Canjin siyasa da na addini a ƙarƙashin Musulunci, idan aka kwatanta da ci gaba da zaman Palaestina/Filastin a matsayin yanki da ƙasa, da kwanciyar hankali na arzikinta da kuma yawan mutanenta masu noma, abu ne mai ban mamaki. Fiye da shekaru uku, lardin Jund Filastin a ƙarƙashin Musulunci ya fi girma kuma ya fi wadata a kan haɗin Palaestina Prima da Palaestina Salutaris a ƙarƙashin Ba'yizantine, sabanin wasu tarihin akida da ke gabatar da wannan zamani a matsayin zamanin koma baya.

The changes in the political/religious regime under Islam contrasted with the continuity of Palaestina/Filastin as territory/country and the stability of its economic prosperity and its mainly farming people is striking. For over three centuries the province of Jund Filastin under Islam was a larger and even more prosperous country than the combination of Palaestina Prima and Palaestina Salutaris under the Byzantines, in contradistinction to various ideological histories presenting this period as one of decline.

A tsawon farkon Musulunci lardin gudanarwa na Filastin ya ci gaba da wadata a tattalin arziki, a wani bangare saboda matsayinsa mai muhimmanci a tsakiyar cinikayya ta yankin da ta nesa, kuma a wani bangare saboda ya samar da tsarin kudinsa na musamman, a cikin babban yankin kudi na Musulunci. A karkashin Musulunci, ana yin tsabar kudin dinari da zinariya, tsabar kudin dirhami kuma da azurfa, yayin da fals (jam'insa fulus)

Throughout early Islam the administrative province of Filastin maintained its economic prosperity partly by being strategically located at the centre of regional and distant trade and partly by developing its own distinct monetary system, within the wider monetary zone of Islam. Under Islam, dinar coins were minted in gold, dirham coins in silver, while fals (plural fulus)

An Umayyad ne suka fara samar da tsabar kuɗin tagulla a ƙarshen karni na bakwai.

was a copper coin first produced by the Umayyads in the late 7th century.

Sunan kalmar nan "fals" ya samo asali ne daga "follis", wani tsabar tagulla na Romawa da na Byzantium. An yi fals-fals na tagulla na Musulunci iri-iri har zuwa karni na sha tara. A yau, kalmar "fulus" (ko "flus") har yanzu ana amfani da ita a harshen Larabci na yau da kullum na Falasdinawa a matsayin kalmar gama-gari ga kudi, kuma wannan kalma ta haifar da kalmomin Larabci na zamani "iflas" (fatara) da "muflis" (mai fatara). A zamanin tsakiya, tsarin kudi na lardin Falasdinu ya hada da dinari, dirhami da fals, wadanda aka buga su a birane da dama na Falasdinu.

The name fals derives from follis, a Roman/Byzantine copper coin. Various Islamic copper fals were in production until the 19th century. Today the word fulus (or flus) is still used in Palestinian Arabic vernacular as a generic term for money and the term has also given rise to the modern Arabic terms iflas (bankruptcy) and muflis (bankrupt). In the Middle Ages, the monetary system of the province of Palestine included dinars, dirhams and fals, which were minted in several Palestinian cities.

Furthermore, in the 9th century, during Abbasid rule, the province of Jund Filastin was described as the most fertile province in the region of al-Sham. Commenting on the annual tax revenues raised in the province, 9th century Abbasid postmaster and geographer ibn Khordadbeh, the author of the earliest surviving Arabic book of administrative and descriptive geography, The Book of Roads and Kingdoms (Kitab al-Masalik was Mamalik, c. 870) recorded in about 864: 500,000 gold dinars of taxes from Filastin province. By comparison with other provinces of al-Sham, the Damascus province raised 400,000 dinars, the Hims province 340,000, the Jordan province 350,000 and the two provinces of Qinnasrin and ‘Awasim 400,000 dinars (Le Strange 1890: 46; Röhricht 1890: 17; Ibn Khordadbeh 1865). For another comparison, the tax revenues raised in the whole of Palestine (the two provinces of Filastin and al-Urdun) in 864

Furthermore, in the 9th century, during Abbasid rule, the province of Jund Filastin was described as the most fertile province in the region of al-Sham. Commenting on the annual tax revenues raised in the province, 9th century Abbasid postmaster and geographer ibn Khordadbeh, the author of the earliest surviving Arabic book of administrative and descriptive geography, The Book of Roads and Kingdoms (Kitab al-Masalik was Mamalik, c. 870) recorded in about 864: 500,000 gold dinars of taxes from Filastin province. By comparison with other provinces of al-Sham, the Damascus province raised 400,000 dinars, the Hims province 340,000, the Jordan province 350,000 and the two provinces of Qinnasrin and ‘Awasim 400,000 dinars (Le Strange 1890: 46; Röhricht 1890: 17; Ibn Khordadbeh 1865). For another comparison, the tax revenues raised in the whole of Palestine (the two provinces of Filastin and al-Urdun) in 864

(Dinare 850,000) sun kai fiye da rabin harajin ƙasa (mafi yawa daga filaye) da aka tara a dukkan Mesopotamiya ta zamanin Abbasiyawa a shekarar 818/819 (Christensen 1993: 42).

(850,000 dinars) amounted to more than half of (mainly land) taxes raised in the whole of Abbasid Mesopotamia in 818/819 (Christensen 1993: 42).

Waɗannan kuɗin shiga na shekara-shekara na lardin Falasdinu kuma yana bayyana a fili daga adadin haraji da kuɗaɗen da aka tara a wannan zamani daga lardin Filastin, duka a cikin cikakkun lambobi da kuma idan aka kwatanta su da harajin da aka tara daga sauran ajnad, ciki har da Jund al-Urdun, wanda ya fi ƙanƙanta sosai, da Jund Dimashq (lardin Dimashq), wanda ya fi girma sosai, kuma ya haɗa da yawancin yankin Lebanon na yanzu da yankunan gabashin Kogin Urdun da aka sani da yankin al-Balqa (Le Strange 2010: 43‒48; Blankinship 1994:

These annual revenues of the province of Palestine is also evident from the tax figures and revenues collected during this era from the Filastin province both in absolute terms and in comparison with those taxes collected from the other ajnad, including the much smaller Jund al-Urdun and the much larger Jund Dimashq (the Damascus province), which included much of present-day Lebanon and territories east of the River Jordan known as al-Balqa region (Le Strange 2010: 43‒48; Blankinship 1994:

47–48, 292, bayanin 7). Lallai, Filastin ana lissafinta, bisa alkaluman haraji da wasu majiyoyi suka bayar, a matsayin lardi mafi arziki a al-Sham a tsawon zamanin Umayyawa na ƙarshe (Blankinship 1994: 48).

47‒48, 292, note 7). Indeed, Filastin is accounted, by tax figures given in certain sources, to have been the richest province of al-Sham throughout the late Umayyad period (Blankinship 1994: 48).

Ayyukan marubutan tarihi da masana ƙasa na Larabawa a Zamanin Tsakiya suna da muhimmanci ƙwarai wajen fahimtar yadda aka sake tsara Falasɗin da kewayenta, da kuma yadda lardin Filastin ya kasance cikin arziki da wadata mai girma a yawancin zamanin Umayyawa da Abbasiyawa. Masana tarihi da masana ƙasa na gida a Falasɗin, kamar al-Maqdisi — wanda ba wai kawai yake amfani da kalmar Falasɗin (فلسطين) akai-akai ba, har ma da kalmar 'Bafalasɗine' (فلسطيني) — sun fara bunƙasa wani tunanin ainihin yankin Falasɗinawa a farko. A shekara ta 985 AD, al-Maqdisi, a cikin littafinsa Mafi Kyawun Rarrabuwa don Sanin Yankuna (Ahsan al-Taqasim Fi Ma'rifat al-Aqalim), ya ba mu cikakken bayani game da dukkan sunayen wurare, birane da garuruwan da ya ziyarta a Falasɗin (al-Maqdisi 1994, 2002). Yana bayyana ƙasarsa ta haihuwa da kuma yalwar ƙasarta sosai, al-Maqdisi ya yi tsokaci a karni na 10 kan amfanin gona da kayayyakin da aka kera a Falasɗin:

The works of Arab historians and geographers of the Middle Ages are central to our understanding of the evolving reconfiguration of Palestine and its environs and of the relatively immense wealth and prosperity of the province of Filastin throughout much of the Umayyad and Abbasid periods. Local Palestinian historians and geographers such al-Maqdisi — who uses not just the term Palestine ( فلسطين ) repeatedly but also ‘Palestinian’ فلسطيني ) — also began to develop an embryonic sense of regional Palestinian identity. In 985 AD al-Maqdisi, in his work The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions (Ahsan al-Taqasim Fi Ma’rifat al-Aqalim), gives us a detailed account of all the place names, cities and towns he had visited in Palestine (al-Maqdisi 1994, 2002). Describing in detail his native country and the fertility of its land, al-Maqdisi comments in the 10th century on the agricultural produce and manufactured goods of Palestine:

a cikin lardin Falasdinu akwai waɗanda aka tara su wuri ɗaya guda 36

within the province of Palestine may be found gathered together 36

kayayyakin da ba a samun irinsu a wata ƙasa ... Daga Falasɗinu ake samun zaitun, busasshen ɓaure, zabibi, 'ya'yan itacen carob, yadudduka na siliki da auduga gauraye, sabulu da mayafai. Daga Urushalima ake samun cuku, auduga, zabibin nau'in da aka sani da 'Ainuni da Duri, tuffa masu inganci, ayaba – wacce 'ya'yan itace ce mai kama da kokwamba, amma idan an cire bawonta, cikinta ba ya bambanta da na kankana – sai dai tana da ɗanɗano mai daɗi da laushi fiye da ita – da kuma 'ya'yan pine da ake kira 'Kuraish-bite,' wadanda babu makamancinsu a wani waje; haka kuma madubai, tuluna na fitila da allura. Daga Ariha ake kawo indigo mai kyau. Daga Sughar da Baisan aka kawo indigo da dabino [da shinkafa], haka kuma zuma mai kauri da ake kira Dibs. Daga 'Amman – hatsi, raguna da zuma. Daga Tiberias – yadudduka na kafet, takarda, da zane. Daga Kadas – tufafi na yadin da ake kira Munayyir da Bal'isiyyah, haka kuma igiyoyi. (An rawaito daga Le Strange 2014: 18‒19; haka kuma Le Strange 1890: 16‒19; al-Maqdisi 1994)7

products that are not found thus united in any other land ... From Palestine come olives, dried figs, raisins, the carob-fruit, stuffs of mixed silk and cotton, soap and kerchiefs. From Jerusalem come cheeses, cotton, the celebrated raison of the species known as ‘Ainuni and Duri, excellent apples, bananas – which same is a fruit in the form of a cucumber, but when the skin is peeled off, the interior is not unlike the water-melon – only finer flavoured and more luscious – also pine-nuts known as ‘Kuraish-bite,’ and their equal is not found elsewhere; further mirrors, lamp-jars and needles. From Jericho is brought excellent indigo. From Sughar and Baisan came indigo and dates [and rice], also the treacle called Dibs. From ‘Amman –grain, lambs and honey. From Tiberias – carpet stuffs, paper, and cloth. From Kadas – clothes of the stuff called Munayyir and Bal’isiyyah, also ropes. (Cited in Le Strange 2014: 18‒19; also Le Strange 1890: 16‒19; al-Maqdisi 1994)7

Tattalin arzikin Falasɗinu ya samu bunƙasa saboda wurin ƙasar da ke da muhimmanci a dabaru da kuma cinikinta na ƙasashen duniya, ciki har da cinikin nesa-nesa da Indiya, da China, da Turai. Akwai babban cinikin siliki na nesa-nesa daga China zuwa Gabas ta Kusa tun zamanin da. Yadin siliki, wani zare na halitta da tsutsotsin siliki ke samarwa, an fara ƙirƙirarsa ne a China ta dā, kuma saboda laushinsa da kyalkyalinsa, siliki ya zama yadi mai shahara na alatu a Gabas ta Kusa cikin sauri. Yan kasuwa na China da na Larabawa ne suka sa ya isa ga mutane a zamanin da.

The economy of Palestine was boosted by the country’s strategic location and its international trade, including its long-distance trade with India, China and Europe. An extensive long-distance silk trade from China to the Near East existed from Antiquity. Silk fabric, a natural fibre produced by silkworms, was first developed in ancient China and, because of its texture and lustre, silk rapidly became a popular luxury fabric in the Near East. It was made accessible by both Chinese and Arab traders in Antiquity.

