Fandaqumiya
Encyclopedia
Fandaqumiya, is a village located in the Jenin district of the northern West Bank
, northwest of Nablus
. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
, the town had a population of 3,363 inhabitants in mid-year 2006.
of the Greek
term Pentakomia: Komia means 'village' or 'community', while penta means 'five'. Pentakomia probably refers to an administrative unit of five villages which existed in the area.
A Pentakomia in Greece
as well as one on the Euphrates River
probably share the etymology
, and the Hebron
area village of Tarqumiyah
(Arabic ترقوميا) is based on the Greek Trikomia, or 'community of three.'
to Jenin
. It is located between the ancient ruins of Samaria
and Sebaste and the Sanur Valley. It is also neighbored by the villages of Jaba
and Silat ad-Dhahr
, as well as the former settlements
of Homesh
and Sa-Nur
, which were dismantled in Israel's unilateral disengagement plan
.
The following are maps that show the village location. From left to right, the maps zoom to the village area.
suggested that it be dated to the Neolithic Period
. A stone tool, circular in shape with a hole in the middle, was found alongside the jar, though it was never dated.
minted by Hasmonean
ruler Alexander Jannaeus
between 103 and 76 BCE, as well as a Greek coin of the Ptolmaic dynasty dated to the year 300 BCE.
The modern settlement was renewed in 1820 when Ahmad Anbar and his family arrived from Hebron and were granted a homestead in the well-known ruin by the local ruler of the Sanur area, Haj Ahmad Jarrar. Because Haj Ahmad operated independent of the Ottomans, the Sanur fortress was besieged by the authorities around 1830, and many of the local villages were pillaged, including Fandaqumiya. While the population had fled during the hostilities, the village was eventually repaired and more families continued to arrive.
A spur of the Ottoman Hejaz railway to Damascus
was built through the area, and a station was opened nearby at Sebastia. Unfortunately, after the collapse of the Ottomans, locals took apart the rail infrastructure for secondary use in construction. Many of the steel beams can still be seen in the roofs of local homes.
forces from the Ottomans, and three years later it was assigned to the British Mandate for Palestine.
Soon after the British arrived, they built a police fort on a nearby hill. Despite many villagers being employed in the construction, relations with the British forces were at times rocky owing to tax disputes. During the riots
of 1936-1939, some villagers launched attacks on the British troops, and the village was subject to British reprisals.
During the 1940s, the British administration funded modern water and agriculture development projects as well as an elementary school.
, Fandaqumiya was ruled by the Hashemite
s of Jordan
. Al Fandaqumiya passed to Israel
i control along with the rest of the West Bank after the 1967 Six-Day War
, though after the 1995 signing of the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
, it has been administered by the Palestinian Authority
.
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...
, northwest of Nablus
Nablus
Nablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located in a strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center.Founded by the...
. 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 town had a population of 3,363 inhabitants in mid-year 2006.
Name
The Arabic name of the village, Al Fandaqumiyah (الفندقومي), is a corruptionCorruption (grammar)
Corruption or bastardisation is a way of referring to certain changes in a language and their prescriptive evaluation. The most common way that a word can be said to be corrupted is the change of its spelling through errors and gradual changes in comprehension, transcription, and hearing. This is...
of the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
term Pentakomia: Komia means 'village' or 'community', while penta means 'five'. Pentakomia probably refers to an administrative unit of five villages which existed in the area.
A Pentakomia in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
as well as one on the Euphrates River
Euphrates
The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...
probably share the etymology
Etymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
, and the 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...
area village of Tarqumiyah
Tarqumiyah
Tarqumiyah is a Palestinian town located twelve kilometers northwest of Hebron.The town is in the Hebron Governorate Southern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of over 14,357 in 2007....
(Arabic ترقوميا) is based on the Greek Trikomia, or 'community of three.'
Geography
The village is in the northern West Bank, on the road leading north from NablusNablus
Nablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located in a strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center.Founded by the...
to Jenin
Jenin
Jenin is the largest town in the Northern West Bank, and the third largest city overall. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate and is a major agricultural center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, the city had a population of 120,004 not including the adjacent refugee...
. It is located between the ancient ruins of Samaria
Samaria
Samaria, or the Shomron is a term used for a mountainous region roughly corresponding to the northern part of the West Bank.- Etymology :...
and Sebaste and the Sanur Valley. It is also neighbored by the villages of Jaba
Jaba
Jaba may refer to:* "Jaba", Silvino João de Carvalho, Brazilian footballer* Jaba River* Jaba', former Palestinian village in the Karmel area* Jaba * Jaba', Town in the Jenin Governorate of the West Bank....
and Silat ad-Dhahr
Silat ad-Dhahr
Silat adh Dhahr is a Palestinian town in the Jenin Governorate in the Northern area of the West Bank, located 14 kilometers South west of Jenin. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of over 6,259 inhabitants in mid-year 2006...
