Semasa musim haji [haji orang Islam], beribu-ribu orang yang tidak dapat mengadakan perjalanan ke Mekah datang ke Baitul Maqdis. Mereka mendekati tempat suci [al-Haram] dan mempersembahkan korban sebagaimana yang menjadi adat. Pada sesetengah tahun, lebih daripada 20,000 orang [Islam] menunaikan hukum [haji] di sini ... Orang Kristian dan Yahudi juga datang ke sini, dari negeri orang Kristian. (Nasir Khusro, 1050 M, dipetik daripada Matar 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)

Wilayah Arab Islam Jund Filastin ialah salah satu wilayah ketenteraan/pentadbiran Umayyah dan Abbasiyah di rantau al-Sham, wilayah yang diatur sejurus selepas penaklukan Islam ke atas Levant pada akhir tahun 630-an. Nama rasmi, Jund Filastin, diterima pakai secara meluas sejak awal Islam oleh para pemerintah Muslim dan gabenor Arab di Filastin (walis), serta ahli geografi, ahli kartografi, ahli sejarah, penterjemah, pengukir, pencetak syiling, jemaah haji dan pedagang Arab dan Muslim. Mereka semua bergantung pada warisan klasik Palestin dan Timur Dekat. Pentadbir, ahli sejarah dan ahli geografi Arab juga menterjemahkan dan memelihara banyak nama tempat purba di Palestin serta sebahagian besar warisan klasik Yunani dan Zaman Purba di 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.

Ziarah Islam ke Baitul Maqdis bermula sangat awal, dan ini semakin diperkuat oleh keagungan serta kedudukan sentral kota suci itu dan Filastin pada zaman Umayyah (661‒749), yang hampir mustahil dilebih-lebihkan. Kubah Batu merupakan tempat suci monumental pertama yang didirikan oleh Islam Umayyah antara 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

dan 691 (Murphy-O’Connor 2012: 27). Kerajaan Umayyah, seperti orang Rom dan Byzantine, menggalakkan perbandaran di Palestin. Mereka juga menghormati negara yang berbilang agama dan warisan bersama, serta meneruskan banyak tradisi pentadbiran dan gaya seni bina Byzantine. Bagi orang Arab Muslim, sebagaimana bagi orang Kristian Byzantine, Palestin (Tanah Suci: Arab:

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]; Ibrani: Eretz HaKodesh)

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

dan Baitulmaqdis adalah ruang yang istimewa dan suci. Kesucian serta kedudukan pusat Baitulmaqdis termaktub dalam nama Arabnya sendiri: Bayt al-Maqdis (‘rumah yang suci’) atau al-Quds (‘yang suci’). Menurut pandangan tradisi Islam, Qiblat (bahasa Arab: ‘arah’), arah yang dihadapi oleh kaum Muslimin pertama ketika bersembahyang, pada asalnya menghadap Al-Haram Al-Syarif di Baitulmaqdis. Kota suci ini sentiasa menjadi tumpuan ibadah dan ziarah Islam yang mendalam.

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.

Gabenor wilayah Jund Filastin dilantik oleh Khalifah. Mereka bertanggungjawab ke atas komander tentera, ulama Islam, pegawai agama, pemungut cukai, polis dan pentadbir awam di wilayah tersebut. Namun, para pemerintah Umayyah, terutamanya Khalifah Marwani, mengambil berat secara peribadi terhadap Palestin. Khalifah-khalifah Umayyah, sama seperti pemerintah Kristian Byzantine, membuat perbezaan yang jelas antara bidang 'sekular' (politik, duniawi) dan 'suci', serta antara ibu kota politik (sekular/pentadbiran/ketenteraan) dengan ibu kota suci Palestin. Bagi orang Kristian Byzantine, perbezaan tersebut, yang dirasmikan pada Konsili Nicaea pada tahun 325, menghasilkan susunan gerejawi yang agak rumit dan mengelirukan antara Takhta Uskup Agung Caesarea-Palaestina dan Keuskupan Agung Aelia Capitolina. Walau bagaimanapun, bagi pemerintah Umayyah, perbezaan antara ibu kota politik/sekular/pentadbiran dan ibu kota suci Jund Filastin adalah lebih mudah dan lebih terus. Selain itu, catatan kemudian oleh ahli geografi Arab sejak abad ke-10 memberikan sedikit sokongan kepada konsep ibu kota pentadbiran-sekular berbanding ibu kota agama ('ibu kota berkembar').

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’)

konsep di Palestin yang dicadangkan dalam karya ini.

concept in Palestine suggested in this work.

Aelia Capitolina kekal sebagai nama rasmi Jerusalem sehingga tahun 638 M ketika orang Arab menakluki kota itu dan mengekalkan sebahagian pertama namanya sebagai 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 (kemudiannya Bayt al-Maqdis dan al-Quds) ialah ibu kota suci dan keagamaan bagi negara Umayyah dan bagi Palestin. Khalifah-khalifah Umayyah amat menyayangi dan memuliakan Baitul Maqdis, dan Mu'awiyah (602–680 M), pengasas dinasti Umayyah, dilaporkan telah mengisytiharkan dirinya sebagai Khalifah di Baitul Maqdis (The Encyclopaedia of Islam 1965, Jld. II: 911). Kerajaan Umayyah telah mencurahkan usaha dan sumber yang besar untuk memajukan dan memakmurkan Baitul Maqdis serta bandar-bandar Palestin yang lain.

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.

Menariknya, khalifah-khalifah Marwanid dari Dinasti Umayyah pernah mempertimbangkan untuk memindahkan ibu kota mereka dari Damsyik, yang bersifat sekular, ke kota suci Baitul Maqdis. Walaupun rancangan itu akhirnya ditinggalkan atas pertimbangan strategik, sebagai persediaan mereka telah membina secara simbolik "istana-istana" besar yang berdekatan dengan Masjid al-Aqsa. Dalam penggalian yang dijalankan oleh ahli arkeologi Universiti Hebrew, Benyamin Mazar, pada tahun 1970-an, di selatan dan barat daya al-Haram al-Sharif (Kawasan Suci yang Mulia), sisa-sisa enam bangunan besar telah ditemui; bangunan-bangunan ini tidak disebut dalam mana-mana sumber bertulis Arab yang menceritakan tempoh tersebut. Bangunan-bangunan itu dilabelkan sebagai "istana" kerana kemungkinan besar ia merupakan sebahagian daripada kompleks kerajaan dan pusat pentadbiran kerajaan Umayyah di Baitul Maqdis.

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.

Tiada sesuatu pun yang serupa atau setara dengan kompleks pemerintahan ini di Baitul Maqdis zaman Umayyah yang ditemui di ibu kota sekular Jund Filastin, iaitu al-Ramla. Khalifah-khalifah Marwani juga memperbaharui dan memperkukuhkan kedudukan Baitul Maqdis sebagai pusat dalam empayar Muslim. Jika al-Ramla menjadi ibu pentadbiran Palestin Muslim, Baitul Maqdis pula menjadi jantung keagamaan Palestin Muslim, dan juga bagi seluruh empayar Umayyah. Kini, selain jemaah haji Kristian yang terus datang, turut tiba ke Baitul Maqdis konvoi jemaah Muslim yang datang beribu-ribu orang dari Maghrib, Iran dan juga Asia Tengah.

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.

Istana terbesar dan paling mengagumkan di tengah-tengah seni bina Umayyah sekular yang megah di Ilya (Bayt al-Maqdis) terletak berhampiran sudut barat daya al-Haram dan menjadi kediaman para Khalifah Umayyah yang mengunjungi kota suci itu secara tetap. Istana tersebut dikatakan dibina pada zaman pemerintahan al-Walid bin ‘Abd al-Malik (yang memerintah dari tahun 705 hingga 715) dan serupa dengan istana-istana Umayyah berkubu yang lain di Palestin (berhampiran Jericho dan berhampiran Tiberias) serta Syria. Istana itu berukuran 96 kali 84 meter dan dikelilingi oleh dinding pelindung setebal 3 meter, yang dibina daripada batu-batu besar yang dipotong kemas. Dua pintu utama, satu menghadap ke timur dan satu menghadap ke barat, menjadi laluan masuk ke istana. Sebuah halaman luas berturapkan batu di tengah-tengah bangunan dikelilingi oleh barisan tiang yang menyokong bumbung serambi. Banyak tiang tersebut berasal daripada gereja dan bangunan Byzantin di Palestin, sebagaimana dibuktikan oleh kesan salib terukir pada tiang-tiang itu.

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.

Ruang-ruang di sekeliling halaman tengah dilapisi dengan jubin batu kecil dan mozek. Plaster yang dihiasi reka bentuk geometri dan motif bunga menutupi dinding-dinding tebal itu. Sebuah jambatan dibina dari bumbung istana ke al-Haram al-Sharif (kompleks Tanah Suci Mulia), menyediakan laluan langsung ke Masjid al-Aqsa. Kompleks bangunan Muslim yang megah itu musnah akibat gempa bumi pada tahun 749; bukti kemusnahan itu ialah tiang-tiang yang roboh dan dinding-dinding yang runtuh.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

Bani Umayyah menjalankan program pembinaan yang monumental di Baitul Maqdis, dengan pusatnya ialah Kubah Batu (Qubbat As-Sakhrah) yang siap dibina pada tahun 691

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

AD) dan Masjid al-Aqsa (siap pada tahun 705 AD), kedua-duanya masih berdiri, dan kedua-duanya kekal sebagai simbol agama dan budaya Palestin yang paling berpengaruh. Masjid al-Aqsa sendiri dibina berdasarkan sebuah masjid Islam yang lebih awal yang didirikan dalam kompleks Haram al-Sharif, dan dengan merujuk kepada satu tradisi Islam yang penting, iaitu Isra dan Mi'raj. Menurut Islam, tradisi ini melibatkan perjalanan malam Nabi Muhammad ﷺ ke Baitulmaqdis, yang berlaku sekitar tahun 621 AD. Program pembinaan semula awam (sekular dan keagamaan) yang megah oleh Bani Umayyah di Baitulmaqdis dan al-Ramla, serta istana-istana besar mereka di Baitulmaqdis dan berhampiran Jericho dan Tiberias, menunjukkan sejauh mana Palestin telah menjadi pusat kepada negara Umayyah dan Islam awal. Namun, pengasasan sebuah bandar metropolitan yang sepenuhnya baharu bagi Palestin juga melambangkan satu pemutusan daripada masa silam Byzantine dan suatu penyusunan semula Palestin di bawah pemerintahan Marwanid. Ini membawa kepada penubuhan sebuah bandar ibu kota baharu bagi wilayah Filastin, iaitu al-Ramla, sebuah ibu kota pentadbiran yang diasaskan oleh Sulaiman bin 'Abd al-Malik, Gabenor Filastin (705–715 AD) dan kemudiannya Khalifah Umayyah (715–717). Namun akhirnya, terutamanya pada zaman Umayyah, bandar pentadbiran baharu yang dibina di al-Ramla tidak pernah dapat menandingi lokasi dan kemegahan bangunan di Baitulmaqdis, mahupun sejarah keagamaannya yang kaya – sebuah bandar yang, sebagaimana akan kita lihat dalam bab tujuh, setelah Salah al-Din berjaya merampas semula daripada tentera Salib Latin pada abad ke-12, menjadi pusat pentadbiran Palestin yang didiami majoriti Muslim.

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.

