Meiron
Place in Safad, Mandatory Palestine / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Meron[3] or Meiron (Hebrew: מירון) was an ancient Jewish town in Upper Galilee, located 5 kilometers (3.1 mi) west of Safad. Mayrûn (Arabic: ميرون) was a village later established at the same site by Muslim Arabs, which remained mostly Arab until being depopulated in 1948.
Meiron
ميرون Mirun, Meron, Meroon, Marun, Meirun, Mairun | |
---|---|
Location within Mandatory Palestine | |
Coordinates: 32°58′56″N 35°26′17″E | |
Palestine grid | 191/265 |
Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
Subdistrict | Safad |
Date of depopulation | May 10–12, 1948[1] |
Area | |
• Total | 14,114 dunams (14.114 km2 or 5.449 sq mi) |
Population (1945) | |
• Total | 290 |
Cause(s) of depopulation | Influence of nearby town's fall |
Current Localities | Meron[2] |
The site is associated by some with the ancient Canaanite (Bronze Age) city of Merom; however, excavations at have found extensive remains from the Hellenistic and Early Roman periods. The remains include a 3rd-century synagogue, and Meiron served as a prominent local religious centre at the time.[4]
From the 13th century CE onward, Meiron was a popular site for Jewish pilgrims.[4][5] During Ottoman rule in Palestine, the Jewish population fluctuated considerably, with at least two-thirds of the population being Arab Muslims. Landownership in the village was nonetheless split almost evenly between Arabs and Jews. Depopulated in two waves over the course of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, the moshav of Meron was founded in its place in 1949 by Israeli soldiers who fought in that war.