Herod also known as Herod I or Herod the Great (73 BC – 4 BC in Jericho), was a Roman client king of Israel. Herod is known for his colossal building projects in Jerusalem and other parts of the ancient world, including the rebuilding of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, sometimes referred to as Herod’s Temple. Some details of his biography can be gleaned from the works of the 1st century AD Roman-Jewish historian Josephus Flavius.

Herod was born around 74 BC. He was the second son of Antipater the Idumaean, a high-ranked official under Ethnarch Hyrcanus II, and Cypros, a Nabatean. A loyal supporter of Hyrcanus II, Antipater appointed Herod governor of Galilee at 25, and his older brother, Phasael, governor of Jerusalem. He enjoyed the backing of Rome but his excessive brutality was condemned by the Sanhedrin.

In 43 BC, following the chaos caused by Antipater offering financial support to Caesar’s murderers, Antipater was poisoned. Herod, backed by the Roman Army, executed his father’s murderer. Afterwards, Antigonus, Hyrcanus’ nephew, tried to take the throne from his uncle. Herod defeated him and then married his teenage niece, Mariamne (known as Mariamne I), which helped to secure him a claim to the throne and gain some Jewish favor. However, Herod already had a wife, Doris, and a three-year-old son, Antipater III, and chose to banish Doris and her child.

In 42 BC, he convinced Mark Antony and Octavian that his father had been forced to help Caesar’s murderers. Herod was then named tetrarch of Galilee by the Romans. However, since Herod’s family had converted to Judaism under duress, his Jewishness had come into question by some elements of Judean society. The Idumaean family, successors to the Edomites of the Hebrew Bible, settled in Idumea (Biblical Edom), in southern Israel. When the Maccabean John Hyrcanus conquered Idumea in 140–130 BC, he required all Idumaeans to obey Jewish law or to leave; most Idumaeans thus converted to Judaism. While King Herod publicly identified himself as a Jew and was considered as such by some, this religious identification notwithstanding was undermined by the Hellenistic cultural affinity of the Herodians, which would have earned them the antipathy of observant Jews.

In 40 BC Antigonus tried to take the throne again with the help of the Parthians, this time succeeding. Herod fled to Rome to plead with the Romans to restore him to power. There he was elected “King of the Jews” by the Roman Senate. In 37 BC the Romans fully secured Israel and executed Antigonus. Herod took the role as sole ruler of Israel ushering in the Herodian Dynasty and ending the Hasmonean Dynasty. He ruled for 34 years.

Herod’s most famous and ambitious project was the expansion of the Second Temple in Jerusalem.

In the eighteenth year of his reign (20–19 BC), Herod rebuilt the Temple on “a more magnificent scale”.The new Temple was finished in a year and a half, although work on out-buildings and courts continued another eighty years.To comply with religious law, Herod employed 1,000 priests as masons and carpenters in the rebuilding.The finished temple, which was destroyed in 70 AD, is sometimes referred to as Herod’s Temple. The Western Wall in Jerusalem is currently the only visible section of the four retaining walls built by Herod, creating a flat platform (the Temple Mount) upon which the Temple was then constructed.

Some of Herod’s other achievements include the development of water supplies for Jerusalem, building fortresses such as Masada and Herodium, and founding new cities such as Caesarea Maritima and the enclosures of Cave of the Patriarchs and Mamre in Hebron. He and Cleopatra owned a monopoly over the extraction of asphalt from the Dead Sea, which was used in ship building. He leased copper mines on Cyprus from the Roman emperor.

The scholarly consensus, based on Josephus’ Antiquities of the Jews is that Herod died at the end of March or early April in 4 BC. Josephus wrote that Herod died 37 years after being named as King by the Romans, and 34 years after the death of Antigonus. This would imply that he died in 4 BC. This is confirmed by the fact that his three sons, between whom his kingdom was divided, dated their rule from 4 BC. For instance, he states that Herod Philip II’s death took place after a 37-year reign in the 20th year of Tiberius, which would imply that he took over on Herod’s death in 4 BC. In addition, Josephus wrote that Herod died after a lunar eclipse, and a partial eclipse took place in 4 BC. It has been suggested that 5 BC might be a more likely date, there were two total eclipses in that year. However, the 4 B.C. date is almost universally accepted.

