Mazari an-Nubani (Arabic: مزارع النوباني) is a Palestinian town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, located 25 kilometers North of Ramallah in the northern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a population of 2,436 inhabitants in 2017.[1]

Mazari an-Nubani
Arabic transcription(s)
 • Arabicمزارع النوباني
Mazari an-Nubani
Mazari an-Nubani
Mazari an-Nubani is located in State of Palestine
Mazari an-Nubani
Mazari an-Nubani
Location of Mazari an-Nubani within Palestine
Coordinates: 32°02′58″N 35°09′57″E / 32.04944°N 35.16583°E / 32.04944; 35.16583
Palestine grid165/161
StateState of Palestine
GovernorateRamallah and al-Bireh
Government
 • TypeMunicipality
Population
 (2017)[1]
 • Total2,436
Name meaning"The sown land",[2]

History

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Mazari al-Nubani was by earlier scholars (Röhricht, Prawer and Benvenisti) identified with the Crusader village called Mezera, but newer scholars (Finkelstein et al.) disputes this.[3]

Ottoman era

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In 1596 the village, under the name of Mazra'at al-'Abbas, appeared in the Ottoman tax registers as being in the Nahiya of Quds of the Liwa of Quds. It had a population of 60 households and 21 bachelors, all Muslim. Taxes were paid on wheat, barley, olive trees, vineyards and fruit trees, goats and/or beehives; a total of 6,910 akçe. 1/3 of the revenue went to a Waqf.[4][5]

In 1838 el-Mezari'a was noted as a Muslim village, part of the Beni Zeid area, located north of Jerusalem.[6]

When Guérin passed by the village in 1870, he estimated it had a population of about 600.[7] An Ottoman village list from about the same year showed Mazari with a population of 560, in 163 houses, though the population count included men only. It was also noted it was located east of Qarawat Bani Zeid.[8][9]

In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine described the village, then called Mezrah,[2] as being of moderate size, on high ground.[10]

In 1896 the population of Mezra‘a was estimated to be about 1,008 persons.[11]

British Mandate era

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In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Mazarie' al-Nubani had a population of 611 Muslims,[12] increasing in the 1931 census to 864 Muslims, in 193 houses.[13]

The 1945 statistics found 1,090 Muslim inhabitants[14] with a total of 9,631 dunam of land.[15] Of this, 7,399 were used for plantations and irrigable land, 445 for cereals,[16] while 59 dunams were classified as built-up areas.[17]

Jordanian era

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In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Mazari Nubani came under Jordanian rule.

In 1961, the population of Mazari al-Nubani was 1,358.[18]

Post 1967

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Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Mazari al-Nuban has been under Israeli occupation.

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a population of approximately 2,510 inhabitants in mid-year 2006.[19]

Folklore

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The local a-Nubani hamula claims to descend from Abdul Qadir Gilani, a Sufi leader who founded the Qadiri order.[20]

Footnotes

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  1. ^ a b 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. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
  2. ^ a b meaning "The sown land", according to Palmer, 1881, p. 239
  3. ^ Röhricht, 1887, p. 200, Prawer and Benvenisti, 1970; both cited in Finkelstein, 1997, p. 464. Finkelstein found no old pottery here.
  4. ^ Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 114
  5. ^ Toledano, 1984, p. 296, has Mazari at location 35°09′35″E 32°03′00″N.
  6. ^ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. 125
  7. ^ Guérin, 1875, p. 170
  8. ^ Socin, 1879, p. 157
  9. ^ Hartmann, 1883, p. 107, noted 103 houses
  10. ^ Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 291
  11. ^ Schick, 1896, p. 124
  12. ^ Barron, 1923, Table VII, Sub-district of Ramallah, p. 17
  13. ^ Mills, 1932, p. 50.
  14. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 26
  15. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 65
  16. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 112
  17. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 162
  18. ^ Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. 24
  19. ^ Projected Mid -Year Population for Ramallah & Al Bireh Governorate by Locality 2004- 2006 Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS).
  20. ^ Tal, Uri (2023). Muslim Shrines in Eretz Israel: History, Religion, Traditions, Folklore (in Hebrew). Jerusalem: Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi. p. 185. ISBN 978-965-217-452-9.

Bibliography

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