Kafr Sabt
Encyclopedia
Kafr Sabt was a Palestinian
Arab
village of nearly 500 situated on a sloping plain in the eastern Lower Galilee located 10.5 kilometres (6.5 mi) southwest of Tiberias.
was part of the Roman Empire
, Kafr Sabt was known as Kafar Shabtay. Arab
geographer al-Muqaddasi
mentions the village in 985, while under Abbasid
rule as being "between Tiberias and Ramla
, situated near 'Akabah (the Pass above) Tiberias. He says that it belonged to Caesarea and was large, populated, and had a mosque
on its main street.
The Crusader
s called it "Cafarsset" when they conquered the Levant
in the twelfth century. Saladin
led his Ayyubid army from the Jordan River to Kafr Sabt, approximately 8 miles (12.9 km) from his camp along the Sea of Galilee
. Kafr Sabt, located on a high plateau bordering the Horns of Hattin
, served as a strategic position for Saladin's army since there he could threaten Tiberias to the rear, Sepphoris in the front, the Crusader lines of communications between the two strongholds, and his army could easily retreat down the slopes if necessary. He encamped in Kafr Sabt before he led his army to their decisive victory at the Battle of Hattin
. Arab geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi
passed through the village in the thirteenth century while Kafr Sabt was in Ayyubid hands.
Kafr Sabt was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire
in 1517, and by 1596, it was under the administration of the nahiya ("subdistrict") of Tiberias, part of Sanjak Safad. A population of 160, it paid taxes on wheat, barley, cotton, beehives, and goats. In the late nineteenth century, it grew to be a stone-built village with 300 inhabitants. Under the British Mandate of Palestine from 1922 to 1948, Kafr Sabt housed members of the Bedouin
tribe of 'Arab al-Mashariqa who lived in tents. In 1945, the population reached 480, and all of the villagers were Arab Muslim
s. Agriculture was the main economic sector with the primary crops being grain and fruit orchards.
During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
, Kafr Sabt's inhabitants fled on April 22, as a direct result of the capture of Tiberias, four days before, to the Haganah
— the army of Israel
. In 1949, two Jewish settlements, Ilaniya
and Sharona
feuded over possession of Kafr Sabt's lands, with the former arguing that they deserved compensation for early Arab attacks on their town, while the latter also had designs for it, and took it by force. The Agriculture Minister of Israel
intervened ordering Sharona's farmers to retreat. According to Palestinian historian Walid Khalidi
,
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 of nearly 500 situated on a sloping plain in the eastern Lower Galilee located 10.5 kilometres (6.5 mi) southwest of Tiberias.
History
While PalestinePalestine
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 part of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, Kafr Sabt was known as Kafar Shabtay. 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...
geographer al-Muqaddasi
Al-Muqaddasi
Muhammad ibn Ahmad Shams al-Din Al-Muqaddasi , also transliterated as Al-Maqdisi and el-Mukaddasi, was a medieval Arab geographer, author of Ahsan at-Taqasim fi Ma`rifat il-Aqalim .-Biography:Al-Muqaddasi, "the Hierosolomite" was born in Jerusalem in 946 AD...
mentions the village in 985, while under 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 as being "between Tiberias and Ramla
Ramla
Ramla , is a city in central Israel. The city is predominantly Jewish with a significant Arab minority. Ramla was founded circa 705–715 AD by the Umayyad Caliph Suleiman ibn Abed al-Malik after the Arab conquest of the region...
, situated near 'Akabah (the Pass above) Tiberias. He says that it belonged to Caesarea and was large, populated, and had a 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...
on its main street.
The Crusader
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...
s called it "Cafarsset" when they conquered the Levant
Levant
The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
in the twelfth century. Saladin
Saladin
Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb , better known in the Western world as Saladin, was an Arabized Kurdish Muslim, who became the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and founded the Ayyubid dynasty. He led Muslim and Arab opposition to the Franks and other European Crusaders in the Levant...
led his Ayyubid army from the Jordan River to Kafr Sabt, approximately 8 miles (12.9 km) from his camp along the Sea of Galilee
Sea of Galilee
The Sea of Galilee, also Kinneret, Lake of Gennesaret, or Lake Tiberias , is the largest freshwater lake in Israel, and it is approximately in circumference, about long, and wide. The lake has a total area of , and a maximum depth of approximately 43 m...
. Kafr Sabt, located on a high plateau bordering the Horns of Hattin
Horns of Hattin
Horns of Hattin is an extinct volcano with twin peaks overlooking the plains of Hattin in the Lower Galilee, Israel.-History:...
, served as a strategic position for Saladin's army since there he could threaten Tiberias to the rear, Sepphoris in the front, the Crusader lines of communications between the two strongholds, and his army could easily retreat down the slopes if necessary. He encamped in Kafr Sabt before he led his army to their decisive victory at the Battle of Hattin
Battle of Hattin
The Battle of Hattin took place on Saturday, July 4, 1187, between the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem and the forces of the Ayyubid dynasty....
. Arab geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi
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...
passed through the village in the thirteenth century while Kafr Sabt was in Ayyubid hands.
Kafr Sabt was incorporated into 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...
in 1517, and by 1596, it was under the administration of the nahiya ("subdistrict") of Tiberias, part of Sanjak Safad. A population of 160, it paid taxes on wheat, barley, cotton, beehives, and goats. In the late nineteenth century, it grew to be a stone-built village with 300 inhabitants. Under the British Mandate of Palestine from 1922 to 1948, Kafr Sabt housed members of the 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:...
tribe of 'Arab al-Mashariqa who lived in tents. In 1945, the population reached 480, and all of the villagers were Arab 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...
s. Agriculture was the main economic sector with the primary crops being grain and fruit orchards.
During 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...
, Kafr Sabt's inhabitants fled on April 22, as a direct result of the capture of Tiberias, four days before, to the Haganah
Haganah
Haganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
— the army of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. In 1949, two Jewish settlements, Ilaniya
Ilaniya
- Bibliography : * ed. Yuval Elazari - Map's Concise Gazetteer of Israel Today MAP - Mapping and Publishing, Tel Aviv, 2003...
and Sharona
Sharona
Sharona is an moshav in the Lower Galilee Regional Council, Israel.In the early 13th century, the geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi described Sârûniyyah as "a pass near Tabariyya, you go up it to reach At Tûr" In 1596, there was a village of 17 Muslim families there...
feuded over possession of Kafr Sabt's lands, with the former arguing that they deserved compensation for early Arab attacks on their town, while the latter also had designs for it, and took it by force. The Agriculture Minister of Israel
Agriculture Minister of Israel
The Agriculture Minister of Israel is the political head of the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture and a relatively minor position in the Israeli cabinet. Since 1992 the full title of the position has been the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development , the Development Ministry having been...
intervened ordering Sharona's farmers to retreat. According to Palestinian historian Walid Khalidi
Walid 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...
,
Piles of stone and stone terraces provide the main indications that the village once occupied the site. Cactuses and a few scattered trees grow among the rubble on the village site. The lands around the site are planted in grain, fruit trees, and almond trees.
External links
- Welcome to Kafr Sabt
- Kafr Sabat, from Khalil Sakakini Cultural CenterKhalil Sakakini Cultural CenterKhalil Sakakini Cultural Center is an organization established in 1996. It is located at 4 Raja Street, Ramallah in the West Bank. The traditional manor that houses the centre was the former family home of Khalil Salem Salah, the mayor of Ramallah between 1947/1951, is now owned by the Palestinian...