Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarum Palaestinae, Volume Two: -B-C- 9789004470040, 9004470042

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CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM ARABICARUM PALAESTINAE

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HANDBUCH DER ORIENTALISTIK HANDBOOK OF ORIENTAL STUDIES ERSTE ABTEILUNG

DER NAHE UND MITTLERE OSTEN THE NEAR AND MIDDLE EAST HERAUSGEGEBEN VON

H. ALTENMOLLER · B. HROUDA · B.A. LEVINE· R.S. O'FAHEY K.R. VEENHOF · C.H.M. VERSTEEGH

DREISSIGSTER BAND

CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM ARABICARUM PALAESTINAE

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CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM ARABICARUM PALAESTINAE (CIAP) VOLUME TWO - B- C-

BY

MOSHE SHARON

BRILL LEIDEN· BOSTON· KOLN 1999

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The publication of this volume was supported by the Fondation Max van Berchem, Geneva. The Max van Berchem Foundation is a scientific foundation established in Geneva, Switzerland, in memory of Max van Berchem (1863-1921 ), the founder of Arabic epigraphy. Its aim is to promote the study of Islamic and Arabic archaeology, history, geography, art, epigraphy, religion and literature. It subsidizes the Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarµm Palaestinae since 1997. This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Sharon, Moshe. Corpus inscriptionum Arabicarum Palaestinae, (CIAP) I by Moshe Sharon p. cm. - (Handbuch der Orientalistik. Erste Abteilung, Der Nahe und Mittlere Osten, ISSN 0169-9423 ; 30. Bd. = Handbook of Oriental studies. The Near and Middle East) Includes bibliographical references (p. ). Contents : v. 2. B-C ISBN 9004110836 (cloth : alk. paper). Inscriptions, Arabic - Palestine. 2. Epitaphs - Palestine. I. Title. II. Series : Handbuch der Orientalistik. Erste Abteilung, Der Nahe und Mittlere Osten ; 30. Bd. PJ7599.Pl9S53 1999 492.7-dc21 97-19195 CIP

Die Deutsche Bibliothek - CIP-Einheitsaufnahme Handbuch der Orientalistik I hrsg. von B. Spuler unter Mitarb. von C. van Dijk... - Leiden ; Boston ; Koln : Brill. Teilw. hrsg. von H. Altenmtiller. - Literaturangaben. - Teilw. hrsg. von B. Spuler. - Teilw. mit Parallelt.: Handbook of oriental studies

Abt. 1, Der Nahe und Mittlere Osten - The Near and Middle East I hrsg. von H Altenmiiller ... Bd. 30. Sharon, Moshe : Corpus inscriptionum arabicarum palaestinae. Vol. 2. B-C. - - Leiden ; Boston ; Koln : Brill, 1999 (Handbuch der Orientalistik : Abt. I, Der Nahe und Mittlere Osten ; Bd. 30 ISBN 90 04 11083 6

ISSN ISBN ISBN ISBN

0169-9423 90 04 10833 5 (Vol. 1) 90 04 11083 6 (Vol. 2) 90 04 11006 2 (Set)

© Copyright 1999 by Koninklijke Brill, Leiden, 1he Netherlands All rights reserved. No part ef tJzis publication mqy be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval vistem, or transmitted in any form or by a'!Y means, dectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otJzerwise, wi/Jzout prior written permission .from the publisher. Au/Jzori;;:ation to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill provided /Jzat /Jze appropriate .fees are paid directly to 1he Copyright Ckarance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910 Danvers MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. PRINTED IN THE NETHERLANDS

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Dedicated to the memory of Professor David Ayalon, great scholar, dedicated teacher and loyal friend

