Mariam Amash
Encyclopedia
Mariam Amash is a claimant to the title of the oldest living person
.
Amash, born in the now defunct Ottoman Empire
, lives in the town of Jisr az-Zarqa
in northern Israel
. She is an Arab citizen of Israel of Bedouin
descent. The discovery that she may be the oldest person in the world came when she applied for an identity card from the Israeli government using a birth document issued by the Ottoman authorities who ruled the region at the time. The date of her birth, in 1888, appears on the Ottoman issued birth certificate
, and Israeli officials have confimed that Amash is currently listed in the Israeli population registry as having been born in that year, though they are unsure if it is correct.
The Guinness Book of Records, the group who authorizes the "official" oldest living person record, have not yet validated her claim. If validated, she would be the last survivor of the 1880s. Her birth month has not been reported, but if she was 120 years old, she would be older than Sarah Knauss
(who is currently recognized as the second oldest person ever). If Amash were to still be alive, she would pass the age of the verified oldest person ever, Jeanne Calment
, in the summer of 2010.
As of February 2008, Amash was reported as being "remarkably sprightly", with 10 children, 120 grandchildren, 250 great-grandchildren and 30 great-great-grandchildren. Amash says the key to longevity is a healthy diet abundant in vegetables. In particular, she attributes her own longevity to drinking olive oil every day, avoiding alcohol, and eating a local herb Palestinians often use in salads. She also stated that she expected to live "another ten years".
Amash has bad hearing and can only recall portions of the past at a time, making her difficult to interview. In a 2008 interview with Al Jazeera English, she recalled the Ottomans as being "nice", but did not like the British when they took over in 1917, and is satisfied with life in modern day Israel, especially with her government-provided social security
. A devout Muslim
, she has made the Hajj
to Mecca
five times.
Oldest people
This is a list of tables of the verified oldest people in the world in ordinal rank, such as oldest person or oldest man. In these tables, a supercentenarian is considered 'verified' if his or her claim has been validated by an international body that specifically deals in longevity research, such...
.
Amash, born in the now defunct Ottoman Empire
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...
, lives in the town of Jisr az-Zarqa
Jisr az-Zarqa
Jisr az-Zarqa is an Israeli Arab local council on Israel's northern Mediterranean coastal plain. Located just north of Caesarea within the Haifa District, it achieved local council status in 1963. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics the town had a population of 11,100 residents at the...
in northern Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. She is an Arab citizen of Israel of 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:...
descent. The discovery that she may be the oldest person in the world came when she applied for an identity card from the Israeli government using a birth document issued by the Ottoman authorities who ruled the region at the time. The date of her birth, in 1888, appears on the Ottoman issued birth certificate
Birth certificate
A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the birth of a child. The term "birth certificate" can refer to either the original document certifying the circumstances of the birth or to a certified copy of or representation of the ensuing registration of that birth...
, and Israeli officials have confimed that Amash is currently listed in the Israeli population registry as having been born in that year, though they are unsure if it is correct.
The Guinness Book of Records, the group who authorizes the "official" oldest living person record, have not yet validated her claim. If validated, she would be the last survivor of the 1880s. Her birth month has not been reported, but if she was 120 years old, she would be older than Sarah Knauss
Sarah Knauss
Sarah DeRemer Knauss was an American supercentenarian considered the world's oldest living person by Guinness World Records from April 16, 1998, the date of the death of 117-year-old Canadian Marie-Louise Meilleur, until her own death...
(who is currently recognized as the second oldest person ever). If Amash were to still be alive, she would pass the age of the verified oldest person ever, Jeanne Calment
Jeanne Calment
Jeanne Louise Calment was a French supercentenarian who had the longest confirmed human life span in history, living to the age of . She lived in Arles, France, for her entire life, and outlived both her daughter and grandson. She became especially well known from the age of 113, when the...
, in the summer of 2010.
As of February 2008, Amash was reported as being "remarkably sprightly", with 10 children, 120 grandchildren, 250 great-grandchildren and 30 great-great-grandchildren. Amash says the key to longevity is a healthy diet abundant in vegetables. In particular, she attributes her own longevity to drinking olive oil every day, avoiding alcohol, and eating a local herb Palestinians often use in salads. She also stated that she expected to live "another ten years".
Amash has bad hearing and can only recall portions of the past at a time, making her difficult to interview. In a 2008 interview with Al Jazeera English, she recalled the Ottomans as being "nice", but did not like the British when they took over in 1917, and is satisfied with life in modern day Israel, especially with her government-provided social security
Social security
Social security is primarily a social insurance program providing social protection or protection against socially recognized conditions, including poverty, old age, disability, unemployment and others. Social security may refer to:...
. A devout 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...
, she has made the Hajj
Hajj
The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...
to Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
five times.