A lokacin aikin Hajji [Haji na Musulmi], dubban mutanen da ba za su iya tafiya Makka ba, suna zuwa Urushalima. Suna isa wurin Harami [al-Haram] su yi hadaya kamar yadda al'ada ta tanada. A wasu shekaru, sama da mutum 20,000 [Musulmi] suna cika dokar [Hajji] a nan ... Kiristoci da Yahudawa ma suna zuwa nan, daga ƙasar Kiristoci. (Nasir Khusro, 1050 AD, wanda Matar ya ambata a 2013: 913)

During the season of pilgrimage [Muslim Haj], thousands who cannot travel to Mecca, come to Jerusalem. They approach the sanctuary [al-Haram] and offer sacrifices as is customary. In some years, over 20,000 [Muslim] people fulfil the [Haj] law here ... Christians and Jews come here too, from the land of the Christians. (Nasir Khusro, 1050 AD, cited in Matar 2013: 913)

Lardin Musulunci na Larabawa na Jund Filastin yana ɗaya daga cikin lardunan soji da na gudanarwa na yankin Sham a zamanin Daular Umayyawa da ta Abbasiyawa, lardunan da aka tsara jim kaɗan bayan fatattakar Musulunci ta ƙasar Levant a ƙarshen shekarun 630. Sunan hukuma, Jund Filastin, an karɓe shi a duk duniya tun farkon Musulunci daga sarakunan Musulmi da gwamnonin Larabawa na Filastin (walis), da masana ƙasa da taswira na Larabawa da Musulmi, da masu tarihi, masu fassara, masu zana, masu yin kuɗi, mahajjata da 'yan kasuwa. Dukkansu sun dogara ga gadon gargajiya na Filastin da Gabas ta Kusa. Masu gudanarwa, masana tarihi da masana ƙasa na Larabawa sun kuma fassara tare da adana sunayen wurare na dā da yawa na Filastin, da yawancin gadon gargajiya na Girka da na zamanin dā a yankin Levant.

The Arab Islamic province of Jund Filastin was one of the military/ administrative provinces of the Umayyad and Abbasid region of al-Sham, provinces organised soon after the Muslim conquest of the Levant in the late 630s. The official name, Jund Filastin, was universally adopted from early Islam onwards by Muslim rulers and Arab governors of Filastin (walis), Arab and Muslim geographers, cartographers, historians, translators, engravers, coiners, pilgrims and merchants. They all relied on the classical heritage of Palestine and the Near East. Arab administrators, historians and geographers also translated and preserved many of the ancient place names of Palestine and much of the classical heritage of Greece and Antiquity in the Levant.

Hajjin Musulunci zuwa Urushalima ya fara tun da wuri sosai, kuma girma da matsayin tsakiya na birnin mai tsarki da na Filastin ta Umayyawa (661‒749) sun ƙara wannan, abin da ba za a iya kwatanta shi da yawa ba. Masallacin Dutse (Dome of the Rock) shi ne babban wurin ibada na farko da Musulunci na Umayyawa ya gina tsakanin 688

Islamic pilgrimage to Jerusalem began very early and this was enhanced by the grandeur and centrality of the holy city and Umayyad Filastin (661‒749), which can hardly be overstated. The Dome of the Rock was the first monumental sanctuary erected by Umayyad Islam between 688

da kuma 691 (Murphy-O’Connor 2012: 27). Daular Umayyawa, kamar Romawa da Bizantiyawa, sun ƙarfafa birane a Falasdinu. Sun kuma girmama haɗakar addinai da gadon ƙasar da aka raba, kuma sun ci gaba da yawancin tsarin mulki da salon gine-gine na Bizantiyawa. Ga Larabawan Musulmi, kamar yadda yake ga Kiristocin Bizantiyawa, Falasdinu (Ƙasa Mai Tsarki: Larabci:

and 691 (Murphy-O’Connor 2012: 27). The Umayyads, like the Romans and Byzantines, promoted urbanisation in Palestine. They also respected the multifaith and shared heritage of the country and continued many of the Byzantines’ administrative traditions and architectural styles. For the Muslim Arabs, as for the Byzantine Christians, Palestine (Holy Land: Arabic:

Al-Ard al-Muqaddasah [al-Maqdisi 2002: 135]; Ibrananci: Eretz HaKodesh)

al-Ard al-Muqaddasah [al-Maqdisi 2002: 135]; Hebrew: Eretz HaKodesh)

Kuma Bayt al-Maqdis da al-Quds sun kasance wuri mai tsarki na musamman. Tsarkakewa da matsayin Urushalima a tsakiyar addini an riga an shigar da su cikin sunanta na Larabci: Bayt al-Maqdis (‘gidan tsarki’) ko al-Quds (‘mai tsarki’). Bisa ga ra'ayin Musulunci na gargajiya, Alkibla (Larabci: ‘shugabanci’), shugabancin da musulmi na farko suke yin salla a kansa, asali yana fuskantar Harami Mai Daraja a Urushalima. Birnin mai tsarki koyaushe ya kasance abin mayar da hankali ga ibada mai ƙarfi da hajji ga musulunci.

and Jerusalem were a special, sacred space. The sanctity and centrality of Jerusalem is enshrined in its very Arabic name: Bayt al-Maqdis (the ‘house of the holy’) or al-Quds (the ‘holy’). According to the traditional Muslim view, the Qibla (Arabic: ‘direction’), the direction in which the first Muslims had prayed, originally faced the Noble Sanctuary in Jerusalem. The sacred city was always a focus of intense Islamic devotion and pilgrimage.

Gwamnonin lardin Jund Filastin halifa ne ya naɗa su. Su ne ke da alhakin shugabannin sojoji, malamai da jami'an addinin Musulunci, masu karɓar haraji, 'yan sanda da masu gudanar da mulkin farar hula a lardin. Amma sarakunan Umayyawa, musamman halifofin Marwani, sun nuna kulawa ta musamman ga Filastinu. Halifofin Umayyawa, kamar sarakunan Kiristocin Byzantine, sun raba a fili tsakanin al'amuran 'duniya' (na siyasa, na duniya) da na 'addini' da kuma tsakanin babban birnin siyasa (na mulki/gudanarwa/soja) da babban birnin addini na Filastinu. Ga Kiristocin Byzantine, wannan rarrabawa, wanda aka tabbatar a Majalisar Nicaea a shekara ta 325, ya haifar da tsari mai sarƙaƙiya da ruɗani na coci tsakanin Ofishin Archbishop na Caesarea-Palaestina da Archbishopric na Aelia Capitolina. Sai dai ga sarakunan Umayyawa, rarrabawa tsakanin babban birnin siyasa/duniya/gudanarwa da babban birnin addini na Jund Filastin ta fi sauƙi da bayyana. Haka kuma, bayanan da masana ilimin ƙasa na Larabawa suka rubuta tun daga ƙarni na 10 sun ba da ƙarin tabbaci ga rarrabuwar babban birnin gudanarwa da na addini ('babban birni biyu').