A karkashin Musulunci, Filasdinu da al-Sham gaba ɗaya suna cinikayya da Indiya da China ta Aylah (‘Aqabah) a Tekun Maliya, “wata tashar jiragen ruwa ta Filasdinu a Tekun China” (Ramadan 2010a, 2010b). A zamanin tsakiya, 'yan kasuwar Larabawa sun fara shigo da tsutsotsin siliki na Asiya (Larabci: dudat al-qazz), kuma a Filasdinu an saka siliki (harir) zuwa yadudduka, wanda hakan ya taimaka wajen bunkasa masana'antar siliki ta ƙasar. Filasdinu ta samar da nau'o'in yadin siliki iri-iri – ciki har da wani nau'in siliki mai kauri wanda aka haɗa da nau'o'in ulu daban-daban aka saka shi zuwa riguna, wanda aka sani da siliki na qazz, da kuma ‘bi-harir’ – waɗanda aka fitar da su zuwa Larabawa da wasu ƙasashen Bahar Rum da na Turai (Gil, M. 1997: 238; Goitein 1983: 403, note 141; Lewandowski 2011: 243; Weir 1994: 288). A farkon zamanin Ingila, ɗanyen nau'in siliki da aka yi a Filasdinu, wanda aka sani da qazz, ya zama sananne da gauze ko Gaza, sunan birnin Filasdinu; wani siriri ne, sau da yawa mai haske, yadin da aka saka, ana amfani da shi wajen sutura, labule da kayan ɗaurin raunuka na tiyata (Cannon and Kaye 1994: 196).

Under Islam, Palestine and al-Sham as a whole traded with India and China via Aylah (‘Aqabah) on the Red Sea, ‘a port of Palestine on China Sea’ (Ramadan 2010a, 2010b). In the Middle Ages, Arab merchants began importing Asian silkworms (Arabic: dudat al-qazz) and in Palestine the silk (harir) fabric was woven into textiles and helped develop the country’s own silk industry. Palestine produced a variety of silk fabrics – including one coarse type of silk fabric mixed with various types of wool and woven into coats, which became known as qazz silk, and ‘bi-harir’ – which were exported to Arabia and various Mediterranean and European countries (Gil, M. 1997: 238; Goitein 1983: 403, note 141; Lewandowski 2011: 243; Weir 1994: 288). In early modern England, the raw type of silk made in Palestine and known as qazz, became known as gauze or Gaza, the name of the Palestinian city; it was a thin, often transparent woven fabric used in clothing, drapery and surgical dressings (Cannon and Kaye 1994: 196).

Cinikayyar waje da cinikayya ta ƙasa da ƙasa sun kasance manyan abubuwan da suka ba da gudummawa ga wadatar tattalin arziƙin ƙasar Falasɗin da arzikinta a ƙarƙashin Musulunci. Falasɗin ta fara fitar da man zaitun da giya zuwa Masar tun a Zamanin Chalcolithic, kuma fitar da man zaitun na Falasɗin da liquores Palaestini ('giyar Falasɗin') ya kasance…

Palestine’s foreign export and international trade were key contributors to the country’s economic prosperity and wealth under Islam. Palestine had begun exporting olive oil and wine to Egypt in the Chalcolithic Age and the export of Palestinian olive oil and liquores Palaestini (‘Palestinian wine’)

sun kasance muhimman kayayyaki a zamanin Antiquity. Duk da cewa fitar da liquores Palaestini ya ragu a karkashin Musulunci, fitar da kayayyaki ta ci gaba a ko'ina cikin Tsakiyar Zamani, kuma ayarin raƙuma na jigilar man zaitun daga Falasdinu zuwa birnin Madina a Larabawa (Gil, M. 1997: 236). Haka kuma, nau'o'in saka da yadi iri-iri da kuma nau'in siliki na qazz wanda aka gauraya da ulun zomo da aka yi a Falasdinu, ana lodin su a jiragen ruwa ana fitar da su zuwa kasuwannin Bahar Rum, ciki har da Masar (Gil, M. 1997: 238). Abin mamaki, yawancin wadannan muhimman kayayyakin da ake kerawa da fitarwa, kamar auduga, mai, sabulu, kayan gilashi, kayan saka, kayan dinki da na siliki, za su ci gaba da taka rawa a tattalin arzikin Falasdinu na zamani.

remained important commodities in Antiquity. Although the export of liquores Palaestini declined under Islam, exports continued throughout the Middle Ages and camel caravans transported olive oil from Palestine to the city of Medina in Arabia (Gil, M. 1997: 236). Also, various woven items and textiles and types of qazz silk mixed with rabbit wool made in Palestine were loaded onto ships and exported to Mediterranean markets, including Egypt (Gil, M. 1997: 238). Interestingly, many of these key manufactured and exported products, such as cotton, oil, soap, glassware, woven, embroidered and silk items, would still play a role in the Palestinian economy of the modern era.

