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The Quartersof
Jerusalemin the OttomanPeriod
ADAR ARNON
The aim of the present article is to define the quartersof the city of
Jerusalemas they were during the four centuries of Ottoman rule in
Palestine (1517-1917). 'Defining the quarters'means establishingthe
divisionof the city as quartersor, in otherwords,describingthe locations
and boundaries of areas in the city with a given name and finding
the changes which occurredover the years in the system of quarters.
Demographicalaspectsof the quarterswill be discussedas well.
QUARTERS
CITIES
AND THEIR
NAMES
IN MEDIEVAL
MIDDLE
EASTERN
The common medieval Arabic term for both street (or alley) and
quarter(or section of a town) was hara (plural:harat,hawari,construct
state, colloquial: haret). As an urban unit, hara had beside its pure
geographicalmeaning also a socio-geographicalmeaning of 'an area
inhabitedby people bound by faith, originor occupation'.1
The residentialquartersin a medieval Islamiccity were a mosaic of
territoriesinhabited by differentpopulationsdistinguishedby religion
or sect, common stock or common place of origin. This phenomenon
reflected first of all the segregative tribal, clanish, local nature of
traditionalArabic society that even the great melting power of Islam
was too weak to overcome.2
Life in the medievalsocietywhichlay underthe protectiveand usually
tolerant banner of Islam was not truly safe to anyone except among
his own kin.3 It was then the desire for security, as well as the natural
tendencyto live with people of the same background,whichcreatedthe
communityquarters.This of coursedid not conflictwith the old Arabian
Bedouin traditionof the tribe being a defendingunit for its members.
In North Africancities quarterswere barricadedwith gates locked and
guardedat night.4
The medieval Islamiccity whichwas a focal point to religious, social
and economiclife did not have organizationalpowerof its own, inherent
in its own citizens - the centralgovernmentruled everything.5One of
the less important consequences of this situation was that the norm
Middle Eastern Studies, Vol.28, No.1, January 1992, pp.1-65
PUBLISHED BY FRANK CASS, LONDON
GATE.'
GATEi
MIDDLE
EASTERN
^0
MOUNT
Z I ON
MAP 1
OLD CITY OF JERUSALEM
STUDIES
200
oo
tOO
to
meters
city's center. They both end where they are intersected by the third
main street of the Old City which runs, west to east, from Jaffa Gate
to the Temple Mount. This street - which is divided nowadays into
David Street (west) and Bab es-Silsila Street (east) - and Suq Khan
ez-Zeyt constituted accordinglyin Roman times, the Decomanus and
Cardo- the cross of streets typicalto Roman campsand plannedcities.
El-WadRoad was built as a second Cardo.In additionto these principal
streets the whole grid of today's Old City of Jerusalemstreets existed
throughoutthe Ottoman period, except in peripheralareas, near the
Walls, built in moderntimes.7
In all moderncity plans and guide-booksthe Old City is dividedinto
four quarters- Moslem, Christian,Armenian and Jewish which are
equivalent- with some inconsistenciesresultingfrom the existence of a
5th 'quarter',the Temple Mount,8to the north-east,north-west,southwest and south-eastparts of the city accordingly.Suq Khan ez-Zeyt is
taken for the boundarybetween the Moslem and Christianquarters.
Bab es-SilsilaStreet divides the Moslem from the Jewishquarterwhile
David Street separatesthe ChristianQuarterfrom the Armenian. The
south continuationof Suq Khanez-Zeyt, Habad (Suq el-Husur)Street,
appears on the maps as the boundary between the Armenian and
Jewish quarters. The origin of this ethno-religiouspartition lies in
the nineteenth-centurymodern survey maps9of Jerusalemdrawn by
Europeans - travellers, army officers, architects- who explored the
city. The following verbal geographicaldefinitionsof the quarterswill
refer to this contemporarilyprevailingdivisionof the Old City.
The ethno-religious partition of the Old City on the nineteenthcenturymapsreflecteda situationrooted in history.CrusaderJerusalem
of the twelfthand thirteenthcenturies,the capitalof the LatinKingdom
of Jerusalem,was partitionedamongthe residentialterritoriesof people
from differentEuropeancountries,OrientalChristiancommunitiesand
knights orders. In 1244 Jerusalem returned to Moslem hands when
it became part of the Ayyubid Sultanate of Egypt. The change of
governmentcoincidedwith a devastationof the city by the CentralAsian
tribe of Khawarizmwhich all but annihilatedthe city's population.10In
1250 the Mamluksrose to power in Egypt. Under their rule Jerusalem
became a magnetto pilgrimsfrom all partsof the Islamicworld. People
from various regions, towns and tribes settled in it. The parts of the
city preferredby the Moslemswere those adjoiningthe north and west
sides of the Temple Mount (the other two sides lay outside the city)
on which stood their two reveredmosques, the Dome of the Rock and
al-Aqsa Mosque. Christiansfrom differentdenominationsresettled in
the north-westof the city, at the vicinity of the Churchof the Holy
MAP 2
QUARTERSOF JERUSALEMIN THE LATE
FIFTEENTHCENTURY(ACCORDINGTO MUJIRAD-DIN)
Sa'diyyin,16branchedfrom it.
Haret Bab el-'Amud ('Pillar Gate' - the Arabic name for Damascus
Gate)17- the north end of Khatt Wadi et-Tawahin(Arabic: 'mills
wadi street') as el-Wad Road was called in Mujir's days - the
present Damascus Gate Street. The street of Bani Sa'd (an Arabic
family/tribe)whichbranchedfrom it was apparentlytoday's 'Aqabet
Risas.
Haret or Khatt (Arabic [here]: 'quarter')Marzaban18- the region of
Aqabet el-Khalidiyya,Qaramiand Sarayastreets, lying between elWad Road and Suq Khanez-Zeyt.
B. In the ChristianQuarter
HaretBani Murra(a SouthArabian[Yemenite]group)19- an area lying
along the northpart of Suq Khanez-Zeyt, possiblyat its west side.
Haretez-Zara'na(after an Arabicgroup)- situatedwest of Haret Bani
Murranorthof 'Aqabet el-Khanqah.
