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Summil
Summil (Arabic: صميل) was a Palestinian Arab village in the Gaza Subdistrict, located 36 kilometers (22 mi) northeast of Gaza. It was situated on a sandy hill in the coastal plain and had a population of 950 in 1945. It was depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
A marble bust of Pan, dating from the 1st or 2nd century CE, has been found here.
Summil was founded in 1168 during the Crusades by the Hospitallers for the purpose of protecting the fortress in Bayt Jibrin. There are some remains of the Crusader castle (see photos here), and a medieval masonry well known as Bir Summail survives south of it. Local tradition claims it was named after Samuel, one of the Crusaders who established the village. Under Mamluk rule in the 13th-15th centuries, it was referred to as Barakat al-Khalil ("the blessing of Ibrahim (Abraham)"), because its tax revenues were used by the sultan Barquq to endow the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron.
Summil was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1517 with all of Palestine, and in the 1596 tax records it was part of nahiya (subdistrict) of Gaza under the Gaza Sanjak, with a population of 66 Muslim household, an estimated 363 persons. The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 33,3% on wheat, barley, fruit, beehives, and goats; a total of 14,500 akçe. All of the revenue went to a waqf.
When Edward Robinson visited Summil in the 1838, he noted that it was a "considerable village on an elevation of the plain". He noticed a public well over 100 feet (30 m) deep and 11 feet (3.4 m) in diameter. He said that there was a "portion of an ancient wall apparently once belonging to a castle." It was also noted as a Muslim village located in the Gaza district.
In 1863, French explorer Victor Guérin found the village, which he called Soummeil el-Khalil, to have 400 inhabitants. Some of the houses were built of stone, other of adobe. He further noted a waly, dedicated to a Sheikh Abdallah, which was a well built enclosure built of large stones. An Ottoman village list of about 1870 indicated 50 houses and a population of 133, though the population count included men, only.
In 1882 the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine described Summeil as "a small village on the edge of the higher ground, of mud and stone, with cactus hedges. A pond on the south and a well on the north supply the place. Near the latter there is a pointed archway of good masonry, apparently mediæval work, and there are foundations of hewn stones in the village. [The well] Bir Summeil is south of the village, is also a well-built masonry well, and the place evidently dates back to Crusading times at least." In the late 19th century, Summil had a semi-circular plan.
During the British Mandate period, the village expanded toward the southwest and relied on al-Faluja for commercial, medical, and administrative services.
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Summil AI simulator
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Summil
Summil (Arabic: صميل) was a Palestinian Arab village in the Gaza Subdistrict, located 36 kilometers (22 mi) northeast of Gaza. It was situated on a sandy hill in the coastal plain and had a population of 950 in 1945. It was depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
A marble bust of Pan, dating from the 1st or 2nd century CE, has been found here.
Summil was founded in 1168 during the Crusades by the Hospitallers for the purpose of protecting the fortress in Bayt Jibrin. There are some remains of the Crusader castle (see photos here), and a medieval masonry well known as Bir Summail survives south of it. Local tradition claims it was named after Samuel, one of the Crusaders who established the village. Under Mamluk rule in the 13th-15th centuries, it was referred to as Barakat al-Khalil ("the blessing of Ibrahim (Abraham)"), because its tax revenues were used by the sultan Barquq to endow the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron.
Summil was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1517 with all of Palestine, and in the 1596 tax records it was part of nahiya (subdistrict) of Gaza under the Gaza Sanjak, with a population of 66 Muslim household, an estimated 363 persons. The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 33,3% on wheat, barley, fruit, beehives, and goats; a total of 14,500 akçe. All of the revenue went to a waqf.
When Edward Robinson visited Summil in the 1838, he noted that it was a "considerable village on an elevation of the plain". He noticed a public well over 100 feet (30 m) deep and 11 feet (3.4 m) in diameter. He said that there was a "portion of an ancient wall apparently once belonging to a castle." It was also noted as a Muslim village located in the Gaza district.
In 1863, French explorer Victor Guérin found the village, which he called Soummeil el-Khalil, to have 400 inhabitants. Some of the houses were built of stone, other of adobe. He further noted a waly, dedicated to a Sheikh Abdallah, which was a well built enclosure built of large stones. An Ottoman village list of about 1870 indicated 50 houses and a population of 133, though the population count included men, only.
In 1882 the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine described Summeil as "a small village on the edge of the higher ground, of mud and stone, with cactus hedges. A pond on the south and a well on the north supply the place. Near the latter there is a pointed archway of good masonry, apparently mediæval work, and there are foundations of hewn stones in the village. [The well] Bir Summeil is south of the village, is also a well-built masonry well, and the place evidently dates back to Crusading times at least." In the late 19th century, Summil had a semi-circular plan.
During the British Mandate period, the village expanded toward the southwest and relied on al-Faluja for commercial, medical, and administrative services.