157-542: Nablus ( / ˈ n æ b l ə s , ˈ n ɑː b l ə s / NA(H)B -ləs ; Arabic : نابلس , romanized : Nābulus [ˈnæːblʊs, -lɪs] ) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank , located approximately 49 kilometres (30 mi) north of Jerusalem , with a population of 156,906. Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim , it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and
314-455: A Palestinian community in the West Bank . It was lifted 2 hours each day to allow residents to find food. The curfew was in response to the murder of two teachers on 21 July near Jenin and the killing of an Israeli para-military on 30 July. Najah University was closed for 2 months after posters with pictures of PLO leader were found. In January 1986, the Israeli administration ended with
471-545: A broader attempt to established centralized rule throughout the empire at that time. In return for their services, the officers were granted agricultural lands around the villages of Jabal Nablus. The Ottomans, fearing that the new Arab land holders would establish independent bases of power, dispersed the land plots to separate and distant locations within Jabal Nablus to avoid creating contiguous territory controlled by individual clans. Contrary to its centralization purpose,
628-575: A collection of related dialects that constitute the precursor of Arabic, first emerged during the Iron Age . Previously, the earliest attestation of Old Arabic was thought to be a single 1st century CE inscription in Sabaic script at Qaryat al-Faw , in southern present-day Saudi Arabia. However, this inscription does not participate in several of the key innovations of the Arabic language group, such as
785-699: A commercial and cultural centre of the State of Palestine , home to An-Najah National University , one of the largest Palestinian institutions of higher learning, and the Palestine Stock Exchange . Nablus is under the administration of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). The modern name of the city can be traced back to the Roman period , when it was named Flavia Neapolis by Roman emperor Vespasian in 72 CE. During
942-435: A corpus of poetic texts, in addition to Qur'an usage and Bedouin informants whom he considered to be reliable speakers of the ʿarabiyya . Arabic spread with the spread of Islam . Following the early Muslim conquests , Arabic gained vocabulary from Middle Persian and Turkish . In the early Abbasid period , many Classical Greek terms entered Arabic through translations carried out at Baghdad's House of Wisdom . By
1099-1081: A dialect of Arabic and written in the Latin alphabet . The Balkan languages, including Albanian, Greek , Serbo-Croatian, and Bulgarian , have also acquired many words of Arabic origin, mainly through direct contact with Ottoman Turkish . Arabic has influenced languages across the globe throughout its history, especially languages where Islam is the predominant religion and in countries that were conquered by Muslims. The most markedly influenced languages are Persian , Turkish , Hindustani ( Hindi and Urdu ), Kashmiri , Kurdish , Bosnian , Kazakh , Bengali , Malay ( Indonesian and Malaysian ), Maldivian , Pashto , Punjabi , Albanian , Armenian , Azerbaijani , Sicilian, Spanish, Greek, Bulgarian, Tagalog , Sindhi , Odia , Hebrew and African languages such as Hausa , Amharic , Tigrinya , Somali , Tamazight , and Swahili . Conversely, Arabic has borrowed some words (mostly nouns) from other languages, including its sister-language Aramaic, Persian, Greek, and Latin and to
1256-579: A junction between two ancient commercial roads; one linking the Sharon coastal plain to the Jordan valley , the other linking Nablus to the Galilee in the north, and the biblical Judea to the south through the mountains. The city stands at an elevation of around 550 meters (1,800 ft) above sea level , in a narrow valley running roughly east–west between two mountains: Mount Ebal , the northern mountain,
1413-509: A large marketplace, a finely paved Great Mosque , houses built of stone, a stream running through the center of the city, and notable mills. He also noted that it was nicknamed "Little Damascus ." At the time, the linen produced in Nablus was well known throughout the Old World . The city was captured by Crusaders in 1099, under the command of Prince Tancred , and renamed Naples . Though
1570-487: A lesser extent and more recently from Turkish, English, French, and Italian. Arabic is spoken by as many as 380 million speakers, both native and non-native, in the Arab world, making it the fifth most spoken language in the world, and the fourth most used language on the internet in terms of users. It also serves as the liturgical language of more than 2 billion Muslims . In 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked Arabic
1727-690: A millennium before the modern period . Early lexicographers ( لُغَوِيُّون lughawiyyūn ) sought to explain words in the Quran that were unfamiliar or had a particular contextual meaning, and to identify words of non-Arabic origin that appear in the Quran. They gathered shawāhid ( شَوَاهِد 'instances of attested usage') from poetry and the speech of the Arabs—particularly the Bedouin ʾaʿrāb [ ar ] ( أَعْراب ) who were perceived to speak
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#17327720002811884-594: A result, many European languages have borrowed words from it. Arabic influence, mainly in vocabulary, is seen in European languages (mainly Spanish and to a lesser extent Portuguese , Catalan , and Sicilian ) owing to the proximity of Europe and the long-lasting Arabic cultural and linguistic presence, mainly in Southern Iberia, during the Al-Andalus era. Maltese is a Semitic language developed from
2041-462: A script derived from ASA attest to a language known as Hasaitic . On the northwestern frontier of Arabia, various languages known to scholars as Thamudic B , Thamudic D, Safaitic , and Hismaic are attested. The last two share important isoglosses with later forms of Arabic, leading scholars to theorize that Safaitic and Hismaic are early forms of Arabic and that they should be considered Old Arabic . Linguists generally believe that "Old Arabic",
2198-470: A single language, despite mutual incomprehensibility among differing spoken versions. From a linguistic standpoint, it is often said that the various spoken varieties of Arabic differ among each other collectively about as much as the Romance languages . This is an apt comparison in a number of ways. The period of divergence from a single spoken form is similar—perhaps 1500 years for Arabic, 2000 years for
2355-474: A site of fierce clashes between a militant group vs Palestinian police. On 18 August, two Palestinian Police servicemen were killed in the city. Shortly after the raid of police on the suspected areas in the Old City deteriorated into a gun battle, in which three armed militia men were killed, including one killed by beating following his arrest. The person beaten to death was the suspected “mastermind” behind
2512-420: A total of 15,947 inhabitants (15,238 Muslims, 544 Christians, 147 Samaritans, 16 Jews, and two Druze). Population continued to grow, rising to 17,189 (16,483 Muslims, 533 Christians, 160 Samaritans, seven Druze, and six Jews) at the 1931 census of Palestine with 309 in nearby suburbs (225 Muslims and 84 Christians). The 1938 village statistics show a further increase to 19,200. The 1945 village statistics list
2669-756: A tributary kingdom, then a province, of the Roman Empire. The Romans had allied themselves to the Maccabees and interfered again in 63 BCE, at the end of the Third Mithridatic War , when the proconsul Pompey ("Pompey the Great") stayed behind to make the area secure for Rome, including his siege of Jerusalem in 63 BCE . Queen Salome Alexandra had recently died, and a civil war broke out between her sons, Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II . Pompeius restored Hyrcanus but political rule passed to
2826-507: A type of Arabic. Cypriot Arabic is recognized as a minority language in Cyprus. The sociolinguistic situation of Arabic in modern times provides a prime example of the linguistic phenomenon of diglossia , which is the normal use of two separate varieties of the same language, usually in different social situations. Tawleed is the process of giving a new shade of meaning to an old classical word. For example, al-hatif lexicographically means
2983-507: A variety of regional vernacular Arabic dialects , which are not necessarily mutually intelligible. Classical Arabic is the language found in the Quran , used from the period of Pre-Islamic Arabia to that of the Abbasid Caliphate . Classical Arabic is prescriptive, according to the syntactic and grammatical norms laid down by classical grammarians (such as Sibawayh ) and the vocabulary defined in classical dictionaries (such as