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CONTENTS

List of maps .... .. ............. ........................ ..... ...... ..... ........ ...... ........................ Acknowledgements..................................................................................... Foreword...................................................................................................... Addenda and errata .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .. .. .. ... .. .... .. .. .. .. ... Bab al-Wad................................................................................................... Bala~ah ......................................................................................................... Bani Nacim................................................................................................... Baniyas ......................................................................................................... Baqa ash-Sharqiyyah ......... .... ........ ... ... ..... ..... ... .............. ..... ..... ........ .... .... ... Bayt Dajan.. ..... ............ ... ................. ....... ........ ... ..... ....................... ..... .. ..... ... Bayt I:Ianina .. ...... ...................................................................... ................... Bayt I:Ianiin ... ... ...................... ........ ....... ....... .... ..... ........ ...... ......... ..... .. ..... ... Bayt Iksa.................................................................................... .... ..... .. ... .. .. . Baytjibrin (Baytjubrin) ............................................................................ Bayt J IIJa..................................................... .... ... ... ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . Bayt Jiz .... .. .. ... .. ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... .. .. .. .. ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... .. .. .. ... .. ... .. .. .. ... ... ... .. ... ... .. ... Bayt Lahiya .. .. .. ... .. .. .. .. ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... .. .. .. .. ... .. .... .. ... .. ... Bayt Lid........................................................................................................ Bayt Sa}:iur ................................................................................................... Bayt 1lma .......................................................... ,.......................................... Bayt Ummar ................................................................................................ Bayt 'Or al-Fawqa ........................................................................................ Beersheba (Bi'r as-Sab') ............................................................................ Ben 'Ammi ........ ............. .... .... ... .... ..... ... ..... ... .... ..... ...... .. ...... ....... ... .. ........... Besor ............................................................................................................ Bethlehem ......... ...... ... ... ................... ....... .......... ..... ...... ..... .. .. ........ ..... .. .. ..... Beth~aida .... .... .... ..... ... .................. ........... ... ... .......... ...... ...... .......... ......... ..... Beth Shean (Scythopolis, Baysan) ............................................................ Biddiya ........ ........ ...... ................. ..... ... .... ... ...... ... ... .......................... .. ... ..... ... al-Birah .......................................................................... :.............................. Bituniya (Beit Unia) ................................................................................... al-Burak........................................................................................................ Caesarea (Qaysariyyah) ..............................................................................

IX XI xnI XVI 1 8 12 22 88 89 94 98 105 109 143 145 149 152 154 157 161 165 168 170 172 176 192 195 235 236 240 244 247

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VIII

CONTENTS

Bibliography................................................................................................ 301 Glossary........................................................................................................ 307 Index ............................................................................................................ 309

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LIST OF PLATES AND MAPS Pl.I. Pl.2. Pl.3. Pl.4. Pl.4a. Pl.5. Pl.6. Pl.7. Pl.8. Pl.Sa. Pl.9. Pl.IO. Pl.11. Pl.12. Pl.13. Pl.14.

Pl.15. Pl.15a. Pl.16. Pl.17. Pl.18. Pl.19. Pl.20. Pl.21. Pl.22.

The main roads of Jerusalem in the late 7th century ............. . Schematic map of the route from Jerusalem to Ramla via Bab al-Wad ..................................................................................... . Baniyas and a!:l-Subaybah: location map .................................... . Baniyas: Map of 1990's excavations ............................................ . Baniyas: City plan and location of inscriptions ........................ . The southern gate of Baniyas (19th c. engraving) .................. . Plans of the three stages of Qal'at a!;l-Subaybah ....................... . - ("B e togab n"") m . P eu t"mger ' s map .......................... . Bay t J u b rm Bayt Jubrin in the Madaba map .................................................. . Ruins of the castle of Bayt Jubrin (19th c. engraving) ........... . 7 branched candlestick and an Aramaic inscription relating to the local synagogue (c.500CE) at Bayt Jubrin ..................... . Schematic map of Bayt Jubrin and its vicinity showing cAjlan and Umm Laqis (Mulaqis) ............................................... . Bayt Jubrin-"Ziblin" and "B[eer] sabee" in Mario Santo's map .................................................................................................. The immediate vicinity of Bayt Jubrin ........................................ Plan of BaytJubrin caves ('Iraq al-Ma') ..................................... A copy of an insciption and cross on one of the walls of 'Iraq al-Ma', and bass relief depicting the crucifixion (?) on another wall prepared for the SWP .. ...... ..... ... .... .. ... .. ... ... .. ... 19th century engraving: Rachel's tomb ...................................... Rachel's tomb, engraving from 1586 .......................................... Plan of Church of Nativity ............................................................ Plan of the urban centre of Beth Shean···················"················ The Umayyad gate, the passage between the shops, and the suggested place of the inscription............................................... Reconstruction of the Umayyad gate to the shops and the suggested place of the mosaic incscription. (No.I) ................. "Mosque of the 40 Warriors" 178/794-5 .................................... Rabi' I (?) 190/Jan-Feb 806 ......................................................... Plan of al-Khan al-Al).mar ..............................................................