A kan Musulunci kuma Yahudawan Larabawa masu zama a birane, waɗanda ke da 'yancin addininsu, sun taka muhimmiyar rawa a al'adu, kasuwanci da masana'antun ƙasar Falasɗinu. Wannan ya fi bayyana a cikin wani muhimmin kayan fitarwa na Falasɗinu zuwa ƙasashen duniya: kayan gilashi. Yin gilashi a yankin ya samo asali tun zamanin Finishiyawa, har ma da mosaic na gine-ginen Helenawa da Romawa da kuma filayen mosaic na Byzantine. A zamanin tsakiya, Akka, Sur, al-Khalil (Hebron) da sauran wurare a Falasɗinu sun shahara wajen yin gilashi, kuma Yahudawan Larabawa na ƙasar da na al-Sham baki ɗaya sun zama sanannun ƙwararru wajen yin gilashi, wanda ake fitarwa zuwa ƙasashe daban-daban, ciki har da wasu a Turai (Gil, M. 1997: 238). Kamar yadda za mu gani a babi na bakwai, masana'antun yin gilashi masu kyau sun ƙara bunƙasa a hannun ’yan masana'antu Musulmi a al-Khalil a lokacin zamanin Mamluk.

Also under Islam the religiously autonomous, predominantly urban Arab-Jews of Palestine played an important part in the culture, commerce and manufacturing industries of the country. This was particularly evident in an important international export of Palestine: glassware. Glass-making in the region dates back to Phoenician times, and the mosaics of Hellenic and Roman buildings and Byzantine mosaic floors. In the Middle Ages, Acre, Tyre, al-Khalil (Hebron) and other localities in Palestine became famous for glass-making and the Arab Jews of the country and al-Sham as a whole became known as experts at making glass, which would be exported to various countries including some in Europe (Gil, M. 1997: 238). As we shall see in chapter seven, the industry of exquisite glass-making was further developed by Muslim industrialists in al-Khalil during the Mamluk period.

A cikin ɗaya daga cikin shahararrun littafan ilimin ƙasashe da al'ummomi na ƙarni na goma, Al-Maqdisi ya bayyana wasu daga cikin tashoshin ruwa na Bahar Rum a lardin Jund Filastin:

In one of the most famous encyclopaedic geo-political and geoethnographic works of the 10th century, al-Maqdisi describes some of the Mediterranean ports of the province of Jund Filastin:

Tare da dukkan gabar teku ta Filastin akwai wuraren tsaro, wanda ake kira Ribat, inda sojojin tsaro ke taruwa. Jiragen yaki da jiragen ruwa na Rumawa suma suna shiga cikin wadannan tashoshi, suna kawo musu fursunonin Musulmi da suka kama; sukan bayar da su domin fansa – uku a kan dinare dari. A kowace daga cikin wadannan tashoshi akwai mutanen da suka san harshen Rumawa, domin suna da wakilci zuwa ga Rumawa, kuma suna cinikayya da su da kayayyaki iri-iri. A wuraren tsaro, duk lokacin da jirgin Rumawa ya bayyana, sukan busa kaho; idan kuma dare ne, sukan kunna wuta a saman hasumiya; idan kuma rana ce, sukan yi hayaki mai yawa. Daga kowane wurin tsaro a bakin teku har zuwa babban birni (Ar Ramlah), ana gina manyan hasumiyoyi a tazara, kuma a cikin kowace daga cikinsu akwai wata runduna ta mutane. A lokacin zuwan jiragen Rumawa, mutanen da suka lura da hakan sukan kunna wuta a hasumiyar da ta fi kusa da wurin tsaro a bakin teku, sannan a wadda ke sama da ita, haka dai har gaba, daya bayan daya, ta yadda ba a jima ba sai ga kahonni suna busawa a babban birni, kuma ganguna suna bugawa a hasumiyoyi, suna kiran mutane zuwa wuraren tsaro a bakin teku. Sai su fito da yawa, dauke da makamansu, matasan kauyen kuma su taru. Sannan fansar fursunoni ta fara. Wasu za su iya fansar fursuna, yayin da wasu (wadanda ba su da arziki sosai) za su jefa dirhami na azurfa, ko zoben hatimi, ko su bayar da wata kima, har a karshe duk fursunonin da ke cikin jiragen Rumawa su sami fansa. Wuraren tsaro na wannan lardi na Filastin inda ake yin fansar fursunoni su ne: Ghazzah, Mimas, ‘Askalan, Mahuz – (tashar) Azdud, Mahuz – (tashar) Yubna, Yafah, da Arsuf.

