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The Construction of an Islamic City in Palestine. The Case of Umayyad al-Ramla*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 September 2009

Nimrod Luz
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Extract

At the beginning of the eighth century A.D. a new town was built in Palestine, called al- Ramla (Ramlah of today). It was founded by the then provincial governor, Sulaymān b. ‘Abd al-Malik (d. 717) in order to serve as the capital of Jund Filasṭīn, the southern province of Palestine. The building of a new town, and especially of a capital city, constituted a significant departure in the Palestine environment, for two main reasons. First, it was the first city to be founded after a period of 350 years, i.e., for most of the Byzantine epoch. Second, though the Muslims ruled the country for 1100 years, al-Ramla remained the sole example of a new town in the whole of Palestine.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society , Volume 7 , Issue 1 , April 1997 , pp. 27 - 54
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Asiatic Society 1997

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Footnotes

*

This article is based upon sections of my M.A. Thesis submitted to the Hebrew University, under the supervision of Dr R. Rubin and Dr A. Elad, to whom I would like to express my gratitude. I also gratefully macknowledge Ms T. Sofer's devoted assistance with the drawings following this paper and Dr R. Amitai-Preiss for his comments regarding the English version of this paper. I wish to dedicate this paper to the memory of my beloved father.

References

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28 ’Amiran, D., “The seismic centre of Lod and the sea-shore bend of Jaffa”, Eretz-Irael, I (Schwabe, Sefer), PP.173–7Google Scholar. See also Map, p. 176 (in Hebrew).

29 The field survey I conducted in the al-Ramla region revealed some six springs; nowadays their flow is too modest for any practical use. However it is possible that before the modem intensive use of the coastal aquifer, their flow was more copious. See for example, Kark, R. and Shiloni, T., “The resettlement of Gezer”, in Shiler, E. (ed.), Sefer Ze‘v Vilnay (in Hebrew) p. 339Google Scholar, and in a field survey conducted in 1943 the spring of Gezer is described as a powerful source of water. (A report from the “Hagana” intelligence records).

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33 Khuradādhbih, Ibn, Kitāb al-Masālik, pp. 154–5.Google Scholar On the Rādhānites, see Gil, M., “The Rādhānite merchantsand the land of Rādhān”, Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, XVII, (1974), pp. 299–328Google Scholar; Ashton, E., “Aper§us sur les Rādhānites”, Studies on the Levantine Trade in the Middle Ages (London, 1978), pp. 245–65Google Scholar.

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37 Record Files 157 and The al-Ramla File. The perusal of these files by courtesy of Israel Antiquities Authority.

38 Notes on Fig. 2.

The dating of strata by different excavators is not unequivocal. At times it is too general e.g. “Early Arab Period’: at other times it is more precise such as “Umayyad” or “al-Mafjari”. In map I are included all sites described as “Early Arab Period”, “Umayyad” or “al-Mafjari”.

The list of sites and excavations has been updated to June 1994.

It should be noted that no excavation yielded any material described by the researchers as Late Byzantine.

Sites no. 22, 23 were taken from the Survey of Western Palestine, 1878, Sheet 13, 16. Survey of Western Palestine, 1930, Palestine 1:20,000, sheet 13/14 al-Ramla.

39 Mu‘īn, Abū, Ḥārith, NaṢir-ī KhuṢraw b., Safar Nāme, ed. Schefer, C. (Paris, 1881), p. 19Google Scholar.

40 See, for example, Cresswell, K. A. C., Early Muslim Architecture (Oxford, 1969), pp. 381–9Google Scholar (Kh’ al-Minya, ), pp. 545–77Google Scholar (Kh’ al-Mafjar, ), pp. 506–18Google Scholar (Qaṣr al-Ḥayr al-Gharbī, ), pp. 578–606Google Scholar (Mshatta). See also, Whitcomb, D., “Evidence of the Umayyad period from the Aqaba excavation”, in Bakhit, M. A. and Schick, Robert (eds.), The Fourth International Conference on the History of Bilad al-Sham During The Umayyad Period, ii (Amman, 1989), p. 175Google Scholar.

