Wanahistoria mara nyingi huchanganya michakato ya Uarabu huko Palestina na kuanzishwa kwa Kiarabu kama lugha ya mawasiliano (lingua franca) kwa Palestina na Mashariki ya Karibu. Kwa kweli, Uarabu na Uislamu huko Palestina, pamoja na mabadiliko ya jumuiya za kidini za nchi hiyo – ikiwa ni pamoja na majimbo matatu ya Palestina: Prima, Secunda na Tertia – yalikuwa michakato tofauti ya kihistoria, na haipaswi kuunganishwa au kupangwa kwa wakati mmoja kiotomatiki.

Historians tend to conflate Arabisation processes in Palestine with the establishment of Arabic as the lingua franca for Palestine and the Near East. In fact, Arabisation and Islamisation in Palestine and the transformations of religious communities of the country – including the three Palestine provinces: Prima, Secunda and Tertia – were distinct historical processes and should not be automatically conflated or synchronised.

Kihistoria, michakato ya Uarabu katika Palestina kubwa (ikiwa ni pamoja na uwepo wa Wakristo wa Kipalestina wanaozungumza Kiarabu) ulitangulia kwa muda mrefu michakato ya Uislamu nchini, ingawa kuanzishwa kwa Kiarabu kama lugha ya mawasiliano ya Palestina kulienda sambamba na Uislamu wa nchi hiyo.

Historically, Arabisation processes in greater Palestine (including the existence of Arabic-speaking Palestinian Christians) long preceded Islamisation processes in the country, although the establishment of Arabic as the lingua franca of Palestine went hand in hand with the Islamisation of the country.

Kama tulivyoona tayari, katika kipindi cha Enzi ya Chuma II (1000–6000

As we have already seen, over the course of the Iron Age II (1000–6000

BC) miji ya biashara ya Ufilisti wa kale (Gaza, Jaffa, ‘Aphek, Ekron, Ashdod, Ascalon) ilianzisha kusini mwa Palestina uliounganika na wenye ustawi kwa kufanya kazi kwa karibu na wafanyabiashara na mabaharia Waarabu. Waarabu walikuwa wafanyabiashara wenye nguvu walioiunganisha biashara ya mbali kutoka India na Asia na eneo la Mashariki ya Mediterania kupitia Bahari Nyekundu, Nabataea, kusini mwa Palestina na bandari za Ufilisti. Kusini huu uliounganika uliendelea kuwepo chini ya milki ya Waashuru na Waajemi, na katika karne ya 5 KK Herodotus alieleza kwa kina uwepo wa Waarabu kusini mwa Palestina. Karne moja baadaye, Waarabu wa Nabataea, waliostawi kwa biashara ya kimataifa na kilimo cha ndani, walianza kutawala Naqab/Negev kuanzia karne ya 4 KK na kuanzisha vijiji na miji kadhaa ya Kipalestina, baadhi yake ikiendelea kuwepo hadi Nakba ya Kipalestina ya 1948.

BC) the trading cities of old Philistia (Gaza, Jaffa, ‘Aphek, Ekron, Ashdod, Ascalon) created a flourishing integrated south in Palestine by working closely with Arab traders and sailors. The Arabs were powerful traders who linked the distant trade from India and Asia to the Eastern Mediterranean region via the Red Sea, Nabataea, southern Palestine and the seaports of Philistia. This integrated south was maintained under the Assyrian and Persian empires and in the 5th century BC Herodotus describes in detail the presence of Arabs in southern Palestine. A century later, the Nabataean Arabs, who flourished on international trade and local agriculture, began to dominate the Naqab/Negev from the 4th century BC onwards and founded several Palestinian villages and towns, some of which survived until the Palestinian Nakba of 1948.