Menurut kebijaksanaan konvensional, nama Ramla berasal dari perkataan Arab raml, yang bermaksud pasir (Palmer 1881: 217). Akan tetapi, lebih mungkin bahawa ibu kota Arab yang baharu itu dinamakan oleh Sulaiman bin ‘Abd al-Malik bukan kerana pasirnya, tetapi sebagai mengenang Ramla, seorang wanita yang luar biasa, yang merupakan puteri Khalifah Mu‘awiyah bin Abu Sufyan, pengasas dinasti Umayyah. Kedudukan Ramla dalam kalangan elit pemerintah Umayyah bertambah tinggi kerana beliau juga berkahwin dengan seorang putera Uthman, khalifah ketiga Islam (Roded 1994: 57). Kemungkinan bahawa sebuah bandar besar dinamakan sempena seorang wanita Umayyah yang penting dalam sejarah dinasti pemerintah itu boleh dengan mudah terlepas pandang oleh ahli sejarah Muslim zaman pertengahan selepas Umayyah, yang hampir keseluruhannya lelaki dan cenderung menyokong Abbasiyah.

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.

Lebih penting lagi, Sulaiman bin ‘Abd al-Malik terus tinggal di al-Ramla, dan tidak berpindah ke ibu kota empayar, Damsyik, selepas beliau menjadi Khalifah pada tahun 715 M (The Encyclopaedia of Islam 1965, Jld. II: 911). Beliau juga "dikreditkan dengan pembinaan sebuah istana, sebuah masjid, sistem bekalan dan simpanan air yang luas serta Rumah Tukang Celup"; selepas itu, dan selama beberapa abad, al-Ramla berkembang sebagai sebuah bandar berkubu dengan banyak takungan air dan sistem pengumpulan serta simpanan air hujan yang sangat maju (Lev 2006: 590‒591). Tambahan pula, sepanjang awal Islam, dua bandar itu, al-Ramla yang bersifat politik/sekular dan Baitul Maqdis yang bersifat suci, berada di tengah-tengah sebuah wilayah Arab Palestin yang tersendiri. Wilayah Arab Jund Filastin, yang menggabungkan wilayah Byzantine Palaestina Prima dan Palaestina Tertia, merangkumi kebanyakan bandar utama Palestin dan lebih dua pertiga daripada wilayah Palestin Mandat.

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.

Bukti arkeologi dan nama-nama tempat menunjukkan kesinambungan Palestin bersejarah melalui ingatan toponimik dan budaya bersama. Ia menunjukkan bahawa bandar-bandar utama Palestin pada zaman Byzantine Palaestina – Lydda, Scythopolis (Beisan), Gaza, Tiberias, Neapolis (Nablus), Jaffa, ‘Amwas/Emmuas, Rafah, Acre, ‘Asqalan, Ilya/al-Quds/Jerusalem, Eleutheropolis (Beit Jibrin) dan Caesarea Maritima (Qaysariah) – terus berfungsi sebagai pusat bandar dalam tempoh ini. Sejumlah bandar dan pekan baharu juga dibina, yang paling ketara ialah al-Ramla (yang menjadi pusat pentadbiran dan perdagangan Palestin selama beberapa abad), terletak di pedalaman, jauh daripada kemungkinan serangan laut Byzantine dan medan pertempuran Mediterranean antara Byzantine dan Arab, manakala pangkalan tentera laut Arab dan limbungan kapal yang baharu didirikan di Palestin (Nicolle 1996: 47). Jerusalem (seperti Gaza, ‘Asqalan, Nablus, Caesarea dan Jaffa) merupakan sebuah daerah (qada) dan ibu kota agama negara itu. Kota ini diperluas oleh Umayyah dengan seni bina Islam Arab yang megah yang baharu, dan bandar itu berkembang maju sebagai pusat agama bagi seluruh negara serta kota suci bagi orang Yahudi dan Kristian. Lebih-lebih lagi, bentuk seni bina Palestin bandar dan Jerusalem Islam mempamerkan kesinambungan dan penyesuaian, serta campuran gaya Arab Islam dan 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

Menurut sejarawan Muslim abad ke-9, al-Baladuri, bandar-bandar utama di wilayah Jund Filastin termasuk al-Ramla, al-Quds, Gaza, ‘Asqalan, Nablus, Yafa (Jaffa), ‘Amwas, Rafah, Sabastia, Qaysariah, Tabariyyah, Beit Jibrin, al-Khalil (Hebron), Lid (Lydda) dan Yubna,4 yang terakhir ini merupakan salah satu daripada sepuluh bandar di Jund Filastin yang ditakluki oleh tentera Arab di bawah pimpinan ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas pada tahun 630-an (dipetik daripada Le Strange 1890: 20). Pada abad ke-7, syiling Arab-Byzantine bagi wilayah Jund Filastin dicetak di Yubna, Jerusalem dan Lydda (Goodwin 2004), iaitu ibu kota awal dan sementara bagi 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.

