Muslims destroy most holy Christian site
In the year 1009, al-Hakim, the Caliph of Egypt, ordered the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem destroyed. Workmen obeyed; and Yahia ibn Sa`id, an Islamic historian, wrote: "...the holy deed commenced on Tuesday, the fifth day before the end of the month of Safar of the year 400 of t Image via Wikipedia he Egira." Converting from the Muslim calendar would place the destruction on or about this day, October 17, 1009.* The demolition of this site, so holy to Christians , began with the empty tomb where Jesus had allegedly been buried, and continued with the dome. Destruction was not total, however, because as the high parts fell, rubble blocked the workmen from getting at lower parts. For close to forty years, Christians were forbidden to visit the site. Constantine, the first emperor to identify with Christianity, bui Image via Wikipedia lt the original Church of the Holy Sepulcher, acting on the researches of his mother Helena. When she identified the cave i