Al-Khalasa, kijiji cha Wapalestina Waislamu kilicho umbali wa kilomita 23 kusini-magharibi mwa mji wa Beershiba na kuondolewa wakazi wake na Israeli mwaka 1948, kilianzishwa na Waarabu wa Nabataea mwanzoni mwa karne ya 4 kwa kutumia jina la Kiarabu ‘al-Khalus’, na mji huo ukawa sehemu ya njia ya biashara ya uvumba ya Waarabu wa Nabataea. Mwanahistoria na mwanajiografia wa Kigiriki na Kirumi Ptolemy anautambulisha kama mji katika Idumaea. Katika kipindi cha marehemu cha Kirumi ulikua na kuwa mji mkuu wa mkoa wa magharibi wa Roman Arabia Petraea.

Al-Khalasa, a Palestinian Muslim village located 23 kilometres south-west of the city of Beershiba and depopulated by Israel in 1948, was founded by the Nabataean Arabs in the early 4th century using the Arabic name ‘al-Khalus’, and the town became part of the Nabataean Arab incense route. The Greco-Roman historian and geographer Ptolemy identifies it as a town in Idumaea. In the late Roman period it grew to become the principal town of the western Roman Arabia Petraea province.

Chini ya Wabyzantine, mji wa Palaestina Tertia ulijulikana kama 'Elusa', ukihifadhi jina la Kiarabu. Pia ulitumika kama kituo cha utawala katika jangwa la Naqab, na ulikuwa makao ya mojawapo ya shule tatu za kitamaduni za balagha katika Palaestina ya Wabyzantine. Chini ya Uislamu wa Kiarabu, mji uliendelea kufanya kazi kama kitovu kikubwa cha mijini na ukajulikana kwa jina lake la kisasa la Kiarabu, al-Khalasa, lakini uliachwa wakati fulani wa mwisho wa enzi ya Mamluk katika karne ya 15 CE. Ulipewa watu upya na Wabedui wa Kipalestina mapema karne ya 20. Baada ya kuharibiwa kwa kijiji cha Kiarabu mwaka 1948, Waisraeli waliubadilisha jina na kuuita Haluza (kwa Kiebrania: 'mpainia'), jina linalosikika kama la Kiebrania lililotokana na jina la mahali la Kiarabu 'al-Khalus'; na hivi karibuni UNESCO ilitangaza eneo la kiakiolojia kuwa Urithi wa Dunia, jambo la kejeli kwa sababu ya umuhimu wake wa kihistoria, lakini kwa kweli bila kutambua umuhimu mkuu wa eneo hilo kwa karne ishirini na nne za historia na urithi wa Kiarabu huko Palestina.

Under the Byzantines the Palaestina Tertia town became known as ‘Elusa’, preserving the Arabic name. It also served as an administrative centre in the Naqab desert and was the home of one of three classical schools of rhetoric in Byzantine Palaestina. Under Arab Islam the town continued to function as a major urban centre and became known by its modern Arabic name al-Khalasa, but was abandoned sometime during the late Mamluk period in the 15th century CE. It was repopulated by Palestinian Bedouins in the early 20th century. After the destruction of the Arab village in 1948 the Israelis renamed it Haluza (Hebrew: ‘pioneer’), a Hebrew-sounding name based on the Arabic toponym ‘al-Khalus’; and more recently UNESCO declared the archaeological site a World Heritage Site, ironically due to its historic importance but, in fact, without acknowledging the centrality of the site to the twenty-four centuries of Arab history and heritage in Palestine.

Katika Uislamu wa mwanzo, mchanganyiko wa mambo ya kistratejia-kijeshi na kiutawala katika uundaji wa mfumo wa ajnad (mikoa) minne, na baadaye mitano, ya Muslim katika Bilad al-Sham uliathiriwa na mpangilio wa kistratejia wa eneo hilo uliokuwepo awali wakati wa Byzantium. Asili ya mfumo wa ajnad wa Bilad al-Sham chini ya Uislamu inajadiliwa, hata hivyo, Irfan Shahid (1986) anaona kwamba mfumo huu una asili ya Byzantium. Mikoa, au ajnad, ilibakiza majukumu ya kiraia na kiutawala kwa wilaya zilizoizunguka, ikiwa ni pamoja na ukusanyaji wa kodi (Walmsley 2000: 273). Magavana wa Kiarabu wa ajnad tano (umoja: jund) za eneo la al-Sham, Dameski, Filastin, al-Urdun, Hims na Qinnasrin, waliitwa amiri, na katika kisa kimoja, Gavana (wali) wa Jund Filastin, Suleiman ibn ‘Abd al-Malik, akawa Khalifa wa Kiumayya mnamo mwaka 715.

