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Attil

Coordinates:32°22′10″N35°04′18″E/ 32.36944°N 35.07167°E/32.36944; 35.07167
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Attil
Palestinian town
Arabic transcription(s)
•Arabicعتيل
Attil is located in State of Palestine
Attil
Attil
Location of Attil withinPalestine
Coordinates:32°22′10″N35°04′18″E/ 32.36944°N 35.07167°E/32.36944; 35.07167
Palestine grid156/197
StateState of Palestine
GovernorateTulkarm
Government
• TypeMunicipality
Area
• Total7,337dunams(7.3 km2or 2.8 sq mi)
Population
(2017)
• Total10,367
• Density1,400/km2(3,700/sq mi)
Name meaningAttil, "severe"[1]

Attil(Arabic:عتيل) is aPalestiniantown in theTulkarm Governoratein the easternWest Bank,12 km (7.5 mi) northeast ofTulkarm.Attil is the connection point between the other villages andTulkarm.It is bordered byIllarto the east;Baqa ash-Sharqiyyato the north; TheGreen Lineto the west; andDeir al-Ghusunto the south. Mountains surrounding the town include the Nabhan, Aboora, Asad, and Shehadeh mountains. Attil has an elevation of 100 m (330 ft) aboveSea level,and an area of 7.337 km2.

Etymology

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According toPalmer,the name was a p.n.(= "proper name" ), meaning "severe",[1]while according toZertalthe name 'Attil almost certainly has its origins in theHebrewform a-tl or ttl (tell), appearing in theHebrew Bibleand even more commonly in theSamaria Ostracaas aprefixto place names.[2]

History

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Attil is an ancient village site on a hill at the edge of the plains.[3] Pottery remain have been found here fromMiddle Bronze Age II,Iron Age Iand IA II,Persian,Hellenistic,early and lateRoman,Byzantine,earlyMuslimand the Middle Ages have been found here.[4]Fragmentarymosaicfloors andcolumnshafts from achurchhave been found, together withcisternsdug into the rock, as well as caves.[3]

Atil is referenced inThe Continuation of the Samaritan Chronicle of Abu l-Fath,suggesting it was an importantSamaritansettlement during theearly Islamic period.[5]The text describes a battle at Attil, whereAbū Ḥarb al-Yamānī,who rebelled againstAbbasidrule in the 840s, was ultimately defeated. The intense bloodshed rendered the villageimpureto an extent that purification appeared unlikely. However, a Samaritan leader named Pinhas, who was a jurist, undertook the task of purifying the village due to its large size, since it was one of the largest villages, and eventually restored its purity.[6]

In 1179, it was mentioned inCrusadersources asAzatil.[7]In March 1265, when SultanBaibarsawarded his officers lands, he gave Attil “To theAtabekFaris al-Din Uqtay al-Salihi “.[8]

Ottoman era

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Attil, like the rest of Palestine, was incorporated into theOttoman Empirein 1517, and in thecensusof 1596 it was a part of thenahiya( "subdistrict" ) of Jabal Sami which was under the administration of theliwa( "district" ) ofNablus.The village had a population of 59 households, allMuslim,and paid taxes on wheat, barley, summer crops, olive trees, occasional revenues, beehives and/or goats, an olive oil press, or press for grape syrup, and a poll tax; a total of 14,872akçe.[9]

In 1838 it was noted as a village, 'Attil,in the westernEsh-Sha'rawiyehadministrative region, north ofNablus.[10]

In the late Ottoman period, in 1852, the American scholarEdward Robinsondescribed passing by the villages ofZeitaandJatton the way to 'Attil. Of 'Attil itself, he writes that it was "a considerable village," located on a hill with plains to the north and south. He further noted:” It appears, that the land in the district of Nabulus including the plains, is generally freehold; and the taxes are mainly paid in the form of apoll tax.”[11]

In 1863, the French explorerVictor Guérinpassed by and noted that the village was also calledDeir Attil.[12]

In 1870/1871 (1288AH), an Ottoman census listed the village in thenahiya(sub-district) of al-Sha'rawiyya al-Gharbiyya.[13]

In 1882 thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestinedescribed the village as being of considerable size, situated on a hill on the edge of the plain, and surrounded by a small olive-grove, and supplied bycisterns.[14]

British Mandate era

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In the1922 census of Palestineconducted by theBritish Mandate authorities,Attil had a population of 1,656, allMuslims.[15]At the time of the1931 census of Palestine,Attil, together withJalama,Al-ManshiyyaandZalafahad a total of 2207 persons, all Muslim except 1 Druze, living in 473 houses.[16]

In the1945 statisticsthe population of Attil was 2,650, all Muslims,[17]who owned 7,337dunamsof land according to an official land and population survey.[18]4,011 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 2,527 used for cereals,[19]while 86 dunams were built-up (urban) land.[20]

  • Attil 1942 1:20,000
    Attil 1942 1:20,000
  • Attil 1945 1:250,000
    Attil 1945 1:250,000

Jordanian era

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In the wake of the1948 Arab–Israeli War,and after the1949 Armistice Agreements,Attil came underJordanianrule. It wasannexed by Jordanin 1950.

In 1961, the population was 4,087.[21]

Post-1967

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Since theSix-Day Warin 1967, Attil has been underIsraeli occupation.

Population

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Attil had a population of 9,038 in the 2007 census by thePalestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.[22]The majority of its people are expatriates living inJordan,variousstates in the Persian Gulf,theUnited States,Europe,and other parts of the world. By 2017, the population had increased to 10,367.[23]

Tomb

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The village of Attil is the site of a tomb known asMazar ash-Sheikh Zreiq,situated near the town hall. This tomb belongs toAhmad Ibn Abi Zreiq a-Rifa'i al-Husseini,who, according to local tradition, was the supreme religious judge (qadi) ofSafedand died in Attil in 1440. Hailing from the prominent al-Attili family, he was considered one of the village's most distinguished individuals. The fence surrounding the tomb bears an inscription stating that it was constructed in 1779 by Abd al-Rahman, a descendant of the sheikh, indicating that the tomb itself predates this structure.[24]

It is said thatAhmad Ibn Abi Zreiq a-Rifa'i al-Husseiniwas the leader of a localSufi orderknown asTariqat al-Attil,which he inherited from his grandfather. He was renowned for performing miracles, including the ability to lie down in the village yard while horses would jump over him without causing any harm.[24]

Demography

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Residents of the village originally came from many places, such asLebanon,Egypt,Khan Yunis(Gaza),Hajjah(West Bank) and more.[25]

References

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  1. ^abPalmer, 1881, p.179
  2. ^Zertal, 2016, p.419
  3. ^abDauphin, 1998, p. 757
  4. ^Zertal, 2016, p.416
  5. ^Levy-Rubin, Milka (2021).The Continuatio of the Samaritan Chronicle of Abu l-Fath al-Samiri al-Danafi: Annotated Translation.Gerlach Press. p. 184.doi:10.2307/j.ctv1b9f5x9.9.ISBN978-3-95994-104-4.
  6. ^Levy-Rubin, Milka (2002). "The Samaritans during the Early Muslim Period according to theContinuatioto the Chronicle of Abu 'l-Fath ". InStern, Ephraim;Eshel, Hanan(eds.).The Samaritans(in Hebrew). Yad Ben-Zvi Press. p. 582.ISBN965-217-202-2.
  7. ^Röhricht, 1887, p.245;cited in Zertal, 2016, p.416
  8. ^Ibn al-Furat, trans. Lyons, 1971, p. 80; cited in Zertal, 2016, p.417
  9. ^Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 126
  10. ^Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd Appendix, p.129
  11. ^Robinson and Smith, 1856, p.124.
  12. ^Guérin, 1875, p.345
  13. ^Grossman, David (2004).Arab Demography and Early Jewish Settlement in Palestine.Jerusalem: Magnes Press. p. 254.
  14. ^Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p.151
  15. ^Barron, 1923, Table XI, Sub-district of Tulkarm, p.27
  16. ^Mills, 1932, p.53
  17. ^Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p.20
  18. ^Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics.Village Statistics, April, 1945.Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p.74
  19. ^Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics.Village Statistics, April, 1945.Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p.124
  20. ^Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics.Village Statistics, April, 1945.Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p.174
  21. ^Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p.13
  22. ^2007 PCBS census.Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics(PCBS). p. 107.
  23. ^Preliminary Results of the Population, Housing and Establishments Census, 2017(PDF).Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics(PCBS) (Report).State of Palestine.February 2018. pp. 64–82.Retrieved2023-10-24.
  24. ^abTal, Uri (2023).Muslim Shrines in Eretz Israel: History, Religion, Traditions, Folklore.Jerusalem: Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi. p. 116.ISBN978-965-217-452-9.
  25. ^Grossman, 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. 345

Bibliography

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