Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Jerusalem was the principal city of Judea in the years between 538 BCE and 70 CE, a timespan known as the Second Temple period or Second Commonwealth which saw both region and city change hands several times. It was the center of religious life for all Jews, even those who lived in the diaspora prayed towards Jerusalem on a daily basis and made pilgrimages during religious festivals. Jerusalem was fertile grounds for religious creativity; it was during this period that Judaism''s post-exilic religious identity as it continues today was formed, that the Old Testament was canonized and that most of the Mishnah created. It was also in Jerusalem during the later stages of this period that Christianity was born.