In early Islam, the combination of strategic-military and administrative considerations for the creation of the four, and later five, Muslim ajnads (provinces) system in Bilad al-Sham were influenced by the previous Byzantine strategic configuration of the region. The origins of the ajnad system of Bilad al-Sham under Islam are in dispute. However, Irfan Shahid (1986) sees a Byzantine origin for this system. The provinces, or ajnad, retained civil and administrative responsibilities for their surrounding districts, including the raising of taxes (Walmsley 2000: 273). The Arab governors of the five ajnad (sing. jund) of al-Sham region, Damascus, Filastin, al-Urdun, Hims and Qinnasrin, were called amirs and, in one case, the Governor (wali) of Jund Filastin, Suleiman ibn ‘Abd al-Malik, became the Umayyad Caliph in 715.

Palestina ilikuwa imeingizwa kikamilifu ndani ya Ukhalifa wa Kiislamu mnamo mwaka 637‒638.

Palestine had been brought fully within the Islamic Caliphate in 637‒638.

Katika nadharia ya Kiislamu ya utawala, Khalifa alikuwa mtawala mkuu aliyechaguliwa na jamii kuwa mrithi wa Mtume Muhammad ﷺ. Kama kiongozi wa kisiasa wa jamii nzima ya Waislamu, Khalifa alipewa mfumo wa marejeo wa Kiislamu uliobainishwa na Qur'ani na Hadithi (maneno na matendo ya Mtume Muhammad ﷺ), na alilazimika kutawala kwa kupitia shura (mashauriano, majadiliano, ushauri). Shura, kanuni ya Qur'ani, iliunda nafasi iliyowezesha mila za Kiislamu kujadiliana na wingi wa kijamii na ubadilishanaji wa tamaduni kote katika dola kubwa ya Kiislamu. Hata hivyo, katika utekelezaji, Makhalifa wengi walikuwa watawala warithi, na walikuwa imara kama vile majeshi yao na miungano yao ya kisiasa ilivyowafanya. Waasisi wa nasaba ya Banu Umayya pia walikuwa wakifahamu sana uhusiano wa mamlaka na maarifa, kama anavyoakisi dhana maarufu ya Michel Foucault.

In the Islamic theory of governance, a Caliph was a supreme ruler who was chosen by the community to be a successor to the Prophet Muhammad. As political leader of the entire Muslim community, the Caliph was provided with an Islamic reference framework defined by the Quran and the Hadith (the sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad) and was obliged to govern through shura (consultation, deliberation, advice). The shura, a Quranic principle, created a space that enabled the Islamic traditions to negotiate social pluralism and inter-cultural exchanges throughout the vast Islamic empire. In practice, however, many Caliphs were hereditary rulers and they were only as strong as their armies and political alliances made them. The founders of the Umayyad dynasty were also acutely aware of the power/knowledge nexus, to echo Michel Foucault’s famous paradigm.

Walikuwa ni Makhalifa wenye nguvu, werevu na wenye busara ya vitendo, nao walitafuta ushauri wa kiutawala, shauri la kisiasa, maarifa ya kisayansi na utaalamu wa kiteknolojia kutoka kwa raia wao Waislamu na wasio Waislamu sawasawa. Kubadilika kwa mapokeo ya Kiislamu kulipokuwa kumeshika mizizi imara, mwaka 661 BK Makhalifa wa Bani Umayya walichukua uongozi wa dola ya Kiislamu na kuifanya Dameski kuwa mji mkuu wa dola kubwa ya Kiislamu.

They were powerful, shrewd and pragmatic Caliphs and sought administrative advice, political shura, scientific knowledge and technological expertise from their Muslim and non-Muslim subjects alike. With the flexibility of the Islamic tradition firmly established, in 661 AD the Umayyad Caliphs took over the Islamic state and made Damascus the capital of the vast Islamic empire.

Ushahidi wa nyenzo, wa kiuchumi, wa kidini na wa kisiasa unaonyesha kwamba chini ya Makhalifa wa Umayyad wa ukoo wa Marwan,1 waliofanikiwa kupanua dola ya Kiislamu hadi ukubwa usio na kifani, majimbo mawili (ajnad) ya Dimashq na Filastin yalichukuliwa kama majimbo ya msingi ( أجناد ) ya dola kubwa, kwa sababu za itikadi ya kidini iliyochanganyika na siasa za vitendo. Baada ya yote, Palestina ilikuwa na umuhimu zaidi wa kimkakati na ilidhibitiwa kwa ukali zaidi na watawala wa Umayyad kuliko jangwa za Arabia, na vivyo hivyo Syria, hivyo kitovu na umuhimu wa Palestina na Syria chini ya Makhalifa wa Umayyad wa ukoo wa Marwan vilibaki kuwa vya juu kabisa. Pia ilisaidia mchakato wa kufanya dola kubwa iwe na sura moja na kuenea kwa Kiarabu kwamba wakulima wa Palestina walizungumza toleo la kienyeji la Kiaramu, lahaja iliyokaribu zaidi na Kiarabu kuliko lugha nyingine yoyote isipokuwa Kiebrania, ambayo ilikuwa imetoweka kwa karne nyingi, hivyo mwelekeo wa taratibu lakini thabiti wa kuifanya Kiarabu kuwa lugha rasmi ya mawasiliano katika Palestina na Mashariki ya Karibu haukuwa mgumu wala wa muda mrefu.

Material, economic, religious and political evidence shows that under the Umayyad Marwanid Caliphs,1 who succeeded in expanding the Islamic empire to an unprecedented size, the two provinces (ajnad) of Dimashq and Filastin were treated as core provinces ( أجناد ) of a vast empire, for reasons of religious dogma mixed with realpolitik. After all, Palestine was more strategically important and more tightly controlled by the Umayyad rulers than the deserts of Arabia, as indeed was Syria, so that the centrality and importance of Palestine and Syria under the Umayyad Marwanid Caliphs remained paramount. It also helped the process of homogenisation and Arabisation of the large empire that the peasants of Palestine spoke a local version of Aramaic, a dialect much closer to Arabic than any other language but Hebrew, which had largely been extinct for centuries, so the gradual but steady move to Arabic as the official lingua franca in Palestine and the Near East was neither difficult nor protracted.

Zaidi ya hayo, mapinduzi ya Umayyad Marwanid pamoja na werevu na ubunifu wa ajabu pia yalisababisha Makhalifa wa Umayyad Marwanid kujenga mfumo wa majumba makubwa na mazuri sana huko Jerusalem, al-Ramla, karibu na Jericho na karibu na Tiberias, ambayo yanatupa picha ya jinsi Palestina ilivyokuwa kitovu ndani ya milki hii kubwa ya Kiislamu. Mtawala mrekebishaji wa Marwanid, ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (alitawala 685‒705 AD)

Moreover, the Umayyad Marwanid revolution and extraordinary shrewdness and innovation also resulted in the construction by the Umayyad Marwanid Caliphs of a system of exquisite and large palaces in Jerusalem, al-Ramla, near Jericho and near Tiberias which give us a glimpse into the centrality of Palestine within this vast Islamic empire. The reforming Marwanid ruler ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (r. 685‒705 AD)

Anahusika na mabadiliko ya Yerusalemu, ujenzi wa Kuba ya Mwamba katika mji huo, pamoja na marekebisho ya sarafu, na pia kuanzishwa kwa lugha ya Kiarabu kama lugha rasmi ya Ukhalifa wa Kiislamu (Ochsenwald na Fisher 2004: 57). Kwa miongo sita ya kwanza ya Uislamu huko Palestina, kabla ya marekebisho ya lugha na utawala ya ‘Abd al-Malik, kazi nyingi za serikali ya mtaa huko Palestina zilirekodiwa kwa Kigiriki cha Koine, na nyadhifa nyingi mashuhuri nchini zilishikiliwa na Wakristo, baadhi yao wakiwa wa familia zilizowahi kutumika katika utawala wa Byzantium. Mapinduzi ya lugha yaliyoanza kwa ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan na kudumishwa na Makhalifa wa Marwanid waliofuata yalimaanisha kwamba Kiarabu kikawa lugha ya mawasiliano si tu ya Palestina bali ya dola ya Kiislamu, ambayo wakati huo ilijumuisha zaidi ya asilimia 30 ya idadi ya watu duniani. Mapinduzi hayo ya lugha, pamoja na Kiarabu kuwa lugha moja ya mawasiliano kwa mamia ya mamilioni ya watu kuanzia Hispania hadi Asia ya Kati, pia yalikuwa kiini cha upanuzi wa biashara ya kimataifa chini ya utawala wa Waislamu. Katika Enzi za Kati zote, kama ilivyokuwa zamani, biashara ya kikanda na ya mbali iliendelea kuwa chanzo kikuu cha ustawi wa Palestina iliyokuwa katika nafasi ya kimkakati.

is credited with the transformation of Jerusalem, the construction of the Dome of the Rock in the city and the currency reforms, as well as the establishment of Arabic as the official language of the Islamic Caliphate (Ochsenwald and Fisher 2004: 57). For the first six decades of Islam in Palestine, prior to ‘Abd al-Malik’s linguistic and administrative reforms, much of the local government’s work in Palestine was recorded in Koine Greek and many prominent positions in the country were held by Christians, some of whom belonged to families that had served in Byzantine administrations. The linguistic revolution which began with ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan and was maintained by subsequent Marwanid Caliphs meant that Arabic became the lingua franca not only of Palestine but the Islamic empire, which, at the time, included more than 30 per cent of the world’s population. The linguistic revolution and having Arabic as the single lingua franca for tens of millions of people from Spain to Central Asa was also central to the expansion of global trade under Muslim rule. Throughout the Middle Ages, as in ancient times, regional and distant trade remained a key source for the prosperity of a strategically located Palestine.

Lugha ya Kiarabu na Uarabu wa Palestina viliongeza tabaka zaidi za kitamaduni kwenye utambulisho wa Palestina ambao tayari ulikuwa tajiri na tata. Uarabu wa Palestina ulinufaika kutokana na ukweli kwamba wakulima wengi wa Kikristo wa Palestina walizungumza lahaja ya Kipalestina ya Kiaramu, lugha ya Kisemiti iliyohusiana kwa karibu na Kiarabu. Hata hivyo, wakati wa Warumi na Wabyzantine, Kigiriki cha Koine kilikuwa lugha ya wasomi wa Palestina na Levant, na Uhelenishi ulihusishwa kwa karibu na uraia wa dunia na utamaduni wa hali ya juu. Chini ya Uislamu, Kiarabu cha kifasihi na Uarabu vilikuwa chombo cha utandawazi. Kiarabu cha kifasihi na tafsiri kwenda Kiarabu zilihusishwa kwa karibu na uchunguzi wa kisayansi na ubunifu wa kiutamaduni, zikipanua biashara ya kimataifa na uraia wa dunia.

Arabic and the Arabisation of Palestine added more cultural layers to Palestine’s already rich and complex identity. The Arabisation of Palestine benefited from the fact that the predominantly Palestinian Christian peasantry spoke a Palestinian dialect of Aramaic, a Semitic language closely related to Arabic. However, if under the Romans and Byzantines Koine Greek was the elite language of Palestine and the Levant and Hellenisation was closely associated with cosmopolitanism and high culture, under Islam literary Arabic and Arabisation became a vehicle for globalisation. Literary Arabic and translation into Arabic became closely associated with scientific inquiry and cultural innovation, expanding international trade and cosmopolitanism.

Zaidi ya hayo, Palestina ya Byzantium ilikuwa imeathiriwa na mgawanyiko mkubwa wa kitabaka, uliodhihirishwa katika migawanyiko ya lugha. Kama kuzungumza Kigiriki kulikuwa alama kuu ya utambulisho wa wasomi wa mji mkuu na wa mijini, na kuzungumza Kiaramu kulikuwa alama kuu ya utambulisho wa watu wa kawaida na wakulima wa Palestina katika Palaestina ya Byzantium yenye wengi wao Wakristo, basi Kiarabu na Uarabuni vilihimiza usawa katika Palestina na vikawa alama kuu za utambulisho kwa wasomi wa mijini na kwa wakulima wa Palestina ambao walizidi kuwa Waarabu.

Furthermore, Byzantine Palestine had been bedevilled by deep class cleavages reflected in linguistic divisions. If speaking Greek was a key marker of metropolitan and urban elite identity and speaking Aramaic was a key marker of identity for ordinary people and Palestinian peasantry in Christian-majority Byzantine Palaestina, Arabic and Arabisation encouraged egalitarianism in Palestine and became key markers of identity for both urban elites and the increasingly Arabised Palestinian peasantry.

Chini ya Uislamu, miji mikuu ya Dameski, Baghdad na Cairo ilijitokeza kama vituo vya kifalme, lakini biashara yao na miunganisho ya kimkakati kupitia njia za nchi kavu na baharini iliziunganisha na mtandao wa miji ya ndani katika al-Sham na Palestina, pamoja na eneo lote la al-Sham, ikiwemo al-Ramla, Gaza, ‘Asqalan, al-Lajjun, al-Quds, Nablus, Acre na Tiberias. Kwa kawaida, Uarabu na Uislamu vilifuata biashara na nguvu za kisiasa, na mabadiliko haya ya kitamaduni na kilugha ya Palestina yalikuzwa kwa bidii na kwa juhudi kubwa baada ya ushindi wa Waarabu Waislamu katika Palestina. Michakato ya Uislamu nchini humo ilifuata mkondo huo. Filastin ikawa sehemu ya dola ya Kiarabu ya Kiislamu baada ya Vita vya Yarmuk (mwaka 636 BK) wakati wa ushindi wa Waislamu wa Shamu na Palestina.

Under Islam, the metropolises of Damascus, Baghdad and Cairo stood out as imperial centres, but their trade and strategic linkages through overland and sea routes tied them to an archipelago of hinterland cities in al-Sham and Palestine and the whole al-Sham region, including al-Ramla, Gaza, ‘Asqalan, al-Lajjun, al-Quds, Nablus, Acre and Tiberias. Naturally Arabisation and Islamisation followed trade and political power, and this cultural and linguistic transformation of Palestine was promoted actively and assiduously after the Arab Islamic conquest of Palestine. Islamisation processes in the country followed suit. Filastin became part of the Arab Islamic state following the Battle of Yarmuk (636 AD) in the course the Muslim conquest of Syria and Palestine.

Ingawa ushindi wa kijeshi wa Waarabu Waislamu dhidi ya Palestina ulifanyika mwaka 638 BK, Uislamu wa kivitendo wa Palestina ulikuwa mchakato wa taratibu lakini wa kimsingi uliodumu vizazi vingi. Pia kuna ushahidi fulani wa Wasamaria kusilimu kwa wingi nchini Palestina katika kipindi cha mwanzo cha Uislamu (ona Levy-Rubin 2000). Hata hivyo, athari kubwa ya Waarabu Waislamu kwa Palestina imeendelea kwa karibu miaka 1400, hadi wakati wa sasa. Mabadiliko makubwa ya kidini, kijamii, kitamaduni na kiisimu ya nchi hiyo chini ya Uislamu yanaonekana kote katika ardhi hiyo.

Although the Arab Islamic military conquest of Palestine took place in 638 AD, the practical Islamisation of Palestine was a gradual but radical process which went on for many generations. There is also some evidence of the mass conversion by Samaritans to Islam in Palestine in the course of the early Muslim period (see Levy-Rubin 2000). However, the powerful Arab Muslim impact on Palestine has continued for nearly 1400 years, to the present time. The profound religious, social, cultural and linguistic transformation of the country under Islam is evident throughout the land.

Lakini mchakato wa taratibu wa Uarabu, kuunganisha lugha na tamaduni, na Uislamu wa nchi hiyo, kutoka nchi ya Wakristo wengi wanaozungumza Kiaramu hadi nchi yenye wengi wanaozungumza Kiarabu na kuwa Waislamu, na kutoka dini moja ya Mungu mmoja hadi nyingine, pamoja na kutoka lugha moja ya Kisemiti hadi nyingine inayohusiana nayo kwa karibu, ulikuwa na msukosuko mdogo kitamaduni na uchungu mdogo kijamii kuliko mabadiliko ya ghafla ya jamii ya kipagani kuwa dola yenye imani ya Mungu mmoja.

But the gradual processes of Arabisation, homogenisation and Islamisation of the country, from a largely Aramaic-speaking majority Christian country to a predominantly Arabic-speaking Muslim majority, and from one monotheistic religion to another – as well as from one Semitic language to another closely related one – was less traumatic culturally and socially less painful than the sudden conversion of a pagan society into a monotheistic polity.

Ushahidi wa kiakiolojia kuhusu historia ya awali ya Uislamu huko Palestina unakanusha dhana iliyozoeleka na hadithi ya uongo ya hila kwamba ushindi wa Waislamu wa Palestina katika karne ya saba ulisababisha kupungua kwa idadi ya makazi na kwa ustawi wa jumla wa nchi (Magness 2003: 1‒3).

The archaeological evidence on the early history of Islam in Palestine debunks the common perception and insidious myth that the Muslim conquest of Palestine in the 7th century caused a decline in the number of localities and the overall prosperity of the country (Magness 2003: 1‒3).

Kinyume chake, Waarabu Waislamu walianzisha kipindi cha ustawi na uvumilivu wa kidini, pamoja na uhuru wa kidini na kitamaduni kwa jamii za kidini za Kikristo na Kiyahudi (Kiarabu: millah) huko Palestina, na waliruhusu mpangilio wa awali wa utawala uendelee (The Encyclopaedia of Islam 1965, Vol. II: 911). Mataifa ya Kiislamu, kama himaya za Kirumi na Byzantine, pia yalitumia mfumo wa mlezi‒mteja huko Palestina, na mfumo huo wa ulezi uliruhusu kujitokeza kwa kiwango fulani cha uhuru wa kienyeji na kwa wasomi wenye nguvu wa miji.

On the contrary, the Muslim Arabs ushered in a period of prosperity and religious toleration and religious and cultural autonomy for Christian and Jewish religious communities (Arabic: millah) in Palestine and permitted the previous administrative organisation to continue (The Encyclopaedia of Islam 1965, Vol. II: 911). The Islamic states, like the Roman and Byzantine empires, also applied a patron‒client system in Palestine and this patronage system allowed the emergence of a degree of local autonomy and powerful urban elites.

