Mabadiliko katika mfumo wa kisiasa na kidini chini ya Uislamu yanatofautiana kwa kushangaza na mwendelezo wa Palaestina/Filastin kama eneo na nchi, pamoja na utulivu wa ustawi wake wa kiuchumi na wakazi wake walio wengi wakiwa wakulima. Kwa zaidi ya karne tatu, mkoa wa Jund Filastin chini ya Uislamu ulikuwa nchi kubwa na yenye ustawi zaidi kuliko mchanganyiko wa Palaestina Prima na Palaestina Salutaris chini ya Wabyzantine, tofauti na historia mbalimbali za kiitikadi zinazoonyesha kipindi hiki kama cha kudorora.

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.

Katika kipindi chote cha mwanzo wa Uislamu, mkoa wa kiutawala wa Filastin ulidumisha ustawi wake wa kiuchumi, kwa sehemu kutokana na nafasi yake ya kimkakati katikati ya biashara ya kikanda na ya mbali, na kwa sehemu kutokana na kuendeleza mfumo wake wa kipekee wa fedha, ndani ya eneo pana la fedha la Uislamu. Chini ya Uislamu, sarafu za dinari zilitengenezwa kwa dhahabu, sarafu za dirham kwa fedha, huku fals (wingi wake ni 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)

ilikuwa sarafu ya shaba iliyotengenezwa kwa mara ya kwanza na Bani Umayyad mwishoni mwa karne ya saba Hijria.

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

Neno fals linatokana na follis, sarafu ya shaba ya Kirumi/Byzantine. Fals mbalimbali za shaba za Kiislamu zilitengenezwa hadi karne ya 19. Leo neno fulus (au flus) bado linatumika katika lahaja ya Kiarabu ya Palestina kama neno la jumla kwa pesa, na neno hilo pia limezaa maneno ya kisasa ya Kiarabu iflas (kufilisika) na muflis (mfilisi). Katika Enzi za Kati, mfumo wa fedha wa mkoa wa Palestina ulijumuisha dinari, dirham na fals, ambazo zilitengenezwa katika miji kadhaa ya Palestina.

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.

Zaidi ya hayo, katika karne ya tisa, wakati wa utawala wa Abbasi, mkoa wa Jund Filastin ulielezwa kuwa mkoa wenye rutuba zaidi katika eneo la al-Sham. Akitoa maoni kuhusu mapato ya kodi ya kila mwaka yaliyokusanywa katika mkoa huo, Ibn Khordadbeh, mtumishi wa posta na mwanajiografia wa Abbasi wa karne ya tisa, mwandishi wa kitabu cha kwanza kabisa cha Kiarabu kilichosalia cha jiografia ya kiutawala na ya maelezo, Kitab al-Masalik wa Mamalik (Kitabu cha Njia na Falme, takriban mwaka 870), aliandika kuwa mwaka 864 ulikusanywa: dinari 500,000 za dhahabu za kodi kutoka mkoa wa Filastin. Ikilinganishwa na mikoa mingine ya al-Sham, mkoa wa Damascus ulikusanya dinari 400,000, mkoa wa Hims 340,000, mkoa wa Jordan 350,000, na mikoa miwili ya Qinnasrin na ‘Awasim dinari 400,000 (Le Strange 1890: 46; Röhricht 1890: 17; Ibn Khordadbeh 1865). Kwa kulinganisha zaidi, mapato ya kodi yaliyokusanywa katika Palestina yote (mikoa miwili ya Filastin na al-Urdun) mwaka 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

(dinari 850,000) zilikuwa zaidi ya nusu ya kodi (hasa za ardhi) zilizokusanywa katika Mesopotamia yote ya Dola ya Abbasi mwaka 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).

Mapato haya ya kila mwaka ya mkoa wa Palestina yanadhihirika pia kutoka kwenye takwimu za kodi na mapato yaliyokusanywa katika zama hizi kutoka mkoa wa Filastin, kwa jumla kamili na pia kwa kulinganisha na kodi zilizokusanywa kutoka kwenye ajnad nyingine, ikiwemo Jund al-Urdun, ambalo ni dogo zaidi, na Jund Dimashq (mkoa wa Damascus), ambalo ni kubwa zaidi, na lilijumuisha sehemu kubwa ya Lebanon ya leo pamoja na maeneo ya mashariki ya Mto Yordani yanayojulikana kama eneo la 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, dokezo la 7). Kwa kweli, Filastin inahesabiwa, kwa kutumia takwimu za kodi zilizotolewa katika vyanzo fulani, kuwa mkoa tajiri zaidi wa al-Sham katika kipindi chote cha marehemu cha Umayyad (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).

