Al-Samra

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Al-Samra
السمرا
Village
A 1914 Ottoman memorial for two killed pilots, 1,5 km east of the village site
A 1914 Ottoman memorial for two killed pilots, 1,5 km east of the village site
Historical map series for the area of al-Samra (1870s).jpg
Historical map series for the area of al-Samra (1940s).jpg
Historical map series for the area of al-Samra (modern).jpg
Historical map series for the area of al-Samra (1940s with modern overlay).jpg
A series of historical maps of the area around Al-Samra (click the buttons)
Al-Samra is located in Mandatory Palestine
Al-Samra
Al-Samra
Location within Mandatory Palestine
Coordinates: 32°43′23″N 35°37′02″E / 32.72306°N 35.61722°E / 32.72306; 35.61722Coordinates: 32°43′23″N 35°37′02″E / 32.72306°N 35.61722°E / 32.72306; 35.61722
Palestine grid208/236
Geopolitical entityMandatory Palestine
SubdistrictTiberias
Date of depopulationApril 21, 1948[3]
Population
 (1945)
 • Total290[1][2]
Cause(s) of depopulationInfluence of nearby town's fall
Current LocalitiesHaOn[4][5]

Al-Samra (Arabic: السمرا‎) was a Palestinian Arab village in the Tiberias Subdistrict. It was depopulated on April 21, 1948 during the 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine. It was located 10 km southeast of Tiberias.

History[]

The village had a mosque and several khirbas (ruined sites) including Khirbat al-Tawafiq and Khirbat Duwayraban.[4]

Late Ottoman period[]

In the early 19th century, Johann Ludwig Burckhardt noted it as the only village on the eastern shore of Lake Tiberias, and that it had some ancient buildings.[6]

In 1838, Edward Robinson was told that the village, Khurbet es-Sumrah, was on the eastern shore of the lake.[7] The villagers were Muslim.[8]

In 1875, Victor Guérin found here large ruins, which he misidentified as Hippos.[9]

A population list from about 1887 showed es Samr (east shore) to have about 180 inhabitants; 20 Druze and 160 Muslims.[10]

In 1914, an Ottoman airplane, on its way from Istanbul to Cairo, crashed by the village. Two pilots were killed. There is an Ottoman memorial to the event, about 1,5 km east of the village site.[4] Yüzbaşı Fethi Bey, one of the first pilots of the Ottoman Air Force, was one of the pilots killed.[11]

British Mandate period[]

In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, the population of Samra was 157 Muslims,[12] increasing in the 1931 census to 237; 232 Muslims and 5 Baháʼís, in a total of 50 houses.[13]

In the 1945 statistics, Es Samra had a population of 290; 280 Muslims and 10 classified as others,[1] with 6,912 dunams of Arab-owned land.[2] Of this, 30 dunams were used for citrus and bananas, 21 for plantations and irrigable land, 6,828 dunams for cereals,[14] while 23 dunams were classified as built-up area.[15]

1948, aftermath[]

The village became depopulated on April 21, 1948.[3][16][17][18]

HaOn was established on village land, north of the village site, in 1949.[4]

In 1992, Walid Khalidi described the village site: "Nothing remains of the village houses. A tourist resort, which consists of a few cabins and small houses, has been established on part of the village site. Other parts of the site are covered with trees. The surrounding land is cultivated by Israelis."[4]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 12
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 73
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Morris, 2004, p. xvii, village #102. Also gives cause of depopulation
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Khalidi, 1992, p. 540
  5. ^ Morris, 2004, p. xxii, settlement #143
  6. ^ Burckhardt, 1822, pp. 278-279, cited in Khalidi, 1992, p. 539
  7. ^ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol. 3, p. 264, cited in Khalidi, 1992, pp. 539-540
  8. ^ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol. 3, Appendix 2, p. 131, calling it el-Khirbet es-Saudah
  9. ^ Guérin, 1880, p. 310-312
  10. ^ Schumacher, 1888, p. 186
  11. ^ Letter from Kibbutz Ha’On: Fallen Flyers Hadassah Magazine, 17 March 2014
  12. ^ Barron, 1923, Table IX, Sub-district of Tiberias, p. 39
  13. ^ Mills, 1932, p. 84
  14. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 123
  15. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 173
  16. ^ Morris, 2004, p. 186 note #179, p. 275
  17. ^ Morris, 2004, p. 372, note #180, p. 405
  18. ^ Morris, 2004, p. 513, notes #56, 57, p. 539

Sources[]

External links[]

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