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Nablus
32°13′20″N 35°15′40″E / 32.22222°N 35.26111°E
Nablus (/ˈnæbləs, ˈnɑːbləs/ NA(H)B-ləs; Arabic: نابلس, romanized: Nābulus, locally [ˈnæːblɪs] ⓘ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Nablus Governorate. It is located approximately 49 kilometres (30 mi) north of Jerusalem, between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim with a population of 156,906. The city is a commercial and cultural centre of Palestine, home to An-Najah National University, one of the largest institutions of higher learning in Palestine, and the Palestine Stock Exchange. Nablus is under the administration of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).
Nablus has been traditionally associated with the ancient city of Shechem. However, Shechem is now identified with the nearby site of Tell Balata in the Balata al-Balad suburb of the West Bank. The modern name of the city can be traced back to the Roman period, when it was named Flavia Neapolis by Roman emperor Vespasian in 72 CE. During the Byzantine period, conflict between the city's Samaritan and newer Christian inhabitants peaked in the Samaritan revolts that were eventually suppressed by the Byzantines by 573, which greatly dwindled the Samaritan population of the city. Following the Muslim conquest of the Levant in the 7th century, the city was given its present-day Arabic name of Nablus. After the First Crusade, the Crusaders drafted the laws of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the Council of Nablus, and its Christian, Samaritan, and Muslim inhabitants prospered. The city then came under the control of the Ayyubids and the Mamluk Sultanate. Under the Ottoman Turks, who conquered the city in 1517, Nablus served as the administrative and commercial centre for the surrounding area corresponding to the modern-day northern West Bank. Much of Nablus' history is preserved in its Old City, which contains more than 100 monumental buildings.
After the city was captured by British forces during World War I, Nablus was incorporated into Mandatory Palestine in 1922. The 1948 Arab–Israeli War saw the entire West Bank, including Nablus, occupied and annexed by Transjordan. Since the 1967 Arab–Israeli War, the West Bank has been occupied by Israel; since 1995, it has been governed by the Palestinian Authority as part of Area A of the West Bank. Today, the population is predominantly Muslim, with small Christian and Samaritan minorities.
Flavia Neapolis ('new city of the emperor Flavius') was named in 72 CE by the Roman emperor Vespasian and applied to an older Samaritan village, variously called Mabartha ('the passage') or Mamorpha. Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, the new city lay 2 kilometers (1.2 mi) west of the Biblical city of Shechem which was destroyed by the Romans that same year during the First Jewish–Roman War. Holy places at the site of the city's founding include Joseph's Tomb and Jacob's Well. Because of the city's strategic geographic position and the abundance of water from nearby springs, Neapolis prospered, accumulating extensive territory, including the former Judean toparchy of Acraba.
Insofar as the hilly topography of the site would allow, the city was built on a Roman grid plan and settled with veterans who fought in the victorious legions and other foreign colonists. In the 2nd century CE, Emperor Hadrian built a grand theater in Neapolis that could seat up to 7,000 people. Coins found in Nablus dating to this period depict Roman military emblems and gods and goddesses of the Greek pantheon such as Zeus, Artemis, Serapis, and Asklepios. Neapolis was entirely pagan at this time. Justin Martyr who was born in the city c. 100 CE, came into contact with Platonism, but not with Christians there. The city flourished until the civil war between Septimius Severus and Pescennius Niger in 198–9 CE. Having sided with Niger, who was defeated, the city was temporarily stripped of its legal privileges by Severus, who designated these to Sebastia instead.
In 244 CE, Philip the Arab transformed Flavius Neapolis into a Roman colony named Julia Neapolis. It retained this status until the rule of Trebonianus Gallus in 251 CE. The Encyclopaedia Judaica speculates that Christianity was dominant in the 2nd or 3rd century, with some sources positing a later date of 480 CE. It is known for certain that a bishop from Nablus participated in the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE. The presence of Samaritans in the city is attested to in literary and epigraphic evidence dating to the 4th century CE. As yet, there is no evidence attesting to a Jewish presence in ancient Neapolis.
Si'on suggested that Neapolis was about 900 acres (360 ha) in size during the Byzantine period, making it three times larger than it was when it was first established as a Roman colony. Magen estimates that around 20,000 people lived there during this period.