Kazi za wanahistoria na wanajiografia wa Kiarabu wa Zama za Kati ni msingi mkuu wa uelewa wetu wa mabadiliko ya muundo wa Palestina na mazingira yake, pamoja na utajiri na ustawi mkubwa kiasi wa mkoa wa Filastin katika kipindi kikubwa cha enzi za Umayyad na Abbasid. Wanahistoria na wanajiografia wa Kipalestina wa huko, kama al-Maqdisi, ambaye hutumia si tu neno Palestina ( فلسطين ) mara kwa mara bali pia 'Mpalestina' ( فلسطيني ), walianza pia kukuza hisia changa ya utambulisho wa Kipalestina wa kikanda. Mnamo mwaka 985 BK, al-Maqdisi, katika kazi yake Mgawanyo Bora kwa Maarifa ya Mikoa (Ahsan al-Taqasim Fi Ma'rifat al-Aqalim), anatupa maelezo ya kina ya majina yote ya mahali, miji na vijiji alivyotembelea huko Palestina (al-Maqdisi 1994, 2002). Akieleza kwa kina nchi yake ya asili na rutuba ya ardhi yake, al-Maqdisi anatoa maoni katika karne ya 10 kuhusu mazao ya kilimo na bidhaa za viwandani za Palestina:

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:

Ndani ya mkoa wa Palestina wamekusanyika watu 36.

within the province of Palestine may be found gathered together 36

bidhaa ambazo hazipatikani zikiwa pamoja kama hivi katika nchi nyingine yoyote ... Kutoka Palestina huja mizeituni, tini zilizokaushwa, zabibu kavu, tunda la mkungu (carob), vitambaa vya hariri na pamba vilivyochanganywa, sabuni na leso. Kutoka Yerusalemu huja jibini, pamba, zabibu kavu maarufu za aina inayojulikana kama ‘Ainuni na Duri, tufaha bora, ndizi – ambayo ni tunda lenye umbo la tango, lakini ganda likiondolewa, ndani yake linafanana kiasi na tikiti maji – ila lina ladha nzuri zaidi na tamu zaidi – pia karanga za mwerezi (pine-nuts) zinazojulikana kama ‘Kuraish-bite,’ na mfano wake haupatikani mahali pengine; zaidi ya hayo, vioo, mitungi ya taa na sindano. Kutoka Yeriko huletwa rangi ya nila (indigo) bora sana. Kutoka Sughar na Baisan zilikuja rangi ya nila na tende [na mchele], pia asali nzito iitwayo Dibs. Kutoka ‘Amman – nafaka, kondoo na asali. Kutoka Tiberias – vitambaa vya mazulia, karatasi, na nguo. Kutoka Kadas – nguo za kitambaa kiitwacho Munayyir na Bal’isiyyah, pia kamba. (Imenukuliwa kutoka Le Strange 2014: 18‒19; pia 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

Uchumi wa Palestina uliimarishwa na eneo la nchi hiyo la kimkakati pamoja na biashara yake ya kimataifa, ikiwa ni pamoja na biashara yake ya masafa marefu na India, China na Ulaya. Biashara kubwa ya masafa marefu ya hariri kutoka China hadi Mashariki ya Karibu ilikuwepo tangu zama za kale. Kitambaa cha hariri, nyuzi asilia inayotengenezwa na minyoo ya hariri, kilibuniwa kwa mara ya kwanza nchini China ya kale, na kwa sababu ya umbile na mng'ao wake, hariri ilipata umaarufu haraka kama kitambaa cha anasa katika Mashariki ya Karibu. Ilifikishwa kwa watu kwa urahisi na wafanyabiashara wa China na Waarabu katika zama za kale.

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.