, as well as the former settlements
Israeli settlement
An Israeli settlement is a Jewish civilian community built on land that was captured by Israel from Jordan, Egypt, and Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and is considered occupied territory by the international community. Such settlements currently exist in the West Bank...
of Homesh
Homesh
Homesh was an Israeli settlement in the northern Samarian Hills of the West Bank along Tulkarm and Route 60. The village fell under the administrative jurisdiction of the Shomron Regional Council...
and Sa-Nur
Sa-Nur
Sa-Nur was an Israeli settlement in the northern West Bank under the administrative jurisdiction of Shomron Regional Council. Prior to its demolition, Sa-nur was home to 43 families. In September 2005 its 105 residents were evicted and IDF soldiers began dismantling Sanur as part of Israel's...
, which were dismantled in Israel's unilateral disengagement plan
Israel's unilateral disengagement plan
Israel's unilateral disengagement plan , also known as the "Disengagement plan", "Gaza expulsion plan", and "Hitnatkut", was a proposal by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, adopted by the government on June 6, 2004 and enacted in August 2005, to evict all Israelis from the Gaza Strip and from...
.
The following are maps that show the village location. From left to right, the maps zoom to the village area.
Pre-Historic Period
The earliest findings in Fandaqumiya include a white clay jar filled with burned bones, which was found in a tomb. The examination of this jar at the Archaeological Department of the An-Najah National UniversityAn-Najah National University
An-Najah National University is a Palestinian non-governmental public university governed by a board of Trustees. It is located in Nablus, in the northern West Bank. The university has over 16,500 students and 300 professors in 19 faculties...
suggested that it be dated to the Neolithic Period
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
. A stone tool, circular in shape with a hole in the middle, was found alongside the jar, though it was never dated.
Hellenistic Period
Two coins dating back to the Greek period were found in the village. A prutahPrutah
Prutah Hebrew is a word borrowed from the Mishnah and the Talmud, in which it means "a coin of smaller value". The word was probably derived originally from an Aramaic word with the same meaning....
minted by Hasmonean
Hasmonean
The Hasmonean dynasty , was the ruling dynasty of Judea and surrounding regions during classical antiquity. Between c. 140 and c. 116 BCE, the dynasty ruled semi-autonomously from the Seleucids in the region of Judea...
ruler Alexander Jannaeus
Alexander Jannaeus
Alexander Jannaeus was king of Judea from 103 BC to 76 BC. The son of John Hyrcanus, he inherited the throne from his brother Aristobulus I, and appears to have married his brother's widow, Shlomtzion or "Shelomit", also known as Salome Alexandra, according to the Biblical law of Yibbum...
between 103 and 76 BCE, as well as a Greek coin of the Ptolmaic dynasty dated to the year 300 BCE.
Roman & Byzantine Period
There is evidence that the village flourished during the Early Roman and Late Byzantine periods. Many Roman and Byzantine coins were discovered on site, and many tombs from the same period were found in a nearby hill. Additionally several structures characteristic of the Roman and Byzantine periods have been unearthed.The Ottoman Period
Several coins and structures, including a mosque, may date from the Mamluk period, however very little else is known about the site during that stage.The modern settlement was renewed in 1820 when Ahmad Anbar and his family arrived from Hebron and were granted a homestead in the well-known ruin by the local ruler of the Sanur area, Haj Ahmad Jarrar. Because Haj Ahmad operated independent of the Ottomans, the Sanur fortress was besieged by the authorities around 1830, and many of the local villages were pillaged, including Fandaqumiya. While the population had fled during the hostilities, the village was eventually repaired and more families continued to arrive.
A spur of the Ottoman Hejaz railway to Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
was built through the area, and a station was opened nearby at Sebastia. Unfortunately, after the collapse of the Ottomans, locals took apart the rail infrastructure for secondary use in construction. Many of the steel beams can still be seen in the roofs of local homes.
The British Mandate
In 1917, Fandaqumiya was captured by the BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
forces from the Ottomans, and three years later it was assigned to the British Mandate for Palestine.
Soon after the British arrived, they built a police fort on a nearby hill. Despite many villagers being employed in the construction, relations with the British forces were at times rocky owing to tax disputes. During the riots
Great Uprising
The 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine or Great Arab Revolt was a nationalist uprising by Palestinian Arabs in Mandate Palestine against British colonial rule and mass Jewish immigration.The revolt consisted of two distinct phases...
of 1936-1939, some villagers launched attacks on the British troops, and the village was subject to British reprisals.
During the 1940s, the British administration funded modern water and agriculture development projects as well as an elementary school.
The Modern Period
After the 1948 Arab-Israeli War1948 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...
, Fandaqumiya was ruled by the Hashemite
Hashemite
Hashemite is the Latinate version of the , transliteration: Hāšimī, and traditionally refers to those belonging to the Banu Hashim, or "clan of Hashim", a clan within the larger Quraish tribe...
s of Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
. Al Fandaqumiya passed to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i control along with the rest of the West Bank after the 1967 Six-Day War
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War , also known as the June War, 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or Third Arab-Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967, by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt , Jordan, and Syria...
, though after the 1995 signing of the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
The Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, also known as the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement, the Interim Agreement, Oslo 2, Oslo II, and Taba, was a key and complex agreement governing several aspects of the Palestinian territories of Gaza Strip and the West Bank.-History:It...
, it has been administered by the Palestinian Authority
Palestinian National Authority
The Palestinian Authority is the administrative organization established to govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip...
.