The governors of the province of Jund Filastin were appointed by the Caliph. They were in charge of the army commanders, Muslim clergy, religious officials, tax collectors, police and civil administrators in the province. But the Umayyad rulers, especially the Marwani Caliphs, took a personal interest in Palestine. The Umayyad Caliphs, like the Byzantine Christian rulers, made a clear distinction between the ‘secular’ (political, worldly) and ‘sacred’ spheres and between the political (secular/ administrative/military) and sacred capitals of Palestine. For the Byzantine Christians that distinction, formalised at the Nicaea Council in 325, produced a rather complicated and confused ecclesiastical arrangement between the Archiepiscopal See of Caesarea-Palaestina and the Archbishopric of Aelia Capitolina. However, for the Umayyad rulers the distinction between political/secular/administrative and sacred capitals of Jund Filastin was simpler and more straightforward. Also, subsequent accounts by Arab geographers from the 10th century lends some weight to the secular-administrative versus religious capital (‘double capitals’)

ra'ayi a Falasdinu da aka gabatar a cikin wannan aiki.

concept in Palestine suggested in this work.

Aelia Capitolina ya ci gaba da zama sunan hukuma na Birnin Kudus har zuwa shekara ta 638 Miladiyya, lokacin da Larabawa suka ci birnin, suka kuma ci gaba da kiran ɓangaren farko da suna Iliya.

Aelia Capitolina remained the official name of Jerusalem until 638 AD when the Arabs conquered the city and kept the first part of it as Iliya.

Iliya (daga baya Baitul Maqdis da al-Quds) ita ce babban birnin addini mai tsarki na daular Umayyawa da na Falasdinu. Halifofin Umayyawa sun ƙaunaci Urushalima tare da girmama ta, kuma an ruwaito cewa Mu'awiyah (602–680 AD), wanda ya kafa daular Umayyawa, ya sa aka yi masa shelar zama Halifa a Urushalima (The Encyclopaedia of Islam 1965, Vol. II: 911). Umayyawa sun ba da kulawa mai yawa da albarkatu da yawa wajen fadada ta da kuma wadatar Urushalima da sauran garuruwan Falasdinu.

Iliya (later Bayt al-Maqdis and al-Quds) was the sacred/religious capital of the Umayyad state and of Palestine. The Umayyad Caliphs loved and honoured Jerusalem, and Mu’awiyah (602–680 AD), founder of the Umayyad dynasty, was reported to have had himself proclaimed Caliph in Jerusalem (The Encyclopaedia of Islam 1965, Vol. II: 911). The Umayyads devoted a great deal of effort and resources to its expansion and the prosperity of Jerusalem and other Palestinian cities.

A wasu lokuta, Halifofin Marwaniyawan na Daular Umayyawa sun yi tunanin mayar da babban birnin daularsu daga Damascus, birnin siyasa, zuwa birnin mai tsarki na Ƙudus. Ko da yake an watsar da wannan shiri saboda dalilai na dabaru, sun gina manyan "fada" a kusa da Masallacin al-Aqsa, a matsayin alama ta shirye-shiryen wannan canji. A binciken da masanin ilimin kayan tarihi na Jami'ar Ibrananci, Benyamin Mazar, ya gudanar a shekarun 1970, a kudu da kudu maso yammacin al-Haram al-Sharif (Mafakar Mai Girma), an gano ragowar gine-gine masu girma guda shida; waɗannan gine-ginen ba a ambace su ba a kowane ɗaya daga cikin littattafan tarihi na Larabci da suka bayyana wannan zamani. An kira gine-ginen "fada" saboda wataƙila sun kasance wani ɓangare na hadadden gwamnati da cibiyar mulkin Daular Umayyawa a Ƙudus.

Interestingly, the Umayyad Marwanid Caliphs considered relocating their capital from the secular capital Damascus to the holy city of Jerusalem. Although the move was abandoned for strategic reasons, in preparation they symbolically built their large ‘palaces’ adjacent to the al-Aqsa Mosque. In excavations carried out by Hebrew University archaeologist Benyamin Mazar in the 1970s, south and south-west of the al-Haram al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary) the remains of six massive buildings were uncovered; these buildings were not mentioned in any of the Arabic written sources describing the period. The buildings were labelled ‘palaces’ as they were probably part of the government complex and the administrative centre of the Umayyad government in Jerusalem.

Babu wani abu makamancin ko kwatankwacin wannan hadadden ginin gwamnati na Umayyad a Kudus da aka samu a babban birnin siyasa na Jund Filastin, al-Ramla. Halifofin Marwanid su ma sun sabunta tare da ƙara girman matsayin Kudus a daular Musulunci. Idan al-Ramla ta zama cibiyar gudanarwa ta Falasdinu ta Musulmi, Kudus kuwa ta zama zuciyar addini ta Falasdinu ta Musulmi, har ma da sauran daular Umayyad. Yanzu, baya ga mahajjatan Kiristoci da suka ci gaba da zuwa, sai ga ayarin mahajjatan Musulmi da suka zo Kudus da dubbai daga Maghrib, Iran har ma da Asiya ta Tsakiya.

Nothing similar or comparable to this government complex in Umayyad Jerusalem was found in the secular capital of Jund Filastin, al-Ramla. The Marwanid Caliphs also renewed and enhanced the centrality of Jerusalem in the Muslim empire. If al-Ramla became the administrative head of Muslim Palestine, Jerusalem became the religious heart of Muslim Palestine, but also of the rest of the Umayyad Empire. Now, added to the Christian pilgrims who continued to arrive, were the convoys of Muslim pilgrims who came to Jerusalem in their thousands from the Maghreb, Iran and even Central Asia.

Mafi girma kuma mafi burgewa a cikin gine-ginen Umayyawa na duniya da ba na addini ba a Iliya (Baitul Maƙdis), fadar da ta fi kowace girma ita ce wadda take kusa da kusurwar kudu maso yammacin al-Haram, kuma ita ce mazaunin Halifofin Umayyawa waɗanda ke ziyartar birnin mai tsarki a kai a kai. An ce an gina fadar ne a zamanin mulkin al-Walid ɗan ‘Abd al-Malik (wanda ya yi mulki daga shekara ta 705 zuwa 715), kuma tana kama da sauran fadojin Umayyawa masu katanga a Falasdin (kusa da Jericho da kusa da Tiberias) da kuma Siriya. Fadar tana da faɗin mita 96 da tsawon mita 84, kuma an kewaye ta da katanga mai kariya ta mita 3, wadda aka gina da manyan duwatsu da aka yanka da kyau. Akwai manyan ƙofofi biyu da suke samar da hanyar shiga fadar, ɗaya yana fuskantar gabas ɗayan kuma yana fuskantar yamma. Wani fili mai faɗi, wanda aka shimfiɗa da duwatsu, yana tsakiyar ginin, kewaye da layukan ginshiƙai da suke ɗaukar rufin filayen da ke kewaye da shi. Yawancin ginshiƙan sun fito ne daga majami'u da gine-ginen Bizantiyawa a Falasdin, kamar yadda alamun giciye da aka zana a kansu suke nunawa.

