Jiddin, Khirbat
Encyclopedia
Khirbat Jiddin is a former Palestinian
village in the Galilee
located 16 km northeast from city of Acre
. According to a 1945 census the village had a population of approximately 1,500 Arab
s. Khirbat Jiddin lands then comprised 7,587 dunums, 4,238 owned by Arabs and 3,349 dunums owned by Jews
.
The Crusader
s referred to the village as Judyn. During this period the Crusaders built a fortress in the center of the village. Indirect evidence suggest that the Crusader castle was first built some time after May 1220, when the Teutonic Order acquired the nearby village of Shifaya, and that it fell to Sultan Baybars between 1268 and 1271. In around 1283, Burchard of Mount Sion
described Iudin as a destroyed castle that had formerly belonged to the Teutonic Order.
The Teutonic castle was built around two towers with an outer enclosure wall.
The castle was rebuilt in the eighteenth century by Dhaher al-Omar, the Palestinian Ottoman
governor of the Galilee
.
The rebuilding in the eighteenth century consisted of the outer enclosure walls and moat, together with an angled entrance gatehouse. The center of the eighteenth-century castle was at the west end of the site where a vaulted hall was built over the Crusader walls. This hall formed a basement for a palatial residence which included a mosque
and a bathhouse. The vaulted roof of the hall rested on a series of square pillars standing directly on the original sloping ground of the hill side. A number of features were built into the sides of the walls, including well shafts and gun-slits. The mosque was a small square structure which was originally roofed with four cross-vaults resting on a central pillar. The bath house appears to have been a small domestic structure supplied with water from the wells below.
The Italian abbe Mariti, who travelled there (to "Geddin") in the 1760s´, reports being given a generous reception by the local sheik who commanded the place for Daher.
Dhaher al-Omar successor, Jezzar Pasha
, razed the fortress around 1775.
Until 1948 the al-Suwaytat Bedouin
lived in the ruined fortress. They were Muslim
, and their primary occupation was animal husbandry. In 1944/45 it is recorded that they also cultivated a little barley
and tobacco
on a total of 22 dunum
s of land.
, but in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
the village was captured by Israel
's Sheva' Brigade during Operation Dekel
on 11 July 1948.
Khirbat Jiddin was completely destroyed and defaced, with the exception of the Crusader fortress & the 1948 battle positions, which have been preserved as a national park.
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 in the Galilee
Galilee
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
located 16 km northeast from city of Acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
. According to a 1945 census the village had a population of approximately 1,500 Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
s. Khirbat Jiddin lands then comprised 7,587 dunums, 4,238 owned by Arabs and 3,349 dunums owned by Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
.
History
The village has a khirba which contains the remains of buildings, building foundations, columns, and cisterns.The Crusader
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...
s referred to the village as Judyn. During this period the Crusaders built a fortress in the center of the village. Indirect evidence suggest that the Crusader castle was first built some time after May 1220, when the Teutonic Order acquired the nearby village of Shifaya, and that it fell to Sultan Baybars between 1268 and 1271. In around 1283, Burchard of Mount Sion
Burchard of Mount Sion
Burchard of Mount Sion, or Burchard de Mont Sion, also wrongly called Brocard or Bocard, was a German Dominican who travelled to the Middle East at the end of the 13th century....
described Iudin as a destroyed castle that had formerly belonged to the Teutonic Order.
The Teutonic castle was built around two towers with an outer enclosure wall.
The castle was rebuilt in the eighteenth century by Dhaher al-Omar, the Palestinian Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
governor of the Galilee
Galilee
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
.
The rebuilding in the eighteenth century consisted of the outer enclosure walls and moat, together with an angled entrance gatehouse. The center of the eighteenth-century castle was at the west end of the site where a vaulted hall was built over the Crusader walls. This hall formed a basement for a palatial residence which included 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...
and a bathhouse. The vaulted roof of the hall rested on a series of square pillars standing directly on the original sloping ground of the hill side. A number of features were built into the sides of the walls, including well shafts and gun-slits. The mosque was a small square structure which was originally roofed with four cross-vaults resting on a central pillar. The bath house appears to have been a small domestic structure supplied with water from the wells below.
The Italian abbe Mariti, who travelled there (to "Geddin") in the 1760s´, reports being given a generous reception by the local sheik who commanded the place for Daher.
Dhaher al-Omar successor, Jezzar Pasha
Jezzar Pasha
Ahmed al-Jazzar was the Ottoman ruler of Acre and the Galilee from 1775 until his death.-Biography:...
, razed the fortress around 1775.
Until 1948 the al-Suwaytat Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
lived in the ruined fortress. They were 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...
, and their primary occupation was animal husbandry. In 1944/45 it is recorded that they also cultivated a little barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
and tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
on a total of 22 dunum
Dunum
Dunum is a municipality in the district of Wittmund, in Lower Saxony, Germany....
s of land.
1948 War and aftermath
The village was situated in the territory allotted to the Arab state under the 1947 UN Partition Plan1947 UN Partition Plan
The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine was created by the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine in 1947 to replace the British Mandate for Palestine with "Independent Arab and Jewish States" and a "Special International Regime for the City of Jerusalem" administered by the United...
, but in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...
the village was captured by Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
's Sheva' Brigade during Operation Dekel
Operation Dekel
Operation Dekel , was the largest offensive in the north of Israel after the first truce of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It was carried out by the 7th Armoured Brigade, a battalion from the Carmeli Brigade along with some elements from the Golani Brigade between 8–18 July. Its objective was to...
on 11 July 1948.
Khirbat Jiddin was completely destroyed and defaced, with the exception of the Crusader fortress & the 1948 battle positions, which have been preserved as a national park.
External links
- Jiddin, Khirbat Palestine Remembered
- Jiddin Khirbat, at 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...