Muslim migrations to Palestine began with the Muslim conquest of the region in the 7th century and continued throughout centuries of Muslim rule, peaking in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
In the early Ottoman period, around the late 16th century, the population of Palestine (minus an area of the Hulah basin) was estimated to be approximately 206,290 people,[1] significantly less than the region's population during the Roman and Byzantine periods, believed to be around 1,000,000 people.[2] Aware of the under-population, the Ottomans promoted a policy of settlement in sparsely inhabited regions. Zvi Ilan also notes that the Ottomans aimed to defend the ancient, international highways that crossed Palestine, including the Via Maris and the King's Highway.[3]
16th century
The Turabays, a prominent family from the Bedouin Banu Haritha tribe,[4] who claim descent from the Tayy tribe of the Arabian Desert,[4][5] assisted Ottoman Sultan Selim I in his conquest of Egypt during Ottoman–Mamluk War of 1516–1517. As a reward, they were granted control over what became the Lajjun Sanjak, covering the Jezreel Valley, northern Samaria and Lower Galilee. They also oversaw Gaza and led pilgrim caravans to Mecca. The Turabay family controlled Lajjun until the late 17th century when they were replaced by the Ottoman administration.[5]
17th-18th centuries
During the 17th and 18th centuries, Bedouin clans migrated to Palestine from Hejaz, Syria, and Transjordan. The Ottomans encouraged this migration to populate certain areas, offering land and allowing freedom of movement. While the Bedouins were taxed when possible, their mobility made taxation rare and inconsistent. Even in the late 19th century, Bedouins were not conscripted for military service.[6]
By the late 17th century, Druze settlers started establishing themselves around Banias and in Jabal al-Druze.[7]
In the 1780s, a significant number of Egyptians migrated to Palestine in response to a severe famine in Egypt. It's estimated that about one-sixth of Egypt's population emigrated during this time, with many choosing to settle in Palestine.[8] According to Walney, in January 1785, the streets of Sidon, Acre, and all the cities of Palestine—defined by him as the area governed by the governor of Gaza, from Khan Yunis to a line between the "Jaffa River" and Caesarea—were filled with Egyptian refugees.[9][10]
Egyptian migrations (1830s)
The port city of Jaffa received Egyptian migrants in the 1830s. In 1844, it was reported to have a population of Egyptians, Greeks, Armenians, Jews and Maronites
The first half of the nineteenth century saw a significant influx of Egyptian immigrants.[7] Between 1831 and 1840, during Muhammad Ali's conquests and the reign of his son Ibrahim Pasha, Egyptian settlers and discharged soldiers migrated to Palestine.[11] Ibrahim Pasha actively encouraged Egyptian immigration and facilitated the settlement of Bedouin clans in the region.[6] According to Sabri, the total number of Egyptian migrants to Palestine in this period exceeded 6,000.[12]
The Egyptian settlers predominantly established themselves in urban centers like Jaffa and Gaza, where they founded residental districts, and also integrated into nearby villages.[6][11] Others settled in the Acre region, as well as the Jordan and Hula Valleys.[6] At one time, 19 villages in the southern coastal plain were home to Egyptian families. Today, remnants of this migration can be found in the valley of Wadi Ara, Israel, where a significant population of Egyptian descent resides.[11]
The withdrawal of Egyptian forces from Palestine increased Bedouin incursions to the region.[6]
Algerian migrations (1847—1920)
Algerian refugees, commonly known as "Maghrebis," began immigrating to Palestine in the 1850s following Emir Abdelkader's surrender to French forces in 1847.[13][14] They were transferred through northern Palestine into Syria and surrounding regions. Many eventually found homes in abandoned villages in Galilee,[13] where later twelve villages were said to be populated by Algerians.[14]
