Al-Manshiyya
Encyclopedia
Al-Manshiyya was a Palestinian
village with a Muslim
orphanage and a mosque
known as the mosque of Abu 'Atiyya, which is still standing. The village was close to the shrine of Baha'u'llah
, who was the founder of the Baha'i Faith
, which is also still standing.
The people of Al-Manshiyya believed that the village was established in the aftermath of the Crusades
, and the original inhabitants were brought to the area from North Africa by the Mamluk
s to populate the area. However, the village must have disintegrated subsequently, as it is not mentioned in the 1596 census. A map from 1799 showed the place as a "uninhabited ruin", while Guérin (1880) observe that the village is "newly founded".
In the late nineteenth century, the village of Al-Manshiyya was described as being situated on a plain, surrounded by arable land, with houses built of stone and mud. It had a population of about 150.
The economy of the village was based on agriculture. In 1944/45 253 dunum
s was used for citrus
and banana
s, 10,818 dunums were allotted to cereals, and 619 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards.
, and later, the Deir Yassin massacre
, frightened them. The village was first drawn into the 1948 Arab–Israeli War on 6 February 1948. On that day a number of armed Jews, using automatic weapons and Sten guns, attacked the village. They were driven back by village defenders.
Manshiyya was captured by on 14 May 1948 during Operation Ben-Ami. One villager recalled that the dawn attack came from the hill overlooking the village. The villagers, "with bullets whizzing over their heads", ran towards the east "because all other sides were surrounded by the Jews". When they returned to remove the dead bodies, they found the village strewn with mines
. One former villager recounted that her father returned to Al-Manshiyya about 10 days after the attack and found it completely razed. On the 16 June 1948, Ben-Gurion mentioned Manshiyya as one of the villages Israel
had destroyed.
Two settlements, Shamrat and Bustan ha-Galil were established in 1948 on village land, north of the village site. The site is now part of the city of Acre.
According to the Palestinian
historian Walid Khalidi
, the remaining structures on the village land were in 1992: "The Baha'i shrine, the mosque, the Islamic school for orphans, and a few houses still stand; the rest of the village is gone. The shrine is a handsome, domed structure, the front wall and arched entrance of which are framed by prominent stone pillars. The mosque, a stone structure with a dome and vaulted ceilings, has been turned into a private home for a Jewish family. The former Islamic school for orphans is also inhabited. The cemetery is still visible but is not tended; it contains a tombstone that is inscribed in Turkish
and dates to the eighteenth century. The al-Basha water canal, built with stone blocks, still exists, but is not functioning; the same is also true of an aqueduct
."
Andrew Petersen, an archaeologist specializing in Islamic architecture
, visited Al-Manshiyya in 1994. He found the mosque and shrine of Abu Atabi was still standing, though it has been turned into a residential complex since 1948. The prayer room functioned as a living room. An inscription in two parts was set above the doorway leading to the dome
d chamber containing the tomb. The date 1140 H (=1727–28 C.E.) was still visible in the upper part, while the lower part, written in larger ornamental script might be earlier, possibly dating to Mamluk
times. Abu Atabi is said locally to be a Muslim warrior from the time of the Crusades
, killed during the siege of Acre
.
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
village with a Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
orphanage and a mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
known as the mosque of Abu 'Atiyya, which is still standing. The village was close to the shrine of Baha'u'llah
Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh
The Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh, located in Bahjí near Acre, Israel, is the most holy place for Bahá'ís and represents their Qiblih, or direction of prayer...
, who was the founder of the Baha'i Faith
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
, which is also still standing.
History
Five graves were excavated in al-Manshiyya in 1955–56; the earliest dated from the thirteenth century B.C.The people of Al-Manshiyya believed that the village was established in the aftermath of the Crusades
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
, and the original inhabitants were brought to the area from North Africa by the Mamluk
Mamluk
A Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...
s to populate the area. However, the village must have disintegrated subsequently, as it is not mentioned in the 1596 census. A map from 1799 showed the place as a "uninhabited ruin", while Guérin (1880) observe that the village is "newly founded".
In the late nineteenth century, the village of Al-Manshiyya was described as being situated on a plain, surrounded by arable land, with houses built of stone and mud. It had a population of about 150.
The economy of the village was based on agriculture. In 1944/45 253 dunum
Dunum
Dunum is a municipality in the district of Wittmund, in Lower Saxony, Germany....
s was used for citrus
Citrus
Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...
and banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
s, 10,818 dunums were allotted to cereals, and 619 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards.
1948, and aftermath
The villagers, who were farmers, lived peacefully and had significant interaction with their Jewish neighbors. But the fighting in AcreAcre, Israel
Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....
, and later, the Deir Yassin massacre
Deir Yassin massacre
The Deir Yassin massacre took place on April 9, 1948, when around 120 fighters from the Irgun Zevai Leumi and Lohamei Herut Israel Zionist paramilitary groups attacked Deir Yassin near Jerusalem, a Palestinian-Arab village of roughly 600 people...
, frightened them. The village was first drawn into the 1948 Arab–Israeli War on 6 February 1948. On that day a number of armed Jews, using automatic weapons and Sten guns, attacked the village. They were driven back by village defenders.
Manshiyya was captured by on 14 May 1948 during Operation Ben-Ami. One villager recalled that the dawn attack came from the hill overlooking the village. The villagers, "with bullets whizzing over their heads", ran towards the east "because all other sides were surrounded by the Jews". When they returned to remove the dead bodies, they found the village strewn with mines
Land mine
A land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....
. One former villager recounted that her father returned to Al-Manshiyya about 10 days after the attack and found it completely razed. On the 16 June 1948, Ben-Gurion mentioned Manshiyya as one of the villages Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
had destroyed.
Two settlements, Shamrat and Bustan ha-Galil were established in 1948 on village land, north of the village site. The site is now part of the city of Acre.
According to the Palestinian
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
historian Walid Khalidi
Walid Khalidi
Walid Khalidi is an Oxford University-educated Palestinian historian who has written extensively on the Palestinian exodus. He is General Secretary and co-founder of the Institute for Palestine Studies, established in Beirut in December 1963 as an independent research and publishing center...
, the remaining structures on the village land were in 1992: "The Baha'i shrine, the mosque, the Islamic school for orphans, and a few houses still stand; the rest of the village is gone. The shrine is a handsome, domed structure, the front wall and arched entrance of which are framed by prominent stone pillars. The mosque, a stone structure with a dome and vaulted ceilings, has been turned into a private home for a Jewish family. The former Islamic school for orphans is also inhabited. The cemetery is still visible but is not tended; it contains a tombstone that is inscribed in Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
and dates to the eighteenth century. The al-Basha water canal, built with stone blocks, still exists, but is not functioning; the same is also true of an aqueduct
Aqueduct
An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....
."
Andrew Petersen, an archaeologist specializing in Islamic architecture
Islamic architecture
Islamic architecture encompasses a wide range of both secular and religious styles from the foundation of Islam to the present day, influencing the design and construction of buildings and structures in Islamic culture....
, visited Al-Manshiyya in 1994. He found the mosque and shrine of Abu Atabi was still standing, though it has been turned into a residential complex since 1948. The prayer room functioned as a living room. An inscription in two parts was set above the doorway leading to the dome
Dome
A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
d chamber containing the tomb. The date 1140 H (=1727–28 C.E.) was still visible in the upper part, while the lower part, written in larger ornamental script might be earlier, possibly dating to Mamluk
Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)
The Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt was the final independent Egyptian state prior to the establishment of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty in 1805. It lasted from the overthrow of the Ayyubid Dynasty until the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517. The sultanate's ruling caste was composed of Mamluks, Arabised...
times. Abu Atabi is said locally to be a Muslim warrior from the time of the Crusades
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
, killed during the siege of Acre
Siege of Acre
The Siege of Acre was one of the first confrontations of the Third Crusade, lasting from August 28, 1189 until July 12, 1191, and the first time in history that the King of Jerusalem was compelled to personally see to the defence of the Holy Land...
.
External links and references
- Welcome to al-Manshiyya
- Al-Manshiyya from the Khalil Sakakini Cultural CenterKhalil Sakakini Cultural CenterKhalil Sakakini Cultural Center is an organization established in 1996. It is located at 4 Raja Street, Ramallah in the West Bank. The traditional manor that houses the centre was the former family home of Khalil Salem Salah, the mayor of Ramallah between 1947/1951, is now owned by the Palestinian...
- Al-Manshiyya from Dr. Moslih Kanaaneh