Özet:

In the early 19th century, great developments overshadowed the history and the future of Jerusalem in particular and Palestine in general. The most important of these events was the increase in foreign influence in Jerusalem and the great powers' efforts to find a foothold there. The rising European influence came after the French campaign against Egypt. This French campaign warned European countries about Jerusalem’s importance, and European countries began to compete to influence that city. These countries considered the denominations in Jerusalem as a means of achieving their goals, using each country as an excuse to protect the followers of a sect in Jerusalem by taking advantage of the weakness the Ottoman State experienced. One of the European rivalry results supporting the Christian denominations in Jerusalem was the escalation of the conflict between them, which later led one of these denominations to burn the Holy Sepulcher’s Church. This incident can be regarded as the beginning of a new era of conflict and competition between the European countries over the Ottoman State in general and Jerusalem in particular, hidden behind the Christian denominations in Jerusalem. The Ottoman Empire’s policy handled this incident by not taking any side directly. Instead, it limited itself to conducting investigations by reviewing and examining the documents owned by each denomination. The state resorted to forming many committees of Ottoman personalities as well as figures from the competing denominations. By relying on the initial documents drawn from the Ottoman Archives, this study aims to reach the truth of the burning of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the reasons that led to this fire, and an attempt to trace the conflicts that followed the fire and the Ottoman State’s policy in dealing with it.

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