Pertimbangan strategik-ketenteraan dan laluan perdagangan antarabangsa merupakan faktor utama dalam pembentukan konsep Palestin serta dalam membentuk sejarahnya di bawah pemerintahan Byzantium dan Islam. Bandar ibu negeri baharu wilayah Jund Filastin, al-Ramla, telah diasaskan oleh orang Arab sekitar tahun 705–715 M dan menjadi ibu negeri Palestin. Al-Quds (Baitulmaqdis) ialah pusat keagamaan Palestin dan negara Umayyah. Al-Ramla dipilih sebagai pusat pentadbiran Palestin antara tahun 715 M dan 940 M kerana lokasi strategiknya yang penting di sepanjang laluan perdagangan bersejarah Via Maris ('jalan laut' atau 'jalan orang Filistin') melalui Gaza ke Mesir.5 Di Tantura, Via Maris yang lama membelok ke pedalaman ke sebelah kanan, melalui Marj Ibn 'Amer dan kemudian melepasi Gunung Tabor ke utara menuju Damsyik.

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.

Di bawah pemerintahan Islam, laluan ini menghubungkan ke al-Fustat (Kaherah awal), dengan bandar al-Sham (Damsyik) di persimpangannya dengan jalan yang menghubungkan pelabuhan Jaffa dengan kota suci al-Quds (Baitulmaqdis).

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).

Namun, selepas umat Islam merebut semula Baitulmaqdis daripada tentera Salib Latin pada tahun 1187 dan Ayyubid menghapuskan Kerajaan Latin Jerusalem yang pertama, ibu kota pentadbiran Filastin beralih ke al-Quds. Kerajaan Latin Jerusalem ialah sebuah negara Salib yang ditubuhkan pada tahun 1099 selepas Perang Salib Pertama. Selepas Perang Salib Ketiga, kerajaan itu ditubuhkan semula di Acre pada tahun 1192 dan bertahan sehingga tahun 1291. Secara keseluruhan, Kerajaan Latin itu bertahan di Palestin hampir 200 tahun, dari tahun 1099 hingga 1291, apabila kubu dan ibu kota terakhir, Acre, dimusnahkan oleh Mamluk. Kedudukan al-Quds sebagai ibu kota pentadbiran dan agama Palestin diperkukuh oleh kedua-dua Ayyubid dan Mamluk (1260–1517) dalam tempoh selepas Perang Salib.

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.

Lebih awal di bawah Islam, dan selama beberapa abad antara awal abad ke-8 dan akhir abad ke-11, al-Ramla merupakan pusat ekonomi dan politik wilayah Filastin serta bandar perdagangan terbesar, terkaya dan paling berkuasa di negara itu. Al-Ramla terletak di tengah-tengah laluan perdagangan utara‒selatan dan barat‒timur, dan jumlah besar caravanserai (khan) yang bertaburan di seluruh negara, dengan jarak kira-kira 20 hingga 30 kilometer antara satu sama lain, membolehkan pedagang dan jemaah haji bermalam dan berehat. Khan-khan ini juga bertujuan untuk memudahkan perkhidmatan pos (barid) yang telah diperkenalkan ke Palestin oleh kerajaan Umayyah (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) dan dibangunkan lebih lanjut di bawah dinasti-dinasti Islam yang silih berganti. Bandar-bandar bersejarah lain dalam wilayah Jund Filastin pada awal Islam ialah al-Quds, ‘Asqalan, Gaza, Lydda, Arsuf (Yunani: Apollonia),6 Jaffa, Beit Jibrin, Nablus, Jericho dan Qaysariah, dengan ‘Amman di timur Sungai Jordan. Dalam tempoh ini, kita dapat melihat kedua-dua kesinambungan dan transformasi dalam identiti sosial, budaya, ekonomi, pentadbiran dan geopolitik Palestin.

