Gaza Sanjak (), known in Arabic as Bilād Ghazza (the Land of Gaza), was a sanjak of the Damascus Eyalet of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

centered in Gaza, and spread northwards up to the Yarkon River. In the 16th century it was divided into ''nawahi'' (singular: ''nahiya''; third-level subdivisions): Gaza in the south and Ramla in the north along the Nahr Rūbīn/Wādī al-Ṣarār. Gaza Sanjak "formed a passageway connecting

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and the

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

, precipitating bi-directional trade, conquest and population movements". Situated in the southern part of the Levantine coastal plain, Gaza Sanjak received less

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...

and was more prone to drought and

nomad Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...

ic incursion than more northerly regions. Marom and Taxel have shown that during the seventeenth to eighteenth centuries, nomadic economic and security pressures led to settlement abandonment around Majdal ‘Asqalān, and the southern coastal plain in general. The population of abandoned villages moved to surviving settlements, while the lands of abandoned settlements continued to be cultivated by neighboring villages. Overall, during the 17th century, about half of all inhabited sites in the District of Gaza were abandoned. By 1800 settlement in the district expanded again. Migrations from Egypt, improved transportation and security conditions, and land reform led to the repopulation of deserted villages with the encouragement of the Ottoman authorities. The Ottoman census of 1871 (1288 AH) documented the Gaza District as consisting of 55 settlements, including villages and towns. These were organized into the sub-districts of al-Majdal, Gaza, and

Khan Yunis Khan Yunis (), also spelled Khan Younis or Khan Yunus, is a city in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestine, and serves as the capital of the Khan Yunis Governorate. It has been largely destroyed during the Gaza war. Before the 14th century, Khan Y ...

. The rural population throughout this district was uniformly

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

, adhering to the

Shafi'i school The Shafi'i school or Shafi'i Madhhab () or Shafi'i is one of the four major schools of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It was founded by the Muslim scholar, jurist, and traditionis ...

Islamic jurisprudence ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica ''Fiqh'' is of ...

List of settlements (1596)

In the 1596 daftar, the sanjak contained the following

nahiyah A nāḥiyah ( , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiyeh, 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 divisi ...

and villages/town

Gaza Nahiyah

* Al-Sawafir al-Sharqiyya, Bayt Tima, Hamama,Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 142 Al-Tina, Yibna, Isdud, Arab Suqrir,Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 143 Deir al-Balah, Burayr, Jabalia, Beit Lahia, Al-Majdal, Askalan, Bayt 'Affa, Najd, Ni'ilya,Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 144 Bayt Jirja, Hiribya, Qatra, Iraq Suwaydan, Kawkaba, Beit Jimal Monastery, Al-Batani al-Sharqi,Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 145 Al-Qubayba, Al-Faluja, Bayt Daras, Al-Maghar,Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 146 Hatta, Jusayr, Zikrin, Zayta, Barqa, Beit Hanoun, Dayr Sunayd, Simsim,Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 147 Al-Jaladiyya, 'Ajjur,Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 148 Al-Sawafir al-Gharbiyya, Julis, Karatiyya, Bayt Jibrin,

Iraq al-Manshiyya Iraq al-Manshiyya () was a Palestinian people, Palestinian Arab village located 32 km northeast of Gaza City. The village contained two mosques and a Mazar (mausoleum), shrine for Shaykh Ahmad al-Arayni. It was depopulated after the 1948 Arab ...

, Qastina, Ibdis,Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 149 Idnibba, Jilya,

Rafah Rafah ( ) is a city in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestine, and the capital of the Rafah Governorate. It is located south-west of Gaza City. In 2017, Rafah had a population of 171,889. Due to the Gaza war, about 1.4 million people from Gaza C ...

, Al-Jura, Tell es-Safi, Abasan al-Kabera,Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 150 Al-Sawafir al-Shamaliyya, Summil, Barbara, Al-Muharraqa, Mughallis, Yasur

Ramla Nahiyah

* Qula, Dayr Tarif,

Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...

,Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 151 Jimzu, Kharruba, Barfiliya, Sarafand al-Amar, Artuf, Bayt Susin, Islin,Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 152 Al-Khayriyya, Khulda, Al-Tira, Dayr Ayyub, Qibya, Bayt Nabala, Budrus, Bnei Brak, Imwas, Aqir,Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 153 Deir Qaddis,

Yalo Yalo (, also transliterated Yalu) is a depopulated Palestinian people, Palestinian Arab village located 13 kilometres southeast of Ramla. Identified by Edward Robinson (scholar), Edward Robinson as the ancient Canaanite and Israelites, Israelite ...

, al-Midya, Shuqba, Salama, Sar'a, Saqiya, Lod,Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 154 Jisr Jindas, Bayt Dajan, Al-Safiriyya, Al-'Abbasiyya, Yazur, Innaba, Rantiya, Bir Ma'in, Bayt Shanna, Ni'lin, Kharbatha Bani Harith, Kasla,Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 155 Aboud, Beit Sira, Kafr 'AnaHütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 156

References

Bibliography

* {{coord missing, Gaza Strip States and territories established in 1549 Ottoman Palestine 1516 establishments in the Ottoman Empire 1916 disestablishments in the Ottoman Empire 1549 establishments in the Ottoman Empire Sanjaks of Damascus Eyalet History of the Gaza Strip