3140-638: A village in Judea. The King James Version of the Bible refers to the region as "Jewry". "Judea" was a name used by English speakers for the hilly internal part of Mandatory Palestine until the Jordanian rule of the area in 1948. For example, the borders of the two states to be established according to the UN's 1947 partition scheme were officially described using the terms "Judea" and "Samaria" and in its reports to
3297-476: A wider audience." In the wake of the industrial revolution and European hegemony and colonialism , pioneering Arabic presses, such as the Amiri Press established by Muhammad Ali (1819), dramatically changed the diffusion and consumption of Arabic literature and publications. Rifa'a al-Tahtawi proposed the establishment of Madrasat al-Alsun in 1836 and led a translation campaign that highlighted
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#17327720002813454-737: Is a Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world . The ISO assigns language codes to 32 varieties of Arabic , including its standard form of Literary Arabic, known as Modern Standard Arabic , which is derived from Classical Arabic . This distinction exists primarily among Western linguists; Arabic speakers themselves generally do not distinguish between Modern Standard Arabic and Classical Arabic, but rather refer to both as al-ʿarabiyyatu l-fuṣḥā ( اَلعَرَبِيَّةُ ٱلْفُصْحَىٰ "the eloquent Arabic") or simply al-fuṣḥā ( اَلْفُصْحَىٰ ). Arabic
3611-590: Is a minimum level of comprehension between all Arabic dialects, this level can increase or decrease based on geographic proximity: for example, Levantine and Gulf speakers understand each other much better than they do speakers from the Maghreb. The issue of diglossia between spoken and written language is a complicating factor: A single written form, differing sharply from any of the spoken varieties learned natively, unites several sometimes divergent spoken forms. For political reasons, Arabs mostly assert that they all speak
3768-549: Is a mountainous region of the Levant . Traditionally dominated by the city of Jerusalem , it is now part of Palestine and Israel . The name's usage is historic, having been used in antiquity and still into the present day; it originates from Yehudah , a Hebrew name . Yehudah was a son of Jacob , who was later given the name " Israel " and whose sons collectively headed the Twelve Tribes of Israel . Yehudah's progeny among
3925-559: Is a sister language rather than their direct ancestor. Arabia had a wide variety of Semitic languages in antiquity. The term "Arab" was initially used to describe those living in the Arabian Peninsula , as perceived by geographers from ancient Greece . In the southwest, various Central Semitic languages both belonging to and outside the Ancient South Arabian family (e.g. Southern Thamudic) were spoken. It
4082-478: Is believed that the ancestors of the Modern South Arabian languages (non-Central Semitic languages) were spoken in southern Arabia at this time. To the north, in the oases of northern Hejaz , Dadanitic and Taymanitic held some prestige as inscriptional languages. In Najd and parts of western Arabia, a language known to scholars as Thamudic C is attested. In eastern Arabia, inscriptions in
4239-667: Is considered a desert . It varies greatly in height, rising to an altitude of 1,020 metres (3,350 ft) in the south at the Hebron Hills , 30 km (19 mi) southwest of Jerusalem , and descending to as much as 400 metres (1,300 ft) below sea level in the east of the region. It also varies in rainfall, starting with about 400–500 millimetres (16–20 in) in the western hills, rising to 600 millimetres (24 in) around western Jerusalem (in central Judea), falling back to 400 millimetres (16 in) in eastern Jerusalem and dropping to around 100 millimetres (3.9 in) in
4396-408: Is credited with establishing the rules of Arabic prosody . Al-Jahiz (776–868) proposed to Al-Akhfash al-Akbar an overhaul of the grammar of Arabic, but it would not come to pass for two centuries. The standardization of Arabic reached completion around the end of the 8th century. The first comprehensive description of the ʿarabiyya "Arabic", Sībawayhi's al - Kitāb , is based first of all upon
4553-472: Is credited with standardizing Arabic grammar , or an-naḥw ( النَّحو "the way" ), and pioneering a system of diacritics to differentiate consonants ( نقط الإعجام nuqaṭu‿l-i'jām "pointing for non-Arabs") and indicate vocalization ( التشكيل at-tashkīl ). Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi (718–786) compiled the first Arabic dictionary, Kitāb al-'Ayn ( كتاب العين "The Book of the Letter ع "), and
4710-574: Is not present in the spoken varieties, but deletes Classical words that sound obsolete in MSA. In addition, MSA has borrowed or coined many terms for concepts that did not exist in Quranic times, and MSA continues to evolve. Some words have been borrowed from other languages—notice that transliteration mainly indicates spelling and not real pronunciation (e.g., فِلْم film 'film' or ديمقراطية dīmuqrāṭiyyah 'democracy'). The current preference
4867-855: Is official in Mali and recognized as a minority language in Morocco, while the Senegalese government adopted the Latin script to write it. Maltese is official in (predominantly Catholic ) Malta and written with the Latin script . Linguists agree that it is a variety of spoken Arabic, descended from Siculo-Arabic , though it has experienced extensive changes as a result of sustained and intensive contact with Italo-Romance varieties, and more recently also with English. Due to "a mix of social, cultural, historical, political, and indeed linguistic factors", many Maltese people today consider their language Semitic but not
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5024-572: Is the third most widespread official language after English and French, one of six official languages of the United Nations , and the liturgical language of Islam . Arabic is widely taught in schools and universities around the world and is used to varying degrees in workplaces, governments and the media. During the Middle Ages , Arabic was a major vehicle of culture and learning, especially in science, mathematics and philosophy. As
5181-424: Is the taller peak at 940 meters (3,080 ft), while Mount Gerizim , the southern mountain, is 881 meters (2,890 ft) high. Nablus is located 42 kilometers (26 mi) east of Tel Aviv , Israel , 110 kilometers (68 mi) west of Amman , Jordan and 63 kilometers (39 mi) north of Jerusalem. Nearby cities and towns include Huwara and Aqraba to the south, Beit Furik to the southeast, Tammun to
5338-590: Is the variety used in most current, printed Arabic publications, spoken by some of the Arabic media across North Africa and the Middle East, and understood by most educated Arabic speakers. "Literary Arabic" and "Standard Arabic" ( فُصْحَى fuṣḥá ) are less strictly defined terms that may refer to Modern Standard Arabic or Classical Arabic. Some of the differences between Classical Arabic (CA) and Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) are as follows: MSA uses much Classical vocabulary (e.g., dhahaba 'to go') that
5495-413: Is to avoid direct borrowings, preferring to either use loan translations (e.g., فرع farʻ 'branch', also used for the branch of a company or organization; جناح janāḥ 'wing', is also used for the wing of an airplane, building, air force, etc.), or to coin new words using forms within existing roots ( استماتة istimātah ' apoptosis ', using the root موت m/w/t 'death' put into
5652-491: Is under 20 years old. In 1997, the age distribution of the city's inhabitants was 28.4% under the age of 10, 20.8% from 10 to 19, 17.7% from 20–29, 18% from 30 to 44, 11.1% from 45 to 64 and 3.7% above the age of 65. The gender distribution was 50,945 males (50.92%) and 49,089 females (49.07%). In 891 CE, during the early centuries of Islamic rule, Nablus had a religiously diverse population of Samaritans, Muslims and Christians. Arab geographer Al-Dimashqi , recorded that under
5809-524: Is used to denote concepts that have arisen in the industrial and post-industrial era , especially in modern times. Due to its grounding in Classical Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic is removed over a millennium from everyday speech, which is construed as a multitude of dialects of this language. These dialects and Modern Standard Arabic are described by some scholars as not mutually comprehensible. The former are usually acquired in families, while
5966-445: The Lisān al-ʻArab ). Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) largely follows the grammatical standards of Classical Arabic and uses much of the same vocabulary. However, it has discarded some grammatical constructions and vocabulary that no longer have any counterpart in the spoken varieties and has adopted certain new constructions and vocabulary from the spoken varieties. Much of the new vocabulary
6123-638: The Ayyubids led by Saladin captured the city. According to a liturgical manuscript in Syriac , Latin Christians fled Nablus, but the original Eastern Orthodox Christian inhabitants remained. Syrian geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi (1179–1229), wrote that Ayyubid Nablus was a "celebrated city in Filastin (Palestine)... having wide lands and a fine district." He also mentions the large Samaritan population in