4

7 25 27 28 51 61 llO lll ll2 ll3 ll7 119 125 126

127 178 178 182 208 209 210 221 223 231

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The research on the Arabic inscriptions in Palestine is carried out at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and is supported by The Israel Science Foundation (founded by the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities); The Getty Grant Program, USA; and the Waqf Funds-Israel. Mr. L. Levy of New York, and Mr. R. Fredman of Johannesburg supported the research for CIAP I ( 1997). The Israel Antiquities Authority provided logistic support, opened its archives, and supplied numerous photographic reproductions to the Corpus. M.S. Jerusalem, 1999

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FOREWORD The second volume of the CIAP covers the sites whose names begin with B and C. Following the method established in the first volume of this work, the epigraphic material is discussed in its historical and cultural context. In this way the Corpus may serve as a historical geography of the Holy Land under Islamic rule, but with an emphasis on the historical depth which preceded the Islamic conquest. Thus the Arabic names of many places become meaningful, and the great contribution of the Arabs to the preservation of the names of many ancient sites can be appreciated. The inscriptions in this volume, too, cover almost the whole period of the Islamic rule from the time of cAbd al-Malik (d. 85/705) until the British occupation in 1917, and belong to sites that are spread all over the country, from Baniyas in the north to the vicinity of Gaza and the central Negev in the south. Some of the inscriptions, and some of the sites, do not exist today, and are known to us from former reports and publications, and from the archives of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), which continues to extend its professional and technical help to the project. Many inscriptions come from excavations which are still in process. Of particular importance are the ones which come from the large-scale excavations in Baniyas, Beth Shean (Baysan) and Caesarea. The inscriptions contribute new details to the rich history of each one of these ancient towns, realizing them as living urban entities under Islamic rule. In all three places, excavations are still in process, and the discovery of more inscriptions in each one of them is almost certain. Similar to the material of the first volume, in this volume too, inscriptions show peculiarities of language and script. Monumental inscriptions of large size and great beauty appear sometimes in sites which seem today completely minor, and of little consequence, but in the Mamliik period, for instance, they must have had greater significance. Sometimes, such as in the case of Bayt Dajan, the inscriptions are in private collections, and their attribution to a certain place is based on the memory of their owners. The names of places (and the entries) in volume 2 are the existing modern names, followed by all their other names. The ancient Arabic name was preferred, when the new, modern Hebrew name

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XIV

FOREWORD

has little or no direct connection to the inscription under study. In the case of Besor, this name was given to the site by the archeologists, and, therefore, has no equivalent in Arabic. The place itself is in the Negev, and is one of many sites which I plan to group under the Negev inscriptions. For this reason I did not include the inscriptions of al-Birayn, near the ancient town of Nessana, in this volume. During the work on the project of CIAP, I was fortunate to receive the assistance and encouragement of many friends and colleagues. I take the opportunity to thank them all. First and foremost my gratitude goes to Mrs. Linda Egger, chief research assistant of the Corpus, whose unusual dedication and superb professionalism is making the publication of the volumes of the CIAP possible; to Mrs. Leigh Chipman, who read the manuscript of this volume a few times, and made a great effort to produce as clean a text as possible. The following scholars were always ready to share their knowledge with me: R. Amitai, Albert Arazi, Uzi Avner, Ariel Berman (who contributed his time and knowledge during the work in Caesarea and Beth Shean), Joshua Blau, Umar Badriyyeh, Amnon Cohen, Rina and Aaron Engert (of Sedot Yam Museum), Haim Gerber, Moshe Hartal, Isaac Hasson, Kenneth G. Holum, Elias Khamis, Meir J. Kister, Amos Kloner, Arieh Levin, Zvi Ma'oz (who read the entry on Baniyas and made very useful remarks), Dov Nahlieli, Joseph Patrich, Moshe Piamenta, Avner Rabban, Haim Ron, Pessah Shinar, Eliezer Stern, and Vasilius Tzaferis (who, beside useful information, contributed the excellent plans and air photographs of his excavations in Baniyas to the volume). May they all be blessed. No words of gratitude would be sufficient to describe my indebtedness to my family, my wife Judy, and my children who have been for many years actively involved with me in the project of this Corpus, encouraging, helping and ready to sacrifice. My wife Judy contributed her professional skills and superb English in the final stages of the preparation of the text for print. Not least, special thanks are due to Photo Garo of Jerusalem, to Ya'el Barshak in IAA archives and to my colleagues at EJ. Brill of Leiden, and the Foundation Max van Berchem in Geneva for their goodwill and professional assistance. During the composition of this volume, the world of Orientalism lost Professor David Ayalon, one of the greatest scholars of the twentieth century. David Ayalon, my teacher and my friend, was the man responsible for my introduction into the world of classical Islamic history, and taught me and many of my colleagues the art of reading Arabic historical texts. Dav-

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FOREWORD

xv

id Ayalon was a man of truth, sincerity, dedication, and loyalty in his human relations as much as in his scholarship. This volume is dedicated to him. May his memory be blessed. M.S. Jerusalem, 1999

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ADDENDA AND ERRATA TO CIAPI ADDENDA

1. TO ASHQELON No. 16 (p. 187) On re-examining this inscription I could see that lines 7-8 should be read as follows: J..a,JIJ ~Li...J.1 J..a,JI i.J~ )J-' ~I.) ~ 4AY(V

oJfi'.ill

~I JliJi ~JJ ...