41 Chehab, M., “The Umayyad palace at ‘Anjar”, Ars Orientalis, V (1963), pp. 17–25Google Scholar; Cresswell, K. A. C., Early Muslim Architecture, pp. 471–8;Google Scholar EI2, s.v. “‘Anjar” (J. Sourdel-Thomin); Chehab, H. K., “On the identification of ‘Anjar (‘Ayn Al-jarr) as an Umayyad foundation”, Muqamas, X (1993), pp. 42–8. OxfordGoogle Scholar.

42 The idea that al-Ramla and ‘Anjar have a similar origin and were built for the same functions was first suggested by Sourdel: see Sourdel, “La fondation umayyade d’al-Ramla en Palestine”.

43 Al-Muqaddasī, , Aḥsan, p. 164.Google Scholar In this sketch and the discussion that follows I assume that al-Muqaddasī’s description is arranged systematically and depicts the gates in a consistent order.

44 al-Dīn, Mujīr, Al-Uns al-Jalīl, p. 417Google Scholar.

45 Chehab, , “The Umayyad palace”Google Scholar.

46 Rosenberger (personal communication). The excavations were held in 1991; the report has not yet been published.

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48 al-Himyarī, Ibn ‘Abd Mun‘am, Kitāb al-Rawḍ al-Mi‘ṭār fī Khabar al-Aqṭār, ed. ‘Abbās, A. (Beirut, 1975), p. 268Google Scholar.

49 Mujīr al-Dīn mentions the term Sūq al-Habbābīn, namely the grain-sellers’ market, while al-Ḥimyarī uses the term Sūq al-Ḥashshabīn i.e. the wood-sellers’ market. I preferred al-Ḥimyarī's version; see also Sauvaire, H., Histoire de Jerusalem et Hebron (Paris, 1876), p. 205Google Scholar.

50 According to al-Ḥimyarī it was the water sellers’ market: al-Ḥimyarī, , Kitāb al-Rawṭ, p. 268Google Scholar.

51 al-Dīn, Mujīr, Al-Uns al-Jalīl, p. 417Google Scholar.

52 The reconstruction of the area of the White Mosque is based on Kaplan, “Excavation”, E. Yanai, “Excavation at the area of the White Mosque”, al-Ramla files, Israel Antiquities Authority, Rosenberger (personal communication). I wish to thank A. Rosenberger for presenting me with findings as yet unpublished.

53 On those tanks see Soreq, H., and Ayalon, E. (eds.), (Eretz-Israel Museum Catalog), Color from Nature, on Natural Colors in History (Tel-Aviv, 1993), pp. 33–4 and 36Google Scholar. The existence of dyeing installations in the centre of the city would have been a nuisance due to the strong smells. In a new site recently excavated in al-Ramla, the archaeologist on site, Mr D. Glick, was kind enough to show me an industrial facility also linked to dyeing. Its location, some 800 m. from the White Mosque, makes it a much more logical site. The lack of definite dating and data prevents us from reaching a conclusion.

54 Al-Balādhurī, , Futūḥ, p. 143Google Scholar.

55 Rosen-Ayalon, M., “The first mosaic discovered in al-Ramla”, Israel Exploration Journal, XXVI (1976), p. 109–19Google Scholar.

56 Al-Balādhurī, , Futūḥ, p. 143Google Scholar; al-Mas’udī, Kitāb al-Tanbīh, p. 359Google Scholar; al-Fāqīh, Ibn, Kitāb al-Buldān, p. 102Google Scholar; Yāqūt, , Mu‘jam, p. 818Google Scholar.

57 Survey of Western Palestine (SWP), sheets 13, 16 (1874).

58 Gil, M., “The sixty year war (969–1029)”, Shalem, Studies in the History of the Jews in Eretz Israel, III (1981), p. 15 (in Hebrew)Google Scholar. Sharon, M., “Palestine cities under the rule of Islam”, Cathedra, XL (1987), p. 113 (in Hebrew)Google Scholar, where he states that it is not clear whether the aqueduct started in Rosh ha-‘Ayin or al-Ramla; Jawda, S. A. D., Madīnat al-Ramla mundhu Nashā’iha hattā ‘Ām 492 H–1099 A.D. (Beirut, 1986), p. 197Google Scholar.