Chini ya Uislamu, Palestina na al-Sham kwa ujumla zilifanya biashara na India na China kupitia Aylah ('Aqabah) kwenye Bahari Nyekundu, "bandari ya Palestina kwenye Bahari ya China" (Ramadan 2010a, 2010b). Katika Enzi za Kati, wafanyabiashara wa Kiarabu walianza kuingiza minyoo ya hariri kutoka Asia (Kiarabu: dudat al-qazz), na huko Palestina kitambaa cha hariri (harir) kilifumwa kuwa nguo, jambo lililosaidia kuendeleza tasnia ya hariri ya nchi hiyo. Palestina ilitengeneza aina mbalimbali za vitambaa vya hariri – ikiwa ni pamoja na aina moja ya kitambaa cha hariri kisicho laini, kilichochanganywa na aina mbalimbali za sufu na kufumwa kuwa makoti, ambacho kilijulikana kama hariri ya qazz, na 'bi-harir' – ambavyo vilisafirishwa kwenda Arabia na nchi mbalimbali za Mediterania na Ulaya (Gil, M. 1997: 238; Goitein 1983: 403, note 141; Lewandowski 2011: 243; Weir 1994: 288). Katika Uingereza ya mwanzo wa kisasa, hariri ghafi iliyotengenezwa Palestina na kujulikana kama qazz, ilijulikana kama gauze au Gaza, jina la mji wa Palestina; ilikuwa kitambaa chembamba, mara nyingi cha kuonekana kupitia, kilichofumwa kilitumika katika mavazi, mapazia na mavazi ya upasuaji (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).

Biashara ya nje ya Palestina na biashara ya kimataifa vilikuwa mchango mkubwa katika ustawi wa kiuchumi na utajiri wa nchi hiyo chini ya Uislamu. Palestina ilianza kusafirisha mafuta ya mizeituni na divai kwenda Misri tangu Enzi ya Chalcolithic, na usafirishaji wa mafuta ya mizeituni ya Kipalestina na liquores Palaestini ('divai ya Kipalestina')

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’)

zilibaki bidhaa muhimu katika Zama za Kale. Ingawa usafirishaji wa liquores Palaestini ulipungua chini ya Uislamu, mauzo ya nje yaliendelea katika Zama zote za Kati, na misafara ya ngamia ilisafirisha mafuta ya zeituni kutoka Palestina hadi mji wa Madina huko Arabia (Gil, M. 1997: 236). Pia, bidhaa mbalimbali zilizofumwa na nguo, pamoja na aina za hariri ya qazz iliyochanganywa na sufu ya sungura zilizotengenezwa Palestina, zilipakiwa kwenye meli na kusafirishwa kwenda masoko ya Bahari ya Mediterania, ikiwa ni pamoja na Misri (Gil, M. 1997: 238). Cha kuvutia, bidhaa nyingi hizi muhimu za viwandani na za mauzo ya nje, kama vile pamba, mafuta, sabuni, bidhaa za vioo, bidhaa zilizofumwa, zilizopambwa na za hariri, zingeendelea kuchangia katika uchumi wa Palestina wa zama za kisasa.

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.

Pia chini ya utawala wa Kiislamu, Wayahudi wa Kiarabu wa Palestina, ambao walikuwa na uhuru wa kidini na wengi wao waliishi mijini, walicheza sehemu muhimu katika utamaduni, biashara na viwanda vya nchi hiyo. Hili lilionekana wazi hasa katika bidhaa muhimu ya Palestina iliyosafirishwa kimataifa: vioo. Utengenezaji wa vioo katika eneo hili ulianza tangu zama za Wafinike, na pia ulihusishwa na michoro ya mosaiki katika majengo ya Kigiriki na Kiroma, pamoja na sakafu za mosaiki za Kibyzantini. Katika Enzi za Kati, Akka, Sur (Tiro), al-Khalil (Hebron) na maeneo mengine ya Palestina yalijulikana sana kwa utengenezaji wa vioo, na Wayahudi wa Kiarabu wa nchi hiyo pamoja na al-Sham kwa ujumla walijulikana kama wataalamu wa kutengeneza vioo, ambavyo vilisafirishwa kwenda nchi mbalimbali, zikiwemo baadhi ya nchi za Ulaya (Gil, M. 1997: 238). Kama tutakavyoona katika sura ya saba, sanaa ya kutengeneza vioo vya thamani ilistawishwa zaidi na wafanyabiashara wa viwanda Waislamu huko al-Khalil wakati wa utawala wa 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.

