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Iksal

Coordinates:32°41′N35°19′E/ 32.683°N 35.317°E/32.683; 35.317
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Iksal
  • אִכְּסָל, אכסאל, כִּסְלוֹת תָּבוֹר‎
  • إكسال
Local council
Hebrew transcription(s)
•ISO 259ʔikksal, Ksalot Tabor
Iksal, as seen from Nazareth Illit
Iksal, as seen from Nazareth Illit
Flag of Iksal
Flag
Official seal of Iksal
Seal
Iksal is located in Israel
Iksal
Iksal
Iksal is located in Jezreel Valley region of Israel
Iksal
Iksal
Coordinates:32°41′N35°19′E/ 32.683°N 35.317°E/32.683; 35.317
Grid position180/232PAL
CountryIsrael
DistrictNorthern
Area
• Total9,000dunams(9 km2or 3 sq mi)
Population
(2022)[1]
• Total15,336
• Density1,700/km2(4,400/sq mi)
Name meaningfrom ancient Chesulloth, probably after a personal name[2]
Websiteموقع إكسال
مدرسة إكسال الثانوية
مدرسة إكسال الإعداديةالرازي

Iksal(Arabic:إكسال,Hebrew:אִכְּסָאל, כִּסְלוֹת תָּבוֹר,Kislot Tavor[3]) is anArablocal councilin northernIsrael,about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) southeast ofNazareth.[4]It has an area of 9,000dunamsand a population of 15,336 primarilyMusliminhabitants.[1]

Name

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The name of town is believed to derive from that of Chesulloth (Chisloth-Tabor), abiblicaltown mentioned in theBook of Joshua(Joshua 19:12).[4][5]

History

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A view of Iksal from the east of the town, looking towards the southwest

Iksal was known toJosephusasXaloth.[6][7]Archaeological excavations in Iksal revealed artifacts from the period ofRomanandByzantinerule inPalestine.[8]A ring decorated with the image of a lion was found and dates to one of these time periods.[9]Inburial cavescarved into the rock,sarcophagiandossuariescontainingpottery,glass vessels, and jewelry were found. Also dated to the Byzantine period are agricultural installations, carved into the rock and plastered, inside of which were found part of awinepress.[8]

Archaeologist Uzi Leibner identifies Iksal as one of several villages in Galilee that had aJewishpopulation during the Roman period and later had aChristianpopulation in the Byzantine period.[10]

Middle Ages

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In 536 a Council was held inJerusalemto condemnSeverus of Antiochand his followers. Present at that Council were 45bishopsfrom Palestine, including one Parthenius, bishop of Exalus, which is identified with Iksal.[11]Thus do we know the town had enough Christians in the 6th Century to warrant a bishop.

Remains have been excavated dating to theUmayyad period(7th century CE), including pottery and Cream Ware bowls.[12]

On December 22, 946, the forces of the EgyptianIkhshidid dynastydefeated those ofSayf al-Daulaat Iksal. The latter retreated toAleppo,while the Ikshidid forces advanced ontoDamascus.[13]

During the period ofCrusaderorMamlukrule in Palestine, a castle was built in Iksal, the ruins of which remain visible today.[8]The Crusaders probably added to a much older structure which had been constructed first in theAbbasid,and then in theFatimidera.[14]A large cemetery by the village was named Mukbarat el Afranj ( "Cemetery of theFranks").[15]

Yaqut al-Hamawidescribed the place (which he calledAksal), as "A village in the Jordan Province, lying 5leaguesfromTiberiastowards Ar Ramlah. The river Abu Futrus is in the neighbourhood. "[16]

Building remains from the Mamluk period have also been excavated.[8]One excavation revealed three constructions with pottery remains, all dating from theMamlukera, 14th and 15th century CE.[17]

Ottoman Empire

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In 1517, the village was included in theOttoman empirewith the rest ofPalestine,and in the 1596tax-recordsit appeared asKsal,located in theNahiyaofTabariyyaof theSafad Sanjak.The population was 17 households and 1 bachelor, allMuslim.They paid a tax rate of 25% on agricultural products, which included wheat, barley, summer crops, fruit trees, occasional revenues, goats and beehives; a total of 6,633Akçe.[18][19]

In 1738Richard Pocockepassed by the place, which he calledZal.He noted that near it was "manysepulchrescut in the rock, some of them are like stone coffins above-ground, others are cut into the rock, like graves, some of them have stone covers over them, so that formerly this might be no inconsiderable place. "[20]A map fromNapoleon's invasion of 1799byPierre Jacotinshowed the place, named asIksad.[21]