All along the sea-coast of Filastin are the Watch-stations, called Ribat, where the levies assemble. The war-ships and galleys of the Greeks also come into these ports, bringing aboard of them the captives taken from the Muslims; these they offer for ransom – three for the hundred Dinars. And in each of these ports there are men who know the Greek tongue, for they have missions to the Greeks, and trade with them in divers wares. At the Stations, whenever a Greek vessel appears, they sound the horns; also, if it be night, they light a beacon there on the tower; or, if it be day, they make a great smoke. From every Watchstation on the coast up to the capital (Ar Ramlah), there are built, at intervals, high towers, in each of which is stationed a company of men. On the occasion of the arrival of the Greek ships the men, perceiving this, kindle the beacon on the tower nearest to the coaststation, and then on that lying next above it, and onwards, one after another, so that hardly is an hour is elapsed before the trumpets are sounding in the capital, and drums are beating in the towers, calling the people down to the Watch-stations by the sea. And they hurry out in force, with their arms, and the young men of the village gather together. Then the ransoming begins. Some will be able to ransom a prisoner, while others (less rich) will throw down silver Dirhams, or signet-rings, or contribute some other valuable, until at length all the prisoners who are in the Greek ships have been ransomed. Now the Watch-stations of this province of Filastin, where this ransoming of captives takes place, are these: Ghazzah, Mimas, ‘Askalan, Mahuz – (the port of ) Azdud, Mahuz – (the port) of Yubna, Yafah, and Arsuf.

(Wanda aka ambata a cikin Le Strange 2014: 23‒24)

(Cited in Le Strange 2014: 23‒24)

A cikin karni na goma, Ibn Hawqal, masanin ƙasa kuma marubucin tarihi Balarabe, wanda ya yi tafiye-tafiye masu yawa a Asiya, Turai da Afirka daga shekara ta 943 zuwa 969 AD, kuma ya rubuta littafin The Face of the Earth, ya bayyana lardin Larabawa na Filastin. Ibn Hawqal, wanda wataƙila ya samo wasu daga cikin bayanansa daga tsoffin majiyoyin Larabci, ya bayyana faɗin lardin Filastin: daga Rafah a kudu zuwa yankin al-Lajjun a arewa, kuma daga Tekun Bahar Rum a yamma zuwa ‘Amman a Transjordan (al-Maqdisi 2002: 138).

Also in the 10th century, Arab geographer and chronicler Ibn Hawqal – who travelled extensively in Asia, Europe and Africa in 943‒969 AD and wrote The Face of the Earth – describes the Arab province of Filastin. Ibn Hawqal, who may well derive some of his information from earlier Arabic sources, describes the extent of the province of Filastin: from Rafah in the south to the region of al-Lajjun in the north and from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to ‘Amman in Transjordan (al-Maqdisi 2002: 138).

Yana wurin da ke da nisan kilomita 16 zuwa arewa maso yamma da Jenin, kuma kilomita 1 zuwa kudu da Tell Megiddo (wanda ake kira kuma Tell al-Mutasallim), al-Lajjun ta kasance, tsawon ƙarnuka da dama, muhimmin gari mai matsayin dabarun soji a yankin Falasɗinu, har zuwa farkon karni na 19 lokacin da Ottoman suka haɗa ta da sabon gundumar Jenin.

Located 16 kilometres north-west of Jenin and 1 kilometre south of Tell Megiddo (also called Tell al-Mutasallim), for many centuries al-Lajjun was an important strategic Palestinian district town, until the turn of the 19th century when it was annexed by the Ottomans to the new district of Jenin.

An ƙauye da aka kwashe mazaunansa aka lalata shi da Isra'ila a shekarar 1948, al-Lajjun an gano shi da tsohon Megiddo, wanda yana daya daga cikin manyan biranen Palasdinu masu karfi da muhimmanci a dukan zamanin Tagulla, kuma yana dauke da daya daga cikin haikalai mafi girma na zamaninsa a dukan Gabas ta Tsakiya (Wiener, N.

