page_title: Cave of the Patriarchs
hierarchical_section_title: Cave of the Patriarchs
caption_attribution_description: English: Palestine, Hebron, Cave of the Patriarchs from the south. Français&#160;: Palestine, Hébron, Tombeau des Patriarches depuis l'escalier à l'angle sud du bâtiment. עברית: מערת המכפלה
context_page_description: The Cave of the Patriarchs or Tomb of the Patriarchs, known to Jews as the Cave of Machpelah and to Muslims as the Sanctuary of Abraham, is a series of caves located in the heart of the Old City of Hebron in the southern West Bank. According to the Abrahamic religions, the cave and adjoining field were purchased by Abraham as a burial plot.
  Over the cave stands a large rectangular enclosure dating from the Herodian era. Byzantine Christians took it over and built a Basilica which after the Muslim conquest was converted into the Ibrahimi Mosque. Crusaders took over the site in the 12th century, but it was taken back by Saladin 1188 and reconverted into a mosque. Israel took control of the site in 1967, dividing the structure into a synagogue and a mosque. In 1994, the Hebron massacre occurred in which a Jewish settler killed 29 Muslims praying in the mosque.
  The Arabic name of the complex reflects the prominence given to Abraham in Islam. Outside biblical and Quranic sources there are a number of legends and traditions associated with the cave.
  The site is considered by Jews to be the second holiest place in the world, after the Temple Mount.
context_section_description: The Cave of the Patriarchs or Tomb of the Patriarchs, known to Jews as the Cave of Machpelah (Hebrew: מערת המכפלה,  Me'arat ha-Makhpela , trans. "cave of the double tombs" or "cave of the double caves") and to Muslims as the Sanctuary of Abraham (Arabic: الحرم الإبراهيمي‎, al-Haram al-Ibrahimi ), is a series of caves located in the heart of the Old City of Hebron in the southern West Bank. According to the Abrahamic religions, the cave and adjoining field were purchased by Abraham as a burial plot.
  Over the cave stands a large rectangular enclosure dating from the Herodian era. Byzantine Christians took it over and built a Basilica which after the Muslim conquest was converted into the Ibrahimi Mosque. Crusaders took over the site in the 12th century, but it was taken back by Saladin 1188 and reconverted into a mosque. Israel took control of the site in 1967, dividing the structure into a synagogue and a mosque. In 1994, the Hebron massacre occurred in which a Jewish settler killed 29 Muslims praying in the mosque.
  The Arabic name of the complex reflects the prominence given to Abraham in Islam. Outside biblical and Quranic sources there are a number of legends and traditions associated with the cave.
  The site is considered by Jews to be the second holiest place in the world, after the Temple Mount.
caption: Southern view
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