Kisiasa na kiutawala, mji mkuu ni mji unaoshika hadhi ya msingi au rasmi katika nchi, mkoa au jimbo, kama kiti cha serikali. Neno "capital" linatokana na neno la Kilatini caput (‘kichwa’), lakini katika Palestina ya Byzantine iliyozungumza Kigiriki, neno la Kigiriki lililotumika kwa miji mikuu lilikuwa metropolis. Baadhi ya miji mikuu, kama Jerusalem, pia ilikuwa vituo vya kidini. Zaidi ya hayo, chini ya Uislamu kulikuwepo mpangilio wa miji mikuu miwili ya kisiasa na kiutawala wakati wa kilele cha Ukhalifa wa Abbasi: Baghdad na al-Raqqa (katika Syria ya leo), chini ya Harun al-Rashid mwaka 796‒809 AD.

Politically and administratively a capital city is the city enjoying primary or official status in a country, province or state as a seat of government. The word capital derives from the Latin caput (‘head’), but in Greek-speaking Byzantine Palestine the Greek term for capital cities was metropolis. Some capital cities, such as Jerusalem, were also religious centres. Furthermore, under Islam an arrangement of joint political and administrative capitals existed at the height of the Abbasid Caliphate: Baghdad and al-Raqqa (in modern Syria), under Harun al-Rashid in 796‒809 AD.

Mfalme wa kwanza kufanya tofauti wazi kati ya mji mkuu wa kisiasa/kiutawala na mji mkuu wa kidini huko Palestina alikuwa Mfalme Herode Mkuu, Mwidumea anayezungumza Kigiriki, ambaye aliendeleza na kupanua Kaisaria-Palestina kama mji mkuu wake wa kisiasa wa mji mkuu, huku pia akiendelea kuendeleza Aelia Capitolina kama mji mkuu wa kidini wa ufalme wake unaojitegemea.

The first to make a clear distinction between political/administrative capital city and religious capital in Palestine was the Greek-speaking Idumite King Herod the Great, who developed and expanded Caesarea- Palaestina as his metropolitan political capital, while at the same time continuing to develop Aelia Capitolina as the religious capital of his autonomous kingdom.

Chini ya utawala wa Wabyzantini, kwa muda, yalitokea mambo mawili muhimu ya kanisa huko Palestina:

Under the Byzantines over time two crucial ecclesiastical developments took place in Palestine:

1. Uhuru wa kanisa wa majimbo matatu ya Palestina uliendelea kukua katika karne ya 5 na mwanzoni mwa karne ya 6, na kukua kwa utambulisho tofauti wa kidini na kitamaduni wa Kipalestina kulinufaika sana na mpangilio wa kimataifa wa makanisa Mashariki, ambao ulibuniwa kuwa tofauti kabisa na ule wa Magharibi.

1. The ecclesiastical autonomy of the three Palestine provinces continued to evolve throughout the 5th and early 6th centuries and the evolution of a distinct Palestinian religio-cultural identity benefited greatly from the international organisation of the churches in the East which was conceived as radically different from that in the West.

2. Kanisa Yote ya Palestina ya Yerusalemu iliongozwa na maaskofu wa Kigiriki na wa Kiarabu (Shahid 2006a: 46‒48, 193‒194, 523), na maaskofu kadhaa wa Kiarabu wa Palestina – wakiwemo Askofu Elusa, katika Palaestina Tertia, Abdelas (Kiarabu ‘Abdallah; Kigiriki Theodulos, ambalo lilikuwa tafsiri ya jina lake la Kiarabu: ‘Mtumishi wa Mungu’) na Aretas (al-Harith) – walishiriki katika mabaraza muhimu ya kiekumene ya Efeso na Kalkedoni mwaka 431 na 451 mtawalia (Shahid 2006a: 523; Sharon 2013: 75).