Josephus wrote that Herod’s final illness – sometimes named as “Herod’s Evil”, was excruciating (Ant. 17.6.5). From Josephus’ descriptions, some medical experts propose that Herod had chronic kidney disease complicated by Fournier’s gangrene. Modern scholars agree he suffered throughout his lifetime from depression and paranoia. More recently, others report that the visible worms and putrefaction described in his final days are likely to have been scabies. This can explain his death, but can also account for his psychiatric symptoms. Similar symptoms attended the death of his grandson Herod Agrippa in AD 44. Josephus also stated that Herod was so concerned that no one would mourn his death, that he gave orders to have distinguished men killed at the time of his death so that the displays of grief that he craved would take place.

After Herod’s death, his kingdom was divided among three of his sons, namely Herod Archelaus, Herod Antipas, and Herod Philip II, who ruled as tetrarchs rather than kings.

The location of Herod’s tomb is documented by Roman historian Josephus, who writes, “And the body was carried two hundred furlongs, to Herodium, where he had given order to be buried.” Flavius Josephus provides more clues about Herod’s tomb which he calls Herod’s monuments: So they threw down all the hedges and walls which the inhabitants had made about their gardens and groves of trees, and cut down all the fruit trees that lay between them and the wall of the city, and filled up all the hollow places and the chasms, and demolished the rocky precipices with iron instruments; and thereby made all the place level from Scopus to Herod’s monuments, which adjoined to the pool called the Serpent’s Pool.

The main historical source of the Second Temple’s days, the historian Josephus Flavius, has described the site of Herodium in detail, as well as the funeral in the year 4 BCE, but not the tomb proper. He wrote as follows: “The king’s funeral next occupied his attention. Archelaus, omitting nothing that could contribute to its magnificence, brought forth all the royal ornaments to accompany the procession in honor of the deceased. The bier was of solid gold, studded with precious stones, and had a covering of purple, embroidered with various colors; on this lay the body enveloped in purple robe, a diadem encircling the head and surmounted by a crown of gold, the scepter beside his right hand. Around the bier were Herod’s sons and a large group of his relations; these were followed by the guards, the Thracian contingent, Germans and Gauls, all equipped as for war. The reminder of the troops marched in front, armed and in orderly array, led by their commanders and subordinate officers; behind these came five hundred of Herod’s servants and freedmen, carrying spices. The body was thus conveyed for a distance of two hundred furlongs to Herodion, where, in accordance with the directions of the deceased, it was interred. So ended Herod’s reign.” Jewish Wars, 1,23,9

39–37 BC – War against Antigonus. After the conquest of Jerusalem and victory over Antigonus, Mark Antony executes Antigonus.
36 BC – Herod makes his 17-year-old brother-in-law, Aristobulus III of Judea, high priest, fearing that the Jews would appoint Aristobulus III of Judea “king of the Jews” in his place.
35 BC – Aristobulus III of Judea is drowned at a party, on Herod’s orders.
32 BC – The war against Nabatea begins, with victory one year later.
31 BC – Judea suffers a devastating earthquake. Octavian defeats Mark Antony, so Herod switches allegiance to Octavian, later known as Augustus.
30 BC – Herod is shown great favour by Octavian, who at Rhodes confirms him as King of Judaea.

29 BC – Josephus writes that Herod had great passion and also great jealousy concerning his wife, Mariamne I. She learns of Herod’s plans to murder her, and stops sleeping with him. Herod puts her on trial on a charge of adultery. His sister, Salome I, was chief witness against her. Mariamne I’s mother Alexandra made an appearance and incriminated her own daughter. Historians say her mother was next on Herod’s list to be executed and did this only to save her own life. Mariamne was executed, and Alexandra declared herself Queen, stating that Herod was mentally unfit to serve. Josephus wrote that this was Alexandra’s strategic mistake; Herod executed her without trial.
28 BC – Herod executed his brother-in-law Kostobar (husband of Salome, father to Berenice) for conspiracy. Large festival in Jerusalem, as Herod had built a Theatre and an Amphitheatre.
27 BC – An assassination attempt on Herod was foiled. To honor Augustus, Herod rebuilt Samaria and renamed it Sebaste.
25 BC – Herod imported grain from Egypt and started an aid program to combat the widespread hunger and disease that followed a massive drought. He also waives a third of the taxes.
23 BC – Herod built a palace in Jerusalem and the fortress Herodion (Herodium) in Judea. He married his third wife, Mariamne II, the daughter of high priest Simon.
22 BC – Herod began construction on Caesarea Maritima and its harbor. The Roman emperor Augustus grants him the regions Trachonitis, Batanaea and Auranitis to the north-east of Judea.
Circa 20 BC – Expansion started on the Second Temple.

