Rome, Benares, Medina… at the Rendez-vous de la histoire de Blois, holy cities in the spotlight
What is a holy city? How does his religious function interfere with his other activities? How does it evolve over time? To reflect on these questions, the Rendez-vous de l’histoire de Blois (Loiret-Cher) offers a round table around three specialists from Rome (Italy), Benares (India) and the eastern Muslim holy cities.
First obvious characteristic: whatever the religion considered, a holy city welcomes large flows of pilgrims. Like Benares, an ancient urban center in the north-east of India, linked from its origins to Hinduism. This religion pays particular attention to the purifying water of the Ganges, the most sacred of Indian rivers: “The city is built on its west bank, and its concave bank arranged in tiers over six kilometers, designed to always preserve access to the river, in the dry season as well as during floods,” explains architect Savitri Jalais, who studied the stairs where thousands of devotees continually flock who then tour the temples.
Venerated tombs
Catherine Brice, professor at Paris-Est Créteil University, specialist in the history of Rome, recalls that even before the advent of Christianity, this city was both a political capital and a sacred city, with its temples and a deified emperor. And that, from the early Middle Ages to the present day, pilgrims have almost never stopped coming to pray at the tombs of Saint Peter and the first martyrs.
This devotion to the saints is found in two cities sacred to Islam: in Medina (Saudi Arabia), from the 8th century, people come to pray at the tomb of the prophet Mohammed; and in Hebron (West Bank), pilgrims gather at the cenotaphs of the patriarchs Isaac, Abraham, and Jacob. “With the exception of these two cities, Koranic law refuses to sacralize tombs, seen as impure and potentially leading to idolatry. The practice of the faithful nevertheless developed from the 13th century,” explains medievalist Julien Loiseau. Thus, over the centuries, other cities – Cairo and its large cemetery, Timbuktu and its mausoleums of marabouts, etc. – will become holy places for Sunni Islam. “This paradox between law and faith did not pose a problem before the 20th century and the recent triumph of radical movements which inspired the destruction of tombs,” notes the historian.
Another point common to sacred cities: pilgrims do not fear ending their days there, as close as possible to God, undertaking the journey even when old or sick. Particularly in Benares. The Ganges is the receptacle for the ashes of believers cremated on its banks: “It forms the point of passage towards the divine, which frees us from sins and the cycle of reincarnations,” specifies Savitri Jalais.
The religious appeal of these cities often transformed them into places of power: Benares was contested by the Mughal conquerors who built mosques there. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose constituency it is, is remodeling it today,” adds the architect. He destroyed part of the old town to highlight a large temple, “the Golden Temple” and to assert a very nationalistic Hinduism. »
Rome, for its part, under the aegis of powerful popes, reconquered its dual status as political and religious capital during the Middle Ages. But from the 19th century, the temporal power of the pope was called into question. “Today, its tourist economy still depends, in part, on the flow of pilgrims, and Catholicism remains visible everywhere,” explains Catherine Brice. But the Vatican’s influence on Italian political life has been greatly reduced, even if its international influence remains significant. » In Blois, questioning History always sheds light on current events.