Nablus, an Arabic Canaanite city, is one of the oldest cities in the world, possibly first established 9000 years ago. It was firstly named "shechem"meaning shoulder or high land, of late it was called "moborta " from of the Aramaic name "Mabarakhtha" or the blessed one, on the side of Maborta, Ttitous, the Roman, built the new town - Flavia Neapolis, in 70 A. D., in honors of Flavius Vespasian the Roman emperor at that time.
During the Ottoman rule, Nablus suffered, like other cities of the Middle East, from the retarded state of education. Schools were first established in the middle of the 19th century during the short reign of Abraham Pascha, but maintained their existence in the following years when the Ottomans regained control of the region. On 11 July 1927 the town suffered a major earthquake. Much of the consequent damage to buildings was never repaired and the ruinous condition of many of them may well have encouraged the inhabitants to move outside the old city to build their new houses, although some new building to the north and west of the old city had already been undertaken before 1927. The arrival of the motor car has increased emigration to the slopes of Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal where new roads allow vehicles the easy access denied them in the hilly and partly stepped streets of the old city.
During the British Mandate (1918- 1948), Nablus became the core of Palestinian Nationalism, and it was the center of resistance against the British. The 1948 Arab- Israeli war but the city under Jordanian authority, and 2 refugee camps were built near the city. In 1967, Nablus was occupied by the Israeli army, the occupation damaged the infrastructure of the city. The hard years of the occupation caused much damage to the city, 3 refugee camps were added to accommodate the people who fled to the city
.........Nablus has always played an important role in the history of Palestine owing to into strategic position - 65 km. from Jerusalem- of between the Palestinian coast and the Jordan, in the last two centuries it flourished as commercial, industrial, and cultural center in Palestine. In spite of the severe earthquake it suffered from in 1972, Nablus regained its vigor especially after the Arab-Israeli was in 1948 and the ensuing flood of Palestinian refugees to the West Bank. This picturesque history of Nablus endowed it with many archaeological sites including Jacob's well, Joseph's tomb, the Roman Amphitheater and Hippodrome, and many beautiful mosques some of which were built on the remains of Byzantine churches, some in the Mamluki period, and others in later times. |