Haret en-Nasara (Arabic: 'ChristiansStreet/Quarter').It seems that
in the late fifteenth century both today's ChristiansStreet and the
street parallelto it from the west - the twisted chain of Casanova,
St Dimitris and Greek Catholic Patriarchstreets - were known as
'Haret en-Nasara'.The south part of the west street was called in
those days Haret er-Rahba(Arabic: 'wide space') since it bordered
on 'Crops Square', lying north of Jaffa Gate. The north tip of
that street reached Bab es-Sarb('Serbs Gate') which existed then,
apparentlya short distanceeast of today'sNew Gate. The quarterof
Haret en-Nasarastretched,naturally,between the two streets called
by that name.
Haret el-Jawalda(Arabic: 'TannersStreet/Quarter')- today's Jawalda
Streetnear the north-westcornerof the Old City. Accordingto Mujir
it lay 'outsidethe city'.
C. In theArmenianQuarter
HaretBani el-Harith(aftera Bedouingroup)- situatedapparentlyin the
west partof the ArmenianQuarter.Mujirdescribedit as lying 'out of
town, by the Citadel'.
Haret ed-Dawiyya (possibly after an Arabic tribe) - today's St Mark
Street at the northof the ArmenianQuarter.
Dir el-Arman(ArmeniansMonastery)or KanisatMar Ya'qub(St James
Cathedral)- situatedin the middleof the southpartof the nineteenthcentury-definedArmenian Quarter, the Armenian Quarter (Haret
el-Arman of future centuries) was unique among the quarters of
Jerusalem in that it was an enclosure which developed along the
years aroundthe ArmenianMonastery.
D. In theJewish Quarter
Haret el-Yahud(Jews Street/Quarter)- the south part of Jews Street.
The north part of the street was knownat the time as Hareter-Risha
after an Arabiantribe, probablyfrom Trans-Jordan.20
Haret es-Saltin (after people from the Trans-Jordaniantown of Salt
who lived there) - today's Gal'ed Street at the south of the Jewish
Quarter.
Haretesh-Sharaf(namedafterthe mausoleumof Sharafad-Din Musa, a
Jerusalemnotable buriedin the vicinityin the fourteenthcentury)21
- a north to south street at the middleof the JewishQuarter.Known
today as Misgav Ladakh (Hebrew), Sharaf or Maydan (Arabic)
Street.
Haret el-'Alam (named after 'Alam ad-Din Sulayman, the brother
of Sharaf ad-Din mentioned above) - today's Shoney Halakhot
(Hebrew) or Ghana'im(Arabic) Street northof the JewishQuarter.
Part of it was called Haretel-Hayadraafter a groupof people.
- the
Haret el-Magharba([Moslem] North Africans Street/Quarter)22
street whichled from Bab es-SilsilaStreet to Dung Gate throughthe
east part of the Jewish Quarter.
In the course of the 60 years which followed Mujir'sdescriptionof
Jerusalem, in 1525-6, 1533-9 and 1553-4, censi were held in the
city by the new Ottomangovernment.They were carriedout according
to quarter,officiallyrecognizedreligious-ethnicgroup(Turkish:'millet')
andfamily.Eachof the censiquarterswascalledin those censimahalla.23
The censi quartersare definedbelow, orderedfromthe north-eastof the
city to its west, south and centralparts:
Bab el-Hutta24- the area northof the Temple Mount.
Bani Zayd - the area aroundel-MawlawiyyaStreet, east of Damascus
Gate.
Bab el-'Amud- the area south of DamascusGate.
Dara'na(apparentlythe colloquialArabicformof Dar'an)- an Arabian
- the area lyingwest of Bab el-'Amud
sub-tribefrom Trans-Jordan25
of
north
Quarter,
'Aqabet el-Khanqah.
Bani Harith- see Mujir'sdescriptionabove.
Risha or Risha and Sihyun(Arabic: 'Zion') - the areas lying north and
west of Haret el-Yahudof Mujir'sdescription.
Maslakh (Arabic: 'slaughterhouse')- the southernmost part of the
Jewish quarter, east of Zion Gate, where the slaughterhouseof
Jerusalemstood for centuries,up till the middleof the nineteenth.
Magharba- the area at the feet of the West (Wailing)Wall.
Khawaldi(the colloquialArabicform of Khawalid- a groupbelonging
from
10
MIDDLE
of
EASTERN
X^~~~~~~e
-7"5ii
STUDIES
eagrasbfi
a'
desript io
Mun's
the
CENSI QUSHARTE IN T
~JERUSALEM:
MAP 3
ro
I
>
city
CENTURd
SIXTEENTH
JERUSALEM:
CENSI QUARTERS INemark:
The
streetnamesweretaken
SIXTEENTH CENTURY
11
12
MIDDLE
EASTERN
STUDIES
13
Nearly 350 years after the censi of the early Ottomanperiod, a guidebook for Christianpilgrimswritten in Arabic towards the end of the
nineteenth century33enables us to draw a map of the haratof quarters
of the old city as they were known at the time to the local population.
The quartersare definedbelow, startingin the north-eastcornerof the
city and continuingto its west, south and centralparts.
Bab el-Asbat (Arabic: 'Tribes Gate' [= St Stephen's Gate]) - the
area on both sides of el-MujahidinStreet which enters the city
from St Stephen's Gate, before its intersection with Bab Hutta
Street.
Bab Hutta- the area north of the Temple Mount includingapparently
Bab el-Asbat Quarter.
Sa'diyya(named after the groupof Sa'diyyinor Bani Sa'd - see Haret
Bani Zayd, HaretBab el-'Amudabove)- the areabetweenBab Hutta
Quarterand Damascusgate.
Bab el-'Amud - the territory lying on both sides of Bab el-'Amud
Street (the nineteenth-centuryname for the north part of Suq Khan
ez-Zeyt).
Haddadin (after a ChristianArabic tribe)34- the area between Bab
el-'AmudQuarterin the east and the FranciscanConventin the west.
Consideredalso part of Nasara(see next quarter).
Nasara(= Christians)- the areastretchingfromthe Churchof the Holy
Sepulchrein the east to the FranciscanMonasteryin the north-west.
Khanez-Zeyt(Arabic:'olive oil merchantshostel')- the areaat the back
of the Churchof the Holy Sepulchreborderedby Aqabet el-Khanqah
at the north and Suq Khan ez-Zeyt at the east - the vicinity of Dir
es-Sultan.
Jawalda(Arabic: 'tanners'.Was knownalso as Wa'riyya)- the chain of
crookedstreets along the westernwall of the city, between New Gate
and Jaffa Gate.
Mawarna(= Maronites. Called after Mawarna(or Mawazin)Street today'sAqabet Khanel-Aqbat- whichmade its northboundary.Dir
el-Mawarna [Maronite Convent] Street was on the other side of David
14
50
100
200
300
Meters
Temple-Mount Gates
1 - Bib el-'Asbat
2 - Bib Hutta
3 - Bb 'Atm (or Sharaf el-'Anbiya')
4 - Bab el-Ghawinima (or es-Saraya)
5 - Bab eri-Naiir (or 'Ali' ed-Din)
6 - Bab el-Hadid
7 - Bib el-QatanTn
8 - Bb el-Mutawadl'a (or el-Mathara)
9 - Bab es-Silsila
10 - Bab el-Magharba (or en-Nabi or el-Buraq)
MAP 4
OLD CITY:NINETEENTH-CENTURYQUARTERS
15
16
17
Summary
The uniformityof the area inhabitedby Moslemsin the northof the city
broughtabout, in the long run, the swallowingof the medieval-groupnamed quartersby the neighboringquarterscalled after sites. The great
increase in Jewish populationin moderntimes at the south of the city
produced, on the other hand, a process in an opposite direction- a
population-named quarter - Haret el-Yahud - extended to a quarter
Between the 1880s and the First World War several population censi
were carriedout by the Turkishauthoritiesin Palestine.The information
gatheredin them had been recordedin volumesof formsknownas nufus
(OttomanTurkish:'souls')books aftertwo types of registersused at the
time. The 463 Palestinenufusbooks preservedtoday in the Israel State
Archives are divided into districts(OttomanTurkish:aqziya, singular:
qaza) each of whichcentersarounda particularcity. Withinthe districts,
registrywas performedby town or village, millet, and family. Towns
and villages were divided into areas of habitation.Cities were divided
into quartersdeterminedby millet or vice versa. The quartersin some
cities were dividedinto sub-quarterswhichincludedstreetsand lanes or
sometimesblocks of homes arounda courtyard,publicsquares,smaller
neighborhoodswithina quarteror communalinstitutions.
18
rTIT
Int
-'
lt
uUAKRI'KS
O LD
q.rq '
--
..
..
Ul' JERUSALEM
...
IN THE OTTOMAN
C I.T Y
es-S-
Quarters
1883 -1915
B
L A
A
AC
A D I YYA
HARAMU
.EL.C
e/e
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AR-
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HARAN
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AR T F
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OLD?^
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19
Bab
Censi
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PERIOD
e-
S I L S I L.A
SH A RA F1
.r
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Jel
Inter-quarter
bmndary
Baib
Neb i D fudd
NebirW?D5"ud
MAP 5
OLD CITY: CENSI QUARTERS
1883-1915
.-
.00
meters
lo$
20
MIDDLE
/'
Zion Gate
6
MOUNT
ZION
358
ffit
F 7, 6
D4
C 3.2
G6
G6
H6
EASTERN
7 Greek-Cath. Patri.
8 Greelk-Orth.Patri.
9 Great GreelkMonastery
10 Holy Sepulchre
11 LatinPatriarch.
12 GroelsHospital
13 Olives Monastery
14 Syrian Convent
15 Maronite Convent
16 St. Mellany Monastery
17 St. Abraham Monastery
18 St Authimyus Monastery
19 Tio Lady Monastery
20 Austrian Hospice
21 Soeurs de Sion Convent
E7 6
D7 6
6
D E 6, 5
E 7, 8
E7
H5
F5
F 6
E6
5
D6
D6
C4
C 3,4
MAP 6
OLD JERUSALEM
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
STUDIES
C1
B2
B3
G4
G 4, 5
G4
F3
E.F 3
F2
E2
D6
C3
D7
16
21
el-QadisiyyaGirls'Schoolsituatedbetweenthe upper(north)partsof
Bab Hutta and el-Qadisiyyastreets.
Sallahiyya- the Monasteryof St Anne near St Stephen'sGate. In the
censi period it includeda churchseminaryrun by the Catholicorder
of Les Peres Blancs.
Zawiyatel-Hunud- 1. The IndianHospice near Herod Gate.
2. Zawiyatel-HunudStreet.
Bab el-Haram the southernmostpart of Bab Hutta Street.
SA'DIYYA - the traditionalquarterof Sa'diyyaand the north edge of
the traditionalquarterof Wad. The boundaries:
North- the city's wall between Herod and Damascusgates.
East - see Bab Hutta's west border.
South - the east part of Via Dolorosa.
West- DamascusGate Street and the north part of el-Wad Rd. (till
Via Dolorosa). Two of Sa'diyya'ssub-quarterswere OsbisNamsa(the
Austrian Hospice) - the corner of el-Wad Road and Via Dolorosa
(east part) and Zuqaq el-Bu's (Arabic:'MisfortuneAlley') - today's
el-Hilal Street.
BAB EL-'AMUD - the north-westpart of the traditionalquarterof
Wad and the traditionalquartersof Bab el-'Amud and Haddadin.The
boundaries:
North - the city wall from Damascus Gate to the vicinity of the
FranciscanConventof TerraSancta(St Saviour).
East- see Sa'diyya's west border.
el-Jabshaand er-Rusulstreets.
Sabunhane(OttomanTurkish:'soapfactory')- the northpartof Suq
Khanez-Zeyt.44
Dir el-Latin (Arabic: 'LatinsConvent' = the FranciscanConvent)St FrancisStreet.
NASARA - the traditionalquartersof Nasara,Khan ez-Zeyt, Jawalda
andMawarna- the middleand southpartsof the ChristianQuarter.The
boundaries:
22
THE QUARTERS
OF JERUSALEM
IN THE OTTOMAN
PERIOD
23
South- the city wall between Dung gate and Zion Gate Square.
West- see Sharaf's east boundary.
24
Designing the Old City censi quarters, the nufus officials took as a
basis the system of the city's traditionalquarters.They chose the more
recognized among them which usually shared names with well-known
streets in the city - Bab Hutta, Bab el-'Amud, Nasara, Wad (Sa'diyya
was an exception)- and annexedto them neighboringharatusuallyless
known or smaller,in orderto create largercensus units.
All that was relevant to the north and central parts of the city till the line of David and Bab es-Silsila streets. As it appears, the
Ottoman officialsdid not like the idea of namingthe censi quartersat
its southernpart after the two largerharatof the area - the Armenian
25
TABLE 1
SUMMARY TABLE: THE QUARTERS OF JERUSALEM THROUGHOUT THE
OTTOMAN PERIOD
Mujirad-Din Censi
(16th
(late 15th
century)
century)
Quarter
Ghuriyya
(Turiyya)
Bab Hutta
Quarter
Late 19th
Censi
(circa1900)
century
(traditional
system)
Quarter
Quarter
Quarter
Bab Hutta
(north-east
section)
Bab el-Asbat
Bab Hutta
Bab Hutta
Masharqa
Bani Zayd
Moderndivision
(since 19th
century)
Moslem
Bani Zayd
Sa'diyya
Sa'diyya
Bab el-'Amud
Bab el-'AmudBab el-'Amud
Babel-'Amud
Bani Murra
Zara'na
Dara'na
(north-west
section)
(northsection)
Haddadin
Khanez-Zeyt
Christian
(east section)
Nasara
Nasara
Nasara
Jawalda
Mawarna
(middleand
southsection)
Jawalda
(west section)
Yahud
Saltin
Sharaf
'Alam
Magharba
Sharaf
Armenian
Arman
Arman
(west section)
(northsection)
(southsection)
(east section)
Sihyun
Risha
Maslakh
(southsection)
Khawaldi
Yahud
Sharaf(Alam)
Magharba
Magharba
Silsila
Jewish
(northsection)
(east section)
26
TABLE
(cont'd)
Bab es-Silsila
Marzaban
Bab elQattanin
Qattanin
Wad
Wad
Moslem
(southsection)
'AqabetesSitta
'Aqabetet-Takiya
Nebi Daud
MountZion
(outsidethe
city'swall)
Kolel
/~
15 e
~ ~
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IFs
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27
PERIOD
5
IN THE OTTOMAN
OF JERUSALEM
THE QUARTERS
mA.
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14. NahalvatShim'o
1. Bet Israel
BB4 3
2. Bet Ya'acov
C 2
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5. Even Israel
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B
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C 2
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D4
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C 3
D3
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D 1
E 4
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/3
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ABU
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24. Yemin Mosheh
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NEW CITY:CENSIQUARTERS
1905-1915
B 5
F 4
D 3
28
29
SHEYKH JARAH (after Sheykh JarahMosque in Nablus Road)54an area bounded by Mount Scopus on the east, Salah ed-Din Street
and the upper end of Wadi el-Joz on the west. Comprised of the
Moslem estates of Sheykh Jarah, Hayy el-Huseyni, Wadi el-Joz and
Bab ez-Zahira55and the Jewishestates of Shim'onHatsadik(1891) and
NahalatShim'on(1892).
MAS'UDIYYA (named after el-Mas'udi, called also Sa'd wa-Sa'id)
Mosque, situated in Nablus Road south of US Consulate- the area
lying on both sides of Nablus Road between Damascus Gate and the
intersection with Salah ed-Din Street. Its only sub-quarterwas Jurji
Kumbaniya'- the Jewish-Georgianestate of Eshel Avraham(1893)near
Damascusgate.
MUSRARA56- the area between Mas'udiyyaQuarterin the east and
Shivtey Israel Street in the west. One of its sub-quarterswas 'Nisim
Bek Kumbaniya'- Nissan Bek Houses, known as Kirya Ne'emana,
(1877) situated near Damascus Gate, borderingEshel Avraham (see
Mas'udiyya).
Region2 - Northpart of the New City
BUKHARIYYA - the Jewish-Bukhariansuburbknown in Hebrew as
'Skhounat Habukharim'or 'Rehovot' (1891) - the area encircled by
Bar-Ilan,ShmuelHanavi, Yehezkel and Zefanyastreets.
BIRKA (Arabic:'Pool'. Calledapparentlyafter the old Pool of Kidron
which existed at the time east of it, in Wadi el-Joz, near Sheykh
Jarah Mosque) - an area between Shmuel Hanavi and Yehezkel
streets comprised of Bet Israel (1886) - called by the same name
in the nufus registers, Nahalat Tsvi (1884) and Sha'areyPinna (1888)
30
MIDDLE
EASTERN
STUDIES
31
HaravKook Street.
32
Wad er-Rababa (Violin Wadi - the Arabic name for the Valley of
Hinnom) - the lower part of Abu Tor includingapparentlyBet Yosef
(1888).
Sihyun - Mount Zion
33
34
The nufus books in the Israel State Archives belong to two periods:
1876-1904 and 1905-18. The two types of registers used during
the former period are known as sicil nufus defteri(Ottoman Turkish:
'people registryledger') and esas nufus- 'basicpeople' (ledger);twelve
books from Jerusalemof the firsttype are found in the Archives, none
of the latter. From the aspect of informationand the ease of reading
(the nufus books are printed and filled out in Ottoman Turkish)they
are inferiorto the registersof the second period. The latter are divided
into musveddedefteri(OttomanTurkish:'draftledger') and esas defteri
- 'basic ledger'. The former was used by census officials, when they
visited families, to take down particularslike name, place and year
of birth, maritalstatus and occupation(or relation to the head of the
family/household).After these home visits, the data in the draftledger
was copied into basic ledger, leaving spaces among familyregistrations
for future additions. Basic ledgers are more orderly and easy to read
than draft ledgers. However, errorswere sometimes made in copying
the material. The State Archives contain 16 draft ledgers and 33 basic
ledgersfrom Jerusalem.
