Surda

For a fictional country, see Inheritance Cycle.
Surda
Municipality type C
Arabic transcription(s)
 • Arabicسردا
View of Surda, 2011
View of Surda, 2011
Surda is located in State of Palestine
Surda
Surda
Location of Surda within Palestine
Coordinates: 31°56′29″N 35°12′12″E / 31.94139°N 35.20333°E / 31.94139; 35.20333
Palestine grid169/150
StateState of Palestine
GovernorateRamallah and al-Bireh
Government
 • TypeMunicipality
Population
 (2017)[1]
 • Total1,308
Name meaningpossibly from a Syriac word which can be translated to mean fear and isolation,[2] or possibly from Zerada[3]

Surda (Arabic: سردا, romanized: Surdā) is a Palestinian town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, located northeast of Ramallah in the northern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a population of 1,308 inhabitants in 2017.[1]

Location

[edit]

Surda is located 3.7 kilometers (2.3 mi) north of Ramallah. It is bordered by Al-Bireh and Dura al-Qar' to the east, Jifna to the north, Abu Qash to the west, and Ramallah and Al Bireh to the south.[2] Surda is 838 meters above sea level.

History

[edit]

Pottery sherds from the Byzantine and the Mamluk eras have been found here.[4]

Ottoman era

[edit]

In 1517, the village was included in the Ottoman empire with the rest of Palestine, and in the 1596 tax-records it appeared as Surda, located in the Nahiya of Quds of the Liwa of Al-Quds. The population was 10 households, all Muslim. They paid a fixed tax rate of 33,3% on agricultural products, such as wheat, barley, olive trees, vineyards, goats and beehives, in addition to occasional revenues; a total of 1,660 akçe.[5] Pottery sherds from the early Ottoman era have also been fond here.[4]

In 1838, it was noted as the village Surada, in the Beni Harith district.[6]

An Ottoman village list of about 1870 indicated 13 houses and a population of 63, though the population count included men, only.[7][8]

In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described Surdah as: "A small village on a hillside, with a garden to the south of it, and the spring 'Ain Jelazun on the east."[9]

In 1896 the population of Surda was estimated to be about 108 persons.[10]

British Mandate era

[edit]

In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Surda had a population of 125 Muslims,[11] increasing in the 1931 census to 179 Muslims, in 43 houses.[12]

In the 1945 statistics the population of Surda was 250 Muslims,[13] while the total land area was 3,726 dunams, according to an official land and population survey.[14] Of this, 1,002 dunums were used for plantations and irrigable land, 1,244 for cereals,[15] while 20 dunams were classified as built-up areas.[16]

Jordanian era

[edit]

In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Surda came under Jordanian rule.

The Jordanian census of 1961 found 415 inhabitants in Surda.[17]

1967-present

[edit]

After the Six-Day War in 1967, Surda has been under Israeli occupation.

After the 1995 accords, 95.4% of village land has been defined as Area B land, while the remaining 4.6% is Area C.[18]

Surda is the birthplace of the Palestinian diplomat Hasan Abdel Rahman.

Footnotes

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Preliminary Results of the Population, Housing and Establishments Census, 2017 (PDF). Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) (Report). State of Palestine. February 2018. pp. 64–82. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
  2. ^ a b Surda Village Profile, ARIJ, p. 4
  3. ^ Palmer, 1881, p. 245
  4. ^ a b Finkelstein et al, 1997, pp. 423-424
  5. ^ Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 117
  6. ^ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. 124
  7. ^ Socin, 1879, p. 161. It was also noted to be in the Beni Harit district.
  8. ^ Hartmann, 1883, p. 126 also noted 13 houses
  9. ^ Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 295. They further noted: "The name suggests its identity with Zereda, the native town of Jeroboam, (1 Kings 11:26)", but based on archeological evidence, Finkelstein et al, 1997, p. 424 thinks this is irrelevant.
  10. ^ Schick, 1896, p. 123
  11. ^ Barron, 1923, Table VII, Sub-district of Ramallah, p. 17
  12. ^ Mills, 1932, p. 51.
  13. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 26
  14. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 65
  15. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 113
  16. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 163
  17. ^ Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. 24
  18. ^ Surda Village Profile, ARIJ, p. 15

Bibliography

[edit]
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Surda&oldid=1253850284"