2. The All Palestine Church of Jerusalem was headed by both Greekspeaking and Arab bishops (Shahid 2006a: 46‒48, 193‒194, 523) and several Arab bishops of Palestine – including the bishops Elusa, in Palaestina Tertia, Abdelas (Arabic ‘Abdallah; Greek Theodulos, which was a translation of his Arabic name: ‘Servant of God’) and Aretas (al-Harith) – participated in the crucial ecumenical councils of Ephesus and Chalcedon in 431 and 451 respectively (Shahid 2006a: 523; Sharon 2013: 75).

Katika Palestina na Mashariki ya Karibu kwa ujumla, makanisa yalianza "kutoka chini" kama mtandao wa makanisa huru, ilhali Kanisa la Magharibi lenye makao yake Roma (Katoliki) hatimaye lilibadilika kuwa muundo mmoja wa kihierarkia wenye makanisa madogo chini yake. Kinyume na fundisho la Kikatoliki kwamba Askofu (na Kanisa) la Roma ndiye aliye juu ya maaskofu wote, katika Mashariki makanisa yalipitisha dhana ya Kigiriki ya kujitegemea kwa kichwa (autocephaly; αὐτοκεφαλία, maana yake 'kichwa chake chenyewe').

In Palestine and the Near East as a whole the churches began ‘from below’ as a network of independent churches, while the Rome-based (Catholic) Church in the West ultimately evolved into a single, hierarchical structure with sub-churches. In contrast with the Catholic notion that the Bishop (and Church) of Rome was above all bishops, in the East the churches adopted the Greek ideas of autocephaly (αὐτοκεφαλία, ‘selfheaded’)

na "first among equals" (Kigiriki: Πρῶτος μεταξὺ ἴσων). Kanuni hizi zikawa misingi elekezi ya makanisa ya Othodoksi ambayo Mapatriaki wa Palestina ('Askofu wa Maaskofu' au Maaskofu Wakuu) hawakulazimika kuripoti kwa Mpatriaki yeyote wa cheo cha juu zaidi, wakiwemo Mapatriaki wa Antiokia au Konstantinopoli. Kanuni hizi mbili zilichangia kuimarika kwa Kanisa la Othodoksi la Palestina huru lenye mamlaka juu ya 'Palestina Tatu'. Pia zilichangia kuibuka kwa utambulisho wa kipekee wa kidini na kitamaduni huko Palestina. Hata hivyo, cha kushangaza, uhuru huu wa kikanisa wa Kanisa la Aelia Capitolina ulitofautiana na muundo mgumu rasmi wa madaraka wa Milki ya Byzantine, ambamo mamlaka za kisiasa na kijeshi za majimbo katika 'Palestina Tatu' hatimaye zilikuwa chini ya Mfalme wa Konstantinopoli.

and ‘first among equals’ (Greek: Πρῶτος μεταξὺ ἴσων). These became the guiding principles of the Orthodox churches whose Palestine Patriarchs (‘Bishop of Bishops’ or Archbishops) did not have to report to any higher-ranking Patriarch, including the Patriarchs of Antioch or Constantinople. These two principles contributed to the consolidation of an independent Palestine Orthodox Church with jurisdiction over the ‘Three Palestines’. They also contributed to the emergence of a distinct religio-cultural identity in Palestine. Ironically, however, this ecclesiasThe tical independence of the Church of Aelia Capitolina contrasted with the rigid formal power structure of the Byzantine Empire, in which provincial political and military powers in the ‘Three Palestines’ were ultimately subordinate to the Emperor of Constantinople.

Kanisa lote la Palestina la Aelia Capitolina lilipewa uhuru wa kujitawala (autocephaly), na askofu wake mkuu, au Patriaki, hakulazimika kutoa taarifa kwa Patriaki yeyote wa cheo cha juu huko Byzantium. Maendeleo haya yalianza katika Baraza la Chalcedon mwaka 451 BK, ambalo lilihudhuriwa na maaskofu wanne Waarabu, wakiwemo maaskofu wa Elusa katika Palaestina Tertia, Gaza na Neila katika Provincia Arabia (Shahid 2006a: 523), na ambalo lilikuwa kipindi cha mabadiliko katika historia na uhuru unaokua wa kanisa la Palestina.

