Safad El Battikh ( ar, صفد البطيخ), is a village in

Nabatiye Governorate Nabatieh Governorate ( ar, محافظة النبطية, ') is one of the nine governorates of Lebanon. The area of this governorate is 1,058 km2. The capital is Nabatieh. Districts The governorate is divided into four districts (Aqdiya, sing ...

, in the

Bint Jbeil District The Bint Jbeil District is a district in the Nabatiyeh Governorate of Lebanon. The capital of the district is Bint Jbeil. Villages The following 36 municipalities are all located in the Bint Jbeil District: *Aynata * Aayta Ech Chaab * Aayta Ej ...

of southern Lebanon, about from

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

. The village is situated in the north eastern outskirts of the town of

Tebnine Tebnine ( ar, تبنين ''Tibnīn'', also Romanized ''Tibnine'') is a Lebanese town spread across several hills (ranging in altitude from 700m to 800m (2,275 ft to 2,600 ft) above sea level) located about east of Tyre (Lebanon), in ...

, in the heart of the Lebanese Shia Muslim community of ''

Jabal Amel Jabal Amil ( ar, جبل عامل, Jabal ʿĀmil), also spelled Jabal Amel and historically known as Jabal Amila, is a cultural and geographic region in Southern Lebanon largely associated with its long-established, predominantly Twelver Shia Musl ...

''. The village is above sea level.

History

In the 1596 Ottoman tax records, the village, named (same as today but some history books transliterate differently such as ''Safad al-Battih''), was located in the

Ottoman Ottoman is the Turkish spelling of the Arabic masculine given name Uthman ( ar, عُثْمان, ‘uthmān). It may refer to: Governments and dynasties * Ottoman Caliphate, an Islamic caliphate from 1517 to 1924 * Ottoman Empire, in existence fro ...

nahiya A nāḥiyah ( ar, , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiya or nahia, is a regional or local type of administrative division that usually consists of a number of villages or sometimes smaller towns. In Tajikistan, it is a second-level division w ...

'' (subdistrict) of

Tibnin Tebnine ( ar, تبنين ''Tibnīn'', also Romanized ''Tibnine'') is a Lebanon, Lebanese town spread across several hills (ranging in altitude from 700m to 800m (2,275 ft to 2,600 ft) above sea level) located about east of Tyre, Leba ...

under the Liwa of Safad, with a population of 10 households and 2 bachelors, all Muslim. The villagers paid a fixed tax-rate of 25% on agricultural products, such as

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeolog ...

(1,300 akçe),

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley ...

(420 akçe), fruit trees (380 akçe), goats and beehives (20 akçe), in addition to "occasional revenues" (80 akçe); a total of 2,200 akçe.Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 182 In 1856 it was named ''Safed'' on Kiepert's map of Palestine/Lebanon published that year, while in 1875,

Victor Guérin Victor Guérin (15 September 1821 – 21 Septembe 1890) was a French intellectual, explorer and amateur archaeologist. He published books describing the geography, archeology and history of the areas he explored, which included Greece, Asia Min ...

passed by and noted: "to my left, on a high hill, the small village of Safed el-Bathikha, inhabited by both

Métualis Lebanese Shia Muslims ( ar, المسلمون الشيعة اللبنانيين), historically known as ''matāwila'' ( ar, متاولة, plural of ''mutawālin'' ebanese pronounced as ''metouali'' refers to Lebanese people who are adherents ...

and Christians." In 1881, the

PEF PEF, PeF, or Pef may stand for the following abbreviations: * Palestine Exploration Fund * Peak expiratory flow * PEF Private University of Management Vienna * Pentax raw file (see Raw image format) * Perpetual Education Fund * Perpetual Emigratio ...

's ''Survey of Western Palestine'' (SWP) described the village (which it called ''Safed el Battîkh''): "A village, built of stone, containing about 100

Metawileh Lebanese Shia Muslims ( ar, المسلمون الشيعة اللبنانيين), historically known as ''matāwila'' ( ar, متاولة, plural of ''mutawālin'' ebanese pronounced as ''metouali'' refers to Lebanese people who are adherents ...

and fifty Christians, situated on hill-top, surrounded by arable land. The water supply is from several perennial springs and ten

cistern A cistern (Middle English ', from Latin ', from ', "box", from Greek ', "basket") is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by ...

s in the village."

Modern era

The current Bint Jbeil province was created in 1922 by French colonials. In 2009, there were 125 members of the Lady of the Assumption parish of the

Melkite Church The term Melkite (), also written Melchite, refers to various Eastern Christian churches of the Byzantine Rite and their members originating in the Middle East. The term comes from the common Central Semitic root ''m-l-k'', meaning "royal", and ...

in the village.

References

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

*''Safed el Battîkh'' on the Palestine Exploration Fund Map of 1878, Map 2
IAAWikimedia commonsSafad El Battikh
Localiban {{Bint Jbeil District Populated places in Bint Jbeil District Geography of Lebanon Shia Muslim communities in Lebanon