Katika mojawapo ya kazi maarufu zaidi za kijiografia, kisiasa na kikabila za karne ya kumi, al-Maqdisi anaelezea baadhi ya bandari za Bahari ya Mediterania za mkoa wa 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:

Kando yote ya pwani ya bahari ya Filastini kuna vituo vya ulinzi, vinavyoitwa Ribat, ambako wanajeshi wa akiba hukusanyika. Meli za vita na jahazi za Wagiriki pia huingia katika bandari hizi, zikiwa zimebeba wafungwa waliotekwa kutoka kwa Waislamu; hao hutolewa kwa fidia – watatu kwa dinari mia moja. Katika kila bandari hizi kuna watu wanaojua lugha ya Kigiriki, kwa sababu wana ujumbe kwa Wagiriki, na hufanya biashara nao kwa bidhaa mbalimbali. Katika vituo hivyo, kila meli ya Kigiriki inapoonekana, hupiga pembe; pia, ikiwa ni usiku, huwasha moto wa ishara juu ya mnara; au, ikiwa ni mchana, huweka moshi mkubwa. Kutoka kila kituo cha ulinzi kwenye pwani hadi mji mkuu (Ar Ramlah), kuna minara mirefu iliyojengwa kwa vipindi, na katika kila mnara kuna kikosi cha watu kilichowekwa. Meli za Kigiriki zinapowasili, watu hao wanapoliona hilo, huwasha moto wa ishara kwenye mnara ulio karibu zaidi na kituo cha pwani, kisha ule ulio juu yake, na kuendelea hivyo mmoja baada ya mwingine, hivyo kwamba muda wa saa moja hautapita kabla tarumbeta hazijaanza kulia katika mji mkuu, na ngoma kupigwa katika minara, zikiwaita watu washuke hadi vituo vya ulinzi kando ya bahari. Nao hukimbilia kwa wingi, wakiwa na silaha zao, na vijana wa kijiji hukusanyika pamoja. Kisha ukombozi wa wafungwa huanza. Wengine wataweza kumkomboa mfungwa, wakati wengine (ambao si matajiri sana) watatupa dirhamu za fedha, au pete za mihuri, au kutoa thamani nyingine, hadi hatimaye wafungwa wote waliomo katika meli za Kigiriki wanakuwa wamekombolewa. Sasa vituo vya ulinzi vya mkoa huu wa Filastini, ambako ukombozi huu wa wafungwa hufanyika, ni hivi: Ghazzah, Mimas, ‘Askalan, Mahuz – (bandari ya) Azdud, Mahuz – (bandari ya) Yubna, Yafah, na 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.

(Imenukuliwa katika Le Strange 2014: 23‒24)

(Cited in Le Strange 2014: 23‒24)

Pia katika karne ya kumi, mwanajiografia na mwandishi wa historia Mwarabu Ibn Hawqal – aliyesafiri sana Asia, Ulaya na Afrika katika miaka 943‒969 BK na kuandika kitabu *The Face of the Earth* – anaelezea mkoa wa Kiarabu wa Filastin. Ibn Hawqal, ambaye huenda alipata baadhi ya taarifa zake kutoka vyanzo vya awali vya Kiarabu, anaelezea upana wa mkoa wa Filastin: kutoka Rafah upande wa kusini hadi eneo la al-Lajjun upande wa kaskazini, na kutoka Bahari ya Mediterania upande wa magharibi hadi ‘Amman katika 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).

Ikiwa kilomita 16 kaskazini-magharibi mwa Jenin na kilomita 1 kusini mwa Tell Megiddo (ambalo pia huitwa Tell al-Mutasallim), kwa karne nyingi al-Lajjun ilikuwa mji muhimu wa wilaya ya Kipalestina wenye umuhimu wa kimkakati, hadi mwanzoni mwa karne ya 19 ilipounganishwa na Waothmani kwenye wilaya mpya ya 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.

Imeangamizwa na kuharibiwa na Israel mwaka 1948, al-Lajjun ilitambuliwa kuwa ni Megiddo ya kale, ambayo ilikuwa mojawapo ya miji-dola ya Kipalestina yenye nguvu na umuhimu mkubwa katika kipindi chote cha Enzi ya Shaba, na ilikuwa na mojawapo ya mahekalu makubwa zaidi ya wakati wake katika Mashariki ya Karibu yote (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). Chini ya Warumi eneo hili lilichukuliwa kuwa sehemu ya Galilaya, na katika karne ya 18 al-Lajjun ikawa sehemu ya dola ya Kipalestina yenye msingi wake Galilaya iliyotawaliwa kwa uhuru karibu kamili na Dhaher al-ʿUmar. Mwendelezo kati ya urithi wa Kiarabu wa kale na wa enzi za kati wa al-Lajjun upo kiishara katika jina la mji wa Kiarabu wa Kipalestina wa enzi za kati, Lajjun, ambalo limetokana na jina la Kirumi Legio, lenye maana ya kambi ya awali ya jeshi la Kirumi katika mkoa wa ‘Syria Palaestina’. Eneo hili, kituo muhimu kwenye Via Maris ya Palestina na linalojulikana kwa Warumi kama Caparcotna, lilibaki kuwa kituo cha Legio Sexta Ferrata (Jeshi la Sita Lenye Silaha Nzito), Jeshi la 6 la Kirumi, kati ya mwaka 120 na 300 BK. Jeshi la Sita Lenye Silaha Nzito liliheshimiwa na Mfalme wa Kirumi mwenye asili ya Kiarabu, Philippus Arabs (244‒249), ambaye alijishughulisha sana na mambo ya mikoa ya ‘Syria Palaestina’ na Arabia, na akatengeneza sarafu zenye namba ya jeshi hili.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