The All Palestine Church of Aelia Capitolina was granted autocephaly and its head bishop, or Patriarch, did not have to report to any higher-ranking Patriarch in Byzantium. This development began with the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD, which was attended by four Arab bishops including the bishops of Elusa in Palaestina Tertia, Gaza and Neila in Provincia Arabia (Shahid 2006a: 523) and which was a turning point in the history and growing independence of the Palestinian church.

Ukuaji huu wa uhuru na nguvu ya Palestina ulianza kwa kuongezeka kwa hija ya Kikristo na kukua kwa uchumi wa nchi hiyo katika kipindi chote cha utawala wa Konstantino Mkuu na baada yake. Ukuaji wa hija na mapato uliongeza utajiri wa askofu mkuu wa Aelia Capitolina. Tayari mnamo mwaka 325 BK, baraza la kwanza la kiekumene la kanisa, Baraza la Nikea, lilitoa heshima ya pekee kwa mji mtakatifu, ingawa bila kuupa hadhi ya 'mji mkuu wa jimbo' (metropolitan), cheo cha juu kabisa kanisani wakati huo, ambacho kilikwenda kwa askofu mkuu wa Caesarea-Palaestina badala ya askofu wa Aelia Capitolina. Hadi kuundwa kwa wazo la Patriarchate mnamo mwaka 325 BK, cheo cha askofu mkuu wa jimbo ndicho kilikuwa cheo cha juu kabisa cha uaskofu kanisani. Hata hivyo, mnamo mwaka 531 cheo cha 'Patriarki' wa Aelia Capitolina kiliundwa na Mfalme wa Byzantium Justinian (alitawala 527–565).

This growth in the autonomy and power of Palestine had begun with the increased Christian pilgrimage and growing economy of the country throughout and after the reign of Constantine the Great. The growth in pilgrimage and revenues increased the fortunes of the head bishop of Aelia Capitolina. Already in 325 AD the first ecumenical council of the church, the Council of Nicaea, attributed special honour to the holy city, though without awarding it the ‘metropolitan’ status, then the highest rank in the church, which went to the metropolitan of Caesarea-Palaestina rather than to the bishop of Aelia Capitolina. Until the creation of the idea of the Patriarchate in 325 AD, the position of metropolitan was the highest episcopal rank in the church. However, in 531 the title of ‘Patriarch’ of Aelia Capitolina was created by Byzantine Emperor Justinian (reigned 527–565

AD). Hata hivyo, kwa kweli Aelia Capitolina iliendelea kuchukuliwa kuwa askofu-mkuu hadi mwaka 451, wakati Baraza la Chalcedon, baraza la nne la kiekumene la kanisa, lilipoipa uhuru si tu kutoka kwa mji mkuu wa Kaisarea bali pia kutoka kwa askofu yeyote mwenye cheo cha juu zaidi, ikiwemo wa Antiokia, katika kile kilichojulikana kama autocephaly, yaani kanisa linalojitawala juu ya 'Palestina Tatu'. Katika kikao cha saba cha Baraza, 'Amri kuhusu Mamlaka' ya Aelia Capitolina na Antiokia ina marejeo yafuatayo kwa majimbo matatu ya Palestina Kuu:

AD). Yet, in reality, Aelia Capitolina continued to be viewed as a bishopric until 451, when the Council of Chalcedon, the fourth ecumenical council of the church, granted it independence not only from the metropolitan of Caesarea but also from any other higher-ranking bishop, including that of Antioch, in what became known as autocephaly, a self-governing church over the ‘Three Palestines’. In the Council’s seventh session, the ‘Decree on the Jurisdiction’ of Aelia Capitolina and Antioch contains the following reference to the three provinces of greater Palestine:

Mahakimu wakuu na wenye heshima kubwa walisema: … Mpango uliofikiwa kwa makubaliano ya Maximus mtakatifu sana, askofu wa mji wa Antiokia, na Juvenal mtakatifu sana, askofu wa Yerusalemu [Aelia Capitolina], kama shuhuda ya kila mmoja wao inavyotangaza, utabaki imara milele, kwa amri yetu na hukumu ya sinodi takatifu; yaani, kwamba askofu Maximus mtakatifu sana, au zaidi kanisa takatifu sana la Antiokia, litakuwa na mamlaka yake chini yake Foinike mbili na Arabia; na Juvenal mtakatifu sana, askofu wa Yerusalemu, au zaidi kanisa takatifu sana lililo chini yake, litakuwa na mamlaka yake chini yake Palestina tatu, na pragmatiki zote za kifalme, barua na adhabu zikifutwa kwa amri ya mfalme wetu mtakatifu sana na mcha Mungu.19

The most magnificent and glorious judges said: … The arrangement arrived at through the agreement of the most holy Maximus, the bishop of the city of Antioch, and of the most holy Juvenal, the bishop of Jerusalem [Aelia Capitolina], as the attestation of each of them declares, shall remain firm for ever, through our decree and the sentence of the holy synod; to wit, that the most holy bishop Maximus, or rather the most holy church of Antioch, shall have under its own jurisdiction the two Phoenicias and Arabia; but the most holy Juvenal, bishop of Jerusalem, or rather the most holy Church which is under him, shall have under his own power the three Palestines all imperial pragmatics and letters and penalties being done away according to the bidding of our most sacred and pious prince.19

Hapa Baraza la Chalcedon linafanya tofauti wazi ya kijiografia-kisiasa kati ya majimbo "Matatu" ya Palaestina, "Majimbo mawili ya Phoenicia" (yaani majimbo mawili ya Syria) na jimbo la Arabia.

Here the Council of Chalcedon makes a clear geo-political distinction between the ‘Three’ provinces of Palaestina, the ‘Two provinces of Phoenicias’ (i.e. the two provinces of Syria) and the province of Arabia.

Amri hii ya kuinua hadhi ya Kanisa la Palestina ilisababisha Kanisa la Aelia Capitolina lisiwe tu Patriarkia huru, bali pia (a) kuwa kituo kikuu cha kikanisa na kidini cha 'Palestina Tatu', na (b) mojawapo ya Patriarkia tano za Ukristo, ambazo wakati huo zilijulikana kama Pentarkia (Πενταρχία). Katika mfumo huu, ambao ulionyeshwa na sheria za Mfalme Justinian I (527–565 BK) na kupata idhini rasmi ya kanisa katika Baraza la Trullo (692 BK), Ukristo wote wa dunia ulitawaliwa na viongozi wa Patriarki tano kuu za dola: Constantinople, Roma, Aleksandria, Antiokia na Aelia Capitolina.

This decree of elevating the Palestine Church led to the Church of Aelia Capitolina not only becoming an independent Patriarchate, but also to becoming (a) the dominant ecclesiastical and religious capital of the ‘Three Palestines’ and (b) one of the five Patriarchates of Christendom, at the time known as the Pentarchy (Πενταρχία). In this model, which was reflected by the laws of Emperor Justinian I (527–565 AD) and received formal ecclesiastical sanction at the Council in Trullo (692 AD), universal Christendom was governed by the heads of the five major Patriarchs of the empire: Constantinople, Rome, Alexandria, Antioch and Aelia Capitolina.

Mji wa mwisho haukuwa miongoni mwa miji mikubwa na yenye nguvu zaidi ya himaya; ulijumuishwa kwa sababu ya utakatifu wake. Ingawa Pentarchy ilitokea kutokana na umashuhuri wa kisiasa na kikanisa wa Mapatriaki hawa watano, wazo la mamlaka yao ya ulimwengu wote na ya pekee liliunganishwa na muundo wa utawala wenye mpangilio wa daraja unaozidi kuongezeka wa Himaya ya Byzantine katika karne ya 7, hivyo kuyasogeza makanisa mbali zaidi na mizizi yake ya kidemokrasia na hadhi yake kama muungano wa makanisa huru. Hata hivyo, kwa kweli, mapigano ya ndani miongoni mwa Viti vya Maaskofu, pamoja na ushindani kati ya Roma na Constantinople, vilizuia Pentarchy isifanye kazi kwa ufanisi. Lakini kupanda kwa ajabu kwa Kanisa la Palestina kulilifanya kuwa mchezaji mkuu wa kimataifa, mbali zaidi ya mamlaka yake rasmi juu ya 'Palestina Tatu', ambazo zilionekana na kuwakilishwa katika nyaraka za Kanisa kama nchi moja. Hata hivyo, mji mkuu wa jimbo ('mama')

