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as-Samu

Coordinates:31°24′N35°04′E/ 31.400°N 35.067°E/31.400; 35.067
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This article is about the Palestinian village in the West Bank. For the French hospital-based emergency medical service, seeSAMU.
As Samu'
Municipality type B
Arabic transcription(s)
•Arabicالسموع
•Latines Samu' (official)
Samua (unofficial)
As-Samu, 2007
As-Samu, 2007
Official logo of As Samu'
As Samu' is located in State of Palestine
As Samu'
As Samu'
Location of As Samu' withinPalestine
Coordinates:31°24′N35°04′E/ 31.400°N 35.067°E/31.400; 35.067
Palestine grid156/89
StateState of Palestine
GovernorateHebron
Government
• TypeMunicipality
• Head of Municipalityabed ennabe elhawamde
Area
• Total13,800dunams(13.8 km2or 5.3 sq mi)
Population
(2017)[1]
• Total26,011
• Density1,900/km2(4,900/sq mi)
Name meaningoriginally Eshtemoa, "Place where prayer is heard"[2]

As Samu'ores-Samu'(Arabic:السموع) (pronunciationⓘ) is a town in theHebron Governorateof theWest Bank,Palestine,12 kilometers south of the city ofHebronand 60 kilometers southwest ofJerusalem.The town had a population of 26,011 in 2017.[1]

As-Samu' is located on atellidentified with the ancientJewishtown ofEshtemoa,from which it derives its name.[3][4]The town is mentioned in theHebrew Bible,theOnomasticon,and theJerusalem Talmud.Archaeological discoveries include a silverhoardwithHebrewinscriptions, aJewish burial cave,and the 4th-centuryEshtemoa synagogue,later converted into amosque.[5]

Initially a small village in the earlyOttomanera,[6]as-Samu' gradually grew into a larger settlement over the years. In 1966, it was the site of theSamu incident.Since the 1990s, as-Samu' has been governed by thePalestinian Authorityas part ofArea A of the West Bank.It is known for its handwovenkilims.[7]

Geography

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The area is a hilly, rocky area cut by some wadis. The Armistice Demarcation Line (ADL,Green line) runs generally east to west approximately five kilometers south of as-Samu'. The village of as-Samu' is located on twin hills with a wadi varying from shallow to deep between them.[8]According to thePalestinian Central Bureau of Statisticsthe town had a population of 19,649 in 2007.[9]

History

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Ancient period

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Main article:Eshtemoa

As-Samu' is built upon atell[3]identified withEshtemoa,an ancientJewishsettlement mentioned in various historical sources.[4][10]

In 1971, five pottery jars dated to the 9th-8th centuries BCE were found in as-Samu', bearing inscriptions written in thePaleo-Hebrew alphabet.These jars contained one of the largest silver hoards ever found in Israel and the Palestinian Territories.[11][10]

Classical period

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In the 4th-century CE, Eshtemoa was described byEusebiusin hisOnomasticonas a largeJewishvillage.[12][13]

In the late 19th century, a number of explorers visited the village and documented carved architectural elements scattered within it. These elements wereincorporatedinto the walls of the village houses, with some reportedly adorned with amenorahand Jewish inscriptions.[14]

A distinctiveJewish burial cavefrom the second and third centuries CE was discovered at as-Samu'. It features an elliptical layout along with collection pits and storage chambers integrated into its walls. Inside, twelve intactossuarieswere found alongside fragments of others. Some ossuaries, crafted from softchalkstone,are typical of the LateSecond Temple Period.The other ossuaries belong to the Late style, used by Jews during theLate Roman period.[15][16][17]

In 1934, the remains of anancient Jewish synagogue,now known as theEshtemoa synagogue,were unearthed at as-Samu'. The synagogue is dated to around the 4th–5th century CE.[18][19]Four seven-branchedmenorahswere discovered carved onto door lintels and one of them is displayed in Jerusalem'sRockefeller Museum.[20]