Circa 18 BC – Herod traveled for the second time to Rome.
14 BC – Herod supported the Jews in Anatolia and Cyrene. Owing to the prosperity in Judaea he waived a quarter of the taxes.
13 BC – Herod made his first-born son Antipater (his son by Doris) first heir in his will.
12 BC – Herod suspected both his sons (from his marriage to Mariamne I) Alexander and Aristobulus of threatening his life. He took them to Aquileia to be tried. Augustus reconciled the three. Herod supported the financially strapped Olympic Games and ensured their future. Herod amended his will so that Alexander and Aristobulus rose in the royal succession, but Antipater would be higher in the succession.
Circa 10 BC – The newly expanded temple in Jerusalem was inaugurated. War against the Nabateans began.

9 BC – Caesarea Maritima was inaugurated. Owing to the course of the war against the Nabateans, Herod fell into disgrace with Augustus. Herod again suspected Alexander of plotting to kill him.
8 BC – Herod accused his sons by Mariamne I of high treason. Herod reconciled with Augustus, which also gave him the permission to proceed legally against his sons.
7 BC – The court hearing took place in Berytos (Beirut) before a Roman court. Mariamne I’s sons were found guilty and executed. The succession changed so that Antipater was the exclusive successor to the throne. In second place the succession incorporated (Herod) Philip, his son by Mariamne II.
6 BC – Herod proceeded against the Pharisees.
5 BC – Antipater was brought before the court charged with the intended murder of Herod. Herod, by now seriously ill, named his son (Herod) Antipas (from his fourth marriage with Malthace) as his successor.
4 BC – Young disciples smashed the golden eagle over the main entrance of the Temple of Jerusalem after the Pharisee teachers claimed it was an idolatrous Roman symbol. Herod arrested them, brought them to court, and sentenced them. Augustus approved the death penalty for Antipater. Herod then executed his son, and again changed his will: Archelaus (from the marriage with Malthace) would rule as king over Herod’s entire kingdom, while Antipas (by Malthace) and Philip (from the fifth marriage with Cleopatra of Jerusalem) would rule as Tetrarchs over Galilee and Peraea (Transjordan), also over Gaulanitis (Golan), Trachonitis (Hebrew: Argob), Batanaea (now Ard-el-Bathanyeh) and Panias. As Augustus did not confirm his will, no one got the title of King; however, the three sons did get the stated territories.

Discovery of the quarry
The long search for Herod the Great’s tomb has ended with the exposure of the remains of his grave, sarcophagus and mausoleum on Mount Herodium’s northeastern slope, Prof. Ehud Netzer of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Institute of Archaeology announced on September 25, 2007. Yuval Baruch, archaeologist with the Israeli Antiquities Authority further stated their discovery of a quarry compound provided King Herod with the stones to renovate the second Temple. It houses the Temple Mount. Coins, pottery and iron stake found proved the date of the quarrying to be about 19 BC. Archaeologist Ehud Netzer confirmed that the large outlines of the stone cuts is evidence that it was a massive public project worked on by hundreds of slaves.

Professor Ehud Netzer, an archaeologist from Hebrew University, read the writings of Josephus and focused his search on the vicinity of the pool and its surroundings at the Winter Palace of Herod in the Judean desert. An article of the New York Times states, Lower Herodium consists of the remains of a large palace, a race track, service quarters, and a monumental building whose function is still a mystery. Perhaps, says Ehud Netzer, who excavated the site, it is Herod’s mausoleum. Next to it is a pool, almost twice as large as modern Olympic-size pools. It took 35 years for Netzer to identify the exact location, but on May 7, 2007, an Israeli team of archaeologists of the Hebrew University led by Netzer, announced they had discovered the tomb.The site is located at the exact location given by Flavius Josephus, atop of tunnels and water pools, at a flattened desert site, halfway up the hill to Herodium, 12 kilometers (7.5 mi) south of Jerusalem.

