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Nabi Samwil

An-Nabi Samwil, also called al-Nabi Samuil (Arabic: النبي صموئيل an-Nabi Samu'il, translit: "the prophet Samuel"), is a Palestinian village in the Quds Governorate of the State of Palestine, located in the West Bank (Area C), four kilometers north of Jerusalem. The village is built up around the Mosque of Nabi Samwil, containing the Tomb of Samuel; the village's Palestinian population has since been removed by the Israeli authorities from the village houses to a new location slightly down the hill. The village had a population of 234 in 2017.[1]

an-Nabi Samwil
Local Development Committee
Arabic transcription(s)
 • Arabicالنبي صموئيل
 • Latinan-Nebi Samwil (official)
an-Nabi Samuil (unofficial)
Aerial view
Nabi Samwil shown within the Area C "National Park" (hashed area)
an-Nabi Samwil
Location of an-Nabi Samwil within Palestine
Coordinates: 31°49′58″N 35°10′49″E / 31.83278°N 35.18028°E / 31.83278; 35.18028
Palestine grid167/137
StateState of Palestine
GovernorateJerusalem
Government
 • TypeLocal Development Committee
Area
 • Total1,592 dunams (1.6 km2 or 0.6 sq mi)
Highest elevation
908 m (2,979 ft)
Population
 (2017)[1]
 • Total234
 • Density150/km2 (380/sq mi)
Name meaning"the prophet Samuel"[2]

A tradition dating back to the Byzantine period places here the tomb of Prophet Samuel. In the 6th century, a monastery was built at the site in honor of Samuel, and during the early Arab period the place was known as Dir Samwil (the Samuel Monastery).[3] In the 12th century, during the Crusader period, a fortress was built on the area.[3] In the 14th century, during the Mameluk period, a mosque was built over the ruins of the Crusader fortress.[3] The purported tomb itself is in an underground chamber of the mosque, which has been repurposed after 1967 as a synagogue, today with separate prayer areas for Jewish men and women.

Geography

Nabi Samwil is situated atop of a mountain, 890 meters above sea level, in the Seam Zone, four kilometers north of the Jerusalem neighborhood of Shuafat and southwest of Ramallah.[4] Nearby localities include Beit Iksa to the south, al Jib to the north, Beit Hanina to the east and Biddu to the west.[5]

The village consisted of 1,592 dunams of which only 5 dunams were built-up.[6]

Tomb of Samuel tradition

A 6th-century Christian author identified the site as Samuel's burial place, and it has been traditionally been associated as such by Jews, Christians and Muslims. According to the Hebrew Bible, the prophet was buried at his hometown, Ramah (1 Samuel 25:1, 28:3), which is located near Geba, while this site is identified as Mizpah in Benjamin.[7] As Judas Machabeus, preparing for war with the Syrians, gathered his men "to Maspha, over against Jerusalem: for in Maspha was a place of prayer heretofore in Israel".[8]

The 12th-century Jewish traveller Benjamin of Tudela visited the site in 1173. According to him, the Christian Crusaders had found the bones of Samuel "close to a Jewish synagogue" in Ramla on the coastal plain (which he misidentified as biblical Ramah), and reburied them at present-day Nabi Samwil. He wrote that a large church dedicated to St. Samuel had been built over the reburied remains.[9]

History: shrine and village

 
The Nabi Samwil mosque, 2012

An old tradition holds that the village contains the tomb of the prophet Samuel, whose Arabic name is Nabi Samwil,[4][10] hence the name of the Arab village.

Byzantine period

A monastery was built by the Byzantines at Nabi Samwil, serving as a hostel for Christian pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem. The monastery was restored and enlarged during the reign of Justinian I in the mid-6th-century CE.[11] Since then, the site has been a place of pilgrimage for Jews, Christians and Muslims alike.[4]

Early Muslim period

The tomb continued to be in use throughout the Early Muslim period in Palestine from the 7th to the 10th century.[11]

Jerusalem-born geographer al-Muqaddasi recounted in 985 CE, a story which he had heard from his uncle concerning the place: A certain sultan wanted to take possession of Dayr Shamwil, which he describes as a village about a farsakh from Jerusalem. The Sultan asked the owner to describe the village, at which the owner enumerated the ills of the place ("hard is the labour,/the profit is low./Weeds are all over,/almonds are bitter,/one bushel you sow,/one bushel you reap.") After hearing this the ruler exclaimed "Begone! We have no need for your village!"[12] 13th-century Syrian geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi, describes "Mar Samwil" or "Maran Samwil" as "a small town in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem. Mar in Syriac signifies al-Kass, 'the priest', and Samwil is the name of the Doctors of Law."[13] During Islamic times, Nabi Samwil became a centre for pottery production,[14] supplying nearby Jerusalem, as well as Ramla and Caesarea.[15]

