Jerusalem is a city located on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. One of the oldest cities in the world, Jerusalem was called "Urusalima" in the ancient cuneiform, meaning "City of Peace", during the early Canaanite period. Significant construction activity in Jerusalem began in the 9th century BCE, and in the 8th century the city developed into the religious and administrative center of the Kingdom of Judah. It is considered a holy city in the three major Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.