Waves of migration
The migration of Algerians to the Levant occurred in four significant waves. The first wave began in 1847 when approximately 560 refugees arrived in Damascus, Ajloun, and the Hauran. The latter areas were selected due to the abundance of open land and their distance from foreign influence. Another group reached Damascus in 1853, though their exact number remains unspecified. Starting in 1855, the authorities decided to settle the Algerians in the Acre Sanjak in Galilee.[15] Small numbers of AlgerianBerber refugees also settled in Safed following Abdelkader's exile to Damascus in 1855.[11]
The second wave, occurring between 1860 and 1883, brought around 3,700 refugees who primarily settled in Tiberias and Safed. By 1881, a report from the French consulate in Damascus noted that there were 6,800 Algerians in the Acre Sanjak, indicating that the Algerian population in the region had nearly doubled in eleven years.[15]
The third wave took place between 1883 and 1900 when the French demanded the conscription of Algerians. In 1886, 37 families, totaling 169 people, arrived in Damascus and were settled in the village of Al-Husayniyya, near the Hula Lake. In 1888, 250 migrants came to Acre, with some joining earlier settlers at the ruins of Hawsha and Bir al-Maksur near Shefaram, while others settled in Ghabba in the Haifa District. More families followed in 1889. In 1892, Hawsha received 148 more migrants, most of whom were from the Awlad Sidi Ara'is tribe from Oum El Bouaghi. The village of Samakh, near the Sea of Galilee, also became a significant settlement for these refugees, becoming one of the largest Algerian concentrations in the district. The fourth wave, from 1900 to 1920, saw most Algerians settling in the Hauran and near Damascus, with only a few settling in Palestine.[15]
Colonies
In the Safed Subdistrict, five Algerian villages were established, including Dayshum, Ammuqa, Marus, al-Husayniyya and Tulayl. Ammuqa and Marus were settled by the tribe of Awlad Bu Alwarth from Dellys, Tulayl and al-Husayniyya by the tribe of Awlad Bu al-Kabir from Blida, and Dayshum by the tribe of Ayt Yahya from Tigzirt.[15]
In the Tiberias Subdistrict, four villages were established by Algerians, including Awlam, Ma'dhar, Kafr Sabt,[13] and Sha'ara.[15] An unspecified number of Algerians also settled in Samakh and Tiberias itself. The village of Ma'dhar was inhabited by the tribes of Awlad Sidi Khaled and Sidi Amr, who came from Oued El Berdi and Bouïra. Kafr Sabt was home to the tribes of Awlad Sidi 'Amr and Awlad Sidi 'Isa from the same region. Awlam was inhabited by the tribes of Awlad Sidi Yunis and Awlad Sidi 'Isa from Aïn Bessem and Bouïra. Sha'ara's inhabitants belonged to the Sidi 'Isa tribe from al-Masila.[15]
In the Haifa Subdistrict, the ruins of Hawsha-Kasayir and Bir al-Maksur were settled by the tribe of Awlad Sidi Arjis from Oum El Bouaghi. It appears that these settlers later concentrated in Hawsha.[15]
Other Muslim migrations
Haurani migrations (dates unknown)
Immigrants from the Hauran region of modern-day Syria settled in Palestine during Ottoman times, establishing villages such as al-Masmiyya al-Kabira and al-Masmiyya al-Saghira, both founded near Gaza by settlers from al-Masmiyah. The exact dates of their migration are uncertain.[16] Economic migration from Hauran to Palestine continued into the Mandatory period, during which four villages in the Gaza subdistrict were inhabited by people of Haurani origin.[16]
Migrations from Circassia, Chechnya and Bosnia
The 19th century saw migrations to Palestine from Circassia and Chechnya, with refugees from territories the Russian Empire annexed in 1864.[11]Bosniaks also migrated to Palestine after their province was captured by Serbia in 1878.[11]
1 2 Ehrlich, Michael (2022). The Islamization of the Holy Land, 634-1800. Medieval Islamicate world. Leeds: Arc Humanities Press. pp.6, 82. ISBN978-1-80270-031-2.
