Dayr al-Shaykh دير الشيخ Dayr al-Sheikh, Deir el-Sheikh, Deir al Sheikh, Deir esh-Sheikh, Dar esh-Sheikh, Dar el-Sheikh, Der esch-schech | |
|---|---|
 Thezawiya at Dayr al-Shaykh, 2011. | |
| Etymology: The monastery (sanctuary) of the Sheikh (elder, or chief)[1] | |
.jpg) 1870s map.jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map.jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Dayr al-Shaykh (click the buttons) | |
  Dayr al-Shaykh Location withinMandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates:31°44′56″N35°04′02″E / 31.74889°N 35.06722°E /31.74889; 35.06722 | |
| Palestine grid | 156/128 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Jerusalem |
| Date of depopulation | October 21, 1948[5] |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,366dunams (1.366 km2; 0.527 sq mi) |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 220[2][3][4] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault byYishuv forces |
Dayr al-Shaykh (Arabic:دير الشيخ), also speltDeir esh Sheikh, was aPalestinianArab village in theJerusalem Subdistrict, also known as theJerusalem corridor. It was located 16 kilometers (9.9 mi) west ofJerusalem.
In theMamluk period, Dayr al-Shaykh, originally aChristian village,[6] transformed into aSufi center associated with an influential Muslim dynasty founded by Sheikh Badr al-Din.[6][7] Having arrived in Palestine in the 13th century, al-Din eventually settled in Dayr al-Shaykh, attracting disciples and visitors forziyara.[6][7] The village's Christian inhabitants either converted toIslam or were displaced over time.[6]
In the 16th century, Dayr al-Shaykh became part of theOttoman Empire, with an estimated population of 113 in 1596.[8] In 1834, duringIbrahim Pasha's invasion, local tradition held that Shaykh Badr defended the village by summoning a swarm of bees. The population fluctuated over the years, reaching around 400 in the early 1870s.[3] By 1883, it was described as deserted,[9] possibly due to migration or atyphus epidemic.[3]
In theBritish Mandate period, the population grew, reaching 220 in 1945.[2][4] However, Dayr al-Shaykh was depopulated during the1948 Arab-Israeli War. The village lands saw no establishment of a Jewish settlement. Today, its ruins, including thezawiya of Sheikh Sultan Badr, stand as a historical and tourist attraction.[3]
DuringMamluk times, Dayr al-Shaykh, originally aChristian village,[6] became home to one of the most famous local dynasties of local religious Shaykhs in the area. The founder wasal-Sayyid Badr-al Din Muhammed who came toPalestine either fromIraq,[10]Khurasan,[11] or theHijaz.[12] He first settled inShuafat, but after the death of one of his daughters, whose tomb can still be seen in the village, he moved westwards.[13]
According to the Mamluk-era historianMujīr al-Dīn al-'Ulaymī, Badr-al Din probably arrived in Palestine around1229-1244, and eventually he settled at Dayr al-Shaykh. According to the same source, Badr-al Din was a man of great virtue, with a reputation of being close to God. He died 1253 (650 AH), and was buried at hiszawiya at Dayr al-Shaykh. Because of him, Dayr al-Shaykh attracted many disciples and other people who came forziyara.[7] Over time, Dayr al-Seikh became Muslim as its Christian inhabitants were either forced to leave or converted to Islam.[6]
Badr-al Din had eight sons; the oldest,al-Sayyid Muhammed (died 1264-65 (663 AH)), is also described as a guide and leader.[14] Abd al-Afiz (died 1296-97 (696 AH), another of his sons to attain leadership status, returned to Jerusalem to a village that was subsequently renamedSharafat for this family ofAshraf ("nobles").[14]
Dayr al-Shaykh, like the rest of Palestine, was incorporated into theOttoman Empire in 1517, and according to an Ottomancensus of 1596, the village had a population of 26 households and 3 bachelors, an estimated 113 person. All wereMuslim. The village was a part of thenahiya ("subdistrict") ofJerusalem which was under the administration of theliwa ("district") of Jerusalem. The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 16,6% on wheat, barley, olives, fruits, beehives, goats, and vineyards, a total of 3,300akçe.[8]