The largest and most impressive palace at the centre of the magnificent secular Umayyad architecture in Ilya (Bayt al-Maqdis) was near the southwest corner of the al-Haram and was the seat of the Umayyad Caliphs who visited the holy city on a regular basis. The palace was apparently constructed during the reign of the al-Walid ibn ‘Abd al-Malik (who ruled from 705 to 715) and is similar to other fortified Umayyad palaces in Palestine (near Jericho and near Tiberias) and Syria. The palace measured 96 by 84 metres and was surrounded by a 3-metre protective wall, constructed of large, trimmed stones. Two main gates, one facing east and one facing west, gave access to the palace. A broad, stone-paved courtyard in the centre of the building was surrounded by rows of columns supporting the roofing of the porticoes. Many of the columns came from Byzantine churches and buildings in Palestine, as evidenced by traces of engraved crosses on them.

Ɗakunan da ke kewaye da farfajiyar tsakiya an shimfiɗa su da ƙananan duwatsun dutse da mosaic. Filasta, wadda aka yi wa ado da zane-zane na geometric da motsi na furanni, ta rufe ganuwar kauri. An gina wata gada daga rufin fadar zuwa al-Haram al-Sharif (harabar Wuri Mai Tsarki), wadda ta ba da damar shiga kai tsaye zuwa Masallacin al-Aqsa. Wannan hadadden gine-ginen Musulunci mai ban sha'awa ya lalace sakamakon girgizar ƙasar shekara ta 749; shaidar hakan ita ce ginshiƙan da suka faɗi da ganuwar da suka rushe.2

The rooms around the central courtyard were paved with small stone slabs and mosaic. Plaster, decorated with geometric designs and floral motifs, covered the thick walls. A bridge was built from the roof of the palace to the al-Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary compound), providing direct access to the al-Aqsa Mosque. The magnificent complex of Muslim buildings was destroyed by the earthquake of 749; evidence of this is the fallen columns and collapsed walls.2

Daular Umayyawa ta gudanar da manyan shirye-shiryen gine-gine a Ƙudus, wadanda cibiyarsu ita ce Dutsen Dome (Dome of the Rock), wanda aka kammala a shekara ta 691

The Umayyad undertook monumental building programmes in Jerusalem, the centre of which were the Dome of the Rock (completed in 691

AD) da Masallacin al-Aqsa (wanda aka kammala a shekara ta 705 AD), dukansu har yanzu suna tsaye, kuma dukansu sun ci gaba da zama alamomi mafi ƙarfi na addini da al'adu a Falasdinu. An gina Masallacin al-Aqsa kanta bisa tushen wani masallaci na Musulunci da aka gina a baya a cikin harabar Haram al-Sharif, kuma da la'akari da wata muhimmiyar al'adar Musulunci, Isra'i da Mi'raj. Wannan al'ada, a cewar Musulunci, ta ƙunshi tafiyar dare da Annabi Muhammad ﷺ ya yi zuwa Urushalima, wadda ta faru a kusan shekara ta 621 AD. Shirye-shiryen sake gina manyan wuraren jama'a (na duniya da na addini) na Umayyawa a Urushalima da al-Ramla, da manyan fadojinsu a Urushalima da kusa da Jericho da Tiberias, suna nuna irin yadda Falasdinu ta zama jigon daular Umayyawa da farkon Musulunci. Amma kafa wani sabon birni mai girma gaba ɗaya ga Falasdinu ya kuma nuna yanke alaka da abin da ya gabata na Byzantine da sake fasalin Falasdinu ƙarƙashin sarakunan Marwaniyya. Wannan ya haifar da kafa sabon babban birnin lardin Filastin, al-Ramla, babban birnin gudanarwa wanda Sulaiman ɗan ‘Abd al-Malik, Gwamnan Filastin (705–715 AD) kuma daga baya Khalifan Umayyawa (715‒717), ya kafa. Amma a ƙarshe, musamman a zamanin Umayyawa, sabon birnin gwamnati da aka gina a al-Ramla bai taɓa iya yin gogayya da wurin da kyawun gine-ginen Urushalima ba, ko kuma arziƙin tarihinta na addini – birnin da, kamar yadda za mu gani a babi na bakwai, zai zama cibiyar gudanarwar Falasdinu mai rinjayen Musulmi, bayan da Salah-al Din ya kwato shi daga hannun 'yan Salibiyya na Latin a karni na 12.

AD) and the al-Aqsa Mosque (completed in 705 AD), both still standing, and both remaining the most potent religious and cultural symbols of Palestine. The al-Aqsa Mosque itself was constructed on the basis of an earlier Islamic mosque built within the Haram al-Sharif compound and with reference to a key Islamic tradition, the Isra and Mi’raj. This tradition, according to Islam, involved Prophet Muhammad’s night-time journey to Jerusalem, which took place around the year 621 AD. The Umayyads’ magnificent public (secular and religious) rebuilding programmes in Jerusalem and al-Ramla and their large palaces in Jerusalem and near Jericho and Tiberias show the extent to which Palestine had become central to the Umayyad state and early Islam. But the founding of a completely new metropolitan city for Palestine also represented a break from the Byzantine past and a reorientation of Palestine under the Marwanid rulers. This resulted in the creation of a new capital city for the province of Filastin, al-Ramla, an administrative capital founded by Suleiman ibn ‘Abd al-Malik, the Governor of Filastin (705–715 AD) and later Umayyad Caliph (715‒717). But in the end, and especially during the Umayyad period, the new city of government built at al-Ramla could never rival the location and splendour of the buildings in Jerusalem, or its religiously rich history – a city which, as we shall see in chapter seven, would, once Salah-al Din had recovered from the Latin Crusaders in the 12th century, become the centre of the administration of Muslim-majority Palestine.

Bisa ga abin da aka saba fada, sunan Ramla ya samo asali ne daga kalmar Larabci raml, ma'ana yashi (Palmer 1881: 217). Sai dai ya fi yiwuwa cewa Sulaiman ɗan ‘Abd al-Malik ne ya sanya wa sabon babban birnin Larabawa wannan suna, ba saboda yashinsa ba, a'a don tunawa da Ramla, wata mace fitacciya wadda ta kasance 'yar Halifa Mu'awiyya ɗan Abu Sufyan, wanda ya kafa daular Umayyawa. Martabar Ramla a tsakanin masu mulki na Umayyawa ta ƙara girma saboda ita ma ta auri ɗan Uthman, Halifa na uku a Musulunci (Roded 1994: 57). Yiwuwar cewa an sanya wa babban birni suna don tunawa da wata muhimmiyar mace a tarihin daular mulki ta Umayyawa na iya kasancewa cikin sauƙi ba tare da masana tarihin Musulunci na zamanin tsakiya ba, waɗanda bayan Umayyawa kusan dukansu maza ne masu karkata ga Abbasawa, suka lura da shi ba.