↑ Grossman, D. (1986). "Oscillations in the Rural Settlement of Samaria and Judaea in the Ottoman Period". in Shomron studies. Dar, S., Safrai, S., (eds). Tel Aviv: Hakibbutz Hameuchad Publishing House. p. 314-317, 345-385
↑ M. Volney (1787), Travels through Syria and Egypt in the Years 1783, 1784 and 1785 (translated from French), II, London, p. 193-194
↑ M. Sabri (1930), L'Empire e'gyptien sous Mohamed-Ali et la question cf Orient (1811-1849), Paris, p. 181.
1 2 3 Grossman, David (2004). Arab Demography and Early Jewish Settlement in Palestine: Distribution and Population Density during the Late Ottoman and Early Mandate Periods (in Hebrew). Jerusalem: The Hebrew University Magness Press, Jerusalem. p.146. ISBN978-965-493-184-7.
1 2 Greene, Roberta R.; Hantman, Shira; Seltenreich, Yair; ʻAbbāsī, Muṣṭafá (2018). Living in Mandatory Palestine: personal narratives of resilience of the Galilee during the Mandate period 1918-1948. New York, NY: Routledge. p.11. ISBN978-1-138-06898-8. In addition, there were 12 settlements in the Galilee of Algerian immigrants, who had come to the region during the second half of the nineteenth century after their emir, Abd al-Qader al-Jazairi, surrendered to the French in 1847.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Ahmad Abbasi, Mustafa (2007). "הקהילה האלג'יראית בגליל משלהי השלטון העות'מני עד שנת 1948". אופקים בגיאוגרפיה. 68/9: 56–62.
The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and Arabian Desert but spread across the rest of the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa after the spread of Islam. The English word bedouin comes from the Arabic badawī, which means "desert-dweller", and is traditionally contrasted with ḥāḍir, the term for sedentary people. Bedouin territory stretches from the vast deserts of North Africa to the rocky ones of the Middle East. They are sometimes traditionally divided into tribes, or clans, and historically share a common culture of herding camels, sheep and goats. The vast majority of Bedouins adhere to Islam, although there are some fewer numbers of Christian Bedouins present in the Fertile Crescent.
The population of the region of Palestine, which approximately corresponds to modern Israel and the Palestinian territories, has varied in both size and ethnic composition throughout the history of Palestine.
The Hauran is a region that spans parts of southern Syria and northern Jordan. It is bound in the north by the Ghouta oasis, eastwards by the al-Safa field, to the south by Jordan's desert steppe and to the west by the Golan Heights. Traditionally, the Hauran consists of three subregions: the Nuqrah and Jaydur plains, the Jabal al-Druze massif, and the Lajat volcanic field. The population of the Hauran is largely Arab, but religiously heterogeneous; most inhabitants of the plains are Sunni Muslims belonging to large agrarian clans, while Druze form the majority in the eponymous Jabal al-Druze and a significant Greek Orthodox and Greek Catholic minority inhabit the western foothills of Jabal al-Druze. The region's largest towns are Daraa, al-Ramtha and al-Suwayda.
Zahir al-Umar al-Zaydani, alternatively spelled Dhaher el-Omar or Dahir al-Umar, was an Arab ruler of northern Palestine in the mid-18th century, while the region was part of the Ottoman Empire. For much of his reign, starting in the 1730s, his domain mainly consisted of the Galilee, with successive headquarters in Tiberias, Deir Hanna and finally Acre, in 1750. He fortified Acre, and the city became the center of the cotton trade between Palestine and Europe. In the mid-1760s, he reestablished the port town of Haifa nearby.
The Lajat, also spelled Lejat, Lajah, el-Leja or Laja, is the largest lava field in southern Syria, spanning some 900 square kilometers. Located about 50 kilometers (31 mi) southeast of Damascus, the Lajat borders the Hauran plain to the west and the foothills of Jabal al-Druze to the south. The average elevation is between 600 and 700 meters above sea level, with the highest volcanic cone being 1,159 meters above sea level. Receiving little annual rainfall, the Lajat is largely barren, though there are scattered patches of arable land in some of its depressions.