59 Sinān, Thabit b., Ta’rīḥ Akhbār al-Qāramita, ed. Zakār, S. (Beirut, 1961), p. 67.Google Scholar I wish to thank Dr A. Elad for bringing this source to my attention.

60 See Vilnay, Z., Ramla Past and Present (Jerusalem, 1982), p. 35 (in Hebrew)Google Scholar reports a remnant of the aqueduct in the vicinity of Tel Gezer. I wish to thank Mr T. Tsuk for bringing to my attention the existence of a photo of the aqueduct (taken in the fifties by Prof. R. Gofna), probably of the same site referred to by Vilnay.

61 See Kaplan, , “Excavation”, p. 110Google Scholar, where he describes the channelling of a section of the aqueduct to the reservoirs of the White Mosque.

62 Al-Muqaddasī, , Aḥsan, p. 164Google Scholar, also Hinz, W., Islamische Masse und Gewichte, i (Leiden, 1955), p. 63Google Scholar.

63 On the ḥammām in ‘Anjār, see Chehab, “The Umayyad palace”. On an inn dated to the tenth century, Sharon, M., “A waqf inscription from al-Ramlah”, Arabica, XXIII, 1 (1966), pp. 77–84CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

64 See, Goitein, S. D., A Mediterranean Society, ii (Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1971), pp. 243–4Google Scholar.

65 Al-Muqaddasī, , Aḥsan, p. 165Google Scholar.

66 On the location of the Pool of the Arches in relation to the White Mosque, see fig. 2.

67 al-Dīn, Mujīr, Al-Uns al-Jalīl, p. 417Google Scholar.

68 Al-Muqaddasī, , Aḥsan, p. 165Google Scholar.

69 Sourdel, , “Umayyade al-Ramla”, p. 391Google Scholar.

70 Whitcomb, D., “Evidence of the Umayyad period from the ‘Aqaba excavation”, in Bakhit, M. A. and Schick, Robert (eds.), The Fourth International Conference on the History of Bilad al-Sham During The Umayyad Period, ii (Ammam, 1989), p. 175Google Scholar; idem, “Medieval Aqaba: a brief report on the 1986 and 1987 seasons”, in Syria, Revue d’Art Oriental et d’Archéologie, LXV (Paris, 1988), pp. 423–5Google Scholar; idem, “A Fāṫimid residence at ‘Aqaba, Jordan”, Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan, XXXII (1988), pp. 207–23Google Scholar.

71 Idem, “The miṣr of Ayla: settlement at al-‘Aqaba in the early Islamic period”, in King, G. R. D. and Cameron, A. (eds.), The Byzantine and Early Islamic Near East: Land Use and Settlement Patterns (Princeton, 1994), p. 168Google Scholar.

72 Idem, p. 168. See also Northedge's remark concerning the non-military character of some of the Amṣṣr, Northedge, A.,“Archaeology and new urban settlement in early Islamic Syria and Iraq”, in King, G. R. D. and Cameron, A. (eds.), The Byzantine and Early Islamic Near East: Land Use and Settlement Patterns (Princeton, 1994), p.168Google Scholar.

73 Al-Ya‘qubī, , Kitāb al-Buldān, ed. De Goeje, M.J., p. 328Google Scholar.

74 See for example Creswell, (above, n. 40). On Qasr al-Hayr al-Sharqī see, Grabar, O. et al. , City in the Desert. Qasr al-Hary East (Cambridge, 1978), two volumesGoogle Scholar.

75 For a comprehensive overview of urban settlement in Syria and Iraq with regard to the archaeological data, see Northedge, (above n. 72), pp. 231–65, Figs. 42–7Google Scholar.

76 Kennedy has already demonstrated that despite urban decline in Late Antiquity the Muslims were very strict in preserving the Roman guidelines of urban planning, Kennedy, H., “From polis to madina: urban change in late antique and early Islamic Syria”, Past and Present, CVI (1985), p. 17Google Scholar.