Depopulated and destroyed by Israel in 1948, al-Lajjun was identified with ancient Megiddo, which was one of the strongest and most important Palestinian city-states throughout the Bronze Age and housed one of the most monumental temples of its time in the whole Near East (Wiener, N.

2016). A ƙarƙashin Romawa wannan yanki an ɗauke shi a matsayin wani ɓangare na Galili, kuma a karni na 18 al-Lajjun ta zama wani ɓangare na Galili mai cin gashin kai a zahiri, ƙarƙashin Dhaher al-ʿUmar. Alamar cigaba tsakanin tsohuwar da tsakiyar al'adar Larabawa ta al-Lajjun tana bayyana a sunan garin Larabawan Falasdinu na tsakiya, Lajjun, wanda aka samo daga sunan Romawa Legio, ma'ana sansanin sojojin Romawa na farko a lardin ‘Syria Palestinia’. Wurin, wani muhimmin wuri a kan Via Maris na Falasdinu kuma sanannen Romawa da sunan Caparcotna, ya ci gaba da zama sansanin Legio Sexta Ferrata (Sojojin Ƙarfe na Shida), Sojojin Romawa na 6, tsakanin 120 zuwa 300 miladiyya. Sarkin Romawa Bal'arabe, Philippus Arabs (244‒249), ya girmama Sojojin Ƙarfe na Shida, wanda ya nuna sha'awa sosai a harkokin lardunan ‘Syria Palaestina’ da Larabawa, kuma ya buga tsabar kuɗi masu ɗauke da lambar wannan sojojin.8

2016). Under the Romans this region was treated as part of the Galilee and in the 18th century al-Lajjun became part of the practically independent Galilee-based Palestinian state ruled by Dhaher al-ʿUmar. The continuities between the ancient and medieval Arab heritage of al-Lajjun is symbolically present in the name of the medieval Palestinian Arab town Lajjun, which is derived from the Roman name Legio, meaning an early Roman legion camp in the province of ‘Syria Palestinia’. The site, a strategic point on Palestine’s Via Maris and known to Romans as Caparcotna, remained the base of the Legio Sexta Ferrata (Sixth Ironclad Legion), the 6th Roman Legion, between 120 and 300 AD. The Sixth Ironclad Legion was honoured by the Roman Arab Emperor, Philippus Arabs (244‒249), who took a close interest in the affairs of the provinces of ‘Syria Palaestina’ and Arabia and minted coins with the number of this legion.8

A lokacin Abbasiyawa a karni na takwas zuwa na tara, al-Lajjun ta kasance wani muhimmin gari mai gundumomi a cikin lardin Jund Filastin. A duk tsawon zamanin Mamluk mai tsawo (1260-1517), ta zama muhimmin tasha a hanyar kasuwanci da ta gidan waya, kuma a farkon zamanin Ottoman ta kasance babban birnin gundumar (sanjak) a Falasdinu wadda ta dauki sunanta.

Under the Abbasids in the 8th‒9th centuries, al-Lajjun was an important district town, within the province of Jund Filastin. Throughout the long Mamluk period (1260‒1517) it served as an important station in the commercial and postal route and during the early Ottoman period it was the capital of the district (sanjak) in Palestine that bore its name.

Bisa ga wasu majiyoyin Larabci, manyan garuruwan biyu, Beisan (tsohon Scythopolis) da al-Lajjun, an haɗa su cikin lardin Jund Filastin a tsawon farkon Musulunci (duba Gil, M. 1997: 111), duk da haka al-Maqdisi (2002: 138)

According to some Arabic sources, the two major towns of Beisan (former Scythopolis) and al-Lajjun, were included in the province of Jund Filastin throughout early Islam (see Gil, M. 1997: 111), yet al-Maqdisi (2002: 138)

rahotanni sun ce Baysan, al-Lajjun, da kuma Akka duk sun kasance cikin Jund al-Urdun, wannan kuwa yana ƙara ƙarfafa hujjar cewa, ta fuskar yanki da dabarun soja, Jund al-Urdun ya kasance tsawon ƙarnuka da dama daidai da tsohon lardin Byzantine na Palaestina Secunda.

reports that Beisan, al-Lajjun, as well as Acre were part of Jund al-Urdun, something which lends further weight to the argument that, geographically and strategically, Jund al-Urdun remained for several centuries equivalent to the former Byzantine province of Palaestina Secunda.