In 1834, whenIbrahim Pasha of Egypt led theEgyptian army into Palestine, he confiscated large areas of land once belonging to local leaders in the process. However, according to local tradition, when Ibrahim Pasha sent a regiment to confiscate the land of Dayr al-Shaykh, it was attacked by a swarm of bees. According to tradition, this was Shaykh Badr defending his abode.[15][16]
In 1838,Deir esh-Sheik was noted as a Muslim village in theal-Arkub district, southwest of Jerusalem,[17] while in 1856 the village was namedD. esh Sheikh onKiepert's map of Palestine published that year.[18]
An Ottoman village list of about 1870 found 28 houses and a population of 101, though the population count included only men,[19][20] while the population grew to about 400 by the early 1870s.[3] However, the village was described as deserted by 1883.[9] Palestinian historianWalid Khalidi writes that the inhabitants might either have migrated elsewhere for a temporary period or died during thetyphus epidemic that swept the area in 1874.[3] However, according to P.J. Baldensperger, writing in 1894, Sheikh Ethman, a direct descendant of Shaykh Badr, was partly a resident ofArtas, partly of Dayr al-Shaykh, from 1874 to 1882. Sheikh Ethman, described in 1894 as a man about 50, with "fine features, tall, and very sober in speech", wore a green turban as a symbol of his descent fromHusayn. He had been greatly revered by everybody until an incident in 1881, involving the escape of a criminal, had left his reputation diminished.[21]
In 1896 the population ofDer esch-schech was estimated to be about 135 persons.[22]
Along with all ofPalestine, Dayr al-Shaykh became part of theBritish Mandate in 1920 following the region's capture from the Ottoman Turks byGreat Britain.[3] In the1922 census of Palestine Dayr al-Shaykh had a population 99, all Muslims,[23] increasing in the1931 census to 156 inhabitants, in 26 houses; 148 Muslims, sevenChristians, and oneJew were counted.[24]
In the1945 statistics the population reached 220; 210 Muslims and 10 Christians.[2][4] Most of the residents' houses were built from stone. There were a few shops in the village and a well to the west provided drinking water. Most of itscultivable land was used for grain, vegetables and fruit trees. Large swathes of land to the east, west and north of Dayr al-Shaykh were covered by olive groves. The village had twomosques. Within the village lay the tomb and mosque of Shaykh Sultan Badr.[3] In 1944–45, the village had 1,025 dunums of land used for cereals, while 291 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards.[3][25]
Dayr al-Shaykh was depopulated during the1948 Arab-Israeli War. The village was occupied byIsrael'sHar'el Brigade, probably on October 21, 1948, duringOperation ha-Har.[3] NoJewish locality was built on village lands which amounted to 6,781dunams in 1945. The mosque of Shaykh Sultan Badr remains and is currently a tourist attraction.[3]
The Israeli town ofNes Harim is located 1 kilometer (0.62 mi) southwest of the village site, on land formerly belonging toBayt 'Itab.[3]
Andrew Petersen, an archaeologist specializing inIslamic architecture, surveyed the shrine in 1994. The shrine consists of four main structures: a courtyard, a prayer hall, amaqam and a crypt. His conclusion was that the complex evolved over several hundred years, but that the oldest part is the vaulted crypt. This crypt, with the entrance in the south-east corner of the courtyard, has pointed arches which indicate a medieval, possibly Crusader date. The maquam belongs to a second phase of constructions, probably built shortly after the death of Sheik Badr in the 13th century. The prayer hall, which is located in the south-west corner of the complex, is the largest building and was probably constructed during late Mamluk, possibly early Ottoman times.[26]
![The old railway station of Dayr al-Shaykh, on the Jaffa–Jerusalem railway line, situated 0.5 km east of the village site.[3]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aBarGioraRailwayStation1.jpg)
A case in point is the abu al-Wafa' family, which founded no fewer than three Sufi centers in and around Jerusalem during the Mamluk period. The family was headed by Shaykh Badr al-Din abu al-Wafa' (d. 1253), a Sufi who was held in high esteem by his peers (qutb). Badr al-Din relocated his followers to Dayr al-Shaykh, a Christian village some twenty kilometers due west of Jerusalem. In time, the Christian residents were indeed ousted from the town (or converted to Islam).
