1884 Perron map NABLUS, PALESTINE, #149 |
Nice small map titled Naplouse, from wood engraving with fine detail and clear impression. Overall size approx. 17 x 15.5 cm, image size approx. 11 x 8 cm. From La Nouvelle Géographie universelle, la terre et les hommes, 19 vol. (1875-94), great work of Elisee Reclus. Cartographer is Charles Perron.
Nāblus
also spelled Nābulus or Nablus , Greek Neapolis , Hebrew Shekhem
city in the West Bank. It lies in an enclosed, fertile valley and is the market
centre of a natural oasis that is watered by numerous springs.
Founded under the auspices of the Roman emperor Vespasian in 72 CE and
originally named Flavia Neapolis, the city prospered in particular because of
its strategic site and the abundance of nearby springs. Later called Julia
Neapolis, or simply Neapolis (Greek: “New City”), it is portrayed on the
6th-century Maʾdabā map (see Maʾdabā). It was conquered by the Arabs in 636 CE;
the modern name is an Arabic corruption of the Greek form. The city was held by
the Crusaders from 1099 until 1187; they called it Naples, and it was briefly
the Crusader capital.
The city site of Nāblus is not identical to the site of the ancient Canaanite
city of Shechem, although the two have long been associated with one another.
Shechem, an important city in ancient Palestine, was noted in particular for its
position between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal (Arabic: Jabal al-Ṭūr and Jabal
ʿAybāl, respectively) in an east-west pass, one of the few such routes in
Palestine's hill country. The two cities have been closely (though erroneously)
linked for almost 2,000 years: both rabbinic and early Christian literature
commonly equated Nāblus with ancient Shechem, and Nāblus has been called Shekhem
in Hebrew to the present. Ruins of the Canaanite city lie at Tall al-Balāṭah, to
the east of the present city of Nāblus; these show evidence of settlement from
the Middle Bronze II period (c. 1900–c. 1750 BCE).
Nāblus has been a largely Muslim Arab city for centuries, though it is also the
principal centre of the small Samaritan community. In modern times Nāblus was
part of the British mandate of Palestine (1920–48); taken by Arab forces in the
first of the Arab-Israeli wars in 1948–49, it was subsequently annexed by
Jordan. A principal centre of Arab opposition both to Britain and to the Zionist
movement during the mandate, it was the scene of frequent unrest, and from 1948
to 1967 Nāblus was a centre of guerrilla operations directed against Israel.
Resistance activities continued after the Six-Day War of 1967 and the subsequent
Israeli occupation of the city, but by the early 1970s the situation had
tempered. After the Yom Kippur War of October 1973, Nāblus once again became a
centre of Arab opposition to the occupying forces. In the wake of the 1993 Oslo
Accords, Nāblus was evacuated by Israeli forces, and the city came under the
control of the Palestinian Authority.
Nāblus's economy was traditionally based on agricultural trade and
handicrafts—most notably, the important and long-established industry of
manufacturing soap from olive oil. It became a centre of industry and commerce
in modern times. A number of educational facilities are centred in Nāblus.
Al-Najaḥ National University (1977) offers courses of study in a range of
fields; courses are primarily taught in Arabic, although English is the language
of instruction for the sciences. The Nāblus Municipality Public Library, also
situated in the city, houses primarily Arabic and English volumes. Among
Nāblus's notable cultural sites are the Jāmiʿ al-Kabīr and Jāmiʿ al-Nasr
mosques, which are built on the remains of Byzantine churches; the old Samaritan
quarter; and the traditional site of Jacob's Well, south of the city. Pop. (2005
est.) 130,300.