According to the conventional wisdom, the name Ramla is derived from the Arabic word raml, meaning sand (Palmer 1881: 217). But it is more likely that the new Arab capital was named by Suleiman ibn ‘Abd al-Malik not for its sand but in memory of Ramla, a remarkable woman who was the daughter of Caliph Mu’awiyya ibn Abu Sufyan, the founder of the Umayyad dynasty. Ramla’s reputation among the Umayyad ruling elite was enhanced by the fact that she also married to a son of Uthman, the third Caliph of Islam (Roded 1994: 57). The likelihood of a major city being named in memory of an important Umayyad woman in the history of the ruling dynasty could easily have been overlooked by the post-Umayyad almost exclusively male (Abbasid-leaning) Muslim historians of the Middle Ages.

Duk da haka, abin lura sosai shi ne cewa Sulaiman ɗan ‘Abd al-Malik ya ci gaba da zama a al-Ramla, kuma bai koma babban birnin daular, Dimashƙ, ba bayan ya zama Khalifa a shekara ta 715 miladiyya (The Encyclopaedia of Islam 1965, Vol. II: 911). An kuma danganta shi da ginin wani fada, wani masallaci, wani babban tsarin samar da ruwa da ajiyarsa, da kuma Gidan Masu Rini”; daga baya, kuma tsawon ƙarnuka da dama, al-Ramla ta bunƙasa a matsayin birni mai kagara mai tarin rijiyoyi da tafkunan ajiyar ruwa, da kuma ingantaccen tsarin tattarawa da ajiyar ruwan sama (Lev 2006: 590‒591). Bugu da ƙari, a duk tsawon farkon Musulunci, biranen nan biyu, al-Ramla mai cibiyar siyasa da mulki, da Bait al-Maqdis mai cibiyar ibada, sun kasance a zuciyar wata lardi ta Larabawa ta Filastin. Lardin Jund Filastin na Larabawa, wanda ya haɗa lardunan Byzantine na Palaestina Prima da Palaestina Tertia, ya ƙunshi manyan biranen Filastin da fiye da kashi biyu bisa uku na yankin Filastin na Mandate.

In any event, crucially, Suleiman ibn ‘Abd al-Malik continued to reside in al-Ramla, and did not move to the imperial capital Damascus after he became Caliph in 715 AD (The Encyclopaedia of Islam 1965, Vol. II: 911). He is also ‘credited with the construction of a palace, a mosque, an extensive water supply and storage system and the House of the Dyers’; subsequently, and for several centuries, al-Ramla flourished as a fortified city with many cisterns and a highly developed system of rainwater collection and storage (Lev 2006: 590‒591). Moreover, throughout early Islam the two political/ secular and sacred cities of al-Ramla and Jerusalem were at the heart of a distinct Palestinian Arab province. Combining the Byzantine provinces of Palaestina Prima and Palaestina Tertia, the Arab province of Jund Filastin included most major Palestinian cities and more than two-thirds of the territory of Mandatory Palestine.

Binciken kayayyakin tarihi da sunayen wurare sun nuna ci gaba da tarihin Falasɗinu na da, da tunanin sunayen wurare da al'adun da aka raba. Suna nuna cewa manyan biranen Falasɗinu na zamanin Byzantine, wato Palaestina, sun ci gaba da zama cibiyoyin birane a wannan lokaci: Lydda, Scythopolis (Beisan), Gaza, Tiberias, Neapolis (Nablus), Jaffa, ‘Amwas/Emmuas, Rafah, Acre, ‘Asqalan, Ilya/al-Quds/Jerusalem, Eleutheropolis (Beit Jibrin) da Caesarea Maritima (Qaysariah). An kuma gina wasu sababbin birane da garuruwa, musamman al-Ramla, wadda ta zama cibiyar mulki da kasuwanci ta Falasɗinu tsawon ƙarnuka da dama. An gina ta a cikin ƙasa, nesa da hare-haren teku da Byzantine za su iya kaiwa, da kuma filin yaƙin teku tsakanin Byzantine da Larabawa. A lokaci guda, an kafa sababbin sansanonin jiragen ruwa na Larabawa da wuraren gina jiragen ruwa a Falasɗinu (Nicolle 1996: 47). Urushalima (kamar Gaza, ‘Asqalan, Nablus, Caesarea da Jaffa) ta kasance gundumar qada da babban birnin addini na ƙasar. Daular Umayyawa ta faɗaɗa ta da sababbin gine-ginen Larabci-Musulunci masu girma, kuma birnin ya bunƙasa a matsayin cibiyar addini ta dukkan ƙasar, da kuma birni mai tsarki ga Yahudawa da Kiristoci. Haka kuma, tsarin gine-ginen birane na Falasɗinu da Urushalima ta Musulunci sun nuna ci gaba da daidaitawa, da haɗakar salon Larabci-Musulunci da na Byzantine.3

Archaeological finds and place names show the continuities of historic Palestine with toponymic memory and shared culture. They indicate that the major Palestinian cities of Byzantine Palaestina – Lydda, Scythopolis (Beisan), Gaza, Tiberias, Neapolis (Nablus), Jaffa, ‘Amwas/Emmuas, Rafah, Acre, ‘Asqalan, Ilya/al-Quds/Jerusalem, Eleutheropolis (Beit Jibrin) and Caesarea Maritima (Qaysariah) – continued to function as urban centres in this period. a number of new cities and towns were also built, most notably al-Ramla (which became the administrative and commercial centre of Palestine for several centuries), located inland, away from potential Byzantine seaborne attacks and the Mediterranean battleground between Byzantines and Arabs, while new Arab naval bases and shipyards were established in Palestine (Nicolle 1996: 47). Jerusalem (like Gaza, ‘Asqalan, Nablus, Caesarea and Jaffa) was a district (qada) and religious capital of the country It was expanded by the Umayyads with new monumental Arab Islamic architecture and the city flourished as the religious centre of the whole country as well as a holy city for Jews and Christians. Moreover, the architectural forms of urban Palestine and Islamic Jerusalem exhibited continuities and adaption and a mélange of Arab Islamic and Byzantine styles.3

Bisa ga abin da masanin tarihin Musulunci na karni na tara, al-Baladuri, ya rubuta, manyan garuruwan lardin Jund Filastin sun hada da al-Ramla, al-Quds, Gaza, ‘Asqalan, Nablus, Yafa (Jaffa), ‘Amwas, Rafah, Sabastia, Qaysariah, Tabariyyah, Beit Jibrin, al-Khalil (Hebron), Lid (Lydda) da Yubna, inda na karshen na daya daga cikin garuruwa goma a Jund Filastin da rundunar Larabawa karkashin jagorancin ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas ta ci a shekarun 630 (wanda Le Strange ya ambata a 1890: 20). Tun a karni na bakwai, an buga kudin Larabawa da Byzantine na lardin Jund Filastin a Yubna, Urushalima da Lydda (Goodwin 2004), wanda shi ne babban birni na farko kuma na wucin gadi na Jund Filastin.