Crusader/Ayyubid period

In 1099, the Crusaders conquered Palestine from the Arab Fatimids and received their first view of Jerusalem from the mountain upon which Nabi Samwil is built, thus naming it Mont Joie ("Mountain of Joy"). They soon constructed a fortress there to fend off Muslim raiding of Jerusalem's northern approaches as well as to shelter pilgrim convoys.[11]

In 1157, the Crusaders constructed a church at Samuel's tomb.[4] King Baldwin II of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem entrusted Nabi Samwil to Cistercians religious order, who built a monastery there and then handed it over to the Premonstratensians in the 1120s.[14] The 12th-century Jewish traveller, Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela, visited the site when he travelled the land in 1173, noting that the Crusaders had found the bones of Samuel in a Jewish cemetery in Ramla on the coastal plain and reburied them here, overlooking the Holy City. He wrote that a church dedicated to St. Samuel of Shiloh had been built on the hill.[16] This may refer to the abbey church of St. Samuel built by Premonstratensian canons and inhabited from 1141 to 1244.[17]

After the Ayyubids under Saladin conquered much of interior Palestine in 1187, the church and monastery were turned into a mosque and since then remained in Muslim hands. in 1192, Richard the Lionheart reached Nabi Samwil, but did not take it.[18] Jewish pilgrimage, which favoured visits in April and May each year, resumed after the Ayyubids conquered the area, and it became an important center for Muslim-Jewish interaction.[19]

Mamluk period

During the Mamluk period, Christian pilgrims continued to visit the site, including the traveller known as John Mandeville, and Margery Kempe.[20]

In the 15th-century, Jews built a synagogue adjacent to the mosque and resumed pilgrimages to the site after losing that privilege during the Crusader period. Though they occasionally encountered difficulties with local notables, the Jews' right to visit the shrine was reaffirmed twice by the Ottomans, and the sultan asked the qadi of Jerusalem to punish anyone who might obstruct their right and the long tradition of Jewish pilgrimage. Mujir ad-Din referring to Jerusalem's size writes "From the north it reaches the village wherein is the tomb of the prophet Shamwil, may Allah bless him and give him peace."[21]

Ottoman period

In 1517, Palestine incorporated into the Ottoman Empire after it was captured from the Mamluks, and by 1596, Nabi Samwil appeared in the Ottoman tax registers as being in the nahiya of Quds in the liwa of Al-Quds. It had a population of 5 households, all Muslim. The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 25% on various agricultural products, including wheat, barley, olive trees, vineyards, fruit trees, occasional revenues, goats and/or beehives; a total of 2,200 akçe.[22]

The Crusader church was incorporated into the village mosque,[4] built in 1730 under the Ottoman Empire.[11]

In 1838 Edward Robinson noted en-Neby Samwil as a Muslim village, part of the El-Kuds district.[23] He further noted that the "mosk is here the principal object; and is regarded by Jews, Christians, and Muhammedans, as covering the tomb of the prophet Samuel."[24]

An Ottoman village list of about 1870 showed that Nabi Samwil had 6 houses and a population of 20, though the population count included only men.[25][26]

In 1883, the Palestine Exploration Fund's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described it as small hamlet of adobe huts, perched on top of the ridge, amid the remains of the Crusader ruins. There was a spring to the north.[27]

 
Nabi Samwil during the early 20th century

In 1896 the population of Nebi Samwil was estimated to be about 81 persons.[28]

World War and British Mandate period

Nabi Samwil was heavily damaged by Turkish shells in 1917 while fighting British forces, but the village was rebuilt and resettled in 1921.[29] The Ottoman mosque, destroyed in war, was restored by the Supreme Muslim Council during the British Mandate period.[10][11]

In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Nabi Shemweil had a population 121, all Muslims.[30] increasing slightly in the 1931 census to 138, one Christian and the rest Muslim, occupying a total of 117 houses.[31]

In the 1945 statistics Nabi Samwil had a population of 200, all Muslims,[32] with 2,150 dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey.[33] Of this, 293 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 986 used for cereals,[34] while 3 dunams were built-up land.[35]

1948 war and Jordanian period

On April 23, 1948, during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, a Palmach division attacked Nabi Samwil with the intention of capturing the village for Israel. The operation failed, since its local defenders had been notified that nearby Beit Iksa was attacked and thus prepared for a Jewish assault. Over 40 Palmach troops were killed in the battle with minimal Arab casualties.[36]

From 1948 to 1967, Nabi Samwil was used by the Arab Legion of Jordan as a military post guarding access to Jerusalem.[4]

In 1961, the population of Nabi Samwil was 168.[37]

1967, aftermath

 
School in Nabi Samwil

Since the 1967 Six-Day War, Nabi Samwil has been under Israeli occupation.[4]