The al-Atrash, also known as Bani al-Atrash, is a Druze clan based in Jabal Hauran in southwestern Syria. The family's name al-atrash is Arabic for "the deaf" and derives from one the family's deaf patriarchs. The al-Atrash clan migrated to Jabal Hauran in the early 19th century, and under the leadership of their sheikh (chieftain) Ismail al-Atrash became the paramount ruling Druze family of Jabal Hauran in the mid-19th century, taking over from Al Hamdan. Through his battlefield reputation and his political intrigues with other Druze clans, Bedouin tribes, Ottoman authorities and European consuls, Ismail consolidated al-Atrash power. By the early 1880s, the family controlled eighteen villages, chief among which were as-Suwayda, Salkhad, al-Qurayya, 'Ira and Urman.
Ammuqa was a Palestinian village, located five kilometres northeast of Safed.
Ottoman Syria is a historiographical term used to describe the group of divisions of the Ottoman Empire within the region of Levant, usually defined as being east of the Mediterranean Sea, west of the Euphrates River, north of the Arabian Desert and south of the Taurus Mountains.
The Peasants' Revolt was a rebellion against Egyptian conscription and taxation policies in Palestine. While rebel ranks consisted mostly of the local peasantry, urban notables and Bedouin tribes also formed an integral part of the revolt. This was a collective reaction to Egypt's gradual elimination of the unofficial rights and privileges previously enjoyed by the various classes of society in the Levant under Ottoman rule.
Aqil Agha al-Hasi was the strongman of northern Palestine in the mid-19th century, during Ottoman rule. He was originally a commander of Arab irregular soldiers, known as the Hawwara tribe, in the service of the Ottoman governors of Acre. His influence in the Galilee grew as he strengthened his alliances with the powerful Beni Sakhr and Anizzah tribes of Transjordan, and recruited unemployed Bedouin irregulars from Egypt into his own band of irregulars, who thenceforth became known as the Hanadi tribe. He was known by his men and Western travelers to be courageous, cunning and charismatic, all qualities that contributed to his rise as the de facto ruler of the Galilee.
The Ridwan dynasty was the most prominent pasha family in Palestine, ruling the southwestern districts of the Damascus Eyalet in the 16th and 17th centuries under Ottoman rule. The dynasty was based in Gaza, where its members continuously served as the hereditary sanjak-beys of the sanjak for over a century. Members also ruled different provinces and districts throughout the Ottoman Empire and held additional titles at different times. The Ridwan period in Gaza was considered the city's last golden age.
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Siege of Al-Karak was a 17-day siege imposed by Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt on the Transjordanian town of Al-Karak in 1834. The Pasha laid the siege on the town in pursuit of Qasim al-Ahmad, the leader of the Peasants' revolt in Palestine, who had fled from Nablus to take shelter in Al-Karak.
Turabay ibn Qaraja was the chieftain of the Banu Haritha tribesmen in northern Palestine and an Ottoman governor and tax farmer in the Marj Ibn Amer plain. His career began under the Mamluks in the late 15th century and continued under the Ottomans who kept him in his post as commander of the roads connecting Damascus with Cairo and Jerusalem in 1516 and soon after appointed him governor of Safad. By 1538, he had been granted tax farms in Marj Ibn Amer, Qaqun and in the Ajlun region east of the Jordan River. Turabay's descendants, the Turabay dynasty, continued to hold influence in Marj Ibn Amer as the hereditary governors of Lajjun until 1677.
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The Turabay dynasty was a family of Bedouin emirs in northern Palestine who served as the multazims and sanjak-beys of Lajjun Sanjak during Ottoman rule in the 16th–17th centuries. The sanjak (district) spanned the towns of Lajjun, Jenin and Haifa, and the surrounding countryside. The progenitors of the family had served as chiefs of Marj ibn Amir under the Egypt-based Mamluks in the late 15th century.
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