According to the 9th century Muslim historian al-Baladuri, the principal cities/towns of the province of Jund Filastin included al-Ramla, al-Quds, Gaza, ‘Asqalan, Nablus, Yafa (Jaffa), ‘Amwas, Rafah, Sabastia, Qaysariah, Tabariyyah, Beit Jibrin, al-Khalil (Hebron), Lid (Lydda) and Yubna,4 the latter being one of ten towns in Jund Filastin conquered by the Arab army commanded by ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas in the 630s (cited in Le Strange 1890: 20). Back in the 7th century the Arab-Byzantine coinage of the province of Jund Filastin was minted in Yubna, Jerusalem and Lydda (Goodwin 2004), the initial and temporary capital of Jund Filastin.

Abubuwan da suka shafi dabarun soja da hanyoyin cinikayya na duniya suna cikin manyan dalilai wajen tsara yadda aka fahimci Falasdinu da kuma yadda tarihinta ya kasance a karkashin mulkin Byzantium da kuma Musulunci. Birnin lardin Jund Filastin, al-Ramla, Larabawa ne suka kafa shi kusan shekara ta 705–715 AD, kuma ya zama babban birnin Falasdinu. Al-Quds (Urushalima) ita ce cibiyar addini ta Falasdinu da daular Umayyawa. An zaɓi al-Ramla a matsayin cibiyar gudanarwa ta Falasdinu tsakanin shekara ta 715 AD zuwa shekara ta 940 AD saboda muhimmin matsayinta na dabarun soja a kan tsohuwar hanyar cinikayya ta Via Maris ('hanyar teku' ko 'hanyar Filistiyawa') ta Gaza zuwa Masar. A Tantura, tsohuwar Via Maris ta karkata zuwa cikin kasa a dama, ta ratsa Marj Ibn ‘Amer, sannan ta wuce Dutsen Tabor zuwa arewa, zuwa Dimashƙu.

Strategic-military considerations and international trade routes were major factors in the conceptualisation of Palestine and in shaping its history under both Byzantium and Islam. The new capital city of the province of Jund Filastin, al-Ramla, was founded by the Arabs c. 705–715 AD and became the capital of Palestine. Al-Quds (Jerusalem) was the religious centre of Palestine and the Umayyad state. Al-Ramla was chosen as the administrative centre of Palestine between 715 AD and 940 AD because of its important strategic location along the historic trade route of the Via Maris (‘way of the sea’ or ‘way of the Philistines’) via Gaza to Egypt.5 At Tantura the old Via Maris veered inland to the right and passed through Marj Ibn ‘Amer and then by Mount Tabor northward towards Damascus.

A lokacin mulkin Musulunci wannan hanya tana haɗuwa da al-Fustat (Alƙahira ta farko), kuma birnin al-Sham (Dimashƙu) yana kan mahaɗar hanyar da ke haɗa tashar jirgin ruwa ta Yaffa da birnin mai tsarki al-Quds (Urushalima).

Under Muslim rule this route connected to al-Fustat (early Cairo), with the city of al-Sham (Damascus) at its intersection with the road connecting the seaport of Jaffa with holy city of al-Quds (Jerusalem).

Sai dai bayan da Musulmi suka karbe Birnin Kudus daga hannun Crusaders na Latin a shekara ta 1187, da kuma bayan Ayyubids sun kawar da Masarautar Latin ta farko ta Birnin Kudus, babban birnin gudanarwa na Filastin ya koma al-Quds. Masarautar Latin ta Birnin Kudus ta kasance jihar Crusaders da aka kafa a shekara ta 1099 bayan Yakin Crusade na Farko. Bayan Yakin Crusade na Uku, an sake kafa masarautar a Acre a shekara ta 1192, kuma ta dore har zuwa shekara ta 1291. Gaba ɗaya, Masarautar Latin ta dade a Filastin kusan shekaru 200, tun daga shekara ta 1099 har zuwa shekara ta 1291, lokacin da Mamluks suka hallaka sansani na karshe kuma babban birni, Acre. Matsayin al-Quds a matsayin babban birnin gudanarwa da na addini na Filastin ya samu karfi daga Ayyubids da Mamluks (1260‒1517) a zamanin bayan Crusaders.

However, after the Muslim recovery of Jerusalem from the Latin Crusaders in 1187 and the elimination by the Ayyubids of the first Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, the administrative capital of Filastin shifted to al-Quds. The Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem had been a Crusader state established in 1099 after the First Crusade. Following the Third Crusade, the kingdom was re-established in Acre in 1192 and lasted until 1291. Overall the Latin Kingdom lasted in Palestine nearly 200 years, from 1099 until 1291, when the last stronghold and capital, Acre, was destroyed by the Mamluks. The position of al-Quds as both the administrative and religious capital of Palestine was reinforced by both the Ayyubids and the Mamluks (1260‒1517) in the post-Crusader period.

A farko a ƙarƙashin Musulunci, kuma tsawon ƙarni da yawa tsakanin farkon karni na 8 zuwa ƙarshen karni na 11, al-Ramla ita ce cibiyar tattalin arziki da siyasa ta lardin Filastin, kuma ita ce birni mafi girma, mafi arziki da mafi ƙarfi wajen kasuwanci a ƙasar. Al-Ramla tana tsakiyar hanyoyin kasuwanci na arewa‒kudu da yamma‒gabas, kuma yawan masaukan matafiya (khans) da suka warwatsu a ƙasar, waɗanda ke da nisan kimanin kilomita 20 zuwa 30 tsakaninsu, sun ba da damar 'yan kasuwa da maniyyata su huta da dare. An kuma yi nufin waɗannan khans ɗin su sauƙaƙa aikin hidimar wasiƙu (barid) wadda Umayyawa suka gabatar a Falasɗinu (Rosen-Ayalon 1998:

Earlier under Islam, and for several centuries between the early 8th and late 11th centuries, al-Ramla was the economic and political hub of the province of Filastin and the largest, richest and most powerful trading city in the country. Al-Ramla was at the centre of the north‒south and west‒east trade routes and the large number of caravanserais (khans) which dotted the country, with a distance of approximately 20 to 30 kilometres between them, allowed merchants and pilgrims to rest overnight. These khans were also intended to facilitate the postal service (barid) which had been introduced to Palestine by the Umayyads (Rosen-Ayalon 1998:

515) kuma aka ci gaba da raya ta a ƙarƙashin daulolin Musulunci da suka biyo baya. Sauran manyan biranen tarihi na lardin Jund Filastin a farkon Musulunci su ne al-Quds, ‘Asqalan, Gaza, Lydda, Arsuf (Girkanci: Apollonia), Jaffa, Beit Jibrin, Nablus, Jericho da Qaysariah, sannan ‘Amman tana gabashin Kogin Urdun. A wannan zamani, za a iya ganin duka ci gaba da sauye-sauye a cikin asalin Filastin ta fuskar zamantakewa, al'adu, tattalin arziki, gudanarwa da siyasar yanki.