Herodium is the most outstanding among King Herod’s building projects. This is the only site that carries his name and the site where he choose to be buried and to memorize himself — all of this with the integration of a huge, unique palace at the fringe of the desert, said Prof. Netzer. Therefore, he said, the exposure of his tomb becomes the climax of this site’s research.

The approach to the burial site — which has been described by the archaeologists involved as one of the most striking finds in Israel in recent years — was via a monumental flight of stairs (6.5 meters wide) leading to the hillside that were especially constructed for the funeral procession. The excavations on the slope to this unique building project, which comprised a palace, a fortress and a monument, commenced in August 2006. The expedition, on behalf of the Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, was conducted by Prof. Ehud Netzer, Yaakov Kalman and Roi Porath, assisted by local Bedouin workers.

The location and unique nature of the findings, as well as the historical record, leave no doubt that this was Herod’s burial site, said Prof. Netzer. The mausoleum itself was nearly totally dismantled in ancient times. In its place remained only part of its well built podium, built of large white ashlars (dressed stone) in a manner and size not previously revealed at Herodium. Among the many high quality architectural elements, mostly well decorated, which were spread among the ruins, is a group of decorated urns (made in the form of special jars that were used to store body ashes) similar ones are to be found on top of burial monuments in the Nabatean world.
Spread among the ruins are pieces of a large, unique sarcophagus (close to 2.5 meters long), made of a Jerusalemite reddish lime stone, which was decorated by rosettes. The sarcophagus had a triangular cover that was decorated on the sides. This is assumed to be the sarcophagus of Herod. Only very few similar sarcophaguses are known in the country and can be found only in elaborate tombs such as the famous one at the King’s Tomb on Selah a-Din street in East Jerusalem. Although no inscriptions have been found yet, neither on the sarcophagus nor in the building remains, these still might be found during the continuation of the dig.

Worthy of note is the fact that the sarcophagus was broken into hundreds of pieces, no doubt deliberately. This activity, including the destruction of the monument, apparently took place in the years 66-72 C.E. during the first Jewish revolt against the Romans, while Jewish rebels took hold of the site, according to Josephus and the archaeological evidence. The rebels were known for their hatred of Herod and all that he stood for, as a “puppet ruler” for the Romans.

The search for Herod’s tomb, which actively began 30 years ago, focused until the middle of 2006 at lower Herodium, in an area which was, no doubt, especially built for the funeral and burial of the king — the “Tomb Estate.” In order to reveal here the remains from Herod’s days the expedition was “forced” to first expose a large complex of Byzantine structures (including a church), an effort that demanded many years of digging.

The Tomb Estate included two monumental buildings and a large ritual bath (mikveh) as well as the large route (350 meters long and 30 meters wide) which was prepared for the funeral. When no sign of the burial place itself was found within the Tomb Estate, the expedition started to search for it on the slope of the hill, although there seems to be no doubt that the initial intention of the king was to be buried in the estate and that only in a later stage of his life — apparently when he grew old — did he change his mind and asked to be buried within the artificial cone which gave the hill of Herodium its current volcano-shape.

Prof. Netzer started his archaeological activity at Herodium in 1972, at first in a small scale. The scope of his work widened with the decision to turn Herodium (the mount together with “Lower Herodium”) into a national park, which was due to occupy 60 acres. (Until that stage only the mount was proclaimed as a national park and was operated by the Nature and Parks Authority.)

The enlargement of the park started in 1980; unfortunately the activity at the site stopped as a result of the first Intifada, but not before the complex of tunnels from the days of Bar-Kokhba, within the mount, were opened to the public. The archaeological excavations at the site, which also stopped in 1987, were renewed 10 years later and continued until 2000, and after a second break, were renewed at the end of 2005.

Prof. Netzer gained his first “intimate” acknowledgement of Herodian architecture while joining Prof. Yigael Yadin (in 1963-66), in his expedition at Masada. Netzer’s Ph.D. dissertation in archaeology, guided by Prof. Yadin, brought him to initiate excavations both at Lower Herodium and at Jericho - at the complex of Hasmonean and Herodian Winter Palaces. (The site at Jericho, following Netzer’s excavations, includes three palaces of Herod and an hitherto unknown large complex of Hasmonean winter palaces). Additional Herodian structures in other parts of the country were also uncovered by him. He has written various books and articles on the topic of Herodian architecture.