After Israel's victory and occupation in the war, during which most of the village's 1,000 inhabitants[38][39] had fled, the shrine became predominantly Jewish, and settlers attempted to wrest control of the area.[40][19] Throughout the 1970s, the Israeli authorities demolished the historic village built around the shrine, forcing its inhabitants into ramshackle buildings further down the hill.[41][40] Nabi Samwil was drawn in good part within Jerusalem's municipal boundaries, while the inhabitants themselves were excluded, and its inhabitants were defined in their identity cards as West Bankers, and are prohibited by the Israeli military administration from leaving the village in any direction without authorisation.[41] Since the mid-2000s, Nabi Samwil, excluding the shrine, became part of an area known as the "Seam Zone", which denotes the land between the separation barrier erected during the Second Intifada, and the borders of Jerusalem municipality.[42] The only exit from the village is to nearby Bir Nabala via an Israeli checkpoint.[41][dead link]

 
Archaeological excavations around the Tomb of Samuel

The village, which is not recognized as such by Israel, was designated as a national park in the 1990s and the remains of former homes adjacent to the mosque form part of an archaeological site in the park. The mosque has been cordoned off and the section containing Samuel's tomb has been converted into a synagogue. Partly due to Israeli military restrictions, Palestinian construction in the village is banned. Economic activity is also significantly restricted and residents live in poverty, with many young residents leaving for jobs in nearby Ramallah. Israel states its policies are intended to preserve the site of Nabi Samwil.[42]

Demographics

In 1922, Nabi Samwil had 121 inhabitants,[30] rising to 138 in 1931.[31] In Sami Hadawi's land and population survey in 1945, 200 people resided there.[33] By 1981 the number dropped to 66 inhabitants but was up to 136 within five years.[6] According to the 2007 census by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Nabi Samwil had a population of 258 inhabitants in 2007.[43] About 20 Muslim families live there. A group of 90 Bedouins living in al Jib who had been evicted from Nabi Samwil were refused permission to move back because the village lies in Area C and it would be difficult for them to acquire building permits.[44]

References

  1. ^ a b Preliminary Results of the Population, Housing and Establishments Census, 2017 (PDF). Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) (Report). State of Palestine. February 2018. pp. 64–82. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
  2. ^ Palmer, 1881, p. 324
  3. ^ a b c "Nebi Samuel Park – Israel Nature and Parks Authority". en.parks.org.il. from the original on 2022-03-12. Retrieved 2022-06-03.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Jacobs, Daniel. (1998). Israel and the Palestinian territories. Rough Guides, p.429.
  5. ^ Satellite View of al-Nabi Samwil
  6. ^ a b Welcome to al-Nabi Samwil Palestine Remembered.
  7. ^ Gleichen (1925), p. 8
  8. ^ I Mach., iii, 46, cited in Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Maspha" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  9. ^ Adler, Nathan Marcus (1907). The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela: Critical Text, Translation and Commentary. Vol. See "St. Samuel of Shiloh" and footnote 87. New York: Phillip Feldheim, Inc. from the original on 21 October 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2020 – via washington.edu.
  10. ^ a b Nabi Samuel - Jerusalem 2008-01-25 at the Wayback Machine Jerusalem Media and Communications Centre.
  11. ^ a b c d e Nebi Samwil - Site of a Biblical Town and a Crusader Fortress Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 2001-09-01.
  12. ^ Al-Muqaddasi (Basil Anthony Collins (Translator)): The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions. Ahasan al-Taqasim Fi Ma'rifat al-Aqalim. Garnet Publishing, Reading, 1994, ISBN 1-873938-14-4, p. 171, (orig. p.188). Older translation is given in Le Strange, 1890, p. 433
  13. ^ Le Strange, 1890, p. 433 (orig. Yak., iv. 391; Mar., iii.29)
  14. ^ a b Sharon, 2004, p. 118
  15. ^ Sharon, 2004, pp. 122 -123
  16. ^ "Travelling to Jerusalem--Benjamin of Tudela". depts.washington.edu.
  17. ^ . Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2010-02-14.
  18. ^ Sharon, 2004, p. 119
  19. ^ a b Mahmoud Yazbak, 'Holy shrines (maqamat) in modern Palestine/Israel and the politics of memory,' in Marshall J. Breger, Yitzhak Reiter, Leonard Hammer (eds.), Holy Places in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Confrontation and Co-existence, Routledge 2010 pp. 231-246 p.237.
  20. ^ "Mount Joy: the view from Palestine". January 21, 2014.
  21. ^ Sharon, 2004, pp. 119 -120.
  22. ^ Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 113
  23. ^ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. 121
  24. ^ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 2, pp. 139 -145
  25. ^ Socin, 1879, p. 158
  26. ^ Hartmann, 1883, p. 127, also noted 6 houses
  27. ^ Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p. 12
  28. ^ Schick, 1896, p. 125
  29. ^ Jerusalem Won at Bayonet's Point New York Times. 1917-12-17.
  30. ^ a b Barron, 1923, Table VII, Sub-district of Jerusalem, p. 14
  31. ^ a b Mills, 1932, p. 41
  32. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 25
  33. ^ a b Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 57
  34. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 103
  35. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 153
  36. ^ Tal, 2003, p. 118
  37. ^ Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. 24
  38. ^ Abraham, Yuval (August 30, 2022). "Israel destroyed Palestinian village for luxury settlement that was never built". +972 Magazine.
  39. ^ "Nabi Samwil – A Village Trapped in a National Park". September 13, 2013.
  40. ^ a b Yitzhak Reiter (2017). Contested Holy Places in Israel-Palestine; Sharing and Conflict Resolution. Routledge. p. 272.
  41. ^ a b c 'Palestinian village imprisoned in holy shrine of Nabi Samuel,' Ma'an News Agency12 February 2015.
  42. ^ a b Tourist sites in the West Bank: Wish you were here?. The Economist. 2014-01-06.
  43. ^ Population, Housing and Establishment Census 2007 Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. 2008. Retrieved on 2012-02-29.
  44. ^ Protection of Civilians Weekly Report United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, p.7. January 2008.