6280-707: The Battle of Sharon during the set piece Battle of Megiddo . Fighting took place in the Judean Hills where the British Empire 's XX Corps and Royal Flying Corps attacked the Ottoman Empire 's Yildirim Army Group 's Seventh Army which held a defensive position in front of Nablus, and which the Eighth Army had attempted to retreat to, in vain. The 1927 Jericho earthquake destroyed many of
6437-644: The Bethel hills and the Judaean Desert east of Jerusalem, which descends in a series of steps to the Dead Sea . The hills are distinct for their anticline structure. In ancient times the hills were forested, and the Bible records agriculture and sheep farming being practiced in the area. Animals are still grazed today, with shepherds moving them between the low ground to the hilltops as summer approaches, while
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6594-602: The Biblical city of Shechem which was destroyed by the Romans that same year during the First Jewish–Roman War . Holy places at the site of the city's founding include Joseph's Tomb and Jacob's Well . Because of the city's strategic geographic position and the abundance of water from nearby springs, Neapolis prospered, accumulating extensive territory, including the former Judean toparchy of Acraba . Insofar as
6751-798: The Byzantine period , conflict between the city's Samaritan and newer Christian inhabitants peaked in the Samaritan revolts that were eventually suppressed by the Byzantines by 573, which greatly dwindled the Samaritan population of the city. Following the Muslim conquest of the Levant in the 7th century, the city was given its present-day Arabic name of Nablus . After the First Crusade ,
6908-692: The Crusaders drafted the laws of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the Council of Nablus , and its Christian, Samaritan, and Muslim inhabitants prospered. The city then came under the control of the Ayyubids and the Mamluk Sultanate . Under the Ottoman Turks , who conquered the city in 1517 , Nablus served as the administrative and commercial centre for the surrounding area corresponding to
7065-596: The Greek Orthodox Church in 2002. Some 60 houses were destroyed, and parts of the stone-paving in the old city were damaged. The al-Shifa hammam was hit by three rockets from Apache helicopters . The eastern entrance of the Khan al-Wikala (old market) and three soap factories were destroyed in F-16 bombings. The cost of the damage was estimated at $ 80 million US. In August 2016, the Old City of Nablus became
7222-660: The Hejaz , several Mediterranean islands, and the Arabian Desert . The city's olive oil was also used in the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. Ibn Battuta , the Arab explorer, visited Nablus in 1355, and described it as a city "full of trees and streams and full of olives." He noted that the city grew and exported carob jam to Cairo and Damascus. Nablus came under the rule of the Ottoman Empire in 1517, along with
7379-563: The Herodian dynasty , who ruled as client kings . In 6 CE, Judea came under direct Roman rule as the southern part of the province of Judaea , although Jews living there still maintained some form of independence and could judge offenders by their own laws, including capital offences, until c. 28 CE. The province of Judea, during the late Hellenistic period and early Roman Empire was also divided into five conclaves: Jerusalem, Gadara , Amathus , Jericho , and Sepphoris , and during
7536-538: The Israeli occupation of Nablus. Many Israeli settlements were built around Nablus during the 1980s and early 1990s. The restrictions placed on Nablus during the First Intifada were met by a back-to-the-land movement to secure self-sufficiency, and had a notable outcome in boosting local agricultural production. In 1976, Bassam Shakaa was elected mayor. On 2 June 1980, he survived an assassination attempt by
7693-1085: The Israelites formed the Tribe of Judah , with whom the Kingdom of Judah is associated. Related nomenclature continued to be used under the rule of the Babylonians (the Yehud province ), the Persians (the Yehud province ), the Greeks (the Hasmonean Kingdom ), and the Romans (the Herodian Kingdom and the Judaea province ). Under the Hasmoneans, the Herodians, and the Romans, the term
7850-403: The Jewish Underground , considered a terrorist group by Israel, which resulted in Shakaa losing both his legs. In the spring of 1982, the Israeli administration removed him from office and installed an army officer who ran the city for the following three and a half years. On 29 July 1985, the Israeli army imposed a 5-day curfew on the city. At the time this was the longest curfew ever imposed on
8007-518: The Manara Clock Tower , built in 1906. The relatively temperate Mediterranean climate brings hot, dry summers and cool, rainy winters to Nablus. Spring arrives around March–April and the hottest months in Nablus are July and August with the average high being 29.6 °C (85.3 °F). The coldest month is January with temperatures usually at 6.2 °C (43.2 °F). Rain generally falls between October and March, with annual precipitation rates being approximately 656 mm (25.8 in). In 1596,
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#17327720002818164-437: The Passover massacre —an attack by Palestinian militants that killed 30 Israeli civilians attending a seder dinner at the Park Hotel in Netanya—Israel launched Operation Defensive Shield , a major military operation targeting in particular Nablus and Jenin. At least 80 Palestinians were killed in Nablus during the operation and several houses were destroyed or severely damaged. The operation also resulted in severe damage to
8321-474: The Tomb of the Patriarchs . The early history of Judah is uncertain; the biblical account states that the Kingdom of Judah, along with the Kingdom of Israel , was a successor to a united monarchy of Israel and Judah , but modern scholarship generally holds that the united monarchy is ahistorical. Regardless, the Northern Kingdom was conquered by the Neo-Assyrian Empire in 720 BCE. The Kingdom of Judah remained nominally independent, but paid tribute to
8478-416: The Tuqans from northern Syria or Transjordan. The Jarrars came to dominate the hinterland of Nablus, while the Tuqans and Nimrs competed for influence in the town. The former held the post of mutasallim (tax collector, strongman) of Nablus longer, though non-consecutively than any other family. The three families maintained their power until the mid-19th century. In the mid-18th century, Zahir al-Umar ,
8635-467: The Xth form , or جامعة jāmiʻah 'university', based on جمع jamaʻa 'to gather, unite'; جمهورية jumhūriyyah 'republic', based on جمهور jumhūr 'multitude'). An earlier tendency was to redefine an older word although this has fallen into disuse (e.g., هاتف hātif 'telephone' < 'invisible caller (in Sufism)'; جريدة jarīdah 'newspaper' < 'palm-leaf stalk'). Colloquial or dialectal Arabic refers to
8792-494: The northern Hejaz . These features are evidence of common descent from a hypothetical ancestor , Proto-Arabic . The following features of Proto-Arabic can be reconstructed with confidence: On the other hand, several Arabic varieties are closer to other Semitic languages and maintain features not found in Classical Arabic, indicating that these varieties cannot have developed from Classical Arabic. Thus, Arabic vernaculars do not descend from Classical Arabic: Classical Arabic
8949-421: The "West Bank"), though "Yehuda" is the Hebrew term used for the area in modern Israel since the region was captured and occupied by Israel in 1967. The Israeli government in the 20th century used the term Judea as part of the Israeli administrative district name " Judea and Samaria Area " for the territory that is generally referred to as the West Bank . The name Judea is a Greek and Roman adaptation of
9106-419: The "learned" tradition (Classical Arabic). This variety and both its classicizing and "lay" iterations have been termed Middle Arabic in the past, but they are thought to continue an Old Higazi register. It is clear that the orthography of the Quran was not developed for the standardized form of Classical Arabic; rather, it shows the attempt on the part of writers to record an archaic form of Old Higazi. In
9263-923: The "purest," most eloquent form of Arabic—initiating a process of jamʿu‿l-luɣah ( جمع اللغة 'compiling the language') which took place over the 8th and early 9th centuries. Kitāb al-'Ayn ( c. 8th century ), attributed to Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi , is considered the first lexicon to include all Arabic roots ; it sought to exhaust all possible root permutations —later called taqālīb ( تقاليب ) — calling those that are actually used mustaʿmal ( مستعمَل ) and those that are not used muhmal ( مُهمَل ). Lisān al-ʿArab (1290) by Ibn Manzur gives 9,273 roots, while Tāj al-ʿArūs (1774) by Murtada az-Zabidi gives 11,978 roots. Judea Judea or Judaea ( / dʒ uː ˈ d iː ə , dʒ uː ˈ d eɪ ə / ; Hebrew : יהודה , Modern : Yəhūda , Tiberian : Yehūḏā ; Greek : Ἰουδαία , Ioudaía ; Latin : Iudaea )
