Umm al-Faraj (
Arabic: أم الفرج, known to the
Crusaders as La Fierge), was a
Palestinian village, depopulated in 1948.
Location
The village was situated on a flat spot in the Acre plain, 10.5 kilometers (6.5 mi) northeast of
Acre.[6]
History
Archaeological remains from the
Roman and
Byzantine eras have been found here.[7]
Sugar Moulds found here indicate that sugar productions started in the 11th century, under the
Fatimid era.[7]
Crusader/Mamluk era
The village was known to the
Crusaders as Le Fierge, and belonged to the fief of Casal Imbert.[6] In 1253
King Henry granted the whole estate of Casal Imbert, including Le Fierge, to
John of Ibelin.[8][9] Shortly after, in 1256, John of Ibelin leased Az-Zeeb and all its depending villages (including Le Fierge) to the
Teutonic Order for 10 years.[10] In 1261, Az-Zeeb, together with Le Fierge and
Le Quiebre, were sold to the Teutonic Order, in return for an annual sum for as long as
Acre was in Christian hands.[11] In 1283 it was still a part of the Crusader states, as it was mentioned as part of their domain in the
hudna between the Crusaders based in
Acre and the
Mamluk sultan
Qalawun.[12][13]
According to
al-Maqrizi, it had come under
Mamluk rule in 1291, when it was mentioned under the name of Farah when sultan
al-Ashraf Khalil allocated the village's income to a
Waqf in
Cairo.[14][15]
Sugar production continued here during the Crusader and Mamluk eras.[7]
Ottoman era
Incorporated into the
Ottoman Empire in 1517 with all of
Palestine, it appeared in the 1596
tax registers as Farja, being in the Akka Nahiya (Subdistrict of
Acre), part of the
Safad Sanjak (District of Safed), with a population of 24 households and 13 bachelors, all
Muslim. The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 20% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, cotton, goats and beehives, in addition to "occasional revenues" and a water mill; a total of 1,576
akçe. Half of the revenues were given to a
waqf.[16][17][18] Sugar production continued here to the beginning of the seventeenth century CE.[7]
In 1799, the village was called El Fargi on the map of
Pierre Jacotin.[19] An inscription in
marble, built into the wall above the gate of the village
mosque, dates this building to 1254 H, (1838-39 C.E.).[20]
In May 1875, the French explorer
Victor Guérin visited the village. He described it as being surrounded by "delightful" gardens, irrigated with water from
Nahr al-Mafshukh. Many houses were built with great care, and some had old pieces of stone built into them. He further noted that "the location of an old demolished church is still to a certain extent recognisable", and that all the 200 villagers were Muslim.[21] In 1881, the
PEF's Survey of Western Palestine described it as being built of stone and with a population of 200. The villagers planted
fig,
olive,
mulberry and
pomegranate trees.[22]
A population list from about 1887 showed Um el Ferj to have about 690 inhabitants, all Muslims.[23]
British Mandate era
In the
1922 census of Palestine conducted by the
British Mandate authoritiesUmm al Faraj had a population of 322, all Muslims,[24] increasing in the
1931 census to 415, 2 Christians and 413 Muslims, in a total of 94 houses.[25]
The older houses in the village were built close together and formed a circle, while the homes build after 1936 were scattered among the orchards.[6] The population of Umm al-Faraj lived by agriculture.[6]
In the
1945 statistics, the population of Umm al-Faraj was 800, all Muslims,[2] with a total land area of 825 dunams.[3] In 1944/45 a total of 745
dunams (0.745 km2; 0.288 sq mi) was used for
citrus and
bananas, 18 dunams (0.018 km2; 0.0069 sq mi) were used for
cereals, 42 dunams (0.042 km2; 0.016 sq mi) were irrigated or used for orchards,[6][26] while 15 dunams were built-up (urban) areas.[27]
During the
1948 Arab-Israeli War, Umm al-Faraj was assaulted by
Israel's
Carmeli Brigade in the second stage of
Operation Ben'Ami. The operational order, issued 19 May 1948, was to "attack with the aim of conquest, the killing of adult males, destruction and torching."[28] The assault came on the 20–21 May 1948, when Carmeli forces attacked Umm al-Faraj together with
Kabri,
al Tell and
Nahar, and then "demolished them," according to Morris.[29]
Following the war the area was incorporated into the
State of Israel. The
moshav of
Ben Ami was established in 1949, in part on village land.[5]
The Palestinian historian
Walid Khalidi described the village remains in 1992: "Only the stone mosque remains. It is shut and stands in a state of decay amid tall wild grass. Many trees that might predate the village's destruction can be seen. The nearby lands are cultivated; a banana grove belongs to the Ben Ammi settlement."[5]
^Note that Rhode, 1979, p.
6Archived 2019-04-20 at the
Wayback Machine writes that the register that Hütteroth and Abdulfattah studied was not from 1595/6, but from 1548/9.
Barag, Dan (1979). "A new source concerning the ultimate borders of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem". Israel Exploration Journal. 29 (3/4): 197–217.
JSTOR27925726.
Frankel, Rafael (1988). "Topographical notes on the territory of Acre in the Crusader period". Israel Exploration Journal. 38 (4): 249–272.
JSTOR27926125.
Khamisy, Rabei G. (2014). "The Treaty of 1283 between Sultan Qalāwūn and the Frankish Authorities of Acre: A New Topographical Discussion". Israel Exploration Journal. 64, 1: 72–102.