... JL....o.l.IJ ~llJ... .;r.lJIJ

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80

BANNAS

Qalqashandi indicates that there were variations on this list of titles which he quotes in the following passages. It should be pointed out, however, that these were the titles used in correspondence. In inscriptions some of them were omitted, though the writers, if the space was available, made efforts to include as many as possible. (Cf the titles used in an inscription from Nabi Musa, dated 668/1270: RCEA 12:141-142, No. 4612) qiitil al-khawiirij [wa}-al-mutamarridzn: This formula appears in inscriptions from the time of Baybars, either on its own or together with qiitil al-kafara wa-al-mushrikzn - the killer of the atheists and polytheists, as in the inscription from the citadel of Damascus dated 676/1277-1278. (RCEA, 12:226, No. 4738) The title qaszm amzr al-mu'minzn was one of the oldest titles in combination with amir al-mu'minzn. It was used in the protocol throughout the Mamliik period only for the sultan. (Qalqashandi 6:65, 108) It was more than an ordinary title, and represented the caliph, who after 1258 resided in Cairo, as an essential source of authority for the sultan. When the title of qaszm am'ir al-mu'minzn was coined, a whole series of "combined titles" (alqiib murakkabah) containing amzr al-mu'minzn had already been in use before the Mamluk period, such as burhiin-proof, khal'il-friend, sayf-sword, shihiibspark, and so on. (van Berchem, Opera Minora 1:441-442) Most of them became part of the protocol in the Mamliik sultanate, and were used for military officers of high ranks, below the sultan. (Qalqashandi 6:108-109) Ll.2-3: The amir Bilik gave the order for the building. His name appears with a series of titles. These too are copied from the protocol manual and point to the exact rank of the officer concerned. Badr ad-Din Bilik (Bilik) al-khiizindar was a Mamluk of Baybars, as indicated in his nisbah: "al-Maliki az-Zahiri" (end of 1.3). He rose in the military ranks to the highest position of deputy sultan (nii'ib as-saltanah) in Egypt. In addition to having accumulated great wealth in Egypt, the sultan bestowed extensive allocations of land (iqtiiciit 'a!-'imah) on him in Egypt and in Syria, especially in the Golan. Baniyas, Subaybah and Bayt Jann are only a few of the iqtacat which he received there. (Manhal (quoting Safadi), 3:513) Examining the sources about Bilik's lands and career, Amitai comes to the conclusion that in this case the vast estates in the Golan constituted a quasi-autonomous enclave which was established by or for Bilik with the sultan's agreement, or even by his instigation. (Amitai, 1990) Bilik put his own Mamluk, Badr as-Din Baktiit (Bektiit), in charge of all his extensive estates, and it was only natural that he should take care of the building project in Subaybah too.

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BANIYAS

81

Bilik's title al-khazindiir refers to the post of the sultan's personal treasurer which he held earlier on in his career, and which remained with him even after he became na'ib as-saltanah. If one accepts Yunini's report that Baybars' estate in Subaybah included a house for the deputy sultan, this could mean that Bilik actually lived on his estates, or at least spent some time in them, with Subaybah being the place of his headquarters. (SafadI, 10:365-7; Manhal 3:512-514) It does not seem possible, however, that when Bilik became both the deputy sultan and the commander general of the army in Egypt he could actually live in Subaybah. It seems more likely that Baktut was the man who used the place as his main residence. He was, after all, the governer of the Golan and commanded Bilik's contingent in Damascus. All the sources praise Bilik as a very talented man, generous and just. Throughout Baybars' life he remained the sultan's best and most trusted companion. When Baybars died in Damascus in 676/1277, it was Bilik who saw to the orderly transfer of power to al-Malik as-Sa'Id in accordance with Baybars' will. Bilik did not live long after his master. He died suddenly (some say poisoned by the new sultan's mother) in Rabi' I 676/August 1277. (Manhal 5:514; Shadhariit adh-Dhahab 5:351) Bilik is introduced by the title of al-maqarr al-kanm. According to the strict rules of the protocol, the deputy sultan's first title is al-maqarr ash-sharif, whereas al-maqarr al-kanm is used for nuwwiib in general. From the sequence of titles which QalqashandI lists, it seems that there was not much difference between al-maqarr ash-shanf and al-maqarr al-kanm. The list of titles in this inscription follows Qalqashandi's text introduced by both al-maqarr ashshanf and al-maqarr al-kanm. (QalqashandI, 6:130) The first of the titles appears in the form of a nisbah, such as al-mawlawz, al-amzn, al-kabzn etc. According to QalqashandI, who quotes earlier sources, the addition of ya' nisbah to the original title was done for further aggrandization ( lil-mubalaghah). The nisbah a'.?'.-ZahirI refers to Bilik's being the Mamluk of az-Zahir Baybars, and as-Sa'IdI means that he owed the same allegiance to Baybars' son, alMalik as-Sa 'Id Berekeh Khan. Al-makhdumz is an aggrandized form of al-makhdum, he who is "worthy of being served." (ibid., 6:27) Malik al-umarii' fz al-'alamzn, "the king of the commanders in the world," is almost identical with sayyid al-umara' fl al-'alamzn, "the master of the commanders in the world," which appears in QalqashandI's manual. (6:131) The

