Jerusalem (Civ5)/Civilopedia

The often contentious debate over Jerusalem, holy city to the followers of Christianity, Judaism and Islam, has raged for decades since the city's establishment as the capital of Israel. With portions of the city having been constructed over 6,000 years ago, Jerusalem is one of the oldest known cities in the world. Throughout its tumultuous history, Jerusalem has come under siege numerous times, as far-reaching empires and local kingdoms alike struggled to wrest control of the city from one another.
The oldest area in Jerusalem, the City of David, is said to have been founded by the legendary King David sometime during the 1st millennium BC. Over the centuries that followed, immigrants and refugees toiling under a number of kings and emperors worked to expand the city. By the time the Islamic Caliphates rose to power in the 6th century AD, Jerusalem had already been controlled by the Macedonians, the Romans, and the Byzantine Empire.
The past century has arguably been the most controversial in Jerusalem's history, following the establishment of the Jewish state of Israel and Israel's subsequent annexation of Jerusalem following the Six-Day War. In the time since, Israel's control of Jerusalem has been one of the major hurdles preventing a resolution to the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict.