Sulam
Encyclopedia
Sulam is an Arab
village in north-eastern Israel
. Known in ancient times as Shunama and Shunem
, it is first mentioned in the Amarna Letters
in the 14th century BCE. Archaeological excavations in the village attest to habitation extending from the Bronze Age
through to modern times. Located near Afula
, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bustan al-Marj Regional Council
. In 2007 it had a population of 2,500.
, 14th century BCE clay tablet
s written in the cuneiform
script of the Akkadian language
, the village is listed under its ancient name of Shunama, as one of several cities conquered by the Canaanite
warlord Lab'ayu in the Dothan Valley and southern Jezreel Valley
. Sulam is also identified with the biblical village of Shunem
, which is said to be of the tribe of Issachar
and the place where the Philistines
camped before Saul
's last battle, and the native town of Abishag
, King David's concubine, in .
Mentioned by the name Sulem in 4th century CE works, such as the Onomasticon of Eusebius, and by Jerome
, both authors situate it 5 Roman miles from Tabor
. The village was also known to the Crusaders
(12th century CE) under the name Suna.
During the period of Ottoman rule
, Sulam was listed in the Ottoman tax registers of 1596 as being in the nahiya of Jinin
in the liwa
of Lajjun
. It had a population of 26 Muslim
families. Edward Robinson
and Eli Smith
, who visited the village in the mid-19th century, describe it as "small and dirty" and its inhabitants as "civil and friendly." They also recount being approached by the Wely
of Duhy who offered to take them to the shrine on the mountain which he said was often visited by monks.
The Survey of Western Palestine (1881) describes Sulam as, "a large village, standing on a slope near the foot of Jebel ed Duhy ["Mountain of Duhy"]." It further notes that part of the village was built of stone, and that to the west there were shady gardens of lemon
-trees. A perennial spring in the west collected in a stone trough was said to have good supply of clear water in September, 1872. What was described as a suburb of mud hovels ran southwards out from the village.
By the time of the mandate period
and the 1931 census
, there were 85 inhabited houses in Sulam with a population of 328 Muslims.
and developed around the spring. During the construction of a new house in the village in the early 21st century, ancient ruins were exposed. A salvage excavation was undertaken in February 2004 that uncovered strata dated to the Early Bronze Age and the Roman period. In a single square (4 × 6 meters), excavated to a depth of 1 meter, that had previously been covered by 1.5 meters of sterile alluvial soil, remains dated to the Bronze Age included part of stone building and potsherds, while the Roman period remains included potsherds, coins, animal bones, and marble fragments. Two coins were dated to the Byzantine period
(2nd half of the 6th century CE), one of which was an Arab
-Byzantine coin (c. 640-660 CE) that imitates the coins of emperor Constans II.
A followup excavation in an adjacent 4 x 4 meter area conducted in August 2007 discovered potsherds from the Iron Age
, as well as those dated to the Byzantine period, or the beginning of the Early Islamic period.
A salvage excavation undertaken at the southern end of the village in August 2003 uncovered a tabun oven
and fragments of pottery
that were dated to Early Islamic period, specifically to the period of early Abbasid
rule. Additional attestation to the village being inhabited during the period of Mamluk
rule over Palestine
, was found in the form of a wall and living space uncovered during salvage excavations undertaken in a private home in Sulam in August 2006. Other remains discovered in the village include a church, hiding complexes, and tombs.
Another excavation undertaken on the main street of the village at the end of 2007, uncovered building remains from the Early Islamic period (8th-10th centuries) and the late Ottoman period (19th century), as well as a burnt layer from the end of the Crusader and beginning of the Mamluk periods (12th-13th centuries). It also revealed potsherds from the Iron Age, Hellenistic, Byzantine and Roman periods. The Israeli archaeology report on this excavation indicated that the core of the village had been destroyed and rebuilt many times over the years, and that there was a hiatus in settlement between the 13th and 19th centuries. Another Israeli excavation report from December 2006 uncovered remains from the periods of Roman (3rd century), Byzantine, Early Islamic, Crusader (12th century), Mamluk (13th-15th centuries), and Ottoman (17th-19th centuries) rule.
Arab citizens of Israel
Arab citizens of Israel refers to citizens of Israel who are not Jewish, and whose cultural and linguistic heritage or ethnic identity is Arab....
village in north-eastern Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. Known in ancient times as Shunama and Shunem
Shunem
Shunem is a small village mentioned in the Bible. It was located in the tribe of Issachar, to the north of Jezreel and south of Mount Gilboa .Shunem is where:*The Philistines encamped when they came against Saul, the first king of Israel;...
, it is first mentioned in the Amarna Letters
Amarna letters
The Amarna letters are an archive of correspondence on clay tablets, mostly diplomatic, between the Egyptian administration and its representatives in Canaan and Amurru during the New Kingdom...
in the 14th century BCE. Archaeological excavations in the village attest to habitation extending from the Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
through to modern times. Located near Afula
Afula
Afula is a city in the North District of Israel, often known as the "Capital of the Valley", referring to the Jezreel Valley. The city had a population of 40,500 at the end of 2009.-History:...
, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bustan al-Marj Regional Council
Bustan al-Marj Regional Council
The Bustan al-Marj Regional Council is a regional council in northern Israel. Its territory lies adjacent to the Jezreel Valley and north of Afula. The area includes four Arab villages:*Ed Dahi*Kafr Misr*Nein*Sulam-External links:* *...
. In 2007 it had a population of 2,500.
History
In the Amarna lettersAmarna letters
The Amarna letters are an archive of correspondence on clay tablets, mostly diplomatic, between the Egyptian administration and its representatives in Canaan and Amurru during the New Kingdom...
, 14th century BCE clay tablet
Clay tablet
In the Ancient Near East, clay tablets were used as a writing medium, especially for writing in cuneiform, throughout the Bronze Age and well into the Iron Age....
s written in the cuneiform
Cuneiform
Cuneiform can refer to:*Cuneiform script, an ancient writing system originating in Mesopotamia in the 4th millennium BC*Cuneiform , three bones in the human foot*Cuneiform Records, a music record label...
script of the Akkadian language
Akkadian language
Akkadian is an extinct Semitic language that was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia. The earliest attested Semitic language, it used the cuneiform writing system derived ultimately from ancient Sumerian, an unrelated language isolate...
, the village is listed under its ancient name of Shunama, as one of several cities conquered by the Canaanite
Canaan
Canaan is a historical region roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan...
warlord Lab'ayu in the Dothan Valley and southern Jezreel Valley
Jezreel Valley
-Etymology:The Jezreel Valley takes its name from the ancient city of Jezreel which was located on a low hill overlooking the southern edge of the valley, though some scholars think that the name of the city originates from the name of the clan which founded it, and whose existence is mentioned in...
. Sulam is also identified with the biblical village of Shunem
Shunem
Shunem is a small village mentioned in the Bible. It was located in the tribe of Issachar, to the north of Jezreel and south of Mount Gilboa .Shunem is where:*The Philistines encamped when they came against Saul, the first king of Israel;...
, which is said to be of the tribe of Issachar
Issachar
Issachar/Yissachar was, according to the Book of Genesis, a son of Jacob and Leah , and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Issachar; however some Biblical scholars view this as postdiction, an eponymous metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite...
and the place where the Philistines
Philistines
Philistines , Pleshet or Peleset, were a people who occupied the southern coast of Canaan at the beginning of the Iron Age . According to the Bible, they ruled the five city-states of Gaza, Askelon, Ashdod, Ekron and Gath, from the Wadi Gaza in the south to the Yarqon River in the north, but with...
camped before 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...
's last battle, and the native town of Abishag
Abishag
According to the Old Testament, Abishag was a young woman of Shunem, distinguished for her beauty. She was chosen to be a helper and servant to David in his old age. Among Abishag's duties was to lie next to David and keep him warm; however, David did not have sexual relations with her...
, King David's concubine, in .
Mentioned by the name Sulem in 4th century CE works, such as the Onomasticon of Eusebius, and by Jerome
Jerome
Saint Jerome was a Roman Christian priest, confessor, theologian and historian, and who became a Doctor of the Church. He was the son of Eusebius, of the city of Stridon, which was on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia...
, both authors situate it 5 Roman miles from Tabor
Mount Tabor
-Places:*Mount Tabor, a hill in Israel near Nazareth believed by many to be the site of the Transfiguration of ChristIn the United States:*Mount Tabor, Indiana, an unincorporated community...
. The village was also known to the Crusaders
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
(12th century CE) under the name Suna.
During the period of Ottoman rule
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...
, Sulam was listed in the Ottoman tax registers of 1596 as being in the nahiya of Jinin
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...
in the liwa
Liwa
*Liwa "Liwa" means "standard" or "banner" in Arabic.*Liwa *Liwa geography*Chad**Liwa in Mamdi Department*Oman**Liwa, Oman**Liwa Province, Oman *United Arab Emirates**Liwa Oasis *Poland...
of Lajjun
Lajjun
Lajjun was a Palestinian Arab village of nearly 1,300 people located northwest of Jenin. The village along with nearby Umm al-Fahm and seven hamlets, had a total land area of 77,242 dunams or , of which were built-up, while the rest was used for agricultural purposes...
. It had a population of 26 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...
families. Edward Robinson
Edward Robinson (scholar)
Edward Robinson was an American biblical scholar, known as the “Father of Biblical Geography.” He has been referred to as the “founder of modern Palestinology.” -Biography:...
and Eli Smith
Eli Smith
Eli Smith was an American Protestant Missionary and scholar, born at Northford, Conn. He graduated from Yale in 1821 and from Andover Theological Seminary in 1826. He worked in Malta until 1829, then in company with H. G. O. Dwight traveled through Armenia and Georgia to Persia. They published...