Yaakov Kalman, archaeologist and farmer, participated in many excavations throughout the country and took an active part in Netzer’s excavations at Masada, Jericho and Herodium. Roi Porath took an active part in the survey of the Judean Desert caves and has many significant finds in his record.

The current excavations benefited from donations of private individuals, and the assistance of the Israel Exploration Society and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.

A collection of photos will be posted by SM in the near future

Humans living in the third millennium BCE manage to find sufficient quantities of meat in the arid desert regions through unique traps. A new study of the “desert kites” that are spread across the expanses of Israel’s Negev and Arava desert region, carried out by researchers from the University of Haifa, unearths them which has answered this ancient technique.

In the early 20th century, British pilots flying over the Middle Eastern deserts identified strange forms spreading over hundreds of meters, sometimes even over a few kilometers. The shapes looked like two long walls that meet at angles and at the meeting point of each wall was a round-shaped trench.

To the pilots, the shapes resembled kites, hence the name given to them: “desert kites.” A few such “kites” are known of in the deserts of Jordan, Syria, Israel, and Sinai. Archaeologists have suggested a number of theories as to the uses of these constructs, most supposing that they were used for hunting purposes, others suggesting that they served as cattle pens.

An interdisciplinary research group, funded by National Geographic, completed an encompassing survey of all eleven “kites” of the Negev and Arava, which included archaeological digs in four “kites”, detailed documentation by means of state-of-the-art measuring instruments, aerial and ground photography, and dating by means of two independent radiometric methods. 

The extensive study, which examined all eleven traps scattered from Givat Barnea in the north of the desert region to Eilat in the south, also exposed the thinking processes that were invested in planning each trap. 

 Dr. Bar-Oz stated the findings clearly show that these “kites” were used as mass hunting apparatus, dating back no later than the third millennium BCE. “When standing in one of these kites, it is astounding to see how it fits into the landscape and how the wild animals’ migration routes would converge into the hidden kite, Only then can one grasp how much energy and strategic understanding were invested in its construction.

The height of the walls which sometimes reached over one meter, and their thickness testify that the apparatus were intended for hunting not only gentle animals, such as deer, but also larger hoofed animals like wild ass and rams.

The kites’ branches can reach over 200 meters in length. At the base of each kite, the branches converge and end in a chasm or large trench. On some of the kites, an elevated stage was erected, probably in order to heighten the leaping wall and perhaps to hide the trench that was dug beneath it.

According to the researchers, the hunting method involved directing the indigenous wild animals alongside the walled branches of the kite toward its tip and its trench, where hunters awaited them.

Dr. Nadel noted the traps were placed in locations where animal migration routes were concentrated into bottlenecks. There is no doubt that this reflects that the prehistoric inhabitants of the desert had a lot of knowledge: they knew the cattle migration routes very well and knew where to place each of the traps most efficiently,” “We were not taken by surprise by the technological ability; humans in that period were very similar to us in their capabilities… We are definitely talking about wide-scope construction in a region that is challenging for survival.

The research was headed by a University of Haifa team: zooarchaeologist Dr. Guy Bar-Oz, archaeologist Dr. Daniel Nadel, and landscape ecologist Dr. Dan Malkinson. Also participating in the project were researchers from the Arava Institute, the Geological Institute in Jerusalem, the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, and Bar-Ilan University.

Photos pending

However, the conflict did not grow into civil strife. Tensions between the Christian’s and the Samaritans grew dramatically. In 484, the city of Nablus became the site of a deadly encounter between the two groups, provoked by the Christians intention to transfer the remains of Aaron’s sons and grandsons Eleazar, Ithamar and Phinehas. Samaritans reacted by entering the cathedral of Neapolis, killing the Christians inside and severing the fingers of the bishop Terebinthus. Terebinthus then fled to Constantinople, requesting an army garrison to prevent further attacks. As a result of the revolt, the Byzantine emperor Zeno erected a church on Mount Gerizim. He also forbade the Samaritans to travel to the mountain to celebrate their religious ceremonies and confiscated their synagogue there. These actions by the emperor fuelled Samaritan anger towards the Christians further.