In addition, there were districtnufus registerson particularsubjects:
births, deaths, marriages,divorces, registrationchanges, militarycon-
35
36
MIDDLE
EASTERN
STUDIES
TABLE 2
1883 JERUSALEM CENSUS IN THE NUFUS BOOKS - FAMILIES BY
COMMUNITIES
Nebi
Bab Bab
Hutta el-'Amud Wad Sharaf Silsila Nasara Da'ud Sa'diyya
Total %
Total
Community 5014
Moslems
1964 39.2
Jews
Christians
1782 35.5
1268 25.3
Moslems
Locall
1433 73.0
509
353
329
79
65
57
412
North412
21.0
Africans4
83
4.2
Egyptians5
29
1.5
0.3
Africans3
Gypsies6
Jews
Ashkenazis7
Sephardis
Moroccans
9468 53.1
520 29.2
316
17.7
Orthodox
569
44.9
Latins9
386
30.4
Armenians
102
8.0
Protestants
97
7.6
Copts
Greek
Catholic
52
4.1
39
3.1
22
1.7
0.1
Christians
Greek
Pentecost
Protestants
Catholic
Armenians
37
Family entries
3. Among them were familieswhich had migrated,in the Middle Ages, from Muslim
Spain.
4. Meaningapparentlythe AfricanCommunitywhichlived in 'Ala' ed-Din Street, near
Bab en-NazirGate of the TempleMount,wherethey workedas janitorsandwardens.
Theirdescendantslive there till today.
5. Namedin the nufusledgersalso SheikhIbrahimCommunity.
6. Namedin the nufusledgersalso NasrAllah Bnu Ali Community.
7. Markedin the census as 'Hassidim'(of a Hassidicsect) or 'Prushim'(co-religionist
opponentsof the Hassidim).
8. The mukhtarbook of the Ashkenazicommunityin Jerusalemfrom 1883(nufusbook
no. 62a in the State Archives)contains1890families- apparentlyall the Ashkenazi
familiesin the city, includingthose withoutOttomannationality.
9. RomanCatholics.
38
TABLE3
1883 JERUSALEMNUFUS CENSUS- INDIVIDUAL FOREIGNERSIN
INSTITUTIONS
Place of habitation
and/orregistration
Community Quarter
Population
Number Description
330
fromDar Salih(Sudan)
314
Mostlyin the
TempleMount
WesternPorches
Moslems
Undefined
Moslems
IndianHospice
Abu MedyenHospice
-MagharbaQuarter
Hukumet(Government
House) called also
'Saraya'or 'Takiya'
Alliance School
Moslems
Bab Hutta
Moslems
Silsila
4S7
Moslems
Wad
246
Jews
New City
Undefined
Christians
1082
1530
44
1135
Dervishesand others
North-AfricanDervishes
and Pilgrims
GovernmentOfficialsand
ServicePeople
Teachers,Pupils
Various,including
SyriansChaldeans
andMaronites
GreatGreekMonastery Greek
Orthodox
Nasai-a
199
Priests,Monks
Greek School
Greek
Orthodox
Nasaira
158
Teachers,Pupils,
Servicemen
St MellanyMonastery
Greek
Orthodox
Latins
Latins
N-ai
234
LatinMonastery
(TerraSancta)
ArmenianMonastery
Nasaira
Nasaira
5
12
Armenians Shareif
46
55
ArmenianSeminary
Olive Tree Monastery
Armenians Shara
af
61
Armenians Share
af
29
ThalitaKumiSchool
Zion (BishopGobat)
School
SyrianMonastery
af
Shara
Syrians
(Assyrians)
108
Priests,Monks
Pupils
Priests,Monks
ServiceMen
Teachers,Pupils
Nuns
FemalePupils
24
Pupils
4
96
Monks
Workers
THE QUARTERS
OF JERUSALEM
IN THE OTTOMAN
PERIOD
39
TABLE4
1905JERUSALEMCENSUSIN THE NUFUS BOOKS- FAMILIESBY RELIGIONSAND
QUARTERS
Total
7954
Total in Jerusalem
Jews
3701
398
Non-OttomanNationals
OttomanNationals- Old City
1250
4272
56.5
%
3284
Moslems
1687
300
98
1934
29.1
2451
Christians
25661
1088
45.2
332
25.7
501
43.5
%
74.6
10.1
15.3
Quarter
Silsila
Wad
Bab Hutta
Bab el-'Amud
Sharaf
Sa'diyya
Nasara
Nebi Da'ud
Birka
SheykhJarah
Tululel-Masabin
Isra'iliyya
Halabiyya
Tawahin
Musrara
Masabin
Shifa
Bab el-Khalil
Rahiliyya
Mas'udiyya
Ya'qubiyya
Sarrafiyya
Yahudiyya
Nahkama
Baq'a
Manshiyya
Bukhariyya
Habash
Talbiyya
Ma'manAllah
Ukasha
Jadida
OLD
CITY
NEW
CITY
1259
862
614
596
382
286
188
85
29.5
20.2
14.3
13.9
9.0
6.7
4.4
2.0
711
388
7
15
127
1
1
-
548
383
595
112
40
161
10
852
91
12
469
215
124
177
461 14.0
270 8.2
257 7.8
234 7.1
229 7.0
203 6.2
175 5.3
163 5.0
158 4.8
141 4.3
138 4.2
118 3.6
107 3.3
82 2.5
82 2.5
67 2.0
63 1.9
63 1.9
58 1.8
58 1.8
56 1.7
39 1.2
38 1.2
461
97
257
234
229
203
50
163
108
75
138
17
97
43
68
47
10
58
13
22
37
167
10
115
26
50
40
59
8
3
3
32
7
42
2
36
14
17
31
46
14
3
-
31
34
36
1
24
0.7
24
1. The Islamic tradition of pilgrimage to Jerusalem was reflected through the fact that
among the local Moslem population registered at the census there were quite a
few families with names like Afghani, Azbaki, Jarkasi (Ciracassian), Kurdi, Misri
(Egyptian), Maghribi (Moroccan), Shami (Syrian), Turkmani and Yamani.