Eshtemoa synagogue,anancient Jewish synagoguefound at as-Samu' and dated to the 4th–5th century CE

Middle Ages

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After theMuslim conquest,as-Samu' was resettled by Muslims, possibly after the departure of its Jewish inhabitants.[21]Under Islamic rule, the synagogue was repurposed as amosque,[5]which was constructed in its main prayer hall,[21]with the addition of amihrab.Some sources attribute the repurposing to the 7th century,[5]during theUmayyadperiod, while Robert Schick suggests it may have taken place later, in the 10th century.[22]

What was earlier identified to be part of a 12th-centuryCrusaderstower, turned out to be a 4th-century synagogue, which was turned into a mosque at the time ofSaladin,according to tradition.[23][24]

Ottoman era

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As-Samu in 1839, fromThe Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, and Nubia.

As-Samu' was incorporated into theOttoman Empirein 1517. In the 16th century, it was a minor village, predominantly a cave settlement that remained stable over various periods. Its inhabitants routinely made seasonal journeys into theSamirah region.[6]

In thecensusof 1596 the village appeared as being in theNahiyaofHalilof theLiwaofQuds.It had a population of 16 households, allMuslim.They paid a fixed tax-rate of 33,3% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, vineyards and fruit trees, in addition to occasional revenues, goats and bee-hives; a total of 3000akçe.[25]

In 1838,Edward Robinsonidentified the town of Semua with biblicalEshtemoa.[26]He described As-Samu as a "considerable" village... "full of flocks and herds all in fine order". He also found remains of walls built from very large stones, some of which were more than 10 feet long.[27]In 1863 the French explorerVictor Guérinvisited the place.[28]

An Ottoman village list from about 1870 found that as-Samu had a population of 298, in 77 houses, though the population count included men, only.[29][30]

In 1883, thePalestine Exploration Fund'sSurvey of Western Palestinedescribed it as "A village of moderate size, standing high. On the north is an open valley, and the modern buildings extend along a spur which runs out west from the watershed. The ground is rocky on the hills, but the valleys are arable land. There are remains of an ancient castle in the village, and other fragments. A church is said once to have existed here, and the ruins to the west show that the town was once much larger. To the south there are olives in the valley. To the north there are rock-cut tombs on the hill-side; the water-supply is fromcisterns.The inhabitants number some 400 to 500 souls.[31]

British Mandate era

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In the1922 census of Palestineconducted by theBritish Mandate authorities,As-Samu (called: Al Samu) had an entirelyMuslimpopulation of 1,600 inhabitants.[32]In the1931 census,As-Samu, together withKhirbat al-SimiaandKh. Rafathad a total of 1,882 Muslims, in 372 houses.[33]In 1934, remains of the townsancient synagoguewere discovered and the site was later excavated in 1969, byZe'ev Yeivin.[34]

In the1945 statisticsthe population of as-Samu' was 2,520, all Muslims,[35]who owned 138,872dunamsof land according to an official land and population survey.[36]30 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 40,398 for cereals,[37]while 165 dunams were built-up (urban) land.[38]

Jordanian era

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In the wake of the1948 Arab–Israeli Warand the1949 Armistice Agreements,As-Samu wasannexed by Jordanalong with the rest of the renamed ‘West Bank’. In 1961, the population of Samu was 3,103.[39]

Samu Incident

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Main article:Samu Incident

In 1966 Israel launched a full-scale military operation against the town, which resulted in the deaths of fifteen Jordanian soldiers and three Jordanian civilians; fifty-four other soldiers were wounded. The villagers suffered 3 civilians killed and 96 wounded. According toDavid Dean Shulman,the villagers were unconnected to the incident that had triggered the reprisal. Much of the village was destroyed.[40]The commander of the Israeli paratroop battalion, ColonelYoav Shaham,was killed and ten other Israeli soldiers were wounded.