77 Abū al-Ḥajjāj, Jamāl al-Dīn, al-Mizzī, Yūsuf, Tahdhīb al-Kamīl fī Asma’ al-Rijāl, ix, ed. ‘Ma’rūf, A. (Beirut, 1987), p. 172Google Scholar; Gil, , Palestine, p. 100Google Scholar.

78 Al-Muqaddasī, , Aḥsan, pp. 180–1Google Scholar.

79 See above, note 33.

80 Muḥamad al-Sam‘anī, ‘Abd al-Karīm b., al-Ansāb, iii, ed. al-Bārūdī, (Beirut, 1370/1988), pp. 91, 170Google Scholar. ḥajar, Ibn, Alī al-‘Asqalānī, Aḥmad b. ‘, Thadhib al-Tahdhib, xi (Haydarabad, 1326), pp. 230–1Google Scholar. Aḥmad al-Dhahabī, Muḥammad b., Siyar A‘ām ai-Nubalā’, x, ed. al-Āmu’uṫ, Sh. (Beirut, 1981–1988), pp. 423–4Google Scholar.

81 On the fabrics of al-Ramla, see al-Muqaddasī, , Aḥsan, p. 181Google Scholar.

82 Rosen, Ayalon and Eitan, Excavations at al-Ramla - Findings from the Eighth Century.

83 E.g. al-Walīd b. Ṭalaḥa who is also called al-‘Attār, meaning a scent merchant: al-Dhahabī, , Siyar, ix, p. 325Google Scholar.

84 I write this at the risk of being considered dogmatic. So much has been written lately concerning the origin and character of the Islamic city that I make a point here of going back and concentrating on these simple characteristics of what seem to me the natural and basic features of an Islamic city in the eighth century. See also Alsayyad, , Cities and Caliphs, pp. 52, 63, 122Google Scholar. Alsayyad sketches models of early Islamic cities where the focal point of the city is taken by the Friday mosque.

85 Lapidus sees in the market area (bāzār) not only the economic centre but a political one as well, Lapidus, I. M., “Traditional Muslim cities”, in Brown, C. L. (ed.), From Madina to Metropolis (New Jersey, 1973), p. 63Google Scholar. On the linkage between the religious and commercial life in the Islamic city see Levtzion, N., Comparative Study In Islamization (New York, 1979), p. 15Google Scholar. On the rise of the bourgeoisie in the eighth-ninth centuries see S. D. Goitein, “The rise of the Middle-Eastern bourgeoisie in early Islamic times”, in idem, Studies in Islamic History and Institutions (Leiden, 1966)Google Scholar.

86 Yaqut, , Mu‘jam, ii, p. 818Google Scholar.

87 Sharon, , “Palestine cities”, p. 114Google Scholar.

88 Al-Sam‘anī, , al-Ansāb, iii, pp. 91–2Google Scholar. See also Yāqūt, , Mu‘jam, ii, pp. 818–20Google Scholar; al-Dīn, Mujīr, Al-Uns al-Jalīl, p. 418–19Google Scholar.

89 Abū Nu‘aym, Ahmad b. ‘Abd Allāh al-Isbahānī, Hilyat al-Awliyā’ wa-Tabaqāt al-Asfiyā’’, vi (Cairo, 1936), p. 367Google Scholar.

90 Sa‘d, Muḥammad b., Kitāb al-Tabaqāt al-Kubrā, vii/2, ed. Sakhaf, A. (Leiden, 1928), p. 147Google Scholar. For more traditions that support this, see Gil, , Palestine, pp. 88–9, n. 141Google Scholar. See also, Asakir, Abū al-Qāsim … Ibn, Ta’rikh Madinat Dimashq, i, ed. al-Munajjid, S. (Damascus, 1370/1951), p. 38Google Scholar, who relates a tradition cited by Damara b. Rabī‘a and Rajā’ b. Abī Salama, who locate the grave in Jerusalem. See there also a tradition related by Rajā’ Ibn Ḥaywa who says that he saw ‘ Ubāda’s grave next to the eastern wall of Jerusalem. See also the opinion of the tenth-century Jerusalemite al-Muqaddasī who says he saw the grave in Jerusalem, al-Muqaddasī, , Aḥsan, pp. 181–2Google Scholar.

