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28-530: Mukhmas is identified with the biblical Michmas , and preserves its ancient name. It is described in historical texts as Jonathan Apphus ' seat and for supplying fine flour to the Jerusalem Temple . Archaeological fieldwork revealed Iron Age and Second Temple Period remains, indicating a Jewish priestly presence until the Bar Kokhba revolt . Finds also include Byzantine -era remains. During

56-399: A great number of sizeable antique stones in the modern houses. About thirty cisterns and silos dug in the rock also dated back to antiquity. An Ottoman village list of about 1870 showed that Muchmas had 36 houses and a population of 120, though the population count included only men. Clermont-Ganneau visited Mukhmas in 1873 and documented the local funeral traditions. He also mentioned

84-454: A local maqam named Sultan Ibrahim , alongside rock-cut tombs, irregularly shaped caves, and remnants of hewn stones and sculptures. In 1883 the PEF 's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described Mukhmas as: "A small stone village on the slope of a ridge. The houses are poor and scattered. The water supply is from cisterns. It has a well to the east, and some scattered figs to the west. On

112-596: A small Iron Age I Israelite ruin dating back to the 11th-10th century BCE, is situated 1.5 km southeast of the village. Michmas is also mentioned in classical period sources. It was the seat of Jonathan Apphus until 152 BC. According to the Mishnah , Michmas was known for providing fine flour as a gift offering to the Temple in Jerusalem . Four clusters of tombs including as many as 70 burial caves dating from

140-471: Is also named after the biblical town. Michmas was located near Geba , east of Bethel and south of Migron , and on the road to Jerusalem. Michmas lay on the line of march of an invading army from the north, on the north side of the steep and precipitous Nahal Michmas stream, known in Arabic as Wadi es-Suweinit ("valley of the little thorn-tree" or "the acacia "). The town is known by its connection with

168-435: Is bordered by Deir Dibwan to the north, Burqa to the west, and Jaba' to the south. The Israeli settlement Ma'ale Mikhmas lies to the east. Mukhmas is identified with the ancient town of Michmas , and the modern Arabic name preserves the ancient Hebrew name. Its ruins can be found at Khirbet el-Hara el-Fauqa, an archaeological site at the northern edge of the village. Another archeological site, Khirbet ed-Dawwara,

196-477: Is built into a wall in the north-west corner of the village. Two lintel stones are built over the door of another house, one with three crosses in circles, the second with a design apparently cut in half." Mukhmas was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1517 with all of Palestine , and in 1596 it appeared in the tax registers as being in the nahiya of Al-Quds in the liwa of Al-Quds under

224-474: The kuruş became the main unit of account, replacing the akçe . In 1843, the silver kuruş was joined by the gold lira in a bimetallic system. Its weight fluctuated; one source estimates it between 1.15 and 1.18 grams. The name akçe originally referred to a silver coin but later the meaning changed and it became a synonym for money. The mint in Novo Brdo , a fortified mining town in

252-568: The British army relates the story of an unnamed brigade major who was reading his Bible while contemplating the situation against the Ottoman forces. The brigade major remembered a town by the name of Michmash mentioned somewhere in the Bible. He found the verses, and discovered that there was a secret path around the town. He woke the brigadier general, and they found that the path still existed and

280-758: The Hebrew Bible , it belonged to the Tribe of Benjamin . It was the setting of the biblical Battle of Michmash , recounted in 1 Samuel 14 . Michmas was inhabited during the Second Temple period , when, according to the Mishnah , its fine wheat was brought to the Temple . Michmas is identified with the Palestinian village of Mukhmas in the West Bank , which preserves its ancient name. The nearby Israeli settlement Ma'ale Mikhmas , founded in 1981,

308-593: The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics , the town had a population of 1,878 in 2006. In 2010, Israeli Settlers from Ofra and Migron uprooted several hundred olive trees owned by the people of Mukhmas. The village is subject to settler attacks, invasion of fields and pastures, destruction of trees and violence against residents. The Israeli authorities do not intervene to prevent these attacks and security personnel were witnessed participating in such attacks. In 2011, Israeli settlers from

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336-779: The Philistine war of Saul and Jonathan , as it was the site of the Battle of Michmash recounted in the Bible. In 1 Samuel 13 ‘And Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the people that were present with them, abode in Gibeah of Benjamin , but the Philistines encamped in Michmas. According to this record, with the element of surprise and with confidence in God's help, King Saul 's son Jonathan and his armour-bearer attacked and killed many in

364-602: The Second Temple period were discovered in Mukhmas during the 1980s. On the entrance to one of the caves, a drawing of a seven-branched menorah was found, alongside an inscription written in the Paleo-Hebrew script . Other findings from Mukhmas include an ossuary which bears the name ‘ Shimeon L[evi] ’ in the Hebrew alphabet . These findings led archeologists to believe that Mukhmas was a Jewish priestly settlement which

392-558: The Serbian Despotate rich with gold and silver mines, began to strike akçe in 1441 when it was captured by the Ottoman forces for the first time. The Suleiman Mosque in Istanbul is said to have cost 59 million akçe when it was constructed in the 1550s. This amount is said to have equalled 700,000 ducats in gold (probably Venetian ). Weight of akçe in grams of silver and index. This article about

420-534: The Philistines garrison, causing panic throughout and a Philistine rout. It tells how Jonathan and his armor-bearer showed themselves ‘to the Philistines’ garrison’ on the other side, and how they passed two sharp rocks: ‘there was a sharp rock on the one side, and a sharp rock on the other side: and the name of the one was Bozez and the name of the other Seneh.’ They clambered up the cliff and overpowered