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82

BANIYAS

previous title, zal n'l .. U'l1P :::i\J? l''.)1 . m?v Nn'll'D1 illP''

May Kuris be remembered with blessing ... may his soul rest in peace, the son of Oksantis, who bought this column to honour the synagogue. Peace. PL 9. Seven-branched candlestick on a capital from Bayt Jubrin and an Aramaic inscription commemorating the donation of a column to the local synagogue (c.500 CE)

to interpret Beth Gubrin as the home of the free men and thence offer a translation to this interpretation. The simple explanation is that the city, which was freed from taxation and given other privileges, was given a name describing its new status. At this point it should be added that the many caves around BaytJubrln were regarded as the reason for the name horim, namely, the dwellers of the holes (sig. hi5r). There is no basis for this interpretation either, if only

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114

BAYf JIBRIN

because the caves are not as ancient as the Biblical nation called the Horites, whose home should be looked for in the mountains of Seir to the southeast of the Dead Sea. The city became very prosperous; it was allowed to strike its own coins, and had its own calendar. After the establishment of Christianity it became, as pointed out above, the seat of a bishop. The Christian tradition regarded the place as the birthplace of St. Ann, Mary's mother, for whom a beautiful basilica was built in the early Byzantine period (and reconstructed under the Crusaders). The locality of the Basilica to the south-east of Baytjubrin retained its name in the Arabic name of the ruins: Khirbat Sand l:lanna or Mar I:Ianna, "$and" being the usual Arabic rendering of "saint." (Guerin, Judie, 2:314f.) The beautiful mosaics found in the church and in other Roman and Byzantine remains in Bayt Jubrin, some of which are unique in the country, speak of the splendour of the town. (Fig. P22) The most striking find to date, however, is the Roman amphitheatre of Eleutheropolis discovered by Amos Kloner, who at the time of writing has been excavating the Roman-Byzantine-Crusader city for more than a decade. The amphitheater was found in a very good state of preservation. Another unique find is an imperial Roman bath, discovered to the east of the amphitheatre. No other bath of such a large size exists anywhere in the country. (Kloner, 1996: 86f., figs. 2, 3 and Plan 1) All scholars agree that Bayt Jubrin and its district are not mentioned in the Bible. Abel, however, points out that it owes its growth, if not its actual birth, to the destruction of the ancient town of Maresa (Mareshah, Marisa) by the Parthians in 40 BCE. Mareshah (Josh. 15:44) was a very ancient town, one of the important fortresses of Judea in the Shephelah (fortified by Rehoboam) and the home of the prophet Eliezer. (2 Chron. 11 :8, 16:9, 20:37 and Micah 1:15) Its name was preserved in the tell under which it lay buried. (Tell Mareshah, Tell Sand}:iannah) (Is. Gr. 140 111) (Abel 1938, 2:379) The existence of ancient Biblical sites in the area of Bayt Jubrin renders it difficult to accept the common view that the place was not known before the Roman period. It will be shown in what follows that the area of Bayt Jubrin was known in ancient times by the name of Sheba' or even Beer Sheba'. The Crusaders called this region by this name, and although one should not rely on the Crusaders' identification of places in the country, which are usually erroneous, in this case the identification of the region of Baytjubrin with Beer Sheba' is not entirely unfounded. Arabic tradition preserv~d this ancient name long before the Crusaders arrived in the country, but the Arabic tradition only kept the names which it had found; it did not create them.

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BAYT JIBRIN

115

The identification of the Beth Gubrin region with Sheba< (Ar. as-Sabe) is connected with the biography of