The latter was not among the biggest and most powerful urban centres of the empire; it was included by virtue of its holiness. Although the Pentarchy came about because of the political and ecclesiastical prominence of these five Patriarchs, the idea of their universal and exclusive authority was linked to the increasingly hierarchical administrative structure of the Byzantine Empire in the 7th century, thus moving the churches further away from their democratic roots and their status as an association of independent churches. In reality, however, infighting among the Sees, and the rivalry between Rome and Constantinople, prevented the Pentarchy from functioning effectively. Yet the extraordinary elevation of the Palestine Church made it a top international player far beyond its formal jurisdiction over the ‘Three Palestines’, which were perceived and represented in Church documents as one country. However, the metropolitan (‘mother’)

Kanisa la Kaisaria-Palestina liliendelea kuwa kitovu cha kisiasa, kijeshi, kibiashara na kiutawala cha Palestina kubwa, na askofu wake mkuu wa jimbo aliendelea kuwa na ushawishi mkubwa kisiasa na kidini.

church of Caesarea-Palaestina remained the political, military, commercial and administrative capital of greater Palestine and its metropolitan bishop remained highly influential both politically and religiously.

Zaidi ya hayo, katika mapokeo ya Kiorthodoksi, maaskofu na maaskofu wakuu walitumia mamlaka ya kidini na ya kisiasa ya kidunia. Kujitegemea kwa Kanisa la Palestina (autocephaly) na uanachama wake katika Pentarkia (Mapatriaki watano wakuu wa dola) kulimaanisha mambo matano:

Furthermore, in the Orthodox tradition, bishops and archbishops exercised both religious and temporal political power. Autocephaly for the Palestine Church and membership in the Pentarchy (the five major Patriarchs of the empire) meant five things:

Uhuru wa kidini, kujitawala, kujiwekea sheria na uhuru wa kikanisa kutoka Kanisa la Antiokia au Kanisa la Konstantinopoli.

• Religious autonomy, self-governing, self-legislation and ecclesiastical independence from the Church of Antioch or Church of Constantinople.

• Upanuzi wa mamlaka ya kidini na nguvu ya kidunia ya Kanisa la Aelia Capitolina juu ya 'Palestina Tatu' (Prima, Secunda na Tertia).

• The extension of the religious jurisdiction and temporal power of the Church of Aelia Capitolina over the ‘Three Palestines’ (Prima, Secunda and Tertia).

• Kujitegemea (autocephaly) na ukuu kwa Kanisa la Aelia Capitolina viliimarisha tofauti kati ya miji mikuu ya kidunia na ya kidini katika Palestina ya Kibyzantini, yaani Aelia (Yerusalemu) dhidi ya Kaisaria Maritima.

• Autocephaly and primacy for the Church of Aelia Capitolina reinforced the distinction between secular and religious capitals in Byzantine Palestine, of Aelia (Jerusalem) versus Caesarea Maritima.

Kujitegemea na kujitawala kwa Kanisa la Palestina kuliimarisha umoja wa Palestina kubwa. Sasa "Palestina Tatu" pia ziliunganishwa rasmi kikanisa. Tayari zilikuwa zimeunganishwa kwa karibu kibiashara na kijeshi, na ziliongozwa na Dux Palaestinae, ‘kamanda wa kijeshi wa Palestina’, ambaye makao yake yalikuwa Kaisarea-Palaestina na aliamuru kikosi cha askari wa majimbo yote matatu ya Palaestina katika karne ya 5 na 6. Haya yote yalimaanisha kwamba kufikia mwanzoni mwa karne ya 6, katika mambo ya kikanisa-kidini-kidunia na ya kijeshi, Palestina kubwa ilichukuliwa kuwa zaidi ya majimbo matatu ya Palestina ya Dola ya Byzantine; haikuendelea tena kuwa "Palestina Tatu" tofauti, bali ilikuwa imebadilika kuwa chombo kimoja cha kidini na kisiasa.