9420-454: The 11th and 12th centuries in al-Andalus , the zajal and muwashah poetry forms developed in the dialectical Arabic of Cordoba and the Maghreb. The Nahda was a cultural and especially literary renaissance of the 19th century in which writers sought "to fuse Arabic and European forms of expression." According to James L. Gelvin , " Nahda writers attempted to simplify the Arabic language and script so that it might be accessible to
9577-542: The 1657 campaign allowed the Arab sipahi officers to establish their own increasingly autonomous foothold in Nablus. The officers raised their families there and intermarried with the local notables of the area, namely the ulama and merchant families. Without abandoning their nominal military service, they acquired diverse properties to consolidate their presence and income such as soap and pottery factories, bathhouses , agricultural lands, grain mills and, olive and sesame oil presses. The most influential military family were
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#17327720002819734-448: The 16th century, the population was predominantly Muslim, with Jewish, Samaritan and Christian minorities. After decades of upheavals and rebellions mounted by Arab tribes in the Middle East, the Ottomans attempted to reassert centralized control over the Arab vilayets . In 1657, they sent an expeditionary force led mostly by Arab sipahi officers from central Syria to reassert Ottoman authority in Nablus and its hinterland, as part of
9891-462: The 4th to the 6th centuries, the Nabataean script evolved into the Arabic script recognizable from the early Islamic era. There are inscriptions in an undotted, 17-letter Arabic script dating to the 6th century CE, found at four locations in Syria ( Zabad , Jebel Usays , Harran , Umm el-Jimal ). The oldest surviving papyrus in Arabic dates to 643 CE, and it uses dots to produce the modern 28-letter Arabic alphabet. The language of that papyrus and of
10048-603: The 8th century, knowledge of Classical Arabic had become an essential prerequisite for rising into the higher classes throughout the Islamic world, both for Muslims and non-Muslims. For example, Maimonides , the Andalusi Jewish philosopher, authored works in Judeo-Arabic —Arabic written in Hebrew script . Ibn Jinni of Mosul , a pioneer in phonology , wrote prolifically in the 10th century on Arabic morphology and phonology in works such as Kitāb Al-Munṣif , Kitāb Al-Muḥtasab , and Kitāb Al-Khaṣāʾiṣ [ ar ] . Ibn Mada' of Cordoba (1116–1196) realized
10205-435: The Arab transformed Flavius Neapolis into a Roman colony named Julia Neapolis . It retained this status until the rule of Trebonianus Gallus in 251 CE. The Encyclopaedia Judaica speculates that Christianity was dominant in the 2nd or 3rd century, with some sources positing a later date of 480 CE. It is known for certain that a bishop from Nablus participated in the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE. The presence of Samaritans in
10362-421: The Assyrian Empire from 715 and throughout the first half of the 7th century BCE, regaining its independence as the Assyrian Empire declined after 640 BCE, but after 609 again fell under the sway of imperial rule, this time paying tribute at first to the Egyptians and after 601 BCE to the Neo-Babylonian Empire , until 586 BCE, when it was finally conquered by Babylonia. The Babylonian Empire fell to
10519-422: The August 18 shooting - Ahmed Izz Halaweh, a senior member of the armed wing of the Fatah movement the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. His death was branded by the UN and Palestinian factions as a part of “extrajudicial executions.” A widespread manhunt for multiple gunmen was initiated by the police as a result, concluding with the arrest of one suspect Salah al-Kurdi on 25 August. Nablus lies in a strategic position at
10676-399: The Christian community and the Samaritans grew dramatically. In 484, the city became the site of a deadly encounter between the two groups, provoked by rumors that the Christians intended to transfer the remains of Aaron 's sons and grandsons Eleazar , Ithamar and Phinehas . Samaritans reacted by entering the cathedral of Neapolis, killing the Christians inside and severing the fingers of
10833-440: The Christian population of Neapolis emerged in 451. By this time, Neapolis was within the Palaestina Prima province under the rule of the Byzantine Empire . The tension was a result of Monophysite Christian attempts to prevent the return of the Patriarch of Jerusalem , Juvenal , to his episcopal see . However, the conflict did not grow into civil strife. As tensions among the Christians of Neapolis decreased, tensions between
10990-456: The Christians further. Thus, the Samaritans rebelled again under the rule of emperor Anastasius I , reoccupying Mount Gerizim, which was subsequently reconquered by the Byzantine governor of Edessa , Procopius. A third Samaritan revolt which took place under the leadership of Julianus ben Sabar in 529 was perhaps the most violent. Neapolis' bishop Ammonas was murdered and the city's priests were hacked into pieces and then burned together with
11147-443: The Christians there were recent arrivals who had moved from the Kerak area only a few years previously. According to Ehrlich, the region's Christian population decreased as a result of a combination of factors including impoverishment, oppression, marginalization, and persecution. Sufi activity took place in Jerusalem and the surrounding area, which most likely pushed Christian villagers in the region to convert to Islam. Judea, in
11304-484: The Crusaders extorted many supplies from the population for their troops who were en route to Jerusalem, they did not sack the city, presumably because of the large Christian population there. Nablus became part of the royal domain of the Kingdom of Jerusalem . The Muslim, Eastern Orthodox Christian, and Samaritan populations remained in the city and were joined by some Crusaders who settled therein to take advantage of
11461-522: The Dead Sea. The suppression of the Bar Kokhba revolt led to widespread destruction and displacement throughout Judea, and the district saw a decline in population. The Roman colony of Aelia Capitolina , which was built on the ruins of Jerusalem, remained a backwater for the duration of its existence. The villages around the city were depopulated, and arable lands in the region were confiscated by
11618-689: The Franks tended to settle in the southern half of the region between Jerusalem and Nablus since there was a sizable Christian population there. Most of the people living in the northern portion of Judea in the late 16th century were Muslims; some of them resided in towns that today have significant Christian populations. According to the 1596–1597 Ottoman census, Birzeit and Jifna , for instance, were wholly Muslim villages, while Taybeh had 63 Muslim families and 23 Christian families. There were 71 Christian families and 9 Muslim families in Ramallah , although
11775-536: The League of Nations Mandatory Committee, as in 1937, the geographical terms employed were "Samaria and Judea". Jordan called the area ad-difa'a al-gharbiya (translated into English as the "West Bank"). "Yehuda" is the Hebrew term used for the area in modern Israel since the region was captured and occupied by Israel in 1967. The first century Roman-Jewish historian Josephus wrote ( The Jewish War 3.3.5): In
11932-509: The Mamluks. The Templars raided Nablus in revenge for a previous massacre of Christians by their erstwhile ally An-Nasir Dawud. The attack is reported as a particularly bloody affair lasting for three days, during which the Mosque was burned and many residents of the city, Christians alongside Muslims, were killed or sold in the slave markets of Acre . The successful raid was widely publicized by
12089-412: The Middle East and North Africa have become a badge of sophistication and modernity and ... feigning, or asserting, weakness or lack of facility in Arabic is sometimes paraded as a sign of status, class, and perversely, even education through a mélange of code-switching practises." Arabic has been taught worldwide in many elementary and secondary schools, especially Muslim schools. Universities around
12246-625: The Nablus' historic buildings, including the An-Nasr Mosque. Though they were subsequently rebuilt by Haj Amin al-Husayni 's Supreme Muslim Council in the mid-1930s, their previous "picturesque" character was lost. During the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine , the British authorities demolished buildings in the Old City quarter of Qaryun suspected of harboring insurgents or hiding weapons. Jewish immigration did not significantly impact