, who visited the village in the mid-19th century, describe it as "small and dirty" and its inhabitants as "civil and friendly." They also recount being approached by the Wely
Wali
Walī , is an Arabic word meaning "custodian", "protector", "sponsor", or authority as denoted by its definition "crown". "Wali" is someone who has "Walayah" over somebody else. For example, in Fiqh the father is wali of his children. In Islam, the phrase ولي الله walīyu 'llāh...
of Duhy who offered to take them to the shrine on the mountain which he said was often visited by monks.
The Survey of Western Palestine (1881) describes Sulam as, "a large village, standing on a slope near the foot of Jebel ed Duhy ["Mountain of Duhy"]." It further notes that part of the village was built of stone, and that to the west there were shady gardens of lemon
Lemon
The lemon is both a small evergreen tree native to Asia, and the tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit. The fruit is used for culinary and non-culinary purposes throughout the world – primarily for its juice, though the pulp and rind are also used, mainly in cooking and baking...
-trees. A perennial spring in the west collected in a stone trough was said to have good supply of clear water in September, 1872. What was described as a suburb of mud hovels ran southwards out from the village.
By the time of the mandate period
Mandate Palestine
Mandate Palestine existed while the British Mandate for Palestine, which formally began in September 1923 and terminated in May 1948, was in effect...
and the 1931 census
1931 census of Palestine
The 1931 census of Palestine was the second census carried out by the authorities of the British Mandate of Palestine. It was carried out on 18 November 1931 under the direction of Major E. Mills. The first census had been conducted in 1922...
, there were 85 inhabited houses in Sulam with a population of 328 Muslims.
Archaeological excavations
The village is situated on and around an archaeological tellTell
A tell or tel, is a type of archaeological mound created by human occupation and abandonment of a geographical site over many centuries. A classic tell looks like a low, truncated cone with a flat top and sloping sides.-Archaeology:A tell is a hill created by different civilizations living and...
and developed around the spring. During the construction of a new house in the village in the early 21st century, ancient ruins were exposed. A salvage excavation was undertaken in February 2004 that uncovered strata dated to the Early Bronze Age and the Roman period. In a single square (4 × 6 meters), excavated to a depth of 1 meter, that had previously been covered by 1.5 meters of sterile alluvial soil, remains dated to the Bronze Age included part of stone building and potsherds, while the Roman period remains included potsherds, coins, animal bones, and marble fragments. Two coins were dated to the Byzantine period
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
(2nd half of the 6th century CE), one of which was an Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
-Byzantine coin (c. 640-660 CE) that imitates the coins of emperor Constans II.
A followup excavation in an adjacent 4 x 4 meter area conducted in August 2007 discovered potsherds from the Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
, as well as those dated to the Byzantine period, or the beginning of the Early Islamic period.
A salvage excavation undertaken at the southern end of the village in August 2003 uncovered a tabun oven
Tabun oven
A tabun oven, or simply, tabun is a clay oven, shaped like a truncated cone, with an opening at the bottom from which to stoke the fire. Built and used in pre-biblical and biblical times as the family, neighbourhood, or village oven, tabun ovens continue to be built and used in parts of the Middle...
and fragments of pottery
Palestinian pottery
Pottery in Palestine refers to pottery produced in Palestine throughout the ages, and pottery produced by modern-day Palestinians.-Continuity through the ages:...
that were dated to Early Islamic period, specifically to the period of early Abbasid
Abbasid
The Abbasid Caliphate or, more simply, the Abbasids , was the third of the Islamic caliphates. It was ruled by the Abbasid dynasty of caliphs, who built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphate from all but the al-Andalus region....
rule. Additional attestation to the village being inhabited during the period of Mamluk
Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)
The Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt was the final independent Egyptian state prior to the establishment of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty in 1805. It lasted from the overthrow of the Ayyubid Dynasty until the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517. The sultanate's ruling caste was composed of Mamluks, Arabised...
rule over Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
, was found in the form of a wall and living space uncovered during salvage excavations undertaken in a private home in Sulam in August 2006. Other remains discovered in the village include a church, hiding complexes, and tombs.
Another excavation undertaken on the main street of the village at the end of 2007, uncovered building remains from the Early Islamic period (8th-10th centuries) and the late Ottoman period (19th century), as well as a burnt layer from the end of the Crusader and beginning of the Mamluk periods (12th-13th centuries). It also revealed potsherds from the Iron Age, Hellenistic, Byzantine and Roman periods. The Israeli archaeology report on this excavation indicated that the core of the village had been destroyed and rebuilt many times over the years, and that there was a hiatus in settlement between the 13th and 19th centuries. Another Israeli excavation report from December 2006 uncovered remains from the periods of Roman (3rd century), Byzantine, Early Islamic, Crusader (12th century), Mamluk (13th-15th centuries), and Ottoman (17th-19th centuries) rule.