Kwa sababu zilizo hasa za kimkakati wa kijeshi zenye lengo la kujihami, Palestina Kubwa chini ya Uislamu ilipangwa upya na kujengwa upya kutokana na mbili kati ya "Palestina Tatu" za Wabyzantine (Blankinship 1994). Mpangilio huu upya wa kimkakati wa kijeshi pia ulionekana katika jina halisi la nchi: Jund Filastin, "mkoa wa kiutawala/kijeshi wa Palestina". Mpangilio huu mpya pia ulilenga kushughulikia baadhi ya udhaifu wa msingi wa fikra za kimkakati za Wabyzantine za kuilinda "Palestina Tatu" na maeneo mengine ya Shamu. Jeshi la Wabyzantine lilikuwa na makao makuu yake katika mji wa pwani wa Kaisaria Maritima na lilitegemea sana washirika wao Waarabu Waghassani wa nchi kavu, ambao kwa vitendo walidhibiti Palaestina Secunda na Palaestina Tertia. Makamanda wa Kiarabu wa Kiislamu, ingawa bado walitumia askari wengi Wakristo Waghassani katika majeshi ya Kiislamu, walipendelea kutegemea makamanda Waislamu.

For largely defensive military-strategic reasons greater Palestine under Islam was reconfigured and reconstituted from two of the ‘Three Palestines’ of the Byzantines (Blankinship 1994). This military-strategic reconfiguration and reorganisation was also reflected in the actual naming of the country: Jund Filastin, the ‘administrative/military province of Palestine’. This reconfiguration was also aimed at addressing some of the fundamental weaknesses of the Byzantine strategic thinking for defending the ‘Three Palestines’ and other regions in Syria. The Byzantine military was headquartered in the coastal city of Caesarea Maritima and relied extensively on the Ghassanid Arab allies of the hinterland who had effectively controlled Palaestina Secunda and Palaestina Tertia. The Muslim Arab commanders, while still using many Ghassanid Christian troops in Muslim armies, preferred to rely on Muslim commanders.

Kupunguza Jund Filastin kutoka matatu ya awali hadi "Palestina Mbili" (Palaestina Prima na Palaestina Tertia) pia kulikuwa na maana kwa mtazamo wa kijeshi na kimkakati.

Reducing Jund Filastin from the original Three to ‘Two Palestines’ (Palaestina Prima and Palaestina Tertia) also made sense in military-strategic terms.

Mpangilio mpya wa kiutawala wa Palestina wakati wa mwanzo wa Uislamu ulisababisha Palestina kubwa ya Kibyzantine kuwa mchanganyiko wa mkoa mkubwa wa Jund Filastin na mkoa mdogo wa Jund al-Urdun (mkoa wa Yordani). Ukitawaliwa kutoka Tiberias katika Galilaya, Jund al-Urdun hairuhusiwi kulinganishwa na Yordani ya leo. Kwa kuimarishwa kwa utawala wa Waarabu Waislamu katika Palestina na Levant katikati ya karne ya 7, eneo hilo liligawanywa katika Filastin, al-Urdun na Dimashq (Damascus).

The administrative reorganisation of Palestine during early Islam meant that Byzantine greater Palestine became a combination of a relatively large Jund Filastin province and a small Jund al-Urdun (Jordan province). Governed from Tiberias in Galilee, Jund al-Urdun should not be equated with modern-day Jordan. With the consolidation of Arab Muslim rule in Palestine and the Levant in the mid-7th century, the region was divided into Filastin, al-Urdun and Dimashq (Damascus)

na Waarabu (kama Warumi) walichagua utawala uliogawanywa madaraka.

and the Arabs (like the Romans) opted for a decentralised administration.

Wakati wa kipindi cha Umayyad (661‒750 BK), eneo la al-Sham liligawanywa katika junds, yaani majimbo ya kijeshi na kiutawala. Jund Filastin ilipangwa muda mfupi baada ya ushindi wa Waislamu wa Palestina katika miaka ya 630. Waumayyad waliiga mila nyingi za Byzantine katika majina ya mahali, sarafu na utawala, na mchakato huu wa kuiga ulionekana wazi katika vipengele vingi vya jimbo la Jund Filastin.

During the Umayyad period (661‒750 AD) the al-Sham region was divided into junds or military/administrative provinces. Jund Filastin was organised soon after the Muslim conquest of Palestine in the 630s. The Umayyads adapted many of the Byzantine toponymic, monetary and administrative traditions and this process of adaptation was evident in many aspects of the province of Jund Filastin.