A karni na 10, Ibn Hawqal ya bayyana babban birnin lardin Jund Filastin, wato al-Ramla, a matsayin babban gari a ƙasar, "amma Birnin Mai Tsarki (na Ƙudus) yana kusa sosai da shi a girma" – abin da kuma ke ba da ɗan tabbaci ga ra'ayin cewa akwai manyan birane biyu (na siyasa da na addini) a Falasɗinu tsawon ƙarni uku a ƙarƙashin Byzantine, da kuma kusan ƙarni huɗu a ƙarƙashin Musulunci tun farkon karni na 8 har zuwa 1099.

In the 10th century Ibn Hawqal describes the administrative capital of the province of Jund Filastin, al-Ramla, as the largest town in the country, ‘but the Holy City (of Jerusalem) comes very near this last in size’ – something which also lends some weight to the two (political/religious) capitals notion existing in Palestine for three centuries under the Byzantines and for nearly four centuries under Islam from the early 8th century until 1099.

Ibn Hawqal ya rubuta:

Ibn Hawqal writes:

Jund Filastin (Palestine) da gundumominsa. Ƙarƙashin wannan gunduma akwai waɗanda suke a Tih [a arewacin Sinai] da kuma Al Jifar, dukansu suna kwance zuwa ga iyakar Masar ... Filastin ita ce mafi yammacin lardunan [al-Sham]. A tsawonta mafi girma daga Rafh [Rafah] zuwa iyakar Al Lajjun (Legio), mahaya zai ɗauki kwana biyu yana tafiya a cikinta; kuma lokaci irin wannan ne zai ɗauka yana ƙetare faɗinta daga Yaffa (Jaffa) zuwa Riha (Jericho).

Jund Filastin (Palestine) and its subdistricts. Subordinate to this district were those of the Tih [in north Sinai] and Al Jifar, both lying towards the Egyptian Frontier ... Filastin is the westernmost of the provinces of [al-Sham]. In its greatest length from Rafh [Rafah] to the boundary of Al Lajjun (Legio), it would take a rider two days to travel over; and the like time to cross the breadth from Yaffa (Jaffa) to Riha (Jericho)

... Filastin ana shayar da ita da ruwan sama da raɓa. Itatuwanta da filayenta da aka noma ba sa buƙatar ban ruwa na wucin gadi; kuma a Nabulus ne kawai ake samun ruwan da ke gudana da ake amfani da shi don haka. Filastin ita ce mafi yalwar amfanin gona a cikin lardunan Siriya. Babban birninta kuma mafi girman gari shi ne Ar Ramlah, amma Birnin Mai Tsarki (na Ƙudus) yana kusa da wannan a girma. A cikin lardin Filastin, duk da ƙanƙantar faɗinsa, akwai kusan masallatai ashirin, masu mimbarai don sallar Juma'a. (An ambata a cikin le Strange 2014: 28; haka kuma Röhricht 1890: 18; Gil, M. 1997: 111)

... Filastin is watered by the rains and dew. Its trees and its ploughed lands do not need artificial irrigation; and it is only in Nabulus that you find the running waters applied to this purpose. Filastin is the most fertile of the Syrian provinces. Its capital and the largest town is Ar Ramlah, but the Holy City (of Jerusalem) comes very near this last in size. In the province of Filastin, despite its small extent, there are about twenty mosques, with pulpits for the Friday prayer. (Cited in le Strange 2014: 28; also Röhricht 1890: 18; Gil, M. 1997: 111)

Duk da cewa fahimtar iyakokin lardin Filastin ta canza a cikin shekaru, a shekarar 1226 masanin ilimin kasa dan Larabci Yaqut al-Hamawi, wanda ya rubuta a lokacin zamanin Ayyubiyawa, ya ambata cewa garin Larabawa al-Fuleh (garin Isra'ila na yau 'Afula), wanda yake a tsakiyar Marj ibn 'Amer, kimanin kilomita 12 arewacin al-Lajjun, a matsayin "gari a cikin Jund Filastin" (Le Strange 1890: 441).

Although the perception of the boundaries of the province of Filastin did change over the years, in 1226 the Arab geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi, writing during the Ayyubid period, mentioned that the Arab town of al-Fuleh (present-day Israeli town of ‘Afula), which was at the heart of Marj ibn ‘Amer, about 12 kilometres to the north of al-Lajjun, as being ‘a town in Jund Filastin’ (Le Strange 1890: 441).