• Autocephaly and independence of the Palestine Church reinforced the unity of greater Palestine. Now the ‘Three Palestines’ were also officially united ecclesiastically. They were already closely linked commercially and militarily and were commanded by the Dux Palaestinae, ‘the military commander of Palestine’, who was based in Caesarea-Palaestina and commanded the garrison of all three provinces of Palaestina in the 5th and 6th centuries. This all meant that by the early 6th century, in both ecclesiastical-religious-temporal and military affairs, greater Palestine was treated as more than three Palestine provinces of the Byzantine Empire; it was longer treated as separate ‘Three Palestines’ but had evolved into a single religio-political entity.

• Uanachama katika klabu ya kipekee ya Pentarchy kulipatia Kanisa la Palestina Yote heshima ya kimataifa iliyoongezeka na nguvu zaidi nyumbani.

• Membership in the exclusive club of Pentarchy provided the Church of All Palestine with an added international prestige and further clout at home.

Cha kushangaza, hati ya zama za kati iliyoandikwa katika karne ya 9 au ya 10, yenye kichwa *The Limits of the Five Patriarchates*, inaeleza Mapatriarkia matano ya Ukristo katika Zama za Kati na kuitazama Palestina kama nchi. Mfuatano wa maandishi haya, ambao ulipatikana ukiwa umeambatishwa kwa baadhi ya miswada ya Agano Jipya, ni tofauti ya Pentarkia iliyoanzishwa na Mabaraza ya Kiekumene ya Chalcedon na Trullo, huku Mapatriarkia ya Yerusalemu yakihama kutoka nafasi ya tano hadi ya kwanza. Maandishi haya, ambayo katika baadhi ya vyanzo yanaitwa *Knowledge and Cognition of the Patriarchate Sees* (Scrivener 1893: xx), yanasema: ‘Kiti cha kwanza na patriarkia ya kwanza ni ya Yerusalemu ... inajumuisha nchi yote ya Palestina hadi Arabia’ (Πρῶτος θρόνος καὶ πρώτη πατριαρχία Ἱεροσολύμων ... περιέχων πᾶσαν τὴν Παλαιστίνων χώραν ἄχρι Ἀραβίας).

Interestingly, a medieval document written in the 9th or 10th century, entitled The Limits of the Five Patriarchates, describes the five Patriarchates of Christendom in the Middle Ages and treats Palestine as a country. The sequence of the text, which was found appended to some manuscripts of the New Testament, is a variation of the Pentarchy established by ecumenical Councils of Chalcedon and Trullo, with the Patriarchates of Jerusalem moving from fifth to first place. The text, which in some sources is entitled Knowledge and Cognition of the Patriarchate Sees (Scrivener 1893: xx), states: ‘The first See and the first patriarchate is of Jerusalem ... contains the whole Palestine a country until Arabia’ (Πρῶτος θρόνος καὶ πρώτη πατριαρχία Ἱεροσολύμων ... περιέχων πᾶσαν τὴν Παλαιστίνων χώραν ἄχρι Ἀραβίας).

Baadhi ya vipengele hivi vya kidini na kiutawala vya Palestina vilidumishwa mwanzoni, kisha vikarekebishwa chini ya Uislamu. Baada ya ushindi wa Waislamu katika karne ya 7, watawala Waarabu walikubali kanuni ya Autocephaly, wakatambua uhuru wa Kanisa la Aelia Capitolina kama makao makuu ya Ukristo wa Kiorthodoksi wa Palestina, na wakamtambua Patriarki kama kiongozi wake. Kwa miaka mingi, Waarabu Waislamu waliendelea kuuita mji huo Iliya (Aelia Capitolina), na mwanzoni walitengeneza sarafu za mtindo wa Kiarabu-Byzantine zilizoandikwa jina Iliya Filastin. Mwanahistoria wa Kipalestina al-Maqdisi, pamoja na baadhi ya waandishi Waislamu, bado walitumia jina Iliya katika karne ya 10, pamoja na majina mengine ya Kiislamu ya mji mtakatifu kama Bayt al-Maqdis (al-Maqdisi 2002: 43, 135, 144; Drijvers 2004: 2; Gil, M. 1997: 114).