Israeli occupation

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As a result of theSix-Day Warin 1967, 'as-Samu came underIsraeli occupation.The population in the 1967 census conducted by the Israeli authorities was 3,784.[41]Under theOslo Accords,the town was assigned toArea A.[42]

It was reported in 2005 that 10,000dunumsof land in the towns of 'as-Samu,Yattaandad-Dhahiriyanear Hebron were to be seized by theIsrael Defense Forcesfor the construction of the separation wall.[43]Palestinian sources have alleged thatsettler violencefrom the nearby Israeli settlements ofMa'onandAsa'elhas prevented them from accessing their fields.[44][45]

Demography

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Among the residents of as-Samu are the Abu Awwad, al-Badareen, ad-Daghameen, al-Hawadah, al-Mahareeq, ar-Rawashdah, al-Salameen and az-Za'areer families.[46]

Culture

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A headdress or 'money hat' (wuqayat al-darahem) from as-Samu (c. 1840s, with later additions) is exhibited at theBritish Museum.The caption notes that the headdress was worn in the 19th century and early 20th century during the wedding ceremony, especially for the 'going out to the well' ceremony when the bride appeared in public as a married woman for the first time.[47]Generally, the headdress was considered to be one of the most important parts of thePalestinian costume.

As-Samu' is also known for its handwovenkilims.[7]

