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Revision as of 15:47, 10 December 2006
Fandaqumiya, (32°19′N 35°12′E / 32.317°N 35.200°E; Arabic الفندقومية, Al Fandaqomiyah, Pentakomia) is a village located in the Jenin district of the northern West Bank, northwest of Nablus.
Name
The Arabic name of the village, Al Fandaqumiyah (الفندقومي), is a corruption of the Greek term Pentakomia: Komia means 'village' or 'community', while penta means 'five'. Pentakomia probably refers to an administrative unit of five villages which existed in the area.
A Pentakomia in Greece[citation needed] as well as one on the Euphrates River[citation needed] probably share the etymology, and the Hebron area village of Tarkumiya (Arabic ترقوميا) is based on the Greek Trikomia, or 'community of three.'
Geography
The village is in the northern West Bank, on the road leading north from Nablus to Jenin. It is located between the ancient ruins of Samaria and Sebaste and the Sanur Valley. It is also neighbored by the villages of Jaba and Silat al Dahar, as well as the former settlements of Homesh and Sa-Nur, which were dismantled in Israel's unilateral disengagement plan.
The following are maps that show the village location. From left to right, the maps zoom to the village area.
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History
Pre-Historic Period
The earliest findings in Fandaqumiya include a white clay jar filled with burned bones, which was found in a tomb. The examination of this jar at the Archaeological Department of the An-Najah National University suggested that it be dated to the Neolithic Period. A stone tool, circular in shape with a hole in the middle, was found alongside the jar, though it was never dated[citation needed].
Hellenistic Period
Two coins dating back to the Greek period were found in the village. A prutah minted by Hasmonean ruler Alexander Jannaeus between 103 and 76 BCE, as well as a Greek coin of the Ptolmaic dynasty dated to the year 300 BCE.
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Roman & Byzantine Period
There is evidence that the village flourished during the Early Roman and Late Byzantine periods. Many Roman and Byzantine coins were discovered on site, and many tombs from the same period were found in a nearby hill. Additionally several structures characteristic of the Roman and Byzantine periods have been unearthed.
The Ottoman Period
Several coins and structures, including a mosque, may date from the Mamluk period, however very little else is known about the site during that stage[citation needed].
The modern settlement was renewed in 1820 when Ahmad Anbar and his family arrived from Hebron and were granted a homestead in the well-known ruin by the local ruler of the Sanur area, Haj Ahmad Jarrar[citation needed]. Because Haj Ahmad operated independent of the Ottomans, the Sanur fortress was besieged by the authorities around 1830, and many of the local villages were pillaged, including Fandaqumiya. While the population had fled during the hostilities, the village was eventually repaired and more families continued to arrive.
A spur of the Ottoman Hejaz railway to Damascus was built through the area, and a station was opened nearby at Sebastia. Unfortunately, after the collapse of the Ottomans, locals took apart the rail infrastructure for secondary use in construction. Many of the steel beams can still be seen in the roofs of local homes.
The British Mandate
In 1917, Fandaqumiya was captured by the British forces from the Ottomans, and three years later it was assigned to the British Mandate for Palestine.
Soon after the British arrived, they built a police fort on a nearby hill. Despite many villagers being employed in the construction, relations with the British forces were at times rocky owing to tax disputes. During the riots of 1936-1939, some villagers launched attacks on the British troops, and the village was subject to British reprisals.
During the 1940s, the British administration funded modern water and agriculture development projects as well as an elementary school.
The Modern Period
After the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Fandaqumiya was ruled by the Hashemites of Jordan. Al Fandaqumiya passed to Israeli control along with the rest of the West Bank after the 1967 Six-Day War, though after the 1995 signing of the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, it has been administered by the Palestinian Authority.
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