Bibliography

  • Adler, Marcus Nathan; of Tudela, Benjamin (1907). The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela, Critical Text, Translation And Commentary. London: Oxford University Press. p. 26
  • Barron, J.B., ed. (1923). Palestine: Report and General Abstracts of the Census of 1922. Government of Palestine.
  • Conder, C.R.; Kitchener, H.H. (1883). The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology. Vol. 3. London: Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. (pp. 149, 150)
  • Dauphin, C. (1998). La Palestine byzantine, Peuplement et Populations. BAR International Series 726 (in French). Vol. III : Catalogue. Oxford: Archeopress. ISBN 0-860549-05-4. (p. 893)
  • Gleichen, E., ed. (1925). First List of Names in Palestine - Published for the Permanent Committee on Geographical Names by the Royal Geographical Society. London: Royal Geographical Society. OCLC 69392644.
  • Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics (1964). First Census of Population and Housing. Volume I: Final Tables; General Characteristics of the Population (PDF).
  • Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics (1945). Village Statistics, April, 1945.
  • Guérin, V. (1868). Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine (in French). Vol. 1: Judee, pt. 1. Paris: L'Imprimerie Nationale. (pp. 362- 384)
  • Guérin, V. (1869). Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine (in French). Vol. 1: Judee, pt. 3. Paris: L'Imprimerie Nationale. (pp. 4-5)
  • Hadawi, S. (1970). Village Statistics of 1945: A Classification of Land and Area ownership in Palestine. Palestine Liberation Organization Research Center.
  • Hartmann, M. (1883). "Die Ortschaftenliste des Liwa Jerusalem in dem türkischen Staatskalender für Syrien auf das Jahr 1288 der Flucht (1871)". Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins. 6: 102–149.
  • Hütteroth, Wolf-Dieter; Abdulfattah, Kamal (1977). Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century. Erlanger Geographische Arbeiten, Sonderband 5. Erlangen, Germany: Vorstand der Fränkischen Geographischen Gesellschaft. ISBN 3-920405-41-2.
  • Mills, E., ed. (1932). Census of Palestine 1931. Population of Villages, Towns and Administrative Areas. Jerusalem: Government of Palestine.
  • Palmer, E.H. (1881). The Survey of Western Palestine: Arabic and English Name Lists Collected During the Survey by Lieutenants Conder and Kitchener, R. E. Transliterated and Explained by E.H. Palmer. Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund.
  • Pringle, D. (1993). The Churches of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem: Volume I A-K (excluding Acre and Jerusalem). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-39036-2. ( p. 283 )
  • Pringle, D. (1998). The Churches of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem: Volume II L-Z (excluding Tyre). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-39037-0. (p. 85 -)
  • Robinson, E.; Smith, E. (1841). Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838. Vol. 2. Boston: Crocker & Brewster.
  • Robinson, E.; Smith, E. (1841). Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838. Vol. 3. Boston: Crocker & Brewster.
  • Schick, C. (1896). "Zur Einwohnerzahl des Bezirks Jerusalem". Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins. 19: 120–127.
  • Sharon, M. (2004). Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarum Palaestinae, D-F. Vol. 3. BRILL. ISBN 90-04-13197-3. (pp. 114 -134)
  • Socin, A. (1879). "Alphabetisches Verzeichniss von Ortschaften des Paschalik Jerusalem". Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins. 2: 135–163.
  • Tal, D. (15 March 2003). War in Palestine, 1948: Strategy and diplomacy. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-7146-5275-7.
  • Tyrwhitt Drake, C.F (1872). "Mr Tyrwhitt Drake´s reports". Quarterly Statement - Palestine Exploration Fund. 4: 174–193. (p. 174, quoted in SWP)

