Bayt Jirja
Encyclopedia
Bayt Jirja was a Palestinian
Arab
village 15.5 km Northeast of Gaza
. In 1931 the village consisted of 115 houses. It was overrun by Israel
i forces during operation Yo'av in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war
. Bayt Jirja was found abandoned in the November 1948 clean up sweeps to expel any partial inhabited villages and destroy village housing to prevent any possible re-occupation in the area. The village was completely destroyed after the occupation and only one tomb remains.
as Amouhde, and it contained pottery fragments, cisterns, and a pool. Excavation at Khirbat 'Amuda in 2005 yielded coins and pottery fragments from the Byzantine
and early Islamic period.
The Arab geographer Yaqut
, writing in the 1220s, called the village for "Jirja", and said it was the birth-place of Abu al-Fadl al-Jirja, at one time the major authority in Palestine on hadith
.
In 1596, Bayt Jirja (erroneously named "Bayt Kharja") was part of the Ottoman Empire
, nahiya (subdistrict) of Gaza
under the liwa'
(district) of Gaza
, and it had a population of 468. It paid taxes on a number of crops, including wheat, barley and fruit trees, as well as on goats and beehives.
Sometime after this the village must have been destroyed, as a marble slab at the entrance to the yard of the village mosque
proclaim that Abdullah Pasha
of Acre
, via his delegate Mohammed Shahin, had rebuilt the village in 1825-26.
In the late nineteenth century, Bayt Jirja was described as small, with gardens, and supplied with water from cistern
s and a pond.
The villagers were Muslim
, and they kept a shrine
, located on the eastern edge and overlooking Wadi al-Abd, and which they believed to be the tomb of "prophet" (nabi) Jirja. An elementary school was established in the center of village in 1932, and it had 67 students in the mid 1940's. The village center also contained some small shops. There were a number of wells, ranging in depth from 30 to 80 meters, which supplied drinking and irrigation water. In 1944/45 a total of 434 dunum
s was used for citrus
and bananas. 6,911 dunums were used for cereal
s, and 618 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards.
, what remained of the village in 1992 was:
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
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...
village 15.5 km Northeast of Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
. In 1931 the village consisted of 115 houses. It was overrun by Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i forces during operation Yo'av in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war
1948 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...
. Bayt Jirja was found abandoned in the November 1948 clean up sweeps to expel any partial inhabited villages and destroy village housing to prevent any possible re-occupation in the area. The village was completely destroyed after the occupation and only one tomb remains.
History
Bayt Jirja contained the archaeological site of Khirbat 'Amuda, which was known to the CrusadesCrusades
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...
as Amouhde, and it contained pottery fragments, cisterns, and a pool. Excavation at Khirbat 'Amuda in 2005 yielded coins and pottery fragments from the Byzantine
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
and early Islamic period.
The Arab geographer Yaqut
Yaqut al-Hamawi
Yāqūt ibn-'Abdullah al-Rūmī al-Hamawī) was an Islamic biographer and geographer renowned for his encyclopedic writings on the Muslim world. "al-Rumi" refers to his Greek descent; "al-Hamawi" means that he is from Hama, Syria, and ibn-Abdullah is a reference to his father's name, Abdullah...
, writing in the 1220s, called the village for "Jirja", and said it was the birth-place of Abu al-Fadl al-Jirja, at one time the major authority in Palestine on hadith
Hadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
.
In 1596, Bayt Jirja (erroneously named "Bayt Kharja") was part of the 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...
, nahiya (subdistrict) of Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
under the liwa'
Liwa (arabic)
Liwa or Liwa is an Arabic term meaning district, banner, or flag, a type of administrative division. It was interchangeable with the Turkish term "Sanjak" in the time of the Ottoman Empire. After the fall of the empire, the term was used in the Arab countries formerly under Ottoman rule...
(district) of Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
, and it had a population of 468. It paid taxes on a number of crops, including wheat, barley and fruit trees, as well as on goats and beehives.
Sometime after this the village must have been destroyed, as a marble slab at the entrance to the yard of the village mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
proclaim that Abdullah Pasha
Abdullah Pasha
Abdullah Pasha or Abdullah Kölemen was an Ottoman general in the First Balkan War, notable as the Ottoman commander in the Battle of Kirk Kilisse in 1912, the Battle of Lule Burgas, and the Battle of Adrianople in which the Ottoman forces were defeated by the Bulgarians.-External links:* * * * *...
of Acre
Acre, Israel
Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....
, via his delegate Mohammed Shahin, had rebuilt the village in 1825-26.
In the late nineteenth century, Bayt Jirja was described as small, with gardens, and supplied with water from cistern
Cistern
A cistern is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by their waterproof linings...
s and a pond.
The villagers were 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...
, and they kept a shrine
Shrine
A shrine is a holy or sacred place, which is dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon or similar figure of awe and respect, at which they are venerated or worshipped. Shrines often contain idols, relics, or other such objects associated with the figure being venerated....
, located on the eastern edge and overlooking Wadi al-Abd, and which they believed to be the tomb of "prophet" (nabi) Jirja. An elementary school was established in the center of village in 1932, and it had 67 students in the mid 1940's. The village center also contained some small shops. There were a number of wells, ranging in depth from 30 to 80 meters, which supplied drinking and irrigation water. In 1944/45 a total of 434 dunum
Dunum
Dunum is a municipality in the district of Wittmund, in Lower Saxony, Germany....
s was used for citrus
Citrus
Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...
and bananas. 6,911 dunums were used for cereal
Cereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
s, and 618 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards.
1948 War
According to the Palestinian historian Walid KhalidiWalid Khalidi
Walid Khalidi is an Oxford University-educated Palestinian historian who has written extensively on the Palestinian exodus. He is General Secretary and co-founder of the Institute for Palestine Studies, established in Beirut in December 1963 as an independent research and publishing center...
, what remained of the village in 1992 was:
The site is encircled by barbed wire fencing, with only the street and scattered rubble still visible. One house on the northern edge of the village remains, along with some sycamore trees and cactuses. Some village lands are cultivated, while others are covered by woods.