515) and developed further under successive Muslim dynasties. The other historic cities of the province of Jund Filastin in early Islam were al-Quds, ‘Asqalan, Gaza, Lydda, Arsuf (Greek: Apollonia),6 Jaffa, Beit Jibrin, Nablus, Jericho and Qaysariah, with ‘Amman east of the River Jordan. During this period, we can observe both continuities and transformation in the social, cultural, economic, administrative and geo-political identities of Palestine.

A tsawon zamanin tsakiya, maziyarta da marubutan tafiye-tafiye Musulmi sun bayar da rahoto cewa a ko'ina cikin duniyar Musulunci ana daidaita Filastin da babban birnin kasar: al-Ramla (Khusrau 1888; Ibn Battuta 2005: 57).

Throughout the Middle Ages Muslim pilgrims and travel writers reported that Filastin was equated throughout the Muslim world with the capital city of the country: al-Ramla (Khusrau 1888; Ibn Battuta 2005: 57).

Hakika, tsawon ƙarnuka a farkon Musulunci sunan babban birnin Falasdinu, al-Ramla, ya zama daidai da sunan ƙasar baki ɗaya, Filastin (Falasdinu), kuma matafiya, masana ƙasa da masana tarihi na Larabawa na zamanin tsakiya sukan kira babban birnin da al-Ramla-Filastin, kamar yadda tsohon babban birnin Falasdinu ta Byzantine, Caesarea Maritima, ya zama daidai da sunan ƙasar baki ɗaya, Palaestina, kuma sau da yawa ana kiranta Caesarea-Palaestina. Sake haka, muna ganin Musulunci yana ci gaba da daidaita al'adun Falasdinu da al'adun gudanarwa da na siyasa-ƙasa na Byzantine na Falasdinu bisa dacewa, maimakon maye gurbinsu gaba ɗaya. Wannan daidaitawa da sauyin al'adun gudanarwa da na ƙasa-siyasa na Byzantine kuma ya samu tasiri daga yanayin da ake da shi a Falasdinu da Gabas ta Tsakiya baki ɗaya (har da Gabas ta Tsakiya ta Larabawa Musulmi) na daidaita ƙasashe, lardi ko yankuna da manyan biranensu. Misali:

Indeed, for centuries throughout early Islam the name of the capital city of Palestine, al-Ramla, became synonymous with the name of the country as a whole, Filastin (Palestine), and the capital city was often called by al-Ramla-Filastin by medieval Arab travellers, geographers and historians, in the same way as the former capital city of Byzantine Palestine, Caesarea Maritima, had become synonymous with the name of the country as a whole, Palaestina, and had often been called Caesarea-Palaestina. Once again we see Islam continuing and pragmatically adapting Palestine traditions and the Byzantine administrative and geo-political traditions of Palestine rather than replacing them completely. This adaption and transformation of Byzantine administrative and geo-political traditions was also influenced by the tendency in Palestine and the Near East as a whole (the Arab Muslim Near East included) to equate countries, provinces or regions with capital cities. For instance:

Manyan biranen Gaza da Ascalon da yankunansu sun zama ma'anar Filistiya tun a zamanin Tagulla na ƙarshe da kuma a dukan zamanin Ƙarfe.

• The capital cities of Gaza and Ascalon and their hinterland became synonymous with Philistia in the late Bronze Age and throughout the Iron Age.

Caesarea Maritima, babban birnin Palaestina Prima a zamanin Byzantine, ya zama kamar sunan dukkan lardin Palaestina baki ɗaya.

• Caesarea Maritima, the capital city of Palaestina Prima under the Byzantines became synonymous with Provincia Palaestina as a whole.

Al-Sham ya zama daidai da babban birnin lardin Musulunci na Dimashq (Damascus).

• Al-Sham became synonymous with the capital city of the Muslim province of Dimashq (Damascus).

Al-Fustat ita ce babban birnin Masar na farko a karkashin mulkin Musulmi. An kira ta Misr al-Fustat da Fustat-Misr (Fustat-Masar), kuma kalmar Misr ko Masr (Masar) ta zama ma'ana daya da Masr al-Qadimah, babban birnin tsohon Alkahira.

• The first capital of Egypt under Muslim rule, al-Fustat was called Misr al-Fustat and Fustat-Misr (Fustat-Egypt) and the term Misr or Masr (Egypt) became synonymous with Masr al-Qadimah, the capital city of old Cairo.

Kamar yadda za mu gani, manyan biranen nan biyu na Sarkin Latin na Urushalima (da Latin Palaestina) a karkashin 'yan Salibiyya Faransawa, na farko Urushalima sannan daga baya Acre, sun danganta kansu da Provincia Palaestina.

• As shall we see, the two capital cities of the Latin King of Jerusalem (and Latin Palaestina) under the Frankish Crusaders, first Jerusalem and later Acre, became associated with Provincia Palaestina.

Kamar yadda za mu gani, babban birnin Falasdinu na ƙarshen zamanin Daular Usmaniyya, al-Quds, da lardinsa: Kudüs-i Şerif Mutasarrıflığı (‘Mutasarrifancin Birnin Kudus Mai Daraja’), ya zama yana da alaƙa da Filastin baki ɗaya.

• As shall we see, the capital city of late Ottoman Palestine, al-Quds, and its province: Kudüs-i Şerif Mutasarrıflığı (the ‘Mutasarrifate of Noble Jerusalem’), became associated with Filastin as a whole.

Kasuwanci tsakanin ƙasashe da na cikin gida koyaushe yana kasancewa jigon wadatar Falasɗinu, domin ƙasa ce mai matsayin hanyar wucewa. Duk da cewa a lokacin Urushalima tana keɓe a yankin tsaunuka ta fuskar ƙasa, kasancewar babban birnin lardin Filastin na zamani, al-Ramla, yana da wuri mai muhimmanci na dabaru da kasuwanci a kan babbar hanyar da ta kai ga manyan biranen musulunci guda biyu, al-Sham (Dimashƙu) da Misr al-Fustat da Fustat-Misr (Fustat-Masar), hakan ya ƙara wadatar al-Ramla da suna a duniya. Saboda haka, Filastin ba sunan hukuma ne kawai na lardin/ƙasar ba, har ma ga wasu masana tarihin Larabawa na zamanin tsakiya, sunan ya zama daidai da babban birnin al-Ramla. Ta fuskar dabarun ƙasa, siyasa da kasuwanci, wurin al-Ramla yana tsakiyar ƙasar kuma yana haɗa birnin mai tsarki Urushalima da Yafa, babbar tashar jiragen ruwa ta Bahar Rum a Jund Filastin. Saboda haka al-Ramla ta bunƙasa a matsayin cibiyar gudanarwa, soji da kasuwanci ta ƙasar fiye da shekaru ɗari uku (Foster 2016a).