External links

  • Welcome To al-Nabi Samwil
  • Survey of Western Palestine, Map 17: , Wikimedia commons
  • An Nabi Samwil Village (Fact Sheet), Applied Research Institute–Jerusalem (ARIJ)
  • An Nabi Samwil Village Profile, ARIJ
  • An Nabi Samwil Aerial photo, ARIJ
  • Locality Development Priorities and Needs in An Nabi Samwil, ARIJ
  • Israel severs a-Nabi Samwil Village from rest of the West Bank, B'Tselem
  • Battle of Nebi Samwil

nabi, samwil, also, called, nabi, samuil, arabic, النبي, صموئيل, nabi, samu, translit, prophet, samuel, palestinian, village, quds, governorate, state, palestine, located, west, bank, area, four, kilometers, north, jerusalem, village, built, around, mosque, co. An Nabi Samwil also called al Nabi Samuil Arabic النبي صموئيل an Nabi Samu il translit the prophet Samuel is a Palestinian village in the Quds Governorate of the State of Palestine located in the West Bank Area C four kilometers north of Jerusalem The village is built up around the Mosque of Nabi Samwil containing the Tomb of Samuel the village s Palestinian population has since been removed by the Israeli authorities from the village houses to a new location slightly down the hill The village had a population of 234 in 2017 1 an Nabi SamwilLocal Development CommitteeArabic transcription s Arabicالنبي صموئيل Latinan Nebi Samwil official an Nabi Samuil unofficial Aerial viewNabi Samwil shown within the Area C National Park hashed area an Nabi SamwilLocation of an Nabi Samwil within PalestineCoordinates 31 49 58 N 35 10 49 E 31 83278 N 35 18028 E 31 83278 35 18028Palestine grid167 137StateState of PalestineGovernorateJerusalemGovernment TypeLocal Development CommitteeArea Total1 592 dunams 1 6 km2 or 0 6 sq mi Highest elevation908 m 2 979 ft Population 2017 1 Total234 Density150 km2 380 sq mi Name meaning the prophet Samuel 2 A tradition dating back to the Byzantine period places here the tomb of Prophet Samuel In the 6th century a monastery was built at the site in honor of Samuel and during the early Arab period the place was known as Dir Samwil the Samuel Monastery 3 In the 12th century during the Crusader period a fortress was built on the area 3 In the 14th century during the Mameluk period a mosque was built over the ruins of the Crusader fortress 3 The purported tomb itself is in an underground chamber of the mosque which has been repurposed after 1967 as a synagogue today with separate prayer areas for Jewish men and women Contents 1 Geography 2 Tomb of Samuel tradition 3 History shrine and village 3 1 Byzantine period 3 2 Early Muslim period 3 3 Crusader Ayyubid period 3 4 Mamluk period 3 5 Ottoman period 3 6 World War and British Mandate period 3 7 1948 war and Jordanian period 3 8 1967 aftermath 4 Demographics 5 References 6 Bibliography 7 External linksGeographyNabi Samwil is situated atop of a mountain 890 meters above sea level in the Seam Zone four kilometers north of the Jerusalem neighborhood of Shuafat and southwest of Ramallah 4 Nearby localities include Beit Iksa to the south al Jib to the north Beit Hanina to the east and Biddu to the west 5 The village consisted of 1 592 dunams of which only 5 dunams were built up 6 Tomb of Samuel traditionA 6th century Christian author identified the site as Samuel s burial place and it has been traditionally been associated as such by Jews Christians and Muslims According to the Hebrew Bible the prophet was buried at his hometown Ramah 1 Samuel 25 1 28 3 which is located near Geba while this site is identified as Mizpah in Benjamin 7 As Judas Machabeus preparing for war with the Syrians gathered his men to Maspha over against Jerusalem for in Maspha was a place of prayer heretofore in Israel 8 The 12th century Jewish traveller Benjamin of Tudela visited the site in 1173 According to him the Christian Crusaders had found the bones of Samuel close to a Jewish synagogue in Ramla on the coastal plain which he misidentified as biblical Ramah and reburied them at present day Nabi Samwil He wrote that a large church dedicated to St Samuel had been built over the reburied remains 9 History shrine and villageSee also Tomb of Samuel and Operation Yevusi nbsp The Nabi Samwil mosque 2012An old tradition holds that the village contains the tomb of the prophet Samuel whose Arabic name is Nabi Samwil 4 10 hence the name of the Arab village Byzantine period A monastery was built by the Byzantines at Nabi Samwil serving as a hostel for Christian pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem The monastery was restored and enlarged during the reign of Justinian I in the mid 6th century CE 11 Since then the site has been a place of pilgrimage for Jews Christians and Muslims alike 4 Early Muslim period The tomb continued to be in use throughout the Early Muslim period in Palestine from the 7th to the 10th century 11 Jerusalem born geographer al Muqaddasi recounted in 985 CE a story which he had heard from his uncle concerning the place A certain sultan wanted to take possession of Dayr Shamwil which he describes as a village about a farsakh from Jerusalem The Sultan asked the owner to describe the village at which the owner enumerated the ills of the place hard is the labour the profit is low Weeds are all over almonds are bitter one bushel you sow one bushel you reap After hearing this the ruler exclaimed