12403-471: The Navel of the country. Nor indeed is Judea destitute of such delights as come from the sea, since its maritime places extend as far as Ptolemais: it was parted into eleven portions, of which the royal city Jerusalem was the supreme, and presided over all the neighboring country, as the head does over the body. As to the other cities that were inferior to it, they presided over their several toparchies ; Gophna
12560-790: The Nimrs, Tuqans, and Abd al-Hadis. The large fortress-like compound of the Abd al-Hadi Palace built in the 19th century is located in Qaryun. The Nimr Hall and the Tuqan Palace are located in the center of the old city. There are several mosques in the Old City: the Great Mosque of Nablus , An-Nasr Mosque, al-Tina Mosque, al-Khadra Mosque , Hanbali Mosque , al-Anbia Mosque, Ajaj Mosque and others. There are six hamaams ( Turkish baths ) in
12717-518: The Nimrs, who were originally local governors of Homs and Hama 's rural subdistricts. Other officer families included the Akhrami, Asqalan, Bayram, Jawhari, Khammash, Mir'i, Shafi, Sultan and Tamimi families, some of which remained in active service, while some left service for other pursuits. In the years following the 1657 campaign, two other families migrated to Nablus: the Jarrars from Balqa and
12874-533: The Old City, the most prominent of them being al-Shifa and al-Hana. Al-Shifa was built by the Tuqans in 1624. Al-Hana in Yasmina was the last hamaam built in the city in the 19th century. It was closed in 1928 but restored and reopened in 1994. Several leather tanneries, souks , pottery and textile workshops line the Old City streets. Also located in the Old City is the 15th-century Khan al-Tujjar caravanserai and
13031-700: The Ottomans. A policy of conscription and new taxation was instituted which led to a revolt organized by the a'ayan (notables) of Nablus, Hebron and the Jerusalem-Jaffa area. In May 1834, Qasim al-Ahmad —the chief of the Jamma'in nahiya —rallied the rural sheikhs and fellahin (peasants) of Jabal Nablus and launched a revolt against Governor Ibrahim Pasha , in protest at conscription orders, among other new policies. The leaders of Nablus and its hinterland sent thousands of rebels to attack Jerusalem,
13188-639: The Qur'an is referred to by linguists as "Quranic Arabic", as distinct from its codification soon thereafter into " Classical Arabic ". In late pre-Islamic times, a transdialectal and transcommunal variety of Arabic emerged in the Hejaz , which continued living its parallel life after literary Arabic had been institutionally standardized in the 2nd and 3rd century of the Hijra , most strongly in Judeo-Christian texts, keeping alive ancient features eliminated from
13345-625: The Roman period had eleven administrative districts ( toparchies ): Jerusalem, Gophna , Akrabatta , Thamna , Lod , Emmaus , Pella , Idumaea , Ein Gedi , Herodeion , and Jericho . In 66 CE, the Jewish population rose against Roman rule in a revolt that was unsuccessful. Jerusalem was besieged in 70 CE . The city was razed, the Second Temple was destroyed, and much of the population
13502-576: The Romance languages. Also, while it is comprehensible to people from the Maghreb , a linguistically innovative variety such as Moroccan Arabic is essentially incomprehensible to Arabs from the Mashriq , much as French is incomprehensible to Spanish or Italian speakers but relatively easily learned by them. This suggests that the spoken varieties may linguistically be considered separate languages. With
13659-502: The Romans finally put an end to the uprising, most of the Jews in Judea were killed or displaced, and a sizable number of captives were sold into slavery, leaving the district mostly depopulated. Jews were expelled from the area surrounding Jerusalem. No village in the district of Judea whose remains have been excavated so far has not been destroyed during the revolt. Roman emperor Hadrian , determined to root out Jewish nationalism, changed
13816-470: The Romans. Having no alternative population to fill the empty villages led the authorities to establish imperial or legionary estates and monasteries on confiscated village lands to benefit the elites and, later, the church. This also initiated a process of romanization that took place during the Late Roman period, with pagan populations penetrating the region and settling alongside Roman veterans. There
13973-866: The Templars in Europe; it is thought to be depicted in a late 13th-century fresco in the Templar church of San Bevignate , Perugia . In 1244, the Samaritan synagogue, built in 362 by the high priest Akbon and converted into a church by the Crusaders, was converted into al-Khadra Mosque . Two other Crusader churches became the An-Nasr Mosque and al-Masakim Mosque during that century. The Mamluk dynasty gained control of Nablus in 1260 and during their reign, they built numerous mosques and schools. Under Mamluk rule, Nablus possessed running water, many Turkish baths and exported olive oil and soap to Egypt , Syria,
14130-482: The West Bank . Today, the population is predominantly Muslim, with small Christian and Samaritan minorities. Flavia Neapolis ("new city of the emperor Flavius ") was named in 72 CE by the Roman emperor Vespasian and applied to an older Samaritan village, variously called Mabartha ("the passage") or Mamorpha . Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim , the new city lay 2 kilometers (1.2 mi) west of
14287-645: The West Bank and when the Second Intifada began, arsonists of Jewish shrines in Nablus were applauded. After the controversy over the Muhammad cartoons in Jyllands-Posten , originally published in Denmark in late September 2006, militias kidnapped two foreigners and threatened to kidnap more as a protest. In 2008, Noa Meir, an Israeli military spokeswoman, said Nablus remains "capital of terror" of
14444-519: The West Bank. From the start of the Second Intifada , which began in September 2000, Nablus became a flash-point of clashes between the IDF and Palestinians. The city has a tradition of political activism, as evinced by its nickname, jabal al-nar (Fire Mountain) and, located between two mountains, was closed off at both ends of the valley by Israeli checkpoints. For several years, movements in and out of
14601-606: The appointment of Zafer al-Masri as mayor. A popular leader of the Nablus Chamber of Commerce al-Masri began a program of improvements in the town. Despite maintaining that he would have nothing to do with Israeli autonomy plans he was assassinated on 2 March 1986. The assassination was widely believed to be the work of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine . On 18 June 1989 Salah el Bah'sh, aged 17,
14758-473: The autonomous Arab ruler of the Galilee became a dominant figure in Palestine. To build up his army, he strove to gain a monopoly over the cotton and olive oil trade of the southern Levant , including Jabal Nablus, which was a major producer of both crops. In 1771, during the Egyptian Mamluk invasion of Syria, Zahir aligned himself with the Mamluks and besieged Nablus, but did not succeed in taking
14915-547: The bishop Terebinthus. Terebinthus then fled to Constantinople , requesting an army garrison to prevent further attacks. As a result of the revolt, the Byzantine emperor Zeno erected a church dedicated to Mary on Mount Gerizim. He also forbade the Samaritans to travel to the mountain to celebrate their religious ceremonies, and expropriated their synagogue there. These actions by the emperor fueled Samaritan anger towards
15072-466: The center of government authority in Palestine, aided by the Abu Ghosh clan, and they conquered the city on 31 May. However, they were later defeated by Ibrahim Pasha's forces the next month. Ibrahim then forced the heads of the Jabal Nablus clans to leave for nearby villages. By the end of August, the countrywide revolt had been suppressed and Qasim was executed. Egyptian rule in Palestine resulted in
15229-504: The centuries of Islamic Arab rule under the Umayyad , Abbasid and Fatimid dynasties. Under Muslim rule, Nablus contained a diverse population of Arabs and Persians , Muslims, Samaritans, Christians and Jews . In the 9th century CE, Al-Yaqubi reported that Nablus had a mixed population of Arabs, Ajam (Non-Arabs), and Samaritans. In the 10th century, the Arab geographer al-Muqaddasi , described it as abundant of olive trees, with
15386-440: The city is attested to in literary and epigraphic evidence dating to the 4th century CE. As yet, there is no evidence attesting to a Jewish presence in ancient Neapolis. Si'on suggested that Neapolis was about 900 acres in size during the Byzantine period, making it three times larger than it was when it was first established as a Roman colony. Magen estimates that around 20,000 people lived there during this period. Conflict among
15543-638: The city was handed over to the Palestinian National Authority on 12 December 1995, as a result of the Oslo Accords Interim Agreement on the West Bank . Nablus is surrounded by Israeli settlements and was site of regular clashes with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during the First Intifada when the local prison was known for torture. In the 1990s, Nablus was a hub of Palestinian nationalist activity in