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Nablus
32°13′20″N 35°15′40″E / 32.22222°N 35.26111°E
Nablus (/ˈnæbləs, ˈnɑːbləs/ NA(H)B-ləs; Arabic: نابلس, romanized: Nābulus, locally [ˈnæːblɪs] ⓘ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Nablus Governorate. It is located approximately 49 kilometres (30 mi) north of Jerusalem, between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim with a population of 156,906. The city is a commercial and cultural centre of Palestine, home to An-Najah National University, one of the largest institutions of higher learning in Palestine, and the Palestine Stock Exchange. Nablus is under the administration of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).
Nablus has been traditionally associated with the ancient city of Shechem. However, Shechem is now identified with the nearby site of Tell Balata in the Balata al-Balad suburb of the West Bank. The modern name of the city can be traced back to the Roman period, when it was named Flavia Neapolis by Roman emperor Vespasian in 72 CE. During the Byzantine period, conflict between the city's Samaritan and newer Christian inhabitants peaked in the Samaritan revolts that were eventually suppressed by the Byzantines by 573, which greatly dwindled the Samaritan population of the city. Following the Muslim conquest of the Levant in the 7th century, the city was given its present-day Arabic name of Nablus. After the First Crusade, the Crusaders drafted the laws of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the Council of Nablus, and its Christian, Samaritan, and Muslim inhabitants prospered. The city then came under the control of the Ayyubids and the Mamluk Sultanate. Under the Ottoman Turks, who conquered the city in 1517, Nablus served as the administrative and commercial centre for the surrounding area corresponding to the modern-day northern West Bank. Much of Nablus' history is preserved in its Old City, which contains more than 100 monumental buildings.
After the city was captured by British forces during World War I, Nablus was incorporated into Mandatory Palestine in 1922. The 1948 Arab–Israeli War saw the entire West Bank, including Nablus, occupied and annexed by Transjordan. Since the 1967 Arab–Israeli War, the West Bank has been occupied by Israel; since 1995, it has been governed by the Palestinian Authority as part of Area A of the West Bank. Today, the population is predominantly Muslim, with small Christian and Samaritan minorities.
Flavia Neapolis ('new city of the emperor Flavius') was named in 72 CE by the Roman emperor Vespasian and applied to an older Samaritan village, variously called Mabartha ('the passage') or Mamorpha. Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, the new city lay 2 kilometers (1.2 mi) west of the Biblical city of Shechem which was destroyed by the Romans that same year during the First Jewish–Roman War. Holy places at the site of the city's founding include Joseph's Tomb and Jacob's Well. Because of the city's strategic geographic position and the abundance of water from nearby springs, Neapolis prospered, accumulating extensive territory, including the former Judean toparchy of Acraba.
Insofar as the hilly topography of the site would allow, the city was built on a Roman grid plan and settled with veterans who fought in the victorious legions and other foreign colonists. In the 2nd century CE, Emperor Hadrian built a grand theater in Neapolis that could seat up to 7,000 people. Coins found in Nablus dating to this period depict Roman military emblems and gods and goddesses of the Greek pantheon such as Zeus, Artemis, Serapis, and Asklepios. Neapolis was entirely pagan at this time. Justin Martyr who was born in the city c. 100 CE, came into contact with Platonism, but not with Christians there. The city flourished until the civil war between Septimius Severus and Pescennius Niger in 198–9 CE. Having sided with Niger, who was defeated, the city was temporarily stripped of its legal privileges by Severus, who designated these to Sebastia instead.
In 244 CE, Philip the Arab transformed Flavius Neapolis into a Roman colony named Julia Neapolis. It retained this status until the rule of Trebonianus Gallus in 251 CE. The Encyclopaedia Judaica speculates that Christianity was dominant in the 2nd or 3rd century, with some sources positing a later date of 480 CE. It is known for certain that a bishop from Nablus participated in the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE. The presence of Samaritans in the city is attested to in literary and epigraphic evidence dating to the 4th century CE. As yet, there is no evidence attesting to a Jewish presence in ancient Neapolis.
Si'on suggested that Neapolis was about 900 acres (360 ha) in size during the Byzantine period, making it three times larger than it was when it was first established as a Roman colony. Magen estimates that around 20,000 people lived there during this period.
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