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.

Sepanjang Zaman Pertengahan, jemaah haji dan penulis pengembaraan Muslim melaporkan bahawa Filastin disamakan di seluruh dunia Islam dengan ibu kota negara itu: 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).

Sesungguhnya, selama berabad-abad sepanjang awal Islam, nama ibu kota Palestin, al-Ramla, menjadi sinonim dengan nama negara secara keseluruhan, Filastin (Palestin), dan ibu kota itu sering disebut sebagai al-Ramla-Filastin oleh pengembara, ahli geografi dan ahli sejarah Arab zaman pertengahan, sama seperti bekas ibu kota Palestin Byzantine, Caesarea Maritima, telah menjadi sinonim dengan nama negara secara keseluruhan, Palaestina, dan sering disebut sebagai Caesarea-Palaestina. Sekali lagi kita melihat Islam meneruskan dan menyesuaikan secara pragmatik tradisi Palestin serta tradisi pentadbiran dan geopolitik Byzantine di Palestin, dan bukannya menggantikannya sepenuhnya. Penyesuaian dan transformasi tradisi pentadbiran dan geopolitik Byzantine ini juga dipengaruhi oleh kecenderungan di Palestin dan Timur Dekat secara keseluruhan (termasuk Timur Dekat Arab Muslim) untuk menyamakan negara, wilayah atau kawasan dengan ibu kota. Sebagai contoh:

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:

Ibu kota Gaza dan Ascalon serta kawasan pedalamannya menjadi sinonim dengan Filistia pada Zaman Gangsa Akhir dan sepanjang Zaman Besi.

• 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, ibu kota Palaestina Prima di bawah pemerintahan Byzantium, menjadi sinonim dengan Provincia Palaestina secara keseluruhan.

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

Al-Sham menjadi sinonim dengan ibu kota wilayah Muslim Dimashq (Damsyik).

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

Al-Fustat ialah ibu kota pertama Mesir di bawah pemerintahan Islam. Ia dinamakan Misr al-Fustat dan Fustat-Misr (Fustat-Mesir), dan istilah Misr atau Masr (Mesir) menjadi sinonim dengan Masr al-Qadimah, iaitu ibu kota Kaherah lama.

• 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.

Seperti yang akan kita lihat, dua ibu kota Raja Latin Jerusalem (dan Palaestina Latin) di bawah tentera Salib Frank, mula-mula Jerusalem dan kemudian Acre, menjadi dikaitkan dengan 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.

Seperti yang akan kita lihat, ibu kota Palestin Uthmaniyah yang lewat, al-Quds, dan wilayahnya: Kudüs-i Şerif Mutasarrıflığı (‘Mutasarrifiyah Baitulmaqdis yang Mulia’), menjadi dikaitkan dengan Filastin secara keseluruhan.

• 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.

Perdagangan antarabangsa dan serantau sentiasa menjadi tunjang kemakmuran Palestin, kerana ia merupakan sebuah negara transit. Walaupun dari segi geografi Baitul Maqdis pada zaman itu terpencil di kawasan pergunungan, hakikat bahawa ibu kota sekular wilayah Filastin, al-Ramla, terletak secara strategik dan komersial di atas lebuh raya yang menghubungkan dua ibu kota besar Islam, al-Sham (Damsyik) dan Misr al-Fustat serta Fustat-Misr (Fustat-Mesir), sangat meningkatkan kemakmuran dan reputasi antarabangsa al-Ramla. Oleh itu, Filastin bukan sahaja nama rasmi wilayah/negara, tetapi bagi sebahagian sejarawan Arab zaman pertengahan, nama itu juga menjadi sinonim dengan ibu kota al-Ramla. Dari segi strategik, geopolitik dan perdagangan, al-Ramla terletak di tengah-tengah negara dan menghubungkan Baitul Maqdis dengan Jaffa, pelabuhan utama Laut Mediterranean bagi Jund Filastin, lalu berkembang sebagai pusat pentadbiran, ketenteraan dan perdagangan negara itu selama lebih tiga abad (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).