15700-746: The city were highly restricted. Nablus produced more suicide bombers than any other city during the Second Intifada. The city and the refugee camps of Balata and Askar constituted the center of "knowhow" for the production and operation of the rockets in the West Bank. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs , 522 residents of Nablus and surrounding refugee camps, including civilians, were killed and 3,104 injured during IDF military operations from 2000 to 2005. In April 2002, following
15857-509: The city's abundant resources. In 1120, the Crusaders convened the Council of Nablus out of which was issued the first written laws for the kingdom. They converted the Samaritan synagogue in Nablus into a church. The Samaritan community built a new synagogue in the 1130s. In 1137, Arab and Turkish troops stationed in Damascus raided Nablus, killing many Christians and burning down the city's churches. However, they were unsuccessful in retaking
16014-654: The city. After its recapture by the Muslims, the Great Mosque of Nablus , which had become a church under Crusader rule, was restored as a mosque by the Ayyubids, who also built a mausoleum in the old city. In October 1242, Nablus was raided by the Knights Templar . This was the conclusion of the 1242 campaign season in which the Templars had joined forces with the Ayyubid emir of Kerak, An-Nasir Dawud , against
16171-467: The city. In 1773, he tried again without success. Nevertheless, from a political perspective, the sieges led to a decline in the importance of the city in favor of Acre. Zahir's successor, Jezzar Pasha , maintained Acre's dominance over Nablus. After his reign ended in 1804, Nablus regained its autonomy, and the Tuqans, who represented a principal opposing force, rose to power. In 1831–32 Khedivate Egypt , then led by Muhammad Ali , conquered Palestine from
16328-479: The city. Its population doubled, and the influx of refugees put a heavy strain on the city's resources. Three such camps still located within the city limits today are Ein Beit al-Ma' , Balata and Askar . During the Jordanian period, the adjacent villages of Rafidia , Balata al-Balad , al-Juneid and Askar were annexed to the Nablus municipality. Nablus was annexed by Jordan in 1950. The 1967 Six-Day War ended in
16485-510: The city. Queen Melisende of Jerusalem resided in Nablus from 1150 to 1161, after she was granted control over the city in order to resolve a dispute with her son Baldwin III . Crusaders began building Christian institutions in Nablus, including a church dedicated to the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus , and in 1170 they erected a hospice for pilgrims. Crusader rule came to an end in 1187, when
16642-402: The coastal cities of Jaffa and Acre. Olive oil was the primary product of Nablus and aided other related industries such as soap-making and basket weaving. It was also the largest producer of cotton in the Levant, topping the production of northern cities such as Damascus. Jabal Nablus enjoyed a greater degree of autonomy than other sanjaqs under Ottoman control, probably because the city
16799-562: The conquests of Cyrus the Great in 539 BCE. Judea remained under Persian rule until the conquest of Alexander the Great in 332 BCE, eventually falling under the rule of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire until the revolt of Judas Maccabeus resulted in the Hasmonean dynasty of kings who ruled in Judea for over a century. Judea lost its independence to the Romans in the 1st century BCE, becoming first
16956-574: The conversion of Semitic mimation to nunation in the singular. It is best reassessed as a separate language on the Central Semitic dialect continuum. It was also thought that Old Arabic coexisted alongside—and then gradually displaced— epigraphic Ancient North Arabian (ANA), which was theorized to have been the regional tongue for many centuries. ANA, despite its name, was considered a very distinct language, and mutually unintelligible, from "Arabic". Scholars named its variant dialects after
17113-485: The demographic composition of Nablus, and it was slated for inclusion in the Arab state envisioned by the United Nations General Assembly 's 1947 partition plan for Palestine . During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War , Nablus came under Jordanian control. Thousands of Palestinian refugees fleeing from areas captured by Israeli forces arrived in Nablus, settling in refugee camps in and around
17270-653: The destruction of Acre and thus, the political importance of Nablus was further elevated. The Ottomans wrested back control of Palestine from Egypt in 1840–41. However, the Arraba -based Abd al-Hadi clan which rose to prominence under Egyptian rule for supporting Ibrahim Pasha, continued its political dominance in Jabal Nablus. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, Nablus was the principal trade and manufacturing center in Ottoman Syria. Its economic activity and regional leadership position surpassed that of Jerusalem and
17427-589: The eastern parts, due to a rain shadow : this is the Judaean Desert . The climate, accordingly, moves between Mediterranean in the west and desert climate in the east, with a strip of semi-arid climate in the middle. Major urban areas in the region include Jerusalem, Bethlehem , Gush Etzion , Jericho and Hebron . Geographers divide Judea into several regions: the Hebron hills, the Jerusalem saddle,
17584-587: The emergence of Central Semitic languages, particularly in grammar. Innovations of the Central Semitic languages—all maintained in Arabic—include: There are several features which Classical Arabic, the modern Arabic varieties, as well as the Safaitic and Hismaic inscriptions share which are unattested in any other Central Semitic language variety, including the Dadanitic and Taymanitic languages of
17741-728: The eve of the conquests: Northern and Central (Al-Jallad 2009). The modern dialects emerged from a new contact situation produced following the conquests. Instead of the emergence of a single or multiple koines, the dialects contain several sedimentary layers of borrowed and areal features, which they absorbed at different points in their linguistic histories. According to Veersteegh and Bickerton, colloquial Arabic dialects arose from pidginized Arabic formed from contact between Arabs and conquered peoples. Pidginization and subsequent creolization among Arabs and arabized peoples could explain relative morphological and phonological simplicity of vernacular Arabic compared to Classical and MSA. In around
17898-607: The fact that they participate in the innovations common to all forms of Arabic. The earliest attestation of continuous Arabic text in an ancestor of the modern Arabic script are three lines of poetry by a man named Garm(')allāhe found in En Avdat, Israel , and dated to around 125 CE. This is followed by the Namara inscription , an epitaph of the Lakhmid king Imru' al-Qays bar 'Amro, dating to 328 CE, found at Namaraa, Syria. From
18055-429: The fountains of Jordan, and reaches breadthways to Lake Tiberias ; and in length is extended from a village called Arpha, as far as Julias. Its inhabitants are a mixture of Jews and Syrians. And thus have I, with all possible brevity, described the country of Judea, and those that lie round about it. Elsewhere, Josephus wrote that "Arabia is a country that borders on Judea." Judea is a mountainous region, part of which
18212-510: The fourth most useful language for business, after English, Mandarin Chinese , and French. Arabic is written with the Arabic alphabet , an abjad script that is written from right to left . Arabic is usually classified as a Central Semitic language . Linguists still differ as to the best classification of Semitic language sub-groups. The Semitic languages changed between Proto-Semitic and
18369-583: The hilly topography of the site would allow, the city was built on a Roman grid plan and settled with veterans who fought in the victorious legions and other foreign colonists. In the 2nd century CE, Emperor Hadrian built a grand theater in Neapolis that could seat up to 7,000 people. Coins found in Nablus dating to this period depict Roman military emblems and gods and goddesses of the Greek pantheon such as Zeus , Artemis , Serapis , and Asklepios . Neapolis
18526-535: The historic core of the city, with 64 heritage buildings being heavily damaged or destroyed. IDF forces reentered Nablus during Operation Determined Path in June 2002, remaining inside the city until the end of September. Over those three months, there had been more than 70 days of full 24-hour curfews. According to Gush Shalom , IDF bulldozers damaged the al-Khadra Mosque, the Great Mosque, the al-Satoon Mosque and