448-473: The burial caves, an ancient graffiti of a seven-branched menorah was found, together with a Paleo-Hebrew inscription. In the 1990s, German researchers purchased a ossuary found in Mukhmas bearing the name ‘ Shimeon L[evi] ’, written in the Hebrew alphabet . During World War I , British forces under the command of General Allenby were to face the Turks at the same location. Major Vivian Gilbert of

476-709: The early Ottoman period, it was a Muslim village with a small population engaged in agriculture. It was then ruled by the British, the Jordanians and the Israelis. Following the Oslo Accords , Mukhmas' jurisdiction, now under the Palestinian Authority , is divided between Areas B and C. Mikhmas is located 11.2 kilometers (7.0 mi) (horizontally) on the highlands north-east of Jerusalem . It

504-464: The garrison ‘within as it were an half acre of land, which a yoke of oxen might plough.’ The main body of the enemy awakened by the mêlée thought they were surrounded by Saul's troops and ‘melted away and they went on beating down one another.’ A divinely sent earthquake, the effects of which were noted by Saul's watchmen, threw the Philistine camp into turmoil. By the time Saul and his men came on

532-429: The name of Mihmas . It had a population of 24 household; who were all Muslims . They paid a fixed Ziamet tax-rate of 33.3% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, olive trees, fruit trees, goats and beehives, in addition to occasional revenues; a total of 2,200 akçe . In 1838, it was noted as a Muslim village, Mukhmas , located in the area immediately north of Jerusalem. In 1863, Victor Guérin observed

560-435: The nearby settlement of Ma'ale Mikhmas set fire to about a hundred olive trees belonging to the people of Mukhmas. in 2017 310 olive trees were uprooted. Michmas Michmas ( / ˈ m ɪ k m æ ʃ / ; Hebrew : מִכְמָשׂ or מִכְמָס , romanized :  Mīḵmās , lit.   'laid up (concealed) place') was an Israelite and Jewish town located in the highlands north of Jerusalem . According to

588-474: The north are rock-cut tombs ; an ancient road leads past the place. There are foundations and remains of former buildings in the village; on the south a steep slope leads clown to the great valley, Wady Suweinit. This place is the ancient Michmash , which is placed by the Onomasticon 9 Roman miles from Jerusalem. The distance is 7 1/2 English or 8 Roman miles in a line." In 1896 the population of Muchmas

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616-446: The scene, many of the Philistines had slaughtered one another in confusion and the rest had taken to flight. Isaiah mentions the town in the context of Sennacherib 's invasion during the reign of Hezekiah ( Isa 10:28 ). After the captivity the men of the place returned ( Ezr 2:27; Neh 7:31 ). At a later date it became the residence of Jonathan Maccabaeus and the seat of his government . Modern scholars have suggested that Michmas

644-594: The wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War , and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements , Mukhmas came under Jordanian rule . The Jordanian census of 1961 found 774 inhabitants. After the Six-Day War in 1967, Mukhmas has been under Israeli occupation . After the 1995 accords , 6.4% of the village land was classified as Area B , the remaining 93.6% as Area C . The Israelis have confiscated land in Mukhmas for its military bases, roads, and Israeli settlements , including Sha'ar Binyamin and Ma'ale Mikhmas . According to

672-545: Was a priestly settlement during the Second Temple period. It was inhabited up until Bar-Kokhba revolt , during the early 2nd century CE. The Mishnah teaches that the finest of the wheat used in the offering of the Omer was taken from Michmas and from Zanoah ( Menachot 8:1). During the 1980s, 4 clusters of tombs, consisting of roughly 70 burial caves , were found in the vicinity of modern-day Mukhmas. In one of

700-467: Was a silver coin which was the chief monetary unit of the Ottoman Empire and was once used by Aq Qoyunlu in the early period. The basic meaning of the word is "silver" or "silver money", deriving from the Turkish word ak ( ' white ' ) and the diminutive suffix -ça . Three akçe s were equal to one para . One-hundred and twenty akçe s equalled one kuruş . Later after 1687

728-532: Was estimated to be about 288 persons. In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities , Mukhmas had a population of 361, increasing in the 1931 census to 404 inhabitants, in 80 houses. In the 1945 statistics , Mukhmas had a population of 540 Muslims, and a land area of 13,479 dunams . Of this, 569 dunams were designated for plantations and irrigable land, 2,274 for cereals, while 28 dunams were built-up (urban) land. In

756-462: Was populated up until Bar-Kokhba revolt in the early 2nd century CE. Ceramics from the Byzantine era have been found in Mukhmas. Clermont-Ganneau also found Byzantine remains here, speculating that they might be from the convent found by abbot Firminus, a disciple of St. Sabas . The SWP noted about Mikhmas: "In the village are remains of old masonry, apparendy a church . A pillar-shaft

784-550: Was very lightly guarded. The British forces used this path to outmaneuver the Ottomans, and so took the town. 31°52′19″N 35°16′34″E  /  31.8719°N 35.2761°E  / 31.8719; 35.2761 Ak%C3%A7e The akçe or akça (also spelled akche , akcheh ; Ottoman Turkish : آقچه ; Turkish pronunciation: [akˈt͡ʃe] , [akˈt͡ʃa] , in Europe known as asper or aspre )

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