Begone We have no need for your village 12 13th century Syrian geographer Yaqut al Hamawi describes Mar Samwil or Maran Samwil as a small town in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem Mar in Syriac signifies al Kass the priest and Samwil is the name of the Doctors of Law 13 During Islamic times Nabi Samwil became a centre for pottery production 14 supplying nearby Jerusalem as well as Ramla and Caesarea 15 Crusader Ayyubid period In 1099 the Crusaders conquered Palestine from the Arab Fatimids and received their first view of Jerusalem from the mountain upon which Nabi Samwil is built thus naming it Mont Joie Mountain of Joy They soon constructed a fortress there to fend off Muslim raiding of Jerusalem s northern approaches as well as to shelter pilgrim convoys 11 In 1157 the Crusaders constructed a church at Samuel s tomb 4 King Baldwin II of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem entrusted Nabi Samwil to Cistercians religious order who built a monastery there and then handed it over to the Premonstratensians in the 1120s 14 The 12th century Jewish traveller Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela visited the site when he travelled the land in 1173 noting that the Crusaders had found the bones of Samuel in a Jewish cemetery in Ramla on the coastal plain and reburied them here overlooking the Holy City He wrote that a church dedicated to St Samuel of Shiloh had been built on the hill 16 This may refer to the abbey church of St Samuel built by Premonstratensian canons and inhabited from 1141 to 1244 17 After the Ayyubids under Saladin conquered much of interior Palestine in 1187 the church and monastery were turned into a mosque and since then remained in Muslim hands in 1192 Richard the Lionheart reached Nabi Samwil but did not take it 18 Jewish pilgrimage which favoured visits in April and May each year resumed after the Ayyubids conquered the area and it became an important center for Muslim Jewish interaction 19 Mamluk period During the Mamluk period Christian pilgrims continued to visit the site including the traveller known as John Mandeville and Margery Kempe 20 In the 15th century Jews built a synagogue adjacent to the mosque and resumed pilgrimages to the site after losing that privilege during the Crusader period Though they occasionally encountered difficulties with local notables the Jews right to visit the shrine was reaffirmed twice by the Ottomans and the sultan asked the qadi of Jerusalem to punish anyone who might obstruct their right and the long tradition of Jewish pilgrimage Mujir ad Din referring to Jerusalem s size writes From the north it reaches the village wherein is the tomb of the prophet Shamwil may Allah bless him and give him peace 21 Ottoman period In 1517 Palestine incorporated into the Ottoman Empire after it was captured from the Mamluks and by 1596 Nabi Samwil appeared in the Ottoman tax registers as being in the nahiya of Quds in the liwa of Al Quds It had a population of 5 households all Muslim The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 25 on various agricultural products including wheat barley olive trees vineyards fruit trees occasional revenues goats and or beehives a total of 2 200 akce 22 The Crusader church was incorporated into the village mosque 4 built in 1730 under the Ottoman Empire 11 In 1838 Edward Robinson noted en Neby Samwil as a Muslim village part of the El Kuds district 23 He further noted that the mosk is here the principal object and is regarded by Jews Christians and Muhammedans as covering the tomb of the prophet Samuel 24 An Ottoman village list of about 1870 showed that Nabi Samwil had 6 houses and a population of 20 though the population count included only men 25 26 In 1883 the Palestine Exploration Fund s Survey of Western Palestine SWP described it as small hamlet of adobe huts perched on top of the ridge amid the remains of the Crusader ruins There was a spring to the north 27 nbsp Nabi Samwil during the early 20th centuryIn 1896 the population of Nebi Samwil was estimated to be about 81 persons 28 World War and British Mandate period See also Battle of Nebi Samwil Nabi Samwil was heavily damaged by Turkish shells in 1917 while fighting British forces but the village was rebuilt and resettled in 1921 29 The Ottoman mosque destroyed in war was restored by the Supreme Muslim Council during the British Mandate period 10 11 In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities Nabi Shemweil had a population 121 all Muslims 30 increasing slightly in the 1931 census to 138 one Christian and the rest Muslim occupying a total of 117 houses 31 In the 1945 statistics Nabi Samwil had a population of 200 all Muslims 32 with 2 150 dunams of land according to an official land and population survey 33 Of this 293 dunams were plantations and irrigable land 986 used for cereals 34 while 3 dunams were built up land 35 1948 war and Jordanian period On April 23 1948 during the 1948 Arab Israeli War a Palmach division attacked Nabi Samwil with the intention of capturing the village for Israel The operation failed since its local defenders had been notified that nearby Beit Iksa was attacked and thus prepared for a Jewish assault Over 40 Palmach troops were killed in the battle with minimal Arab casualties 36 From 1948 to 1967 