18683-597: The inclusion of new words into their published standard dictionaries. They also publish old and historical Arabic manuscripts. In 1997, a bureau of Arabization standardization was added to the Educational, Cultural, and Scientific Organization of the Arab League . These academies and organizations have worked toward the Arabization of the sciences, creating terms in Arabic to describe new concepts, toward
18840-514: The inhabitants today are Muslim, but there are small Christian and Samaritan communities as well. Much of the local Palestinian Muslim population of Nablus is believed to be descended from Samaritans who converted to Islam. Certain Nabulsi family names are associated with Samaritan ancestry – Muslimani, Yaish, and Shakshir among others. According to the historian Fayyad Altif, large numbers of Samaritans converted because of persecution and because
18997-613: The language. Software and books with tapes are an important part of Arabic learning, as many of Arabic learners may live in places where there are no academic or Arabic language school classes available. Radio series of Arabic language classes are also provided from some radio stations. A number of websites on the Internet provide online classes for all levels as a means of distance education; most teach Modern Standard Arabic, but some teach regional varieties from numerous countries. The tradition of Arabic lexicography extended for about
19154-604: The late 6th century AD, a relatively uniform intertribal "poetic koine" distinct from the spoken vernaculars developed based on the Bedouin dialects of Najd , probably in connection with the court of al-Ḥīra . During the first Islamic century, the majority of Arabic poets and Arabic-writing persons spoke Arabic as their mother tongue. Their texts, although mainly preserved in far later manuscripts, contain traces of non-standardized Classical Arabic elements in morphology and syntax. Abu al-Aswad al-Du'ali ( c. 603 –689)
19311-420: The latter is taught in formal education settings. However, there have been studies reporting some degree of comprehension of stories told in the standard variety among preschool-aged children. The relation between Modern Standard Arabic and these dialects is sometimes compared to that of Classical Latin and Vulgar Latin vernaculars (which became Romance languages ) in medieval and early modern Europe. MSA
19468-530: The limits of Samaria and Judea lies the village Anuath, which is also named Borceos . This is the northern boundary of Judea. The southern parts of Judea, if they be measured lengthways, are bounded by a village adjoining to the confines of Arabia ; the Jews that dwell there call it Jordan. However, its breadth is extended from the river Jordan to Joppa. The city Jerusalem is situated in the very middle; on which account some have, with sagacity enough, called that city
19625-883: The many national or regional varieties which constitute the everyday spoken language. Colloquial Arabic has many regional variants; geographically distant varieties usually differ enough to be mutually unintelligible , and some linguists consider them distinct languages. However, research indicates a high degree of mutual intelligibility between closely related Arabic variants for native speakers listening to words, sentences, and texts; and between more distantly related dialects in interactional situations. The varieties are typically unwritten. They are often used in informal spoken media, such as soap operas and talk shows , as well as occasionally in certain forms of written media such as poetry and printed advertising. Hassaniya Arabic , Maltese , and Cypriot Arabic are only varieties of modern Arabic to have acquired official recognition. Hassaniya
19782-636: The mid-5th century BCE: Palaestina Prima , Secunda , and Tertia or Salutaris (First, Second, and Third Palestine), part of the Diocese of the East . Palaestina Prima consisted of Judea, Samaria, the Paralia , and Peraea with the governor residing in Caesarea . Palaestina Secunda consisted of Galilee, the lower Jezreel Valley , the regions east of Galilee, and the western part of the former Decapolis with
19939-427: The modern-day northern West Bank. After the city was captured by British forces during World War I , Nablus was incorporated into Mandatory Palestine in 1922. The 1948 Arab–Israeli War saw the entire West Bank, including Nablus, occupied and annexed by Transjordan . Since the 1967 Arab–Israeli War , the West Bank has been occupied by Israel ; since 1995, it has been governed by the PNA as part of Area A of
20096-413: The monotheistic nature of Islam made it easy for them to accept it. In 1967, there were about 3,500 Christians of various denominations in Nablus, but that figure dwindled to about 650 in 2008. Of the Christian populace, there are seventy Orthodox Christian families, about thirty Catholic (Roman Catholic and Eastern Melkite Catholic) families and thirty Anglican families. Most Christians used to live in
20253-528: The name " Judah ", which originally encompassed the territory of the Israelite tribe of that name and later of the ancient Kingdom of Judah . Nimrud Tablet K.3751 , dated c. 733 BCE, is the earliest known record of the name Judah (written in Assyrian cuneiform as Yaudaya or KUR.ia-ú-da-a-a). Judea was sometimes used as the name for the entire region, including parts beyond the river Jordan . In 200 CE Sextus Julius Africanus , cited by Eusebius ( Church History 1.7.14), described "Nazara" ( Nazareth ) as
20410-404: The name of the province from Judaea to Syria Palaestina . The province's Jewish population was now mainly concentrated in Galilee, the coastal plain (especially in Lydda , Joppa , and Caesarea ), and smaller Jewish communities continued to live in the Beth She'an Valley , the Carmel , and Judea's northern and southern frontiers, including the southern Hebron Hills and along the shores of
20567-624: The need for a lexical injection in Arabic, to suit concepts of the industrial and post-industrial age (such as sayyārah سَيَّارَة 'automobile' or bākhirah باخِرة 'steamship'). In response, a number of Arabic academies modeled after the Académie française were established with the aim of developing standardized additions to the Arabic lexicon to suit these transformations, first in Damascus (1919), then in Cairo (1932), Baghdad (1948), Rabat (1960), Amman (1977), Khartum [ ar ] (1993), and Tunis (1993). They review language development, monitor new words and approve
20724-423: The northeast, Asira ash-Shamaliya to the north and Kafr Qaddum and Tell to the west. In the center of Nablus lies the old city, composed of six major quarters: Yasmina, Gharb, Qaryun, Aqaba, Qaysariyya, and Habala. Habala is the largest quarter and its population growth led to the development of two smaller neighborhoods: al-Arda and Tal al-Kreim. The old city is densely populated and prominent families include
20881-424: The one whose sound is heard but whose person remains unseen. Now the term al-hatif is used for a telephone. Therefore, the process of tawleed can express the needs of modern civilization in a manner that would appear to be originally Arabic. In the case of Arabic, educated Arabs of any nationality can be assumed to speak both their school-taught Standard Arabic as well as their native dialects, which depending on
21038-549: The overhaul of Arabic grammar first proposed by Al-Jahiz 200 years prior. The Maghrebi lexicographer Ibn Manzur compiled Lisān al-ʿArab ( لسان العرب , "Tongue of Arabs"), a major reference dictionary of Arabic, in 1290. Charles Ferguson 's koine theory claims that the modern Arabic dialects collectively descend from a single military koine that sprang up during the Islamic conquests; this view has been challenged in recent times. Ahmad al-Jallad proposes that there were at least two considerably distinct types of Arabic on
21195-407: The political configuration of the region on the local level such that the borders of the nahiya were drawn to coincide with the historic strongholds of certain families. Nablus was only one among a number of local centers of power within Jabal Nablus, and its relations with the surrounding villages, such as Beita and Aqraba , were partially mediated by the rural-based chiefs of the nahiya . During
21352-501: The population as 23,250 (22,360 Muslims, 680 Christians, and 120 "other"). According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), Nablus had a population of 126,132 in 2007. In the PCBS's 1997 census, the city had a population of 100,034, including 23,397 refugees , accounting for about 24% of the city's residents. Nablus' Old City had a population of 12,000 in 2006. The population of Nablus city comprises 40% of its governorate 's inhabitants. Approximately half of population
21509-447: The population consisted of 806 Muslim households, 20 Samaritan households, 18 Christian households, and 15 Jewish households. Local Ottoman authorities recorded a population of around 20,000 residents in Nablus in 1849. In 1867 American visitors found the town to have a population of 4,000 'the chief part of whom are Mohammedans', with some Jews and Christians and 'about 150 Samaritans'. In the 1922 British census of Palestine , there were
