Migdal Afek (Hebrew: מגדל אפק), also Migdal Tsedek (Tzedek, Zedek; Hebrew: מגדל צדק), is a national park on the southeastern edge of Rosh HaAyin, Israel. The ruins of a fortified manor house built by a sheikh during the 19th century, among which remains of the Crusader castle of Mirabel can be seen, are today known in Hebrew as Migdal Afek or Migdal Tsedek.[1] It is the site of the depopulated Palestinian village of Majdal Yaba.
Etymology
editMigdal Aphek (Hebrew: מגדל אפק; Ancient Greek: Αφεχού πύργος, 'Aphek Pyrgos') means 'Tower of Aphek' in both those languages.[2]
Migdal Tsedek means "Tower of Sadek" in Hebrew, referring to the name of Sheikh Sadek al-Rayyan.[citation needed]
History
editThe walled Jewish settlement of Migdal Aphek or Afek stood at the site as early as the second century BCE, and was destroyed by the Romans during the First Jewish–Roman War in 67 CE.
From a Byzantine-period church, a lintel set over a stone-built doorway survives, bearing the Greek inscription "ΜΑΡΤΥΡΙΟΝ ΤΟΥ ΑΓΙΟΥ ΚΗΡΥΚΟΥ", Martyr shrine (martyrion) of Saint Kyriko.[3][4] The room behind it was used by the al-Rayyan sheikh as a stable and for fodder storage.[4]
In the Crusader period, a castle named Mirabel was built at the site of ancient Migdal Afek. It was described in Muslim sources in 1225 as a village with a fortress called Majdal Yaba.[1]
For a short time under Ottoman rule, its name was changed from that to Majdal Sadiq and then back again.
In the 17th century, the village was taken over by the Rayyān family, who arrived from Transjordan and built a two-story manor house.[1]
During World War I, Migdal Afek was the site of battles between the Central Powers (forces of the Ottoman, German, and Austro-Hungarian empires) and the British imperial Egyptian Expeditionary Force.[5]
In de 1940s, the Solel Boneh quarry at Migdal Tzedek was used by Ta'as, the underground Jewish arms industry, for testing the first weapons it produced.[6]
The Arab village was depopulated by the IDF in July 1948.[7][8]
See also
edit- National parks of Israel
- David Polus (1893–1975), sculptor who worked in the Labor Battalion at the quarry
- Solel Boneh, Jewish construction company who run a Mandate-period quarry at Migdal Tzedek
- Ta'as, clandestine Mandate-period Jewish arms industry; used Migdal Tzedek quarry as testing range
- Eliyahu Tamler, Irgun commander who captured a lorry carrying explosives to Migdal Tzedek quarry
- Shabtai Teveth (1925–2014) Israeli historian who grew up in the workers' quarters at the quarry
- Vassals of the Kingdom of Jerusalem
References
edit
- ^ a b c Tsuk, Tsvika; Bordowicz, Iosi; Taxel, Itamar (2016). "Majdal Yābā: The History and Material Culture of a Fortified Village in Late Ottoman- and British Mandate-Palestine". Journal of Islamic Archaeology. 3 (1): 37–88. doi:10.1558/jia.v3i1.31876.[dead link] Abstract see here (accessed 6 Nov 2024). Download available at Academia.edu.
- ^ Avi-Yonah, Michael (1976). "Gazetteer of Roman Palestine". Qedem. 5: 29. ISSN 0333-5844. JSTOR 43587090.
- ^ Nowakowski, Paweł (2017). E03550: Greek building inscription for a shrine dedicated to Kyrikos (child martyr of Tarsus, S00007). Found at Medjdel-Yaba near Ras el-Ain, to the north of Diospolis/Lydda (Samaria, Roman province of Palaestina I). Probably 5th-7th c., University of Oxford, online resource. Based on Clermont-Ganneau (1896), p. 340. It refers to Kyrikos/Cyricus, child martyr of Tarsus (son of Ioulitta/Julitta). Retrieved 6 Nov 2024.
- ^ a b Byeways in Palestine, James Finn
- ^ Evidence of the World War I Battlefield was Exposed in Rosh Ha-Ayin, Israel Antiquities Authority
- ^ Sacharov, Eliahu (2004). Out of the Limelight: Events, Operations, Missions, and Personalities in Israeli History, p. 19, Gefen Publishing House Ltd. ISBN 978-965-229-298-8
- ^ Benny Morris (2004). The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisted. Cambridge University Press. p. xvi.
- ^ Sela, Rona. "Scouting Palestinian Territory, 1940-1948: Haganah Village Files, Aerial Photos, and Surveys" (PDF). Institute for Palestine Studies.