Nabi Samwil was used by the Arab Legion of Jordan as a military post guarding access to Jerusalem 4 In 1961 the population of Nabi Samwil was 168 37 1967 aftermath nbsp School in Nabi SamwilSince the 1967 Six Day War Nabi Samwil has been under Israeli occupation 4 After Israel s victory and occupation in the war during which most of the village s 1 000 inhabitants 38 39 had fled the shrine became predominantly Jewish and settlers attempted to wrest control of the area 40 19 Throughout the 1970s the Israeli authorities demolished the historic village built around the shrine forcing its inhabitants into ramshackle buildings further down the hill 41 40 Nabi Samwil was drawn in good part within Jerusalem s municipal boundaries while the inhabitants themselves were excluded and its inhabitants were defined in their identity cards as West Bankers and are prohibited by the Israeli military administration from leaving the village in any direction without authorisation 41 Since the mid 2000s Nabi Samwil excluding the shrine became part of an area known as the Seam Zone which denotes the land between the separation barrier erected during the Second Intifada and the borders of Jerusalem municipality 42 The only exit from the village is to nearby Bir Nabala via an Israeli checkpoint 41 dead link nbsp Archaeological excavations around the Tomb of SamuelThe village which is not recognized as such by Israel was designated as a national park in the 1990s and the remains of former homes adjacent to the mosque form part of an archaeological site in the park The mosque has been cordoned off and the section containing Samuel s tomb has been converted into a synagogue Partly due to Israeli military restrictions Palestinian construction in the village is banned Economic activity is also significantly restricted and residents live in poverty with many young residents leaving for jobs in nearby Ramallah Israel states its policies are intended to preserve the site of Nabi Samwil 42 DemographicsIn 1922 Nabi Samwil had 121 inhabitants 30 rising to 138 in 1931 31 In Sami Hadawi s land and population survey in 1945 200 people resided there 33 By 1981 the number dropped to 66 inhabitants but was up to 136 within five years 6 According to the 2007 census by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics Nabi Samwil had a population of 258 inhabitants in 2007 43 About 20 Muslim families live there A group of 90 Bedouins living in al Jib who had been evicted from Nabi Samwil were refused permission to move back because the village lies in Area C and it would be difficult for them to acquire building permits 44 References a b Preliminary Results of the Population Housing and Establishments Census 2017 PDF Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics PCBS Report State of Palestine February 2018 pp 64 82 Retrieved 2023 10 24 Palmer 1881 p 324 a b c Nebi Samuel Park Israel Nature and Parks Authority en parks org il Archived from the original on 2022 03 12 Retrieved 2022 06 03 a b c d e f g Jacobs Daniel 1998 Israel and the Palestinian territories Rough Guides p 429 Satellite View of al Nabi Samwil a b Welcome to al Nabi Samwil Palestine Remembered Gleichen 1925 p 8 I Mach iii 46 cited in Herbermann Charles ed 1913 Maspha Catholic Encyclopedia New York Robert Appleton Company Adler Nathan Marcus 1907 The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela Critical Text Translation and Commentary Vol See St Samuel of Shiloh and footnote 87 New York Phillip Feldheim Inc Archived from the original on 21 October 2019 Retrieved 7 August 2020 via washington edu a b Nabi Samuel Jerusalem Archived 2008 01 25 at the Wayback Machine Jerusalem Media and Communications Centre a b c d e Nebi Samwil Site of a Biblical Town and a Crusader Fortress Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2001 09 01 Al Muqaddasi Basil Anthony Collins Translator The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions Ahasan al Taqasim Fi Ma rifat al Aqalim Garnet Publishing Reading 1994 ISBN 1 873938 14 4 p 171 orig p 188 Older translation is given in Le Strange 1890 p 433 Le Strange 1890 p 433 orig Yak iv 391 Mar iii 29 a b Sharon 2004 p 118 Sharon 2004 pp 122 123 Travelling to Jerusalem Benjamin of Tudela depts washington edu Summary Page Palestine Israel Kingdom of Jerusalem St Samuel Archived from the original on 2011 07 16 Retrieved 2010 02 14 Sharon 2004 p 119 a b Mahmoud Yazbak Holy shrines maqamat in modern Palestine Israel and the politics of memory in Marshall J Breger Yitzhak Reiter Leonard Hammer eds Holy Places in the Israeli Palestinian Conflict Confrontation and Co existence Routledge 2010 pp 231 246 p 237 Mount Joy the view from Palestine January 21 2014 Sharon 2004 pp 119 120 Hutteroth and Abdulfattah 1977 p 113 Robinson and Smith 1841 vol 3 Appendix 2 p 121 Robinson and Smith 1841 vol 2 pp 139 145 Socin 1879 p 158 Hartmann 1883 p 127 also noted 6 houses Conder and Kitchener 1883 SWP III p 12 Schick 1896 p 125 Jerusalem Won at Bayonet s Point New York Times 1917 12 17 a b Barron 1923 Table VII Sub district of Jerusalem p 14 a b Mills 1932 p 41 Government of Palestine Department of Statistics 1945 p 25 a b Government of Palestine Department of Statistics Village Statistics April 1945 Quoted in Hadawi 1970 p 57 Government of Palestine Department of Statistics