Chini ya Abbasid katika karne ya 8 na 9, al-Lajjun ilikuwa mji wa wilaya muhimu, ndani ya mkoa wa Jund Filastin. Katika kipindi kirefu cha Mamluk (1260‒1517) ulitumika kama kituo muhimu katika njia ya biashara na posta, na katika kipindi cha mwanzo cha Ottoman ulikuwa mji mkuu wa wilaya (sanjak) huko Palestina iliyobeba jina lake.

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.

Kulingana na baadhi ya vyanzo vya Kiarabu, miji miwili mikubwa ya Beisan (zamani Scythopolis) na al-Lajjun, ilijumuishwa katika mkoa wa Jund Filastin katika kipindi chote cha mwanzo wa Uislamu (angalia Gil, M. 1997: 111), lakini 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)

Taarifa zinaeleza kwamba Beisan, al-Lajjun, pamoja na Acre zilikuwa sehemu ya Jund al-Urdun, jambo ambalo linaongeza uzito zaidi kwa hoja kwamba, kijiografia na kimkakati, Jund al-Urdun ilibaki kwa karne kadhaa sawa na mkoa wa zamani wa Kibyzantini wa 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.

Katika karne ya 10, Ibn Hawqal anaeleza kwamba al-Ramla, mji mkuu wa utawala wa mkoa wa Jund Filastin, ulikuwa mji mkubwa zaidi nchini, "lakini Mji Mtakatifu (wa Yerusalemu) unakaribia sana ukubwa wake" – jambo ambalo pia linaongeza uzito kwa dhana ya kuwepo kwa miji mikuu miwili (ya kisiasa/kidini) huko Palestina kwa karne tatu chini ya Wabyzantine na kwa karibu karne nne chini ya Uislamu, kuanzia mwanzoni mwa karne ya 8 hadi 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 anaandika:

Ibn Hawqal writes:

Jund Filastin (Palestina) na wilaya zake ndogo. Chini ya wilaya hii walikuwa wale wa Tih [kaskazini mwa Sinai] na Al Jifar, zote mbili zikiwa upande wa mpaka wa Misri ... Filastin ndiyo ya magharibi kabisa kati ya mikoa ya [al-Sham]. Kwa urefu wake mkubwa kutoka Rafh [Rafah] hadi mpaka wa Al Lajjun (Legio), mpanda farasi angechukua siku mbili kuvuka; na muda kama huo kuvuka upana wake kutoka Yaffa (Jaffa) hadi Riha (Jeriko).

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 hunyweshwa na mvua na umande. Miti yake na ardhi zake zilizolimwa hazihitaji umwagiliaji wa bandia; na ni huko Nabulus tu ndiko mnakopata maji yanayotiririka yaliyotumika kwa kusudi hili. Filastin ndiyo mkoa wenye rutuba zaidi kati ya mikoa ya Syria. Mji wake mkuu na mkubwa zaidi ni Ar Ramlah, lakini Mji Mtakatifu (wa Jerusalem) unakaribia sana huo kwa ukubwa. Katika mkoa wa Filastin, licha ya eneo lake dogo, kuna misikiti takriban ishirini, yenye minbari kwa ajili ya swala ya Ijumaa. (Imenukuliwa katika le Strange 2014: 28; pia 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)

Ingawa mipaka ya mkoa wa Filastin ilibadilika kadiri ya miaka, mwaka 1226 mwanajiografia wa Kiarabu Yaqut al-Hamawi, aliyeandika wakati wa kipindi cha Ayyubid, alitaja kwamba mji wa Kiarabu wa al-Fuleh (mji wa Israeli wa leo wa ‘Afula), ambao ulikuwa katikati ya Marj ibn ‘Amer, takriban kilomita 12 kaskazini mwa al-Lajjun, ni 'mji katika 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).