International and regional trade was always central to the prosperity of Palestine, being a transit country. While geographically Jerusalem of the period was isolated in a mountainous region, the fact that the secular capital of the province of Filastin, al-Ramla, was strategically and commercially located on the highway leading to the two great capital cities of Islam, al-Sham (Damascus) and Misr al-Fustat and Fustat-Misr (Fustat- Egypt), greatly enhanced the prosperity and international reputation of al-Ramla. Thus Filastin was not only the official name of the province/ country but, for some medieval Arab historians, the name also became synonymous with the capital city of al-Ramla. Strategically, geo-politically and in trade terms located at the centre of the country and linking the holy city of Jerusalem with Jaffa, the main Mediterranean port of Jund Filastin, al-Ramla flourished as the administrative, military and trading hub of the country for more than three centuries (Foster 2016a).

A ƙarshen karni na 9 lardin Filastin wataƙila ya kai mafi girman faɗinsa. Daular Tulunawa, waɗanda suka ballewa daga Abbasawa suka yi mulki daga Masar a matsayin daula mai cin gashin kanta daga shekara ta 868 zuwa 905, sun ƙara faɗaɗa shi. An faɗaɗa lardin Filastin zuwa gabas da kudu saboda dalilai na aiki, a kan kuɗin Jund Dimashq, har ya haɗa da Bilad al-Sharat, yankin tuddai masu albarkar ƙasa a yankin kudancin Jordan na yau da arewa maso yammacin Saudiyya (Salibi 1993: 18‒20; le Strange 1890: 28). Aylah (‘Aqabah ta yau) ita ce babbar birni ta farko a Filastin da dakarun Musulunci suka karɓe a ƙarƙashin jagorancin Annabi Muhammad ﷺ a shekara ta 630 AD (9 AH). Wannan ba abin mamaki ba ne: tun yana matashi, Annabi Muhammad ﷺ ya bi kawunsa cikin ayarin cinikin Siriya da Filastin, ya kuma sami gogewa a cinikin ƙasashen waje da ilimin yankin. Daga baya a rayuwarsa ta manya, Annabi ﷺ ya sami suna a matsayin ɗan kasuwa amintacce kuma mai nasara ƙwarai, kuma ya shiga cinikin ƙasashen waje tsakanin Tekun Jan da Tekun Bahar Rum; lallai Annabi ﷺ ya kasance masani sosai game da biranen tashar jiragen ruwa kamar Aylah (‘Aqabah ta yau) da Gaza, waɗanda a lokacin suke haɗa hanyoyin cinikin ƙasashen waje na Palaestina Salutaris da Palaestina Prima. Haƙiƙa, a tsawon farkon Musulunci Aylah ta zama babbar tashar cinikin Filastin zuwa Asiya da China (Ramadan 2010a). Birnin tashar Aylah ya zama cibiyar harkokin tattalin arziki a kudancin Filastin, kuma ya kasance babbar tasha ga alhazan Musulmi a hanyarsu zuwa Makka (Ramadan 2010a; 2010b). Game da yankin Bilad al-Sharat, babban birninsa shi ne al-Karak, wanda aka sani a yau saboda katafaren gidan yaƙin Crusaders, yana da nisan kilomita 140 a kudancin ‘Amman, kuma wuri ne a kan tsohuwar Hanyar Sarki. A mafi girma, Jund Filastin ya miƙe daga gaɓar tekun Bahar Rum zuwa yankin da ke bayan Tekun Matattu, har ya haɗa da Bilad al-Sharat, kuma daga al-'Arish a Sinai zuwa Marj Ibn 'Amer da Beisan a arewa, inda mafi yawan Galili ke cikin Jund al-Urdun (lardin soja na Jordan). Garuruwansa galibinsu Musulmai ne, ciki har da Gaza, Nablus, Jaffa, Lydda, al-Ramla, Qaysariah, 'Amwas, Yubna, Rafah, Sabastiyah (Sebastia) da Beit Jibrin.

In the late 9th century the province of Filastin was probably at its greatest extent. It was expanded further by the Tulunids, who broke away from the Abbasids and ruled from Egypt as an independent dynasty from 868 until 905. The province of Filastin was enlarged for practical purposes eastwards and southwards, at the expense of Jund Dimashq, to include Bilad al-Sharat, the highlands and highly fertile region in modern-day southern Jordan and north-western Saudi Arabia (Salibi 1993: 18‒20; le Strange 1890: 28). Aylah (present-day ‘Aqabah) was the first major town in Palestine to be taken over by Muslim forces under the leadership of Prophet Muhammad in 630 AD (9 AH). This is hardly surprising: in his teens, Prophet Muhammad had joined his uncle on Syrian‒Palestinian trading caravans and had gained experience in international trade and regional geography. Later in adult life, the Prophet acquired the reputation of being a trustworthy and very successful trader, and he was involved in international trade between the Red Sea and Mediterranean Sea; the Prophet must have also been closely familiar with port cities such as Aylah (present-day ‘Aqabah), and Gaza, which, at the time, linked the international trade networks of Palaestina Salutaris and Palaestina Prima. Indeed, throughout early Islam Aylah became the major trading port of Filastin to Asia and China (Ramadan 2010a). The port city of Aylah became a centre of economic activity in southern Filastin and also served as a major stopover for Muslim pilgrims en route to Mecca (Ramadan 2010a; 2010b). As for the Bilad al-Sharat region, its principal city is al-Karak, known today for its Crusader castle, located 140 kilometres to the south of ‘Amman and then a site on the ancient King’s Highway. At its greatest extent, Jund Filastin extended from the Mediterranean coast to the region beyond the Dead Sea, to include Bilad al-Sharat, and from al-‘Arish in Sinai to Marj Ibn ‘Amer and Beisan in the north, with most of Galilee being part of Jund al-Urdun (the ‘military province of Jordan’). Its predominantly Muslim towns included Gaza, Nablus, Jaffa, Lydda, al-Ramla, Qaysariah, ‘Amwas, Yubna, Rafah, Sabastiyah (Sebastia) and Beit Jibrin.

Babban birnin siyasa na Filastin, al-Ramla, ya shahara a ko'ina cikin duniyar Musulunci saboda Farin Masallacinta mai ban mamaki – wanda minaret ɗinsa har yanzu yana tsaye – da kuma yalwar ƙasar gundumar, da yawan bishiyoyin 'ya'yan itatuwa da 'ya'yan itatuwa masu daɗi, yayin da babban birnin addini na Filastin, Bayt al-Maqdis, aka gyara shi ba don muhimmancinsa na addini kaɗai ba, har ma don kyawun gine-ginensa na dutse da kuma tsarinsa mai ban sha'awa (al-Maqdisi 2002: 34‒35). Yayin da a zamanin Byzantine Caesarea ta kasance babban birni a Palaestina tsawon ƙarni, a cikin shekaru uku ƙarƙashin Musulunci al-Ramla ta zama babban birnin ƙasar mafi girma. A ƙarshen karni na 10, masanin tarihi kuma masanin ƙasa al-Maqdisi, wanda aka haifa a Bayt al-Maqdis, ya bayyana al-Ramla a matsayin ɗaya daga cikin mafi 'kyawun' birane a dukkan yankunan Musulunci (al-Maqdisi 2002: 35). Ga abin da ya ce:

The political capital of Filastin, al-Ramla, became famous throughout the Muslim world for its spectacularly beautiful White Mosque – whose minaret is still standing – and for the fertility of the soil of the district, the abundance of its fruit trees and ‘tasty fruits’, while the religious capital of Palestine, Bayt al-Maqdis, was renovated not only for its religious significance but also for the beauty of its stone buildings and its exquisite architecture (al-Maqdisi 2002: 34‒35). While under the Byzantines Caesarea had for centuries been the largest city in Palaestina, for three centuries under Islam al-Ramla became the largest metropolitan city in the country. Al-Ramla was described in the late 10th century by the Jerusalem-born historian and geographer al-Maqdisi as one of the ‘best’ cities in the whole Muslim regions (al-Maqdisi 2002: 35). He had this to say:

Ar-Ramlah shi ne babban birnin Filastinu [Larabci: Qasbat Filastin]. Birni ne mai kyau kuma an gina shi da kyau. Ruwansa yana da sauƙi kuma yana da yawa, 'ya'yan itatuwansa kuma suna da yawa. Yana da fa'idodi masu yawa ... yana tsakiyar wani kyakkyawan yanayin ƙasa, da ƙauyuka masu daɗi da garuruwa masu girma, kuma yana kusa da wurare masu tsarki. Kasuwanci a cikinsa yana bunƙasa, kasuwanninsa kuma suna da kyau ƙwarai. Babu wani masallaci a Musulunci da ya fi wanda ke cikin birnin kyau ... babu 'ya'yan itatuwa a Musulunci da suka fi daɗi fiye da waɗanda ke cikin birnin da garuruwan da ke kewaye da shi ... matsugunansa suna da daɗi kuma hammam-hammam ɗinsa [wuraren wanka na jama'a] suna da kyau ... gidajensa manya ne ... masallatansa suna da kyau, titunansa kuma faɗi ne ... hanyoyinsa suna kaiwa ... zuwa hanyar Bayt al-Maqdis [Urushalima] ... hanyar Lydda, hanyar Jaffa, hanyar Masar, hanyar Dajon ... Babban masallacin babban birnin [Ar-Ramlah], wanda yake cikin kasuwanni, ya fi kyau da kwarjini fiye da na [Babban Masallacin] Damascus. Ana kiransa Al Abyad [Farin Masallaci]. A duk Musulunci ba a samun mihrabi [mihrabin sallah] mafi girma fiye da wannan da ke nan [a Ar-Ramlah], kuma mimbarinsa shi ne mafi kyau da za a gani bayan na Bayt al-Maqdis; haka kuma yana da wani kyakkyawan minare wanda Hisham ɗan 'Abdel-Malik ya gina. (Al-Maqdisi 2002: 143‒144; haka kuma Le Strange 1890: 304‒305 ya ambata)

Ar-Ramlah is the capital of Palestine [Arabic: Qasbat Filastin]. It is a beautiful and well built city. Its water is light and plentiful, its fruits are abundant. It encompasses manifold advantages ... situated as it is in the midst of virtuous landscape, of pleasant villages and lordly towns and near to holy places. Commerce in it is prosperous and the markers are excellent. There is no finer mosque in Islam than the one in the city ... there are no fruits in Islam tastier than in the city and its surrounding towns ... its hostels are pleasant and its hammams [public baths] are elegant ... its houses are large ... its mosques are good, its streets are wide ... its roads lead ... to Bayt al-Maqdis [Jerusalem] road ... Lydda road, Jaffa road, Egypt road, Dajon toad ... The chief mosque in the capital [Ar-Ramlah], located in the markets, is even more beautiful and graceful than that of [the Great Mosque] of Damascus. It is called Al Abyad [the White Mosque]. In all Islam there is found no bigger mihrab [prayer niche] than the one here [in Ar-Ramlah] and its pulpit is the most splendid to be seen after that of Bayt al-Maqdis; also it possesses a beautiful minaret built by Hisham ibn ‘Abdel-Malik. (Al-Maqdisi 2002: 143‒144; also cited in Le Strange 1890: 304‒305)

Bayyana a fili yake cewa al-Maqdisi da kansa ya san sosai kuma yana alfahari da asalin sa na "Bature daga Kudus" da gadon sa na Falasdinu. Abin sha'awa, duk da haka, saboda yawan tafiye-tafiyen sa a fadin kasashen Musulunci da kuma sana'o'i da dama da ya yi, ya bayyana sunaye da laƙabi talatin da shida da aka kira shi da su a lokacin tafiye-tafiyensa, kuma daga cikinsu akwai "Bature daga Kudus [Maqdisi], Bafalasdine [Filastini], Bamasare, Bamagribe, Bakhurasane ... faki, sufi ... yawon bude ido ... dan kasuwa, liman ... Bairaƙe, Bagbaden, Ba-Shame ... Hanafi ...

Clearly al-Maqdisi himself was fully aware and indeed proud of his ‘Jerusalemite’ identity and Palestinian heritage. Interestingly, however, in view of his extensive travels throughout the Muslim world and his multiple occupations, he describes the thirty-six names and designations by which he was called throughout his journeys and these included ‘Jerusalemite [Maqdisi], Palestinian [Filastini], Egyptian, Maghribi, Khurasani ... faqih, sufi ... tourist ... trader, imam ... Iraqi, Baghdadi, Shami ... Hanafi ...

malam, sheikh’ (al-Maqdisi 2002: 41).

teacher, sheikh’ (al-Maqdisi 2002: 41).

Kitab al-Maqdisi ya kuma ba mu fahimta game da yadda aka gina wani ainihin Falasdinanci mai yadudduka da dama a karni na goma, ta hannun wani mutum mai ilimi sosai kuma mai yawan tafiye-tafiye, wanda gina shi ya yi kama da yadda al-Maqdisi, Mujir al-Din al-ʿUlaymi, Khair al-Din al-Ramli da Salih ibn Ahmad al-Tumurtashi suka gina ainihin yankin Falasdinawa a karnoni na goma zuwa sha bakwai (duba ƙasa). Wannan ainihi yana farawa ne da garin haihuwar al-Maqdisi (Urushalima/Bayt al-Maqdis), wani gari dake cikin yankin mulki na Filastin, wanda ke cikin babban yankin al-Sham, a cikin ƙasar Musulunci (al-Maqdisi 2002: 41, 143‒144).

Al-Maqdisi’s account also gives us an insight into the construction of a multi-layered Palestinian identity in the 10th century by a highly educated and extensively travelled individual, a construction which in many ways echoes the construction of a regional Palestinian identity by al-Maqdisi, Mujir al-Din al-ʿUlaymi, Khair al-Din al-Ramli and Salih ibn Ahmad al-Tumurtashi in the 10th‒17th centuries (see below). The identity begins with al-Maqdisi’s native city (Jerusalem/Bayt al-Mqdis), a city in the administrative region of Filastin, which is in the greater region of al-Sham, in the domain of Islam (al-Maqdisi 2002: 41, 143‒144).