Al-Karmil
Encyclopedia
al-Karmil is a Palestinian
village located twelve kilometers south of Hebron
. The village is in the Hebron Governorate
Southern West Bank
. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
, the village had a population of 3,741 in 2007. The primary health care facilities for the village are designated by the Ministry of Health as level 2.
. "Carmel" is mentioned as a city of Judah
, also as the place where Saul
erects a monument after the expedition against the Amelek and where Nabal
the Carmelite resides.
After the Bar Kochba revolt Khirbet al-Karmil was used as a Roman garrison town. The Jews of the town being uncomfortable with the Roman presence moved their settlement 2 km southeast, occupying a hilltop ridge. The new Jewish settlement prospered until the Persian
army of Chosroes
forced the Roman garrison of Heraclius
's army to quit Palestine. The Persian army was, in its turn, shortly destroyed by the Rashidun Caliphate
.
Al-Muqaddasi
describes it 985 as "a village in the further limits of the Hebron territory, in Jund Filastin
. This is the Carmel mentioned in Joshua xv.55."
With a lack of market for their wine, the Jewish settlement declined with the synagogue finally being abandoned in the 9th Century. The abandoned synagogue is one of the best preserved ancient synagogues in the West Bank.
Palestinian territories
The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...
village located twelve kilometers south of Hebron
Hebron
Hebron , is located in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judean Mountains, it lies 930 meters above sea level. It is the largest city in the West Bank and home to around 165,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Jewish settlers concentrated in and around the old quarter...
. The village is in the Hebron Governorate
Hebron Governorate
The Hebron Governorate is an administrative district of the Palestinian National Authority in the southern West Bank. It extends south to, and includes most of, the Dead Sea....
Southern West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics is the statistical organization under the umbrella of the Palestinian Cabinet of the Palestinian National Authority....
, the village had a population of 3,741 in 2007. The primary health care facilities for the village are designated by the Ministry of Health as level 2.
History
There are three references to al-Karmil in the BibleBible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
. "Carmel" is mentioned as a city of Judah
Kingdom of Judah
The Kingdom of Judah was a Jewish state established in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. It is often referred to as the "Southern Kingdom" to distinguish it from the northern Kingdom of Israel....
, also as the place where Saul
Saul
-People:Saul is a given/first name in English, the Anglicized form of the Hebrew name Shaul from the Hebrew Bible:* Saul , including people with this given namein the Bible:* Saul , a king of Edom...
erects a monument after the expedition against the Amelek and where Nabal
Nabal
According to the 1st Book of Samuel Chapter 25, Nabal , was a rich Calebite who was also described as being harsh and surly. David and his band of men who had been outlawed by King Saul were living off the Wilderness of Paran and providing voluntary protection to the shepherds in the area.The...
the Carmelite resides.
After the Bar Kochba revolt Khirbet al-Karmil was used as a Roman garrison town. The Jews of the town being uncomfortable with the Roman presence moved their settlement 2 km southeast, occupying a hilltop ridge. The new Jewish settlement prospered until the Persian
Sassanid Empire
The Sassanid Empire , known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr and Ērān in Middle Persian and resulting in the New Persian terms Iranshahr and Iran , was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty from 224 to 651...
army of Chosroes
Khosrau II
250px|thumb|Khosrau II 250px|thumb|Khosrau II 250px|thumb|Khosrau II (Khosrow II, Chosroes II, or Xosrov II in classical sources, sometimes called Parvez, "the Ever Victorious" – (in Persian: خسرو پرویز), was the twenty-second Sassanid King of Persia, reigning from 590 to 628...
forced the Roman garrison of Heraclius
Heraclius
Heraclius was Byzantine Emperor from 610 to 641.He was responsible for introducing Greek as the empire's official language. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the exarch of Africa, successfully led a revolt against the unpopular usurper Phocas.Heraclius'...
's army to quit Palestine. The Persian army was, in its turn, shortly destroyed by the Rashidun Caliphate
Rashidun Caliphate
The Rashidun Caliphate , comprising the first four caliphs in Islam's history, was founded after Muhammad's death in 632, Year 10 A.H.. At its height, the Caliphate extended from the Arabian Peninsula, to the Levant, Caucasus and North Africa in the west, to the Iranian highlands and Central Asia...
.
Al-Muqaddasi
Al-Muqaddasi
Muhammad ibn Ahmad Shams al-Din Al-Muqaddasi , also transliterated as Al-Maqdisi and el-Mukaddasi, was a medieval Arab geographer, author of Ahsan at-Taqasim fi Ma`rifat il-Aqalim .-Biography:Al-Muqaddasi, "the Hierosolomite" was born in Jerusalem in 946 AD...
describes it 985 as "a village in the further limits of the Hebron territory, in Jund Filastin
Jund Filastin
Jund Filastin was one of several sub-provinces of the Ummayad and Abbasid Caliphate province of Syria, organized soon after the Muslim conquest of Syria in the seventh century. According to al-Biladhuri, the main towns in the district at its capture by the Rashidun Caliphate, were Gaza, Sebastiya,...
. This is the Carmel mentioned in Joshua xv.55."
With a lack of market for their wine, the Jewish settlement declined with the synagogue finally being abandoned in the 9th Century. The abandoned synagogue is one of the best preserved ancient synagogues in the West Bank.