Village Statistics April 1945 Quoted in Hadawi 1970 p 103 Government of Palestine Department of Statistics Village Statistics April 1945 Quoted in Hadawi 1970 p 153 Tal 2003 p 118 Government of Jordan Department of Statistics 1964 p 24 Abraham Yuval August 30 2022 Israel destroyed Palestinian village for luxury settlement that was never built 972 Magazine Nabi Samwil A Village Trapped in a National Park September 13 2013 a b Yitzhak Reiter 2017 Contested Holy Places in Israel Palestine Sharing and Conflict Resolution Routledge p 272 a b c Palestinian village imprisoned in holy shrine of Nabi Samuel Ma an News Agency12 February 2015 a b Tourist sites in the West Bank Wish you were here The Economist 2014 01 06 Population Housing and Establishment Census 2007 Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics 2008 Retrieved on 2012 02 29 Protection of Civilians Weekly Report United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs p 7 January 2008 BibliographyAdler Marcus Nathan of Tudela Benjamin 1907 The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela Critical Text Translation And Commentary London Oxford University Press p 26 Barron J B ed 1923 Palestine Report and General Abstracts of the Census of 1922 Government of Palestine Conder C R Kitchener H H 1883 The Survey of Western Palestine Memoirs of the Topography Orography Hydrography and Archaeology Vol 3 London Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund pp 149 150 Dauphin C 1998 La Palestine byzantine Peuplement et Populations BAR International Series 726 in French Vol III Catalogue Oxford Archeopress ISBN 0 860549 05 4 p 893 Gleichen E ed 1925 First List of Names in Palestine Published for the Permanent Committee on Geographical Names by the Royal Geographical Society London Royal Geographical Society OCLC 69392644 Government of Jordan Department of Statistics 1964 First Census of Population and Housing Volume I Final Tables General Characteristics of the Population PDF Government of Palestine Department of Statistics 1945 Village Statistics April 1945 Guerin V 1868 Description Geographique Historique et Archeologique de la Palestine in French Vol 1 Judee pt 1 Paris L Imprimerie Nationale pp 362 384 Guerin V 1869 Description Geographique Historique et Archeologique de la Palestine in French Vol 1 Judee pt 3 Paris L Imprimerie Nationale pp 4 5 Hadawi S 1970 Village Statistics of 1945 A Classification of Land and Area ownership in Palestine Palestine Liberation Organization Research Center Hartmann M 1883 Die Ortschaftenliste des Liwa Jerusalem in dem turkischen Staatskalender fur Syrien auf das Jahr 1288 der Flucht 1871 Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palastina Vereins 6 102 149 Hutteroth Wolf Dieter Abdulfattah Kamal 1977 Historical Geography of Palestine Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century Erlanger Geographische Arbeiten Sonderband 5 Erlangen Germany Vorstand der Frankischen Geographischen Gesellschaft ISBN 3 920405 41 2 Mills E ed 1932 Census of Palestine 1931 Population of Villages Towns and Administrative Areas Jerusalem Government of Palestine Palmer E H 1881 The Survey of Western Palestine Arabic and English Name Lists Collected During the Survey by Lieutenants Conder and Kitchener R E Transliterated and Explained by E H Palmer Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund Pringle D 1993 The Churches of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem Volume I A K excluding Acre and Jerusalem Cambridge University Press ISBN 0 521 39036 2 p 283 Pringle D 1998 The Churches of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem Volume II L Z excluding Tyre Cambridge University Press ISBN 0 521 39037 0 p 85 Robinson E Smith E 1841 Biblical Researches in Palestine Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea A Journal of Travels in the year 1838 Vol 2 Boston Crocker amp Brewster Robinson E Smith E 1841 Biblical Researches in Palestine Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea A Journal of Travels in the year 1838 Vol 3 Boston Crocker amp Brewster Schick C 1896 Zur Einwohnerzahl des Bezirks Jerusalem Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palastina Vereins 19 120 127 Sharon M 2004 Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarum Palaestinae D F Vol 3 BRILL ISBN 90 04 13197 3 pp 114 134 Socin A 1879 Alphabetisches Verzeichniss von Ortschaften des Paschalik Jerusalem Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palastina Vereins 2 135 163 Tal D 15 March 2003 War in Palestine 1948 Strategy and diplomacy London Routledge ISBN 978 0 7146 5275 7 Tyrwhitt Drake C F 1872 Mr Tyrwhitt Drake s reports Quarterly Statement Palestine Exploration Fund 4 174 193 p 174 quoted in SWP External linksWelcome To al Nabi Samwil Survey of Western Palestine Map 17 IAA Wikimedia commons An Nabi Samwil Village Fact Sheet Applied Research Institute Jerusalem ARIJ An Nabi Samwil Village Profile ARIJ An Nabi Samwil Aerial photo ARIJ Locality Development Priorities and Needs in An Nabi Samwil ARIJ Israel severs a Nabi Samwil Village from rest of the West Bank B Tselem Battle of Nebi Samwil Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Nabi Samwil amp oldid 1182099357, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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