Edward Robinson,who passed by the village in 1838, repeated Pocockes assertion that Iksal had many sepulchres.[22]

In 1863Henry Baker Tristramsaw the remains of a "Crusader" tower in Iksal,[23]while in 1875,Victor Guérinfound it to have 400 inhabitants, all Muslim.[24]In 1881, thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine(SWP)described Iksal as "a large stone village, built in the plains, with a conspicuous square tower, surrounded by gardens and containing about 400 Moslims, many caves and cisterns."[25]

A population list from about 1887 showed thatIksalhad about 600 Muslim inhabitants.[26]

British Mandate

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At the time of the1922 census of PalestineIksal had a population of 621 Muslims,[27]increasing slightly in the1931 censusto 752, still all Muslims, in a total of 166 houses.[28]

In the1945 statisticsthe population was 1,110, all Muslims,[29]while the total land area was 16,009dunams,according to an official land and population survey.[30]Of this, 581 were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 13,029 for cereals,[31]while 47 dunams were classified as built-up (urban) areas.[32]

Israel

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Like many otherArabtowns and villages in theGalileethat were left standing after the1948 Arab-Israeli War,Iksal surrendered to Israeli forces without putting up a fight. Individuals who had collaborated withZionistofficials prior to Israel's establishment, negotiated the terms of surrender and transition to rule under the new military government.[33]

Demographics

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According to theIsrael Central Bureau of Statistics,the town had a low ranking (3 out of 10) on the country's socioeconomic index (December 2001). Only 65.3% of students are entitled to a matriculation certificate after Grade 12 (2000). The average salary that year wasNIS3,640 per month, whereas the national average was NIS 6,835. Its population has grown at an annual rate of 2.8%. In Iksal, about 60 percent of the inhabitants are family relations of one another.[34]

Archaeology

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In 2008 and 2012, archaeological surveys were conducted at the ancient site by Daniel Zohar and Mouqary `Abdallah on behalf of theIsrael Antiquities Authority(IAA).[35]

Notable people

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ab"Regional Statistics".Israel Central Bureau of Statistics.Retrieved21 March2024.
  2. ^Palmer, 1881, p.126
  3. ^HaReuveni, Immanuel (1999).Lexicon of the Land of Israel(in Hebrew). Miskal - Yedioth Ahronoth Books and Chemed Books. p. 37.ISBN965-448-413-7.
  4. ^abFreedman et al, 2000,p. 236.
  5. ^Aharoni, 1979,pp. 120, 257.
  6. ^Armstrong, 2009,p. 42.
  7. ^Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p.366
  8. ^abcdAlexandre, 2008,Iksal, Final Report
  9. ^Chancey, 2005,p. 216.
  10. ^Leibner, Uzi (2009).Settlement and History in Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine Galilee: An Archaeological Survey of the Eastern Galilee.Mohr Siebeck. pp. 321–324, 362–371, 396–400, 414–416.ISBN978-3-16-151460-9.
  11. ^Bagatti, 2001, p. 217
  12. ^Zidan, 2019,Iksal
  13. ^Gil, 1997, pp.319-320
  14. ^Sharon, 2013, p.302
  15. ^Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p.385ff
  16. ^Le Strange, 1890, pp.390-1
  17. ^Mokary, 2011,Iksal, Final report
  18. ^Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 187
  19. ^Note that Rhode, 1979, p.6Archived2019-04-20 at theWayback Machinewrites that the register that Hütteroth and Abdulfattah studied from the Safad-district was not from 1595/6, but from 1548/9
  20. ^Pococke, 1745, vol II, p.65
  21. ^Karmon, 1960, p.167Archived2019-12-22 at theWayback Machine.
  22. ^Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, p.182
  23. ^Trisdam, 1865, p.124
  24. ^Guérin, 1880, pp.108-109
  25. ^Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p.363
  26. ^Schumacher, 1888, p.184
  27. ^Barron, 1923, Table XI, Sub-district of Nazareth, p.38
  28. ^Mills, 1932, p.73
  29. ^Department of Statistics, 1945, p.8
  30. ^Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics.Village Statistics, April, 1945.Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p.62
  31. ^Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics.Village Statistics, April, 1945.Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p.109
  32. ^Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics.Village Statistics, April, 1945.Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p.159
  33. ^Cohen, 2010, p.17
  34. ^Cushner, 2004, p.86
  35. ^Israel Antiquities Authority,Excavators and Excavations Permit for Year 2008,Survey Permit # A-5483;Israel Antiquities Authority,Excavators and Excavations Permit for Year 2012,Survey Permit # A-6637

Bibliography

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