a dome with medieval Islamic floral designs. The site's status was reportedly protected while under Saddam Hussein's regime. In 2020, it was reported that Iraqi authorities were transforming the synagogue at Ezekiel's Tomb into a mosque.Synagogue at Ezeliels Tomb dismantled October 20,2020
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References

External links

Ancient Holy Site Faces Modernization
– slideshow by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...