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Saffa, Ramallah

Saffa (Arabic: صفّاء) is a Palestinian town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, located west of Ramallah in the northern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a population of 4,374 inhabitants in 2017.[1]

Saffa
Municipality type C
Arabic transcription(s)
 • Arabicصفّاء
Saffa is located in State of Palestine
Saffa
Saffa
Location of Saffa within Palestine
Coordinates: 31°54′25″N 35°03′30″E / 31.90694°N 35.05833°E / 31.90694; 35.05833
Palestine grid155/145
StateState of Palestine
GovernorateRamallah and al-Bireh
Government
 • TypeMunicipality
Population
 (2017)[1]
 • Total
4,374
Name meaningIn rows[2]

Location

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Saffa is located 13.3 kilometers (8.3 mi) (in straight distance) west of Ramallah. It is bordered by Beit 'Ur at Tahta, Kafr Ni'ma and Deir Ibzi to the east, Bil'in, Ni'lin and Al Midya to the north, Israel to the west, and Beit 'Ur at Tahta and Beit Sira to the south.[3]

History

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F.M. Abel and Avi-Yonah both identified Saffa with the village of Sapphō (Greek: Σαπφώ), which, according to the first century AD Jewish historian Josephus, was destroyed by Arab troops serving in the army of Varus in 4 BC.[4] It has been proposed identifying Saffa with Casale Saphet of the Crusader era.[5]

Ottoman era

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In the early Ottoman census of 1525-1526, it was not mentioned, but in 1538-1539, Saffa was located in the nahiya of Quds, and named as Mazra, or cultivated land.[6]

In 1838 it was noted as a Muslim village, located in the Beni Harith district, west of Jerusalem.[7][8]

In 1870, Victor Guérin noted that: "This village occupies a high plateau; it contains four hundred inhabitants. Some stones, scattered or embedded in Arab buildings, and numerous excavations in the rock, such as cisterns, tombs, quarries and subterranean vaults, proves that the present Saffa succeeded an ancient locality."[9] An Ottoman village list of about the same year showed that Saffa had 200 inhabitants with 67 houses, though the population count included only the men.[10][11]

In 1883 the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine described Suffa: "A small village standing high on a ridge, with a well to the east and a sacred place to the south."[12]

In 1896 the population of Safa was estimated to be about 564 persons.[13]

British Mandate era

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In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Saffa had a population of 495 Muslims,[14] increasing in the 1931 census to 644 Muslims, in 143 houses.[15]

In the 1945 statistics the population was 790 Muslims,[16] while the total land area was 9,602 dunams, according to an official land and population survey.[17] Of this, 2,536 were used for plantations and irrigable land, 2,975 for cereals,[18] while 99 dunams were classified as built-up areas.[19]

  •  
    Saffa 1944 1:20,000 from 1919 survey
  •  
    Saffa 1945 1:250,000

Jordanian era

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In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Saffa came under Jordanian rule. It was annexed by Jordan in 1950.

In 1961, the population of Saffa was 1,364.[20]

1967-present

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After the Six-Day War in 1967, Saffa has been under Israeli occupation.

After the 1995 accords, 12.9% of village land was classified as Area B, and the remaining 87.1% as Area C.[21]

Israel has confiscated land from Saffa in order to construct six Israeli settlements:

Religious sites

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Sheikh Shihab ed-Din shrine

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Saffa houses the Sheikh Shihab ed-Din maqam, one of four dedicated to this seikh, found in Jaffa, Ramla, and Nazareth. Surrounded by newly developed residential areas, this maqam sits atop a natural hill, approximately 1 km north of the ancient Roman road connecting the coastal plain to Jerusalem via Beit 'Ur (ancient Bethoron) and el-Jib (ancient Gibeon). Archaeological evidence reveals a Roman settlement that thrived in the Byzantine period, possibly a monastery, marked by structures like a large building, cisterns, inscriptions, and a winepress.[23]

While the site declined in the Early Islamic period, it was reestablished during the Ayubbid and Mamluk periods as a worship site, cemetery, and a sanctuary in memory of Sheikh Shihab ed-Din. The maqam's construction phases are identifiable, with the grave chamber and its extension likely dating back to the Ayyubid–early Mamluk period. The prayer hall and courtyard belong to the early Ottoman era. Notably, the tomb chamber and its southern extension underwent separate building phases, indicating the initial burial of the Sheikh followed by the later interment of his sons in an annexed part of the chamber.[23]

The decision to establish Sheikh Shihab ed-Din's maqam here stems from three key motives: honoring the Sheikh, meeting local Sufi requirements for a tranquil worship space, and creating a defensive lookout against Crusaders. Hilltop maqams were strategically networked to alert against potential threats.[23]

Archaeological Looting

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A study conducted by archaeologist Salah Hussein Al-Houdaileh of Al-Quds University on 119 Roman and Byzantine period rock-cut burial caves near Saffa revealed extensive looting, with all caves showing marks of robbery. This has caused considerable damage to the tomb, desecration of numerous ancient burials, and displacement of a large number of funerary artifacts from their original sites. The looting of Roman and Byzantine tombs in Saffa and surrounding areas is driven by several factors, including poverty, a lack of public awareness, insufficient enforcement of antiquities laws by the Palestinian National Authority, and an increasing demand in the illegal antiquities market for archaeological items.[24]

References

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  1. ^ a b Preliminary Results of the Population, Housing and Establishments Census, 2017 (PDF). Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) (Report). State of Palestine. February 2018. pp. 64–82. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
  2. ^ Palmer, 1881, p. 329
  3. ^ Saffa village profile, ARIJ, p. 4
  4. ^ Avi-Yonah, Michael (1976). "Gazetteer of Roman Palestine". Qedem. 5: 92. ISSN 0333-5844.
  5. ^ Röhricht, 1887, p. 213; cited in Finkelstein et al, 1998, p. 151
  6. ^ Toledano, 1984, pp. 280, 298, has Saffa at location 31°54′25″N 35°03′05″E; cited in Finkelstein et al, 1997, p. 151
  7. ^ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. 124
  8. ^ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, p. 58
  9. ^ Guérin, 1875, p. 48
  10. ^ Socin, 1879, p. 159 also notes that it is in the Beni Harith district
  11. ^ Hartmann, 1883, p. 126, noted 47 houses
  12. ^ Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p. 7
  13. ^ Schick, 1896, pp. 122, 124
  14. ^ Barron, 1923, Table VII, Sub-district of Ramallah, p. 17
  15. ^ Mills, 1932, p. 50.
  16. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 26
  17. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 65
  18. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 112
  19. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 163
  20. ^ Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. 24
  21. ^ Saffa village profile, ARIJ, p. 16
  22. ^ a b c d e f Saffa village profile, ARIJ, p. 17
  23. ^ a b c Al-Houdalieh, Salah H. (2010). "The Sacred Place of Sheikh Shihab Ed-Din". Palestine Exploration Quarterly. 142 (2): 127–141. doi:10.1179/003103210X12717682047258. ISSN 0031-0328.
  24. ^ Al-Houdalieh, Salah Hussein (2014). "Vandalized and looted, rock-cut tombs of the Roman and Byzantine periods: A case study from Saffa village, Ramallah Province". Palestine Exploration Quarterly. 146 (3): 224–240. doi:10.1179/0031032814Z.000000000102. ISSN 0031-0328.

Bibliography

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