Thus, the Samaritans rebelled again under the rule of emperor Anastasius I, reoccupying Mount Gerizim, which was subsequently reconquered by the Byzantine governor of Edessa, Procopius. A third Samaritan revolt which took place under the leadership of Julian Ben Saba in 529 was the most violent. Neapolis’ bishop Ammonas was murdered and the city’s priests were hacked into pieces and then burned together with the relics of saints. The forces of Emperor Justinian I were sent in to quell the revolt, which ended with the slaughter of the majority of the Samaritan population in the cities.

Neapolis, along with most of the Holy Land, was conquered by the Arabs under Khaled ibn al-Walid, a general of the Muslim Rashidun army or Umar ibn al-Khattab in 636 after the Battle of Yarmouk. The city’s name was retained in its Biblical form, Nablus.

Nablus prevailed as an important trade center during the centuries of Islamic rule under the Umayyad, Abbasid and Fatimid dynasties. Under Muslim rule, Nablus contained a diverse population of Arabs and Persians, Muslims, Samaritans and Jews. In the 10th century, Arab geographer al- Muqaddasi, upon seeing a bustling Nablus, nicknamed the city “little Damascus”.

The city was occupied by Crusaders in 1099 under the command of Prince Tancred and renamed Naples. The Muslim and Samaritan populations remained in the city, and were taken advantage of by the city’s Christian resources. In 1120, the Crusaders convened a general a religious council to discuss improper religious customs. During the second half of Crusader reign in Nablus, Muslim forces began launching incursions in order to regain control of the city. In 1137, Arab and Turkish troops stationed in Damascus made an incursion into Nablus, killing many Christians and burning down the city’s churches, but were unsuccessful in this bid to retake the city.

Queen Melisende of Jerusalem who resided in Nablus from 1150 to 1161, so as to resolve a dispute with her son Almaric I. The Crusaders began building Christian institutions in Nablus, including a church dedicated to the Jesus and in 1170 they also erected a hospice for pilgrims.

Crusader rule came to an end in 1187, when the Ayyubids under Saladin captured the city. Syrian and Latin Christians fled Nablus, but the Eastern Christian inhabitants remained. After its recapture by the Muslims, several Crusader churches were converted to mosques. The city’s cathedral was transformed into the Great Mosque of Nablus by the Ayyubids who also built a mausoleum in the old city for the ancient prophets. Yaqut al-Hamawi wrote of Nablus under Ayyubid rule as being a “celebrated city in Filastin having wide lands and a fine district”. He also mentions the large Samaritan population in the city.

The Mamluks converted the Samaritan synagogue built in 362 CE by the high priest Akbon into al-Khadra Mosque and did the same to two Crusader churches which became the an-Nasr Mosque and al-Masakim Mosque. The Mamluk dynasty gained control of Nablus in 1260 and during their brief reign, they built numerous mosques and schools in the city. Under Mamluk rule, Nablus possessed running water, many Turkish bathes and exported olive oil and soap to Egypt, Syria, the Hejaz, several Mediterranean islands, and the Arabian Desert. The city’s olive oil was also used in the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. Ibn Battuta visited Nablus in 1355, and described it as a city “full of trees and streams and full of olives”. He points out that it grew and exported carob jam to Cariro and Damascus.

Ottoman era
Nablus came under the rule of the Ottoman Empire in 1517, along with the whole of Filastin (Holy Land). The Ottomans divided the land into six sanjaqs (”districts”): Safed, Jenin, Jerusalem, Gaza, Ajlun and Nablus. These five sanjaqs were subdistricts of the vilayet (”province”) of Damascus. Sanjaq Nablus was further subdivided into five nahiya (subdistricts), in addition to the city itself. The Ottomans did not attempt to restructure the political configuration of the region on the local level such that the borders of the nahiya were drawn to coincide with the historic strongholds of certain families. Nablus was only one among a number of local centers of power within Jabal Nablus, and its relations with the surrounding villages, such as Beita and Aqraba, were partially mediated by the rural-based chiefs of the nahiya. In 1522, a Jewish community re-settled in Nablus.

