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‘And the Walls Came Tumbling Down’ – The History and Historicity of the Biblical Account of Jericho

Khalid Elhassan May 16, 2025 16 min

Jericho - Depiction of the Old Testament's description of Jericho's walls miraculously falling down — Depiction of the Old Testament's description of Jericho's walls miraculously falling down. Pinterest

2. Jericho in the Iron Age and Islamic Period

Herod’s winter palace at Jericho, and the remains of its cold pool. Pinterest

After periods of abandonment, Jericho was rebuilt in the Iron Age. It was occupied by successive empires, including the Babylonians, Persians, and Romans. In the first century BC, Herod the Great built a winter palace about two miles southeast of Jericho. After the Islamic conquest in the seventh century, Jericho’s prominence waned and it shrank to a modest village. Nonetheless, the enduring presence highlights Jericho’s strategic and cultural significance over millennia.

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, archaeological interest in Jericho surged. That led to extensive excavations that unveiled its rich historical layers. Today, Jericho is a Palestinian city that attracts scholars and tourists alike. The ancient ruins at Tell es-Sultan offer invaluable insights into early human civilization and urban development. Jericho’s extensive history encapsulates the evolution of human society, and its archaeology offers a window into the complexities of early urban life, trade, and cultural interactions.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.