See also

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References

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  1. ^abPreliminary 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.Retrieved2023-10-24.
  2. ^[doi.org/10.1093/jts/os-XIII.49.83]
  3. ^abYeivin, Ze'ev (2004)."The Synagogue at Eshtemoa' in Light of the 1969 Excavations".'Atiqot / עתיקות.48:155–158.ISSN0792-8424.The village is indeed built atop an ancient tell
  4. ^abFinkelstein, Israel (2013)."Geographical and Historical Realities behind the Earliest Layer in the David Story".Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament.27(2): 131–150.doi:10.1080/09018328.2013.839104.ISSN0901-8328.Eshtemoa. The large village of es-Samu south-southwest of Hebron.
  5. ^abcCorpus inscriptionum Iudaeae/Palaestinae: a multi-lingual corpus of the inscriptions from Alexander to Muhammad.Vol. IV: Iudaea / Idumaea. Eran Lupu, Marfa Heimbach, Naomi Schneider, Hannah Cotton. Berlin:de Gruyter.2018. p. 1412.ISBN978-3-11-022219-7.OCLC663773367.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. ^abGrossman, D. (1986). "Oscillations in the Rural Settlement of Samaria and Judaea in the Ottoman Period". inShomron studies.Dar, S., Safrai, S., (eds). Tel Aviv: Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House. p. 369
  7. ^abSamou'a Kilims,by Hamdan Taha
  8. ^UN Doc[permanent dead link]
  9. ^2007 PCBS CensusArchivedDecember 10, 2010, at theWayback MachinePalestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.p.121.
  10. ^abKletter, Raz; Brand, Etty (1998)."A New Look at the Iron Age Silver Hoard from Eshtemoa".Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins.114(2): 139–154.ISSN0012-1169.
  11. ^Yeivin, Z., (1990). The silver hoard from Eshtemoa.'Atiqot10,43-56 (Hebrew).
  12. ^Avraham Negev; Shimon Gibson (July 2005).Archaeological encyclopedia of the Holy Land.Continuum International Publishing Group. pp. 167–168.ISBN978-0-8264-8571-7.Retrieved29 September2010.
  13. ^Eusebius,Onomasticon - The Place Names of Divine Scripture,(ed.) R. Steven Notley &Ze'ev Safrai,Brill: Leiden 2005, p. 84 (§429), note 429ISBN0-391-04217-3
  14. ^Yeivin, Ze'ev (2004)."The Synagogue at Eshtemoa' in Light of the 1969 Excavations".'Atiqot.48:155.ISSN0792-8424.
  15. ^Liebowitz, H. (1981). Jewish Burial Practices in the Roman Period.Mankind Quarterly,22(1)
  16. ^ברוך, יובל; לנדס-נגר, אנט (2018). "מנהג ליקוט עצמות (Ossilegium) וקבורתן בגלוסקמות באזור דרומא לאחר ימי הבית השני: נקודת מבט ארכיאולוגית".מחקרי יהודה ושומרון.כז(1): 27.
  17. ^אביגד, נחמן; Avigad, N. (1967)."Jewish Rock-Cut Tombs in Jerusalem and in the Judean Hill-Country / מערות-קברים יהודיות בירושלים ובהרי יהודה".Eretz-Israel: Archaeological, Historical and Geographical Studies / ארץ-ישראל: מחקרים בידיעת הארץ ועתיקותיה.ח:135–137.ISSN0071-108X.
  18. ^Mayer, L.A.;Reifenberg, A. (1939). "The Synagogue of Eshtemoa - Preliminary Report".Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society (JPOS).19:314–326.OCLC873183425.
  19. ^Avraham Negev; Shimon Gibson (July 2005).Archaeological encyclopedia of the Holy Land.Continuum International Publishing Group. pp. 167–168.ISBN978-0-8264-8571-7.Retrieved29 September2010.
  20. ^Léon Yarden (1971).The tree of light: a study of the Menorah, the seven-branched lampstand.East and West Library. p. 151.ISBN9780852222805.Retrieved29 September2010.
  21. ^abEhrlich, Michael (2022-05-31), "Judea and Jerusalem",The Islamization of the Holy Land, 634–1800,ARC Humanities Press, pp. 117–118,doi:10.1515/9781802700312-007,ISBN978-1-80270-031-2,retrieved2024-09-19
  22. ^Robert Schick, The Christian Communities of Palestine from Byzantine to Islamic Rule: A Historical and Archaeological Study (Studies in Late Antiquity and Early Islam 2), Princeton, NJ: The Darwin Press, 1995
  23. ^Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, pp.412-413
  24. ^Pringle, 1997, p.118
  25. ^Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 123
  26. ^Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 2, p.194
  27. ^Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 2, pp.626-7
  28. ^Guérin, 1869, pp.173-176,196
  29. ^Socin, 1879, p.154
  30. ^Hartmann, 1883, p.142,also noted 77 houses
  31. ^Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p.403
  32. ^Barron, 1923, Table V, p.10
  33. ^Mills, 1932, p.33
  34. ^על מקור תוכניותיהם של בתי-הכנסת בדרום הר-יהודה[Sources for the Plans of the Synagogues in Southern Mount Hebron] (in Hebrew). Snunit.k12.il.Retrieved2010-07-06.
  35. ^Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p.23
  36. ^Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics.Village Statistics, April, 1945.Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p.50Archived2011-06-04 at theWayback Machine
  37. ^Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics.Village Statistics, April, 1945.Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p.94
  38. ^Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics.Village Statistics, April, 1945.Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p.144
  39. ^Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p.14
  40. ^David Dean Shulman,'On Being Unfree:Fences, Roadblocks and the Iron Cage of Palestine,' Manoa Vol,20, No. 2, 2008, pp. 13-32
  41. ^Perlmann, Joel (November 2011 – February 2012)."The 1967 Census of the West Bank and Gaza Strip: A Digitized Version"(PDF).Levy Economics Institute.Retrieved24 June2016.
  42. ^B'Tselem Interactive Maphttps://www.btselem.org/map
  43. ^UN Doc[permanent dead link]Chronological Review of Events Relating to the Question of Palestine; Monthly Media Monitoring Review March 2005
  44. ^14 May:[permanent dead link]Farmers and shepherds from Yatta and As Samu towns were denied access to their land by settlers from Ma'on settlement.
  45. ^Relief web.According to Palestinian sources, a 30-year-old Palestinian man from the town of As-Samu' sustained multiple bodily injuries when a group of settlers beat him and dragged him to the nearby settlement outpost of Asael. The settlers then tied him to an electricity pole where the assault continued.
  46. ^Battir village profile,ARIJ, p, 7
  47. ^Money hat

Bibliography

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