After decades of minor upheavals and rebellions mounted by some of the Arab tribes in the Middle East, the Ottomans attempted to reassert centralized control over the Arab vilayets. In 1657, they sent an expeditionary force of local Ottoman-aligned Arab families based in various Syrian cities to pacify Nablus. In return for their services, the families were granted agricultural lands around the villages of Jabal Nablus. The Ottomans, fearing that the new Arab land holders would establish independent bases of power, dispersed the land plots to separate and distant locations within Jabal Nablus to avoid clusters of clans. The 1657 campaign succeeded and the Syrian Arab families began to have a foothold in Nablus’ affairs. The largest family were the Nimrs, who originated from villages surrounding Hama and Hims. The other two prominent families were the Jarrars from Balqa and the Tuqans from northern Syria. Eventually gaining the role of nahiya chiefs, they began intermarrying with local merchant and leading religious families. Thus, these new families were integrated into Nablus’ population. Under an arrangement in 1723, the Tuqans and the Nimrs would share and trade leadership of Nablus, and the Jarrars would “indisputably” become the chiefs of the nahiya of Jabal Nablus.

In the mid-1700s, Dhaher al-Omar, an Arab native and ruler of the Galilee and Acre who was hostile toward Ottoman rule, rose to become the most dominant figure in northern Filastin. In order to build up his army, he strove to gain monopoly control over the cotton and olive oil trade of the Levant, which Jabal Nablus fueled. In 1771, during a Mamluk invasion of Syria, al-Omar aligned himself with the Mamluks, allowing him to temporarily besiege Nablus, without gaining ultimate control over the city. In 1773, he again led his army to besiege Nablus, but again to no avail. Nevertheless, from a political perspective, the sieges did succeed in raising Acre’s prominence at Nablus’ expense. Al-Omar’s successor, Jezzar Pasha, maintained Acre’s dominance over Nablus. After his reign ended in 1804, Nablus regained its original autonomy, and the Tuqans, who represented a principal opposing force to Acre’s dominance over Nablus, rose to power.

Egyptian rule and Ottoman revival
After the Egyptians declared independence from Ottoman rule under the leadership of Muhammad Ali, they went on to conquer Filastin in 1831-32. A repressive policy of conscription and taxation was instituted which led to a revolt launched by the prominent Arab clans of Nablus, Hebron and the Jerusalem-Jaffa area. On May 19, 1834, the clans, led by Qasim al-Ahmad — the chief of nahiya Jamma’in notified Egyptian officials that Arab families would no longer supply the Egyptian army with troops. Governor Ibrahim Pasha responded by sending Egyptian forces into the rebelling cities, thus triggering armed conflict with the clans. Nablus sent hundreds of rebels to attack Jerusalem, aided by the Abu Ghosh clan and they conquered the city on May 31, but were routed out by Ibrahim’s forces the next month. The Egyptians then forced the heads of the Nablus clans to leave for nearby villages, and executed Qasim al-Ahmad and his two eldest sons.
The Egyptian occupation of Filastin (Palestine) resulted in the destruction of Acre and thus, the political importance of Nablus increased. The Ottomans wrested back control of Filastin from the Egyptians in 1840-41. As a result, the Abd al-Hadi clan, who originated in Arrabah in the Sahl Arraba region in northern Samaria, rose to prominence. Loyal allies of Jezzar Pasha and the Tuqans, they gained the governorship of Jabal Nablus and other sanjaqs.

Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, Nablus was the principal trade and manufacturing center in Filastin. Its economic activity and regional leadership position surpassed that of Jerusalem and the coastal cities of Jaffa and Acre. Olive oil was the primary product of Nablus and fueled other related industries such as soap making and basket weaving. The city also was the top producer of cotton in the Levant, topping the production from northern cities such as Damascus. Jabal Nablus enjoyed a greater degree of autonomy than other sanjaqs under Ottoman control, probably because the city was the capital of a hilly region, in which there were no “foreigners” who held any military or bureaucratic posts. Thus, Nablus remained outside the direct “supervision” of the Ottoman government. Awi Abd al-Hadi from Nablus was a founding member (in 1911) of al-fatat (al-jam’irrya al-‘arabiyya al-fatat), an organisation with Nationalist aims seeking sovereignty within a crumbling Ottoman Empire.