2. Most of them of the Da'udi-Dajjani clan (see footnote 2 in Table 2).
40
Familysizes
The registrationin familieswhich enabled additionsafter the censi did
not give an accurate picture of the relative sizes of communities in
Jerusalem'sdiversepopulationowingto the differencesin familysize averages amongthese groups,neitherdid it pave the way for calculationof
populationnumbers.The Moslemshad the largestfamilies/households.
In accordance with the patriarchalcustoms of traditional Islamic
society, there were amongthe registrantsin the books Moslem families
comprisingdozens of members. On the other hand a relatively high
proportionof small families existed among the Ashkenazi Jews69who
were on the lower end of the familygrowthscale. Furthermore,single
persons were counted in the registersas families and were entered as
such in the censi tables. The numberof singles registeredas families
was highestamongthe Ashkenazis(who had a particularlylargenumber
of single women).70The way to calculatepopulationtotals from family
totals is by multiplyingthe numberof families in each communityby
a constant factor. The effectivenessof this method is however limited
because of its vulnerabilityto overratingand underratingof the average
familysize in differentcommunities.
Integrityof territory
Aside from the records of Sa'diyya quarter in the 1883 census, the
collection of nufus books compiled in Jerusalemseems to be intact,
constitutingan importantsourceof informationon Jerusalem'smunicipal
boundariestowardsthe end of the Ottomanperiod. Suburbsof today's
Jerusalem appeared in the registers as villages in the sub-districts
(Turkish:nawah, single:nahiye)surroundingJerusalem.7'
Integrityof population
As a rule, foreigncitizenswho livedin Jerusalemwere not includedin the
censi. 'Foreigners'who were recordedwere usuallyOttomannationals
from other parts of the Empire, like high government officials and
European clergymen, especially Greek, who were registered in their
churchinstitutions.Three communitiesof foreign nationalswhichwere
not registeredstood out: Ethiopians,people fromWesterncountriesand
Jews. The largerpart of the Ethiopiansin Jerusalemwere clergymen.
The conspicuousWestern populationsof Jerusalemwere those of the
AmericanColony and the GermanColonyof the Templars.72But these
were smallcommunities.The mainbulkof non-Ottomansnot registered
in Jerusalem were Jews.73 From the 1850s until the First World War
41
TABLE5
1905 JERUSALEM CENSUS IN THE NUFUS BOOKS - JEWS: FAMILIES BY
COMMUNITIES AND QUARTERS
Total
%
3701
Total in
Jerusalem
Sephardis
1838
33.8
New City
560
1250
2451
Total in the
Moroccans
1515
34
49.6
%
Total in the
in the Old City
Ashkenazis
459
44.8
1278
66.2
40.9
9.4
231
36.7
1056
52.1
18.5
117
43.1
4.8
Quarter
711
388
127
15
56.9
31.0
10.1
1.2
400
124
32
3
7
1
1
0.6
0.1
0.1
-
Birka
N Tulul el-Masabin
Isra 'iliyya
E Halabiya
461
257
234
229
18.8
10.5
9.5
9.3
3781
79
2042
203
8.3
1653
38
W Masabin
163
6.7
163
138
108
97
5.6
4.4
4.0
56
57
90
82
50
-
Ya'qubiyya
0 Silsila
L Wad
D Sharaf
Bab el-'Amud
C
I
T
Y
Bab Hutta
Nasara
Sa'diyya
Nebi Da'ud
Tawahin
Rahiliyya
Shifa
SheykhJarah
229
121
94
7
82
143
1
5
7
-
1
81
225
118
22
2
2
37
3
1
7
97
4.0
66
27
75
68
3.0
2.8
31
C Bab el-khalil
Yahudiyya
59
33
16
4
I Bukhariyya
58
2.4
574
Musrara
T Mahkama
Sarrafiya
Y Ukasha
50
47
43
37
2.0
1.9
1.8
1.5
27
22
20
4
21
13
20
33
2
12
3
Jadida
Talbiyya
Mas'udiyya
Habash
24
22
17
13
1.0
0.9
0.7
0.5
3
146
-
20
3
13
4
195
10
0.4
Manshiyya
Baq'a
Ma'man Allah
(Notes overleaf)
42
TABLE 6
1905 JERUSALEM CENSUS IN THE NUFUS BOOKS - CHRIS
BY COMMUNITIES AND QUARTERS
,-,
Total
469
215
177
12
91
12
Total in
Quarter
Bab el-'Amud
O
L Sharaf
D Nasara
Sa'diyya
C Wa d
I BabHutta
T Silsila
Y Nebi Da'ud
712 273
-
2
8
0
2
- --
2
4
-
'o
,E
Musrara
Shifa
N Manshiyya
E
W
TABLE 6
(cont'd)
C
I
T
Y
Mas'udiyya
Bab el-khalil
Ma'manAllah
Sarrafiyya
Talbiyya
Habash
Baq'a
Nahkama
Yahudiyya
SheykhJarrah
Ya'qubiyya
Ukasha
Isra'iliyya
Bukhariyya
Birka
Halabiyya
Jadida
Masabin
Rahiliyya
Tulul el-Masabin
Tawahin
50
46
42
40
36
36
34
31
31
17
14
6
2
1
26
32
21
20
8
9
28
9
-
21
3
14
9
9
14
28
26
4
3
6
5
14 46 4
1
2 I
9 -
1
2
7-
16 11
.-
45
censi.80
Another phenomenonconcerningthe registrationof Jews in the censi
was the classifyingof Jews from Oriental communitieswhich lacked
official autonomous status (or sometimes even those who had it) as
Sephardis.For four of the largergroups- Jewsfrom Bukhara,Georgia,
Kurdistanand Yemen - allusionsthroughfootnotes to the censi tables
were made.
THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE CENSI
46
Place of habitation
Community
Quarter
Ashkenazis
Alliance School
Sha'arey Tsedek
Population
Number
and/or registration
Ya'qubiyya
Sephardis
6
1
Moslems
18
1
Ashkenazis
Description
Employee
Families
Employees
Employee
Family
Employees
Employee
Family
Employee
Family
Hospital
Afghanand Uzbek
Moslems
Wad
94
Dervishes
and others
Moslems
Bab Hutta
14
SchoolStaff
Hospices
MaymuniyyaSchool
Nasara
215
St MellanyMonastery GreekOrthodox
Nasara
Nuns
GreekOrthodox
Nasara
Employees
St AbrahamMonastery GreekOrthodox
Nasara
Nun
St NicholasMonastery GreekOrthodox
Nasara
Nun
Bab el-'Amud
17
5
Nuns
Service
Women
The LadyMonastery
Greek Orthodox
Bab el-'Amud
3
3
Nuns
Service
Women
St Anne Seminary
Catholic
Bab Hutta
SyrianMonastery
Assyrians
Sharaf
SyrianOrphanage
Protestants
Shifa
Greek School
4
96
1
46
109
(Schneller)
Greek Orthodox
13
6
Priests,Monks
Monks
Young Priests
(fromSyria
and Lebanon)
Monk
Employees
Families
Employees,
Pupils
FemalePupils
Employees
Relatives
THE QUARTERS
OF JERUSALEM
IN THE OTTOMAN
PERIOD
47
TABLE 8
1915 JERUSALEM NUFUS CENSUS - JEWISH FAMILIES BY COMMUNITIES
AND QUARTERS
Total Ashkenazis
Totalin Jerusalem 2469
%
1649
66.8
Total in the
Old City
%
497
267
53.7
1972
1382
70.1
256
95
94
203
25
12
52
-
27
Total in the
New City
%
Quarter
0 Sharaf
L Wad
D Babel-'Amud
C
I
T
Y
Silsila
Nasara
Sa'diyya
NebiDa'ud
Tululel-Masabin
Bukhariyya
Rahiliyya
Masabin
Ukasha
N Shifa
E Manshiyya
W Halabiyya
Tawahin
Bab el-Khalil
C Yahudiyya
I Ma'manAllah
T Isra'iliyya
Y Musrara
Ya'qubiyya
Habash
SheykhJarah
Birka
Mas'udiyya
Baq'a
Jadida
Mahkama
Sarrafiyya
Talbiyya
531
442
330
148
126
85
45
40
38
37
35
32
30
18
17
8
5
4
1
-
Georgians
Moroccans
153
6.2
144
5.8
114
23.0
116
23.3
39
2.0
28
1.4
16
10
79
37
60
3
16
Sephardis
523
21.2
523
26.5
509
6
306
145
124
75
384
31
29
31
15
22
21
3
14
1
4
-
221
4342
3
103
7
6
8
3
20
4
1
4
18
-
2
6
2
5
15
1
3
1
3
5
5
1
48
accordingto the SummaryTable they were a little less than two thirds
of it - 64 per cent of the city's inhabitants.Taking as a basis the 4253
Moslem and Christianfamilies registered in the census which made,
accordingto the SummaryTable, 36 per cent of the city's population
we get a total of 11,814 families in Jerusalemin 1905 of which 7560
(64 per cent) were Jewish. The difference between this number and
the numberof Jewish families recordedin the census, 3701, is 3859 or
51 per cent which were not registeredbecause they were not Ottoman
nationals.
TABLE 9
1883& 1905NUFUS CENSIIN JERUSALEM- COMPARINGPERCENTAGESOF
WITHTHE SUMMARYTABLE
RELIGIOUSCOMMUNITIES
1883
Year
1905
Source
Census
SummaryTable
Territory
Old City
Jerusalem
Categories
Families
of
Enumeration
Total
5014
Moslems
Jews
Christians
1964
1782
1268
Census
SummaryTable
Jerusalem
Jerusalem
% Individuals Families %
39.2 24.2
35.5 56.5
25.3 19.2
34,300
7954
8,300
19,400
6,600
2566
3701
1687
% Individuals
62,500
32.3 17.6
46.6 64.0
21.2 18.4
11,000
40,000
11,500
49
50
MIDDLE
EASTERN
STUDIES
4187
Total
1849
44.1
%
nufus
quarter(s)
Moslem
Quarter
Bab Hutta
Sa'diyya
Wad
Moslems
%
1762
1250
29.8
%
64.6
382
Jewish
Quarter
1259
Silsila
%
646
2.0
66.8
82.4
94
10.1
121
9.7
24.6
100
31.7
711
29.6
43.5
23.5
1.3
33.2
548
30.1
12.9
127
10.5
121
3.0
227
16
2.2
Armenians
31.7
22.5
40
9.1
61.6
122
Christian Bab el-'Amud 784
18.7
6.6
Quarter Nasara
%
15.6
Armenian Sharaf
Quarter
967
23.1
396
1139
42.1
Jews
Christians
(except Armenians)
56.9
56.5
51
Only a little over 60% of the Old City Moslem families were
registeredin the Moslem Quarter.Nearly 30% have been recorded
in the Jewish Quarter,in Haret el-Magharbawhichcould have been
considereda southerncontinuationof the Moslem Quarter.89Most
of the rest were registeredin Bab el-'Amud. The rate of the Moslem
families among those recordedin the Moslem Quarterwas a little
less than two thirds.