Pada akhir abad ke-9, wilayah Filastin mungkin berada pada keluasan yang paling besar. Ia diperluaskan lagi oleh Tulunid, yang memisahkan diri daripada Abbasid dan memerintah dari Mesir sebagai dinasti yang merdeka dari tahun 868 hingga 905. Wilayah Filastin diperbesar atas tujuan praktikal ke arah timur dan selatan, dengan mengorbankan Jund Dimashq, untuk merangkumi Bilad al-Sharat, kawasan tanah tinggi yang sangat subur di selatan Jordan moden dan barat laut Arab Saudi (Salibi 1993: 18‒20; le Strange 1890: 28). Aylah (kini ‘Aqabah) merupakan bandar utama pertama di Palestin yang diambil alih oleh tentera Islam di bawah kepimpinan Nabi Muhammad ﷺ pada tahun 630 M (9 H). Ini tidaklah menghairankan: pada usia remaja, Nabi Muhammad ﷺ telah menyertai bapa saudaranya dalam kafilah perdagangan Syria‒Palestin dan memperoleh pengalaman dalam perdagangan antarabangsa serta geografi wilayah. Kemudian, setelah dewasa, Nabi ﷺ mendapat reputasi sebagai seorang peniaga yang amanah dan sangat berjaya, dan baginda terlibat dalam perdagangan antarabangsa antara Laut Merah dan Laut Mediterranean; Nabi ﷺ tentunya juga amat biasa dengan bandar-bandar pelabuhan seperti Aylah (kini ‘Aqabah) dan Gaza, yang pada masa itu menghubungkan rangkaian perdagangan antarabangsa Palaestina Salutaris dan Palaestina Prima. Malah, sepanjang awal Islam, Aylah menjadi pelabuhan perdagangan utama Filastin ke Asia dan China (Ramadan 2010a). Bandar pelabuhan Aylah menjadi pusat aktiviti ekonomi di selatan Filastin dan juga berfungsi sebagai tempat persinggahan utama bagi jemaah haji Muslim dalam perjalanan ke Makkah (Ramadan 2010a; 2010b). Adapun wilayah Bilad al-Sharat, bandar utamanya ialah al-Karak, yang kini terkenal dengan kota kubu Crusader, terletak 140 kilometer di selatan ‘Amman dan kemudiannya menjadi tapak di sepanjang Jalan Raja purba. Pada tahap keluasannya yang paling besar, Jund Filastin meliputi kawasan dari pantai Laut Mediterranean hingga ke wilayah di seberang Laut Mati, termasuk Bilad al-Sharat, serta dari al-‘Arish di Semenanjung Sinai hingga ke Marj Ibn ‘Amer dan Beisan di utara, dengan kebanyakan kawasan Galilee termasuk dalam Jund al-Urdun (‘wilayah ketenteraan Jordan’). Bandar-bandar yang majoritinya beragama Islam termasuk Gaza, Nablus, Jaffa, Lydda, al-Ramla, Qaysariah, ‘Amwas, Yubna, Rafah, Sabastiyah (Sebastia) dan 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.

Ibu kota politik Filastin, al-Ramla, termasyhur di seluruh dunia Islam kerana Masjid Putihnya yang sangat indah – yang menaranya masih berdiri – dan kerana kesuburan tanah daerahnya, kelimpahan pokok buahnya serta 'buah-buahan yang lazat', manakala ibu kota agama Palestin, Bayt al-Maqdis, dibaiki bukan sahaja kerana kepentingan agamanya tetapi juga kerana keindahan bangunan batunya dan seni binanya yang halus (al-Maqdisi 2002: 34‒35). Sementara di bawah pemerintahan Byzantine, Caesarea telah selama berabad-abad menjadi bandar terbesar di Palaestina, selama tiga abad di bawah Islam al-Ramla menjadi bandar metropolitan terbesar di negara itu. Al-Ramla digambarkan pada akhir abad ke-10 oleh ahli sejarah dan ahli geografi kelahiran Baitul Maqdis, al-Maqdisi, sebagai salah sebuah bandar yang 'terbaik' di seluruh wilayah Islam (al-Maqdisi 2002: 35). Beliau berkata begini:

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 ialah ibu kota Palestin [Arab: Qasbat Filastin]. Ia sebuah bandar yang indah dan dibina dengan baik. Airnya ringan dan melimpah, buah-buahannya banyak. Ia meliputi pelbagai kelebihan ... terletak di tengah-tengah pemandangan yang elok, kampung-kampung yang menyenangkan dan bandar-bandar yang megah, serta berdekatan dengan tempat-tempat suci. Perdagangan di sana makmur dan pasarnya amat baik. Tiada masjid yang lebih indah dalam Islam daripada masjid di bandar itu ... tiada buah-buahan dalam Islam yang lebih lazat daripada yang terdapat di bandar itu dan kota-kota sekitarnya ... penginapannya menyenangkan dan hammam-hammamnya [tempat mandi awam] anggun ... rumah-rumahnya besar ... masjid-masjidnya baik, jalan-jalannya lebar ... jalan-jalannya menuju ... ke jalan Bayt al-Maqdis [Baitulmuqaddis] ... jalan Lydda, jalan Jaffa, jalan Mesir, jalan Dajon ... Masjid utama di ibu kota [Ar-Ramlah], yang terletak di pasar, lebih indah dan lebih anggun lagi daripada [Masjid Agung] Damsyik. Ia dinamakan Al Abyad [Masjid Putih]. Dalam seluruh Islam tidak terdapat mihrab [relung solat] yang lebih besar daripada yang di sini [di Ar-Ramlah], dan mimbarnya ialah yang paling megah untuk dilihat selepas mimbar di Bayt al-Maqdis; ia juga memiliki menara yang indah yang dibina oleh Hisyam bin ‘Abdul-Malik. (Al-Maqdisi 2002: 143‒144; juga dipetik dalam Le Strange 1890: 304‒305)

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)

Jelas sekali al-Maqdisi sendiri sangat sedar dan malah berbangga dengan identiti 'Jerusalemite' serta warisan Palestinnya. Menariknya, bagaimanapun, memandangkan pengembaraannya yang luas ke seluruh dunia Islam dan pelbagai pekerjaannya, beliau menerangkan tiga puluh enam nama dan gelaran yang dengannya dia dipanggil sepanjang perjalanannya, dan antaranya termasuk 'Jerusalemite [Maqdisi], Palestinian [Filastini], Egyptian, Maghribi, Khurasani ... faqih, sufi ... tourist ... trader, imam ... Iraqi, Baghdadi, Shami ... 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 ...

Teacher, Sheikh’ (al-Maqdisi 2002: 41). Hmm, this is a fragment: "teacher, sheikh’ (al-Maqdisi 2002: 41)." The translation into Malay: Guru, Syeikh’ (al-Maqdisi 2002: 41).

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

Kisah al-Maqdisi juga memberi kita gambaran tentang pembentukan identiti Palestin yang berlapis-lapis pada abad ke-10 oleh seorang individu yang sangat berpendidikan dan banyak mengembara, satu pembentukan yang dalam banyak hal menggema pembentukan identiti Palestin serantau oleh al-Maqdisi, Mujir al-Din al-ʿUlaymi, Khair al-Din al-Ramli dan Salih ibn Ahmad al-Tumurtashi pada abad ke-10 hingga ke-17 (lihat di bawah). Identiti ini bermula dengan kota kelahiran al-Maqdisi (Jerusalem/Bayt al-Mqdis), sebuah kota di wilayah pentadbiran Filastin, yang berada dalam wilayah yang lebih besar al-Sham, di dalam domain Islam (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).