21666-410: The region may be mutually unintelligible. Some of these dialects can be considered to constitute separate languages which may have "sub-dialects" of their own. When educated Arabs of different dialects engage in conversation (for example, a Moroccan speaking with a Lebanese), many speakers code-switch back and forth between the dialectal and standard varieties of the language, sometimes even within
21823-443: The regional population, composed of pagan populations who had migrated there after Jews were driven out following the Bar Kokhba revolt, gradually converted to Christianity . The Byzantines redrew the borders of the land of Palestine. The various Roman provinces ( Syria Palaestina , Samaria , Galilee , and Peraea ) were reorganized into three dioceses of Palaestina, reverting to the name first used by Greek historian Herodotus in
21980-501: The relics of saints . The forces of Emperor Justinian I were sent in to quell the revolt, which ended with the slaughter of the majority of the Samaritan population in the city. Neapolis, along with most of Palestine, was conquered by the Muslims under Khalid ibn al-Walid , a general of the Rashidun army of Umar ibn al-Khattab , in 636 after the Battle of Yarmouk . The city's name was retained in its Arabicized form, Nabulus . The town prevailed as an important trade center during
22137-409: The rule of the Mamluk Dynasty (Muslim Dynasty based in Egypt), local Muslims, Samaritans, Orthodox Christians, Catholics and Jews populated the city. At the 1931 census , the population was counted as 16,483 Muslims, 533 Christians, 6 Jews, 7 Druses and 160 Samaritans. However, this census was taken after the 1929 Palestine riots which drove the Jews out of many majority-Arab cities. The majority of
22294-458: The same sentence. The issue of whether Arabic is one language or many languages is politically charged, in the same way it is for the varieties of Chinese , Hindi and Urdu , Serbian and Croatian , Scots and English, etc. In contrast to speakers of Hindi and Urdu who claim they cannot understand each other even when they can, speakers of the varieties of Arabic will claim they can all understand each other even when they cannot. While there
22451-445: The seat of government at Scythopolis . Palaestina Tertia included the Negev , southern Jordan—once part of Arabia—and most of Sinai , with Petra as the usual residence of the governor. Palestina Tertia was also known as Palaestina Salutaris. According to historian H.H. Ben-Sasson, this reorganisation took place under Diocletian (284–305), although other scholars suggest this change occurred later, in 390. According to Ellenblum,
22608-424: The slopes are still layered with centuries-old stone terracing . The Jewish Revolt against the Romans ended in the devastation of vast areas of the Judean countryside. Mount Hazor marks the geographical boundary between Samaria to its north and Judea to its south. Judea is central to much of the narrative of the Torah , with the Patriarchs Abraham , Isaac and Jacob said to have been buried at Hebron in
22765-458: The sole example of Medieval linguist Abu Hayyan al-Gharnati – who, while a scholar of the Arabic language, was not ethnically Arab – Medieval scholars of the Arabic language made no efforts at studying comparative linguistics, considering all other languages inferior. In modern times, the educated upper classes in the Arab world have taken a nearly opposite view. Yasir Suleiman wrote in 2011 that "studying and knowing English or French in most of
22922-498: The standardization of these new terms throughout the Arabic-speaking world, and toward the development of Arabic as a world language . This gave rise to what Western scholars call Modern Standard Arabic. From the 1950s, Arabization became a postcolonial nationalist policy in countries such as Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and Sudan. Arabic usually refers to Standard Arabic, which Western linguists divide into Classical Arabic and Modern Standard Arabic. It could also refer to any of
23079-647: The suburb of Rafidia in the western part of the city. There are seventeen Islamic monuments and eleven mosques in the Old City. Nine of the mosques were established before the 15th century. In addition to Muslim houses of worship, Nablus contains an Orthodox church dedicated to Saint Justin Martyr, built in 1898, and the ancient Samaritan synagogue, which is still in use. Arabic language Arabic (endonym: اَلْعَرَبِيَّةُ , romanized : al-ʿarabiyyah , pronounced [al ʕaraˈbijːa] , or عَرَبِيّ , ʿarabīy , pronounced [ˈʕarabiː] or [ʕaraˈbij] )
23236-501: The towns where the inscriptions were discovered (Dadanitic, Taymanitic, Hismaic, Safaitic). However, most arguments for a single ANA language or language family were based on the shape of the definite article, a prefixed h-. It has been argued that the h- is an archaism and not a shared innovation, and thus unsuitable for language classification, rendering the hypothesis of an ANA language family untenable. Safaitic and Hismaic, previously considered ANA, should be considered Old Arabic due to
23393-413: The whole of Palestine. The Ottomans divided Palestine into six sanjaqs ("districts"): Safad , Jenin , Jerusalem , Gaza , Ajlun and Nablus , all of which were part of Ottoman Syria . These five sanjaqs were subdistricts of the Vilayet of Damascus . Sanjaq Nablus was further subdivided into five nahiya (subdistricts), in addition to the city itself. The Ottomans did not attempt to restructure
23550-451: The world have classes that teach Arabic as part of their foreign languages , Middle Eastern studies , and religious studies courses. Arabic language schools exist to assist students to learn Arabic outside the academic world. There are many Arabic language schools in the Arab world and other Muslim countries. Because the Quran is written in Arabic and all Islamic terms are in Arabic, millions of Muslims (both Arab and non-Arab) study
23707-460: Was applied to an area larger than Judea of earlier periods. In 132 CE, the Roman province of Judaea was merged with Galilee to form the enlarged province of Syria Palaestina . The term Judea was used by English speakers for the hilly internal part of Mandatory Palestine until the Jordanian rule of the area in 1948. Most of the region of Judea was incorporated into what the Jordanians called ad-difa'a al-gharbiya (translated into English as
23864-435: Was entirely pagan at this time. Justin Martyr who was born in the city c. 100 CE, came into contact with Platonism , but not with Christians there. The city flourished until the civil war between Septimius Severus and Pescennius Niger in 198–9 CE. Having sided with Niger, who was defeated, the city was temporarily stripped of its legal privileges by Severus, who designated these to Sebastia instead. In 244 CE, Philip
24021-409: Was killed or enslaved. In 132 CE, the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–136 CE) broke out. After an initial string of victories, rebel leader Simeon Bar Kokhba was able to form an independent Jewish state that lasted several years and included most of the district of Judea, including the Judean Mountains, the Judean Desert, and northern Negev desert, but probably not other sections of the country. When
24178-464: Was only a revival of village settlement on the eastern edges of Jerusalem's hinterland, on the transition between the arable highlands and the Judaean Desert . Those settlements grew on marginal lands with vague ownership and unenforced state land dominion. Judea's decline only came to an end in the fifth century CE, when it developed into a monastic center, and Jerusalem became a major Christian pilgrimage and ecclesiastical hub. Under Byzantine rule,
24335-400: Was shot dead by an Israeli soldier whilst walking through the Nablus Casbah . Witnesses told B'Tselem , the Israeli Human Rights group, that he was shot in the chest at close range after not responding to a soldier shouting "Ta'amod" (Halt!). The army indicated that an investigation was being carried out. B'Tselem understood that the victim was killed by a rubber bullet . Jurisdiction over
24492-412: Was the capital of a hilly region, in which there were no "foreigners" who held any military or bureaucratic posts. Thus, Nablus remained outside the direct "supervision" of the Ottoman government, according to historian Beshara Doumani . Between 19 September and 25 September 1918, in the last months of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the First World War the Battle of Nablus took place, together with
24649-451: Was the second of those cities, and next to that Acrabatta, after them Thamna, and Lydda , and Emmaus , and Pella, and Idumea , and Engaddi , and Herodium , and Jericho ; and after them came Jamnia and Joppa , as presiding over the neighboring people; and besides these there was the region of Gamala, and Gaulonitis, and Batanea, and Trachonitis, which are also parts of the kingdom of Agrippa. This [last] country begins at Mount Libanus, and
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