Some of these religious and secular administrative features of Palestine were initially maintained and later adapted under Islam. Following the Muslim conquest in the 7th century the Arab rulers endorsed the principle of Autocephaly, recognised the autonomy of the Church of Aelia Capitolina as the seat of Palestinian Orthodox Christianity and recognised the Patriarch as its leader. For many years, the Muslim Arabs continued to call the city Iliya (Aelia Capitolina) and they initially minted Arab Byzantine style coins with the name Iliya Filastin. Palestinian historian al-Maqdisi and some Muslim writers were still using the name Iliya in the 10th century in combination with other Muslim names for the holy city such as Bayt al-Maqdis (al-Maqdisi 2002: 43, 135, 144; Drijvers 2004: 2; Gil, M. 1997: 114).

Hata hivyo, baada ya ushindi wa Kiislamu, jina la Kiarabu Bayt al-Maqdis lilianza kutumika sana. Baadaye, hasa kuanzia karne ya 11 na kuendelea, jina la sasa al-Quds likawa jina lililotumika zaidi, likiyaondoa majina mengine yote (Gil, M. 1997: 114). Zaidi ya hayo, kwa karne kadhaa katika kipindi cha mwanzo wa Uislamu (kama ilivyokuwa chini ya Wakristo wa Byzantium), tofauti wazi kati ya mji mkuu wa kisiasa na kiutawala wa Filastin (al-Ramla) na mji mkuu wa kidini wa nchi (Iliya, Bayt al-Maqdis)

However, sometime after the Islamic conquest the Arabic term Bayt al-Maqdis came into common use. And later, largely starting from the 11th century onwards, the current name al-Quds became the most common, supplanting all the other names (Gil, M. 1997: 114). Moreover, for several centuries throughout early Islam (as under the Christian Byzantines), the clear distinction between the political and administrative capital of Filastin (al-Ramla) and the religious capital of the country (Iliya, Bayt al-Maqdis)

ilidumishwa.

was maintained.

Katika kipindi chote cha mwanzo wa Uislamu, mji wa Kaisarea uliendelea kustawi kama mji wa Wakristo wengi, ukiongozwa na wasomi wanaozungumza Kigiriki. Hata hivyo, Wakristo wa huko walikuwa hasa Wakristo Waarabu waliounganishwa na Waarabu Waislamu wa Palestina kwa lugha, historia na desturi za kijamii. Maaskofu wakuu wenye nguvu wa mji huo walihifadhi uhuru wao na wakafanikiwa kudumisha uhusiano wa kikanisa na makanisa ya dola la Byzantine. Hata hivyo, kwa kuwa udhibiti wa karibu wa kifalme wa Byzantine haukuwepo, uhuru wa ndani wa maaskofu wakuu wa Kaisarea (na wa Aelia Capitolina)

Throughout early Islam the city of Caesarea continued to thrive as a largely Christian city, led by a Greek-speaking elite. However, the local Christians were predominantly Arab Christians who were connected to the Palestinian Muslim Arabs by language, history and social customs. The powerful metropolitan archbishops of the city kept their autonomy and managed to maintain ecclesiastical ties with the churches of the Byzantine state. However, in the absence of close Byzantine imperial control, the local autonomy of the archbishops of Caesarea (and of Aelia Capitolina)

Iliongezeka kwa kiasi kikubwa chini ya utawala wa Waarabu Waislamu, na Dayosisi ya Kaisaria Maritima ikawa mtawala halisi wa mji huo, pamoja na vijiji vilivyouzunguka.

increased significantly under Arab Muslim rule and the See of Caesarea Maritima became the effective local rulers not only of the city but also of its surrounding countryside.