2. The population in the northernpart of the ChristianQuarter, Bab
el-'Amud nufus quarter, was mainly Christianwith large Moslem
and tiny Jewish minorities. Its eastern part, the traditionalquarter
of Bab el-'Amud, which historically consisted of the habitation
areas of Moslem groups, was described by the above source as
'with Moslem majority'90while Haret el-Haddadinwhich lay at its
west side, historicallyChristian,was accordingto the same source 'an
entirelyChristianarea'. Nasaracensi quarterto the southwas almost
entirely Christianwith a tiny Moslemminority.The four traditional
quartersconstitutingthat nufusquarterwere describedby the above
sourcethus: Khanez-Zeyt, NasaraandJawalda- Christianmajority,
Mawarna - wholly Christian.91
52
ones - lived in its east part which became in the second half of
the nineteenth century the west part of Haret el-Yahud. The
Christians (apart from the Armenians) constituted a quarter of
Sharaf'spopulation and the Moslems about 10%. The traditional
term of Haret el-'Arman was a lot more appropriateto define
the Armenian region of the city than the modern term 'Armenian
Quarter',the north of which, situatedamongthe ChristianQuarter,
Haret el-Yahud and Haret el-'Arman and comprisingthe Moslem
Haret el-Jawa'na,was definedby the above sourceas 'mixedarea'.92
4. More thanhalfof the familiesrecordedin the JewishQuarter(Silsila)
in 1905 were Jewish. The rest were all Moslem who lived in Haret
el-Magharba.Ninety-eightper cent of the Jewishfamiliesof the Old
City were registeredin Silsila(in Haret el-Yahud)and the adjoining
quartersof Sharafand Wad. Small numberswere recordedin Bab
el-'Amud and Bab Hutta (in that order).
Summary
In the north of the city - as far as the line formed by Via Dolorosa,
'Aqabet el-Khanqahand St Francisstreets- the east and middle parts
were Moslem while the west was Christian.The border between the
areas populated by Moslems and Christiansin that part of the city
was then not the one suggestedby the moderndivisionof Moslem and
Christianquarters- Suq Khanez-Zeyt - but some line west of it, inside
the last quarter.In the middlepartof the city- borderedin the south by
Bab es-SilsilaandDavidstreets- the borderbetweenthe Jewish-Moslem
east (or center, if the Temple Mount is taken into account) and the
Christianwest was, accordingto the censi, identicalwith the boundary
betweenthe MoslemandChristianquarters.Southof thatline, the chain
of traditionalcommunityquarterswhich comprisedmost of the area Haret el-Magharba,Haret el-Yahudand Haret el-Arman,as they were
aligned from east to west - representedthe partitionof the territory
among differentpopulationsmore authenticallythan the cumbersome
divisioninto Jewishand Armenianquarters(whichcovered though the
whole area).
Another way to partitionthe Old City, relyingon the censusresultsis
accordingto populationdensity. From that aspect the city was divided
into the followingthree parts:
1. Region of low density- the West, made of the mostlyChristian
territoryof NasaraandSharaf,in whichthe numerouschurches,
monasteriesand other institutesof various Christiancommunities occupiedconsiderableparts.93Only a little over 13% of
the Old City populationlived in that thirdof the city.
53
54
MIDDLE
EASTERN
STUDIES
TABLE 11
1883 & 1905 NUFUS CENSI IN JERUSALEM - TOTALS OF POPULATION FAMILIES BY RELIGIONS
1905
1883
Old City
Total
%
5014
1964
1782
1268
New City
39.2
35.5
25.3
1934
1250
1088
Foreigners
3284
43.5
4272
56.5
%
Religious
Affiliation
Moslems
Jews
Christians
Old City
45.3
29.2
25.5
398
10.1
74.6
15.3
7954
332
2451
501
Total
300
98
2566
3701
1687
32.3
46.5
21.2
55
Total
Total
Jews
2451
3284
17.1
1.
6.7
North part of
the New City
0.1
7.4
352
West of the
City Center
51.4
10.4
1033
0.7
28.1
97
32.4
4.8
4.0
299
2.4
52
94.5
7.7
42.1
1093
8.1
27
40.9
9.1
5.
28.7
144
181
33.3
4.
99.9
10.7
3.
0.2
976
41.9
39.8
977
71.1
236
29.0
29.8
2.
32.6
163
29.1
o%
332
164
Moslems
501
Region
Christians
18.4
141
47.2
61
20.4
56
Relying on the 1905 census results, the New City can be divided into
two distinctzones:
A. Regions 1, 3, 5 - a strip of land adjacent to the Old City, wider
than a kilometernorth of the Walls, narrowingto few hundredmeters
north-westof the Old City- the centerof the New City, wideningagain
west of the Walls and disconnectingfrom them south of the Old City an ethno-religiousmixed territoryin whichthe Christiansand the Jews,
in nearlyequalnumbers,were morenumerousthanthe Moslems.About
90%of the New CityChristiansandalmostits entireMoslempopulation
lived in thiszone whichcomprisedmorethana thirdof the inhabitantsof
the New City.
B. Regions 2, 4 - an area lying north-westof the Old City and the
New City center, in an averagedistanceof a kilometerfrom the Walls,
beyond zone A, which was almost entirely Jewish. Over four fifths of
New Jerusalem'sJews lived in this zone which compriseda little less
than two thirdsof the populationlivingoutside the Walls.
Each of the two zones consisted, by coincidence, of twelve census
quarters.
Conclusion
The generallay-outof the populationin the New City nufusquartersas
reflectedin the 1905 census registersagrees with the process of settling
57
58
59
60
7.
8.
9.
10.
names ... No true Orientalcity has streets with native names' (W.H. Dixon, The
Holy Land, London, 1856, vol.II, pp.14-15). When Dixon visited it there was
still no municipalityin Jerusalemand no name-platesin the streets. However his
impressionof the chaos of streetswas exaggeratedand resultedfromthe fact that he
did not know the city as well as its inhabitantsand apparentlydid not knowArabicthe languagein whichthe variousstreetsand placesin Jerusalemwere named.
The outstandingexceptionto thatrulewas the areain the middleof the city knownas
Muristanwhichwas built as a modernmarketonly at the beginningof the twentieth
century.
C.W. Wilsonsawin the TempleMountin TheOrdnanceSurveyof Jerusalem(London,
1865)partof the MoslemQuarter.
The mapsof Jerusalemdrawnduringthe MiddleAges (only by Europeans)were all
picturemaps.
J. Prawer,A Historyof theLatinKingdomof Jerusalem(Hebrewversion),Jerusalem,
1971,vol.2, pp.298-9.
61
62
63
64
61.
62.
63.
64.
65.
66.
67.
68.
69.
70.
65