Kafr Sabt كفر سبت Kafar Sabt | |
|---|---|
Village | |
 Kafr Sabt, from the air, 1937 | |
| Etymology: "Village ofSabbath"[1] | |
.jpg) 1870s map.jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map.jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Kafr Sabt (click the buttons) | |
  Kafr Sabt Location withinMandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates:32°44′37″N35°26′27″E / 32.74361°N 35.44083°E /32.74361; 35.44083 | |
| Palestine grid | 191/238 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Tiberias |
| Date of depopulation | April 22, 1948[4] |
| Area | |
• Total | 9,850dunams (9.85 km2; 3.80 sq mi) |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 480[2][3] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Influence of nearby town's fall |
| Current Localities | Sdeh Ilan,[5]IlaniyaSharona |
Kafr Sabt (Arabic:كفر سبت) was aPalestinianArab village of nearly 500 situated on a sloping plain in the easternLower Galilee located 10.5 kilometers (6.5 mi) southwest ofTiberias. It was depopulated in 1948.
In the late 19th century, Kafr Sabt was settled by Algerian migrants under the auspices of theOttoman Empire.[6]
Kafr Sabt was set near the eastern margin of a large plateau, just south of the ancient main road linking the coastal city ofAcre with the Jordan Valley andTransjordan.[7] The road descends from the village to theJordan Valley deep below by following Wadi Fidjdjas, a valley offering the least steep route available. Kafr Sabt benefited of the large springs from Wadi Fidjdjas.[7]
During theRoman period, Kafr Sabt was known as Kafar Shabtay,[8] meaning "village ofSabbath".[9] It is mentioned inGenesis Rabbah, a midrash written between 300 and 500CE: "Beth Ma'on, they ascend to it from Tiberias, but they go down to it from Kefar Shobtai."[10][11]
Arab geographeral-Muqaddasi mentions the village in 985, while underAbbasid rule as being "between Tiberias andRamla, situated near 'Akabah (the Pass above) Tiberias.[12] He says that it belonged toCaesarea and was large, populated, and had amosque on its main street.[13]
TheCrusaders called it "Cafarsset" when they conquered theLevant in the twelfth century.[8] The village belonged to the Latinabbey of Mount Tabor and one of the abbey'sturcopoles originated from Cafarsset.[7]
In 1187,Saladin led hisAyyubid army from theJordan River to Kafr Sabt, approximately 8 miles (13 km) from his camp along theSea of Galilee. Kafr Sabt, located on a high plateau bordering theHorns of Hattin, served as a strategic position for Saladin's army since there he could threatenTiberias to the rear,Sepphoris in the front, the Crusader lines of communications between the two strongholds, and his army could easily retreat down the slopes if necessary.[14] He encamped in Kafr Sabt before he led his army to their decisive victory at theBattle of Hattin.[15][16]
Arab geographerYaqut al-Hamawi passed through the village in the thirteenth century while Kafr Sabt was in Ayyubid hands.[8]
Kafr Sabt was incorporated into theOttoman Empire in 1517, and by 1596, it was under the administration of thenahiya ("subdistrict") of Tiberias, part of Sanjak Safad, with a population of 29 Muslim households; an estimated 160 persons. The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 25% on various agricultural products, including wheat, barley, cotton, beehives, and goats; a total of 5,700akçe.[17][18]
A map fromNapoleon's invasion of 1799 byPierre Jacotin showed the place, named asK. el Sett.[19]
Victor Guérin visited in 1875, and noted: "Near a spring, inclosed in a small circular basin, the soil is covered with the confused debris of many overthrown houses; some still standing are inhabited. Here and there are scatteredcisterns cut in the rock. On the highest point of the hill, formerly occupied by the ancient town, are observed the remains of a strong edifice built of cut stones, which seems to have been put up for military purposes; it formed a quadrilateral forty paces long. Beside amosque may be remarked two brokencapitals in debasedCorinthian, as well as several columns belonging probably to an ancient church, now completely destroyed."[20]
In the late 19th century, Kafr Sabt was one of several villages settled by Algerian migrants under the auspices of theOttoman Empire. The settlers in Kafr Sabt originated in the area ofOued El Berdi andBouïra.[6]
In 1881, thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine (SWP) described it as a stone-built village with 300 inhabitants.[21]
A population list from about 1887 showedKefr Sabt to have about 410 inhabitants; all Muslims.[22]
Under theBritish Mandate of Palestine from 1922 to 1948, Kafr Sabt housed members of theBedouin tribe of 'Arab al-Mashariqa who lived in tents.[8] The village residents were described as migrants fromAlgeria.[23]
In the1922 census of Palestine, the population ofKufr Sabt was 247; all Muslims,[24] increasing in the1931 census to 340; still all Muslims, in a total of 71 houses.[25]
Agriculture was the main economic sector with the primary crops being grain and fruit orchards.[8] In the1945 statistics, the population reached 480 Muslims,[2][3][26] and the total land area owned by Arabs was 4,295dunams.[3] Of this, 7 dunams were for plantations and irrigable land, 4,258 for cereals,[27] while 30 dunams were built-up land.[28]
During the1948 Arab-Israeli War, Kafr Sabt's inhabitants fled on April 22, as a direct result of the capture of Tiberias, four days before, to theHaganah — the army ofIsrael. In 1949, twoJewish settlements,Ilaniya andSharona feuded over possession of Kafr Sabt's lands, with the former arguing that they deserved compensation for early Arab attacks on their town, while the latter also had designs for it, and took it by force. TheAgriculture Minister of Israel intervened ordering Sharona's farmers to retreat.[8] According to Palestinian historianWalid Khalidi, as of 1992:
Piles of stone and stone terraces provide the main indications that the village once occupied the site. Cactuses and a few scattered trees grow among the rubble on the village site. The lands around the site are planted in grain, fruit trees, and almond trees.[8]
{{cite book}}:|work= ignored (help)as noted, the British surveyors described them as Algerian migrants
