Jabal Amil (Arabic:جبل عامل,romanized: Jabal ʿĀmil; also spelledJabal Amel and historically known asJabal Amila) is a cultural and geographic region inSouthern Lebanon largely associated with its long-established, predominantlyTwelver Shia Muslim inhabitants. Its precise boundaries vary, but it is generally defined as the mostly highland region on either side of theLitani River, between theMediterranean Sea in the west and theWadi al-Taym,Beqaa andHula valleys in the east.
TheShia community in Jabal Amil is thought to be one of the oldest in history. In the 10th century, several Yemeni tribes with Shi'ite inclinations, including the'Amila tribe, had established themselves in the region. 'Amili oral tradition and later writings assert that a companion of the Islamic prophetMuhammad and an early supporter ofAli, Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (d. AD 651), introduced Shi'ism to the area.[1] Although there is frequent occurrence of this account in many religious sources, it is largely dismissed in academia, and historical sources suggest Shia Islam largely developed in Jabal Amil between the mid-8th and 10th centuries (750–900).[2][3][4][5][6] Twelver Shia tradition in southern Lebanon credits the Amila, as the progenitors of the community, by having sided with the faction ofAli in the mid-7th century.[7]
The region derives its name from theAmila, anArab tribe that had been affiliated with theGhassanid client kings ofByzantine and that moved into the region and neighboringGalilee after the 7th-centuryMuslim conquests. Although speculative, Twelver Shia tradition in southern Lebanon credits the Amila as the progenitors of the community, by having sided with the faction ofAli in the mid-7th century.[7]
The 10th-centuryJerusalemite geographeral-Muqaddasi describes 'Jabal Amila' as "a mountainous district" overlooking the Mediterranean sea and connected toMount Lebanon. It contained "many fine villages" and springs. Its fields were rain-dependent, and grapes, olives, and other fruits were grown there.[8] It was the source of the highest-quality honey inSyria, along with that of Jerusalem.[9] Jabal Amila, and the district of Jabal Jarash to the southeast, on the other side of theJordan River, were the largest sources of revenue forTiberias, the capital ofJund al-Urdunn (the Jordan [River] District).[10] He mentions that another highland region, betweenTyre,Sidon andQadas, was known as 'Jabal Siddiqa' after a holy person's tomb in the district that was visited annually by throngs of local pilgrims and Muslim officials.[11] Qadas is also mentioned by him as belonging to Jabal Amila.[12]
TheDamascene geographeral-Dimashqi described Jabal Amila in 1300 as a district in theSafad Province characterized by its abundant vineyards and olive,carob andterebinth groves, and populated byTwelver Shia Muslims. He also notes the neighboring highland districts ofJabal Jaba,Jabal Jazin andJabal Tibnin whose inhabitants were also Twelver Shia and whose lands contained considerable springs, vineyards, and fruit groves.[13] The ruler ofHama and scholarAbu'l-Fida (d. 1341) noted that Jabal Amila "runs down the coast as far south asTyre and was home to theShaqif Arnun fortress (Beaufort Castle).[11]
According to the historian Tamara Chalabi, defining Jabal Amil is "difficult" as the region was not generally recognized as a distinct geographic or political entity.[14] Rather, its identity, and by extension its definition, is derived from its largely Twelver Shia Muslim inhabitants, who historically referred to themselves as 'Amilis'.[14] The scholarMarilyn Booth calls it "a terrain of identity, its 'boundaries' somewhat indefinite".[15] In the definition generally accepted by its Twelver Shia community, the Jabal Amil is roughly 3,000 square kilometres (1,200 sq mi) and bound by theAwali River north of Sidon, which separates it from theChouf highlands ofMount Lebanon, and theWadi al-Qarn in modern Israel to the south.[14] In this definition, the region is bound in the west by theMediterranean Sea and in the east by the valley regions ofWadi al-Taym, theBeqaa, and theHula.[14] TheLitani River cuts the region into northern and southern parts.[15] The southern part is additionally known asBilad Bishara.[16]
According to the scholarChibli Mallat, while the traditional definition of Jabal Amil includes the cities of Sidon and Jezzine, other, more limited definitions exclude them, defining them as separate areas. The traditional definition also includes parts of modern Israel, including the former villages ofal-Bassa andal-Khalisa, and the villages ofTarbikha, Qadas,Hunin,al-Nabi Yusha', andSaliha, whose inhabitants had been Twelver Shia before their depopulation in the1948 Palestine war.[17] In the definition of Lebanon specialist Elisabeth Picard, the northern boundary of Jabal Amil is formed by theZahrani River, south of Sidon.[18] The historianWilliam Harris defines it as the hills south of the Litani, which "grade into theUpper Galilee".[19] According toStefan Winter, Jabal Amil is traditionally defined as the predominantly Twelver Shia-populated, highland region southeast of Sidon.[20] A prominent native scholar of Jabal Amil, Suleiman Dahir, defined it in 1930 as a much larger area, encompassing Jezzine in the Chouf,Baalbek in the northern Beqaa, and the Hula.[16]
Historical accounts suggest a Shiite presence at Jabal Amil by the 10th century, with the arrival of Shia-oriented Yemeni tribes like theAmilah. However, local traditions claim an even earlier conversion toTwelver Shi'ism by a companion of the ProphetMuhammad,Abu Dharr al-Ghifari.[1]
Despite claims of being the earliest Shi'ite center, evidence points toHillah in Iraq as a prominent center of religious learning for early Amili scholars (12th-14th centuries). It wasn't until the 14th century that Jabal Amil saw the rise of its own scholarly institutions and a surge in the number of Shi'ite scholars. This culminated in the 15th and 16th centuries, when Jabal Amil became the leading center of Shi'ite learning, with a focus on legal, linguistic, and doctrinal studies. However, by the 16th century, economic and political factors led to a decline in these institutions and a mass migration of Amili scholars – particularly toSafavid Iran – that lasted for about two centuries.[1] The Safavids' invited Shi'ite scholars from Jabal Amil to their court to legitimize their rule over predominantlySunni Persia and promote Shi'ite conversion.[1]