91 Maybe it should be translated as “connecting”. The verb s.i.l. can also refer to the flow of water, Lisān al-‘Arāb, s.v., s.i.l.

92 Abū Yūsuf, Ya‘qūb b. Sufyān al-Basawū, Kitāb al-Ma‘rifa wa-’l-Ta’rīkh, ii, ed. al-‘Umarī, A.S. (Medina, 1410), p. 298Google Scholar. Ibn ‘Asākir also relates this tradition, adding a number of slightly differing versions: when interpreting Qur’ānic verses, the smallest textual change is considered a different tradition; therefore Ibn ‘Asākir punctiliously indicates who transmitted each version. On the different versions, see, ‘Asākir, Ibn, Ta’rīkh Madīnat Dimashq, i, pp. 198–9.Google Scholar Those traditions are part of a general discussion regarding the Rabwa.

93 Al-Basawī, , Kitāb al-Ma‘rifa, ii, p. 298Google Scholar; Al-Mizzī, , Tahdhīb al-Kamāl, xxvi, pp. 11–12Google Scholar; Elad, A., “Arsūf in the early Arab period (appendix 6)”, in Roll, I. and Ayalon, E. (eds.), Apollonia and Southern Sharon, a Model of a Coastal City and its Hinterland (Tel-Aviv, 1989), pp. 299Google Scholar.

94 Al-Mizzī, , Tahdhib al-Kamāl, xiv, pp. 174–6Google Scholar. See also Elad, , ‘Arsūf’, p. 298Google Scholar.

95 Al-Sam‘ani, , al-Ansāb, iii, p. 354Google Scholar. See also Gil, , Palestine, p. 103Google Scholar.

96 ‘Abdus al-Jahshiyārī, Muḥammad b., Kitāb at-Wuzarā’ wa-’l-Kuttāb (Cairo, 1938), p. 48Google Scholar.

97 Yaqut, , Mu‘jam, ii, p. 818Google Scholar. This information reached us only through Yāqūt and is not found in al-Muqad-dasī’s chronicle.

98 Bosworth, C.E., “Rajā’ ibn Ḥaywa al-Kindy and the Umayyad Caliphs”, Islamic Quarterly, XVI, 3–4 (1972), pp. 36–80Google Scholar.

99 Rajā’ ibn Haywa was one of the two appointed by ‘Abd al-Malik to supervise the building of the Dome of the Rock.

100 These speculations are discussed in Eisener, R., Zwischen Faktum und Fiktion (Wiesbaden, 1987), pp. 19–22Google Scholar.

101 The distances were measured on a road map as presented in Welmsley, The Administrative Structure, map. no. 8.

102 The Temple Mount had been left unoccupied in Byzantine times because the Christians wanted to realize Jesus's prophecy about its destruction. The situation is strikingly shown in the Madaba map, where the area is indicated by an empty square. See, Yona, M. Avi, “The Madaba - translation and commentary”, Eretz-Israel, iii (Sefer Lif) (1963), pp. 7, 148Google Scholar. Mango, C., “The Temple Mount, A.D. 614–638”, inRaby, J. and Johns, J. (eds.), Bayt Al-Maqdis, ‘Abd al-Malik’s Jerusalem, i (Oxford, 1992), pp. 1–16Google Scholar.

103 On the amān of Jerusalem, see al-Tabarī, , Ta’rīkh al-Rusul, i, pp. 2405–6Google Scholar.

104 A similar consideration directed the different rulers of al-Fusṭāṭ and its princely quarters. On the urban evolution of al-Fusṭāṭ see Abu-Lughod, J. L., Cairo–1001 Years of the City Victorious (New Jersey, 1971), pp. 6–19Google Scholar.

105 Al-Balādhurī, , Futūḥ, p. 143Google Scholar.