First published in 2011, Simon Sebag Montefiore's book Jerusalem: The Biography charts life in the city across the course of centuries. Now he's returned with an updated version, which extends the story beyond 1967 right up to the present day. Simon speaks to Matt Elton about the importance and challenges of telling such a history, and explains how placing the city's recent history back into the longer context helps reveal continuities and parallels.

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(Ad) Simon Sebag Montefiore is the author of the newly updated version of Jerusalem: The Biography (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 2024).

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Hear more from Simon in this episode, where he explores the entire history of the world through the prism of families

Authors

Matt EltonDeputy Editor, BBC History Magazine

Matt Elton is BBC History Magazine’s Deputy Editor. He has worked at the magazine since 2012 and has more than a decade’s experience working across a range of history brands.

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