ar-Rihiya
| ar-Rihiya | |
|---|---|
| Other transcription(s) | |
| • Arabic | ريحيا |
  ar-Rihiya Location of ar-Rihiya within the Palestinian territories | |
| Coordinates: 31°28′46.45″N 35°03′52.93″E / 31.4795694°N 35.0647028°ECoordinates: 31°28′46.45″N 35°03′52.93″E / 31.4795694°N 35.0647028°E | |
| Governorate | Hebron |
| Government | |
| • Type | Village council |
| Population (2007) | |
| • Jurisdiction | 3,949 |
| Name meaning | Possibly "The coiled-up snake"[1] |
Ar-Rihiya (Arabic: ريحيا) is a Palestinian town located six kilometers southwest of Hebron. The town is in the Hebron Governorate southern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of over 3,949 in 2007.[2]
History
Ottoman era
French explorer Victor Guérin visited the place in 1863, which he called Khirbet el-Harayeh. Local fellahins inhabited ancient underground storage areas.[3]
In 1883, the Palestine Exploration Fund's Survey of Western Palestine described the place as being a "large ruin with caves and cisterns, appears to be an ancient site".[4]
British Mandate era
In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, 'Al Rihiyeh had a population 231 inhabitants, all Muslims.[5] This had increased slightly at the time of the 1931 census to 243 Muslims, in 38 inhabited houses.[6]
In 1945 the population of Ar-Rihiya was 330 Arabs, who owned 2,659 dunams of land according to an official land and population survey.[7] 136 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 1,093 for cereals,[8] while 25 dunams were built-up (urban) land.[9]
Footnotes
- ↑ According to Palmer, 1881, p. 405, the name might also come from "A millstone", or "A plot of ground, about a mile square, above the water level".
- ↑ 2007 PCBS Census Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. p.119.
- ↑ Guérin, 1869, pp. 211 -212
- ↑ Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p. 377
- ↑ Barron, 1923, Table V, Sub-district of Hebron, p. 10
- ↑ Mills, 1932, p. 33
- ↑ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 50 Archived 2009-07-20 at WebCite
- ↑ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 94
- ↑ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 144
Bibliography
- Barron, J. B., ed. (1923). Palestine: Report and General Abstracts of the Census of 1922. Government of Palestine.
- Conder, Claude Reignier; Kitchener, H. H. (1883). The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology. 3. London: Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund.
- Guérin, Victor (1869). Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine (in French). 1: Judee, pt. 3. Paris: L'Imprimerie Nationale.
- Hadawi, Sami (1970), Village Statistics of 1945: A Classification of Land and Area ownership in Palestine, Palestine Liberation Organization Research Center
- Mills, E., ed. (1932). Census of Palestine 1931. Population of Villages, Towns and Administrative Areas. Jerusalem: Government of Palestine.
- Palmer, E. H. (1881). The Survey of Western Palestine: Arabic and English Name Lists Collected During the Survey by Lieutenants Conder and Kitchener, R. E. Transliterated and Explained by E.H. Palmer. Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund.
External links
- Welcome To al-Rihiya
- Survey of Western Palestine, Map 21: IAA, Wikimedia commons
- Ar Rihiya Village (Fact Sheet)
- Ar Rihiya Village Profile
- Ar Rihiya VillageArea Photo
- The priorities and needs for development in Ar Rihiya village based on the community and local authorities’ assessment
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