Abirim

Abirim
אַבִּירִים‎
Etymology: Knights
Abirim is located in Northwest Israel
Abirim
Abirim
Abirim is located in Israel
Abirim
Abirim
Coordinates: 33°2′22″N 35°17′15″E / 33.03944°N 35.28750°E / 33.03944; 35.28750
Country Israel
DistrictNorthern
CouncilMa'ale Yosef
Founded1980
Population
 (2022)[1]
310
Websiteabirim.info
Metsad Abirim, a ruin of tower or mausoleum near Abirim

Abirim (Hebrew: אַבִּירִים, lit. 'Knights'), also known as Mitzpe Abirim, is a community settlement in northern Israel. Located in the Upper Galilee, three kilometres from Ma'alot-Tarshiha, it falls under the jurisdiction of Ma'ale Yosef Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 310.[1] It is located in the middle of a natural oak forest bordering the Nahal Kziv nature reserve.

History

Abirim was established in 1980 on land that had belonged to Fassuta prior to 1948.[2] It was initially named "Eder" and then renamed to "Abirim" after the nearby ruins of Burj Misr (Arabic: "Egyptian Tower"), which was renamed to Horbat Metsad Abirim (Hebrew: "Ruin of the Fortress of the Knights") in 1957.[3][4] The age and original purpose of the ruins is unknown; proposals range from a Crusader stronghold to a mausoleum from the Hellenistic period (4th–3rd centuries BCE).[5][6]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Regional Statistics". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  2. ^ Survey of Palestine, Map sheet 17-27 Tarbikha, 1:20,000, 1948.
  3. ^ Khalidi, Walid, ed. (1992). All that remains: the Palestinian villages occupied and depopulated by Israel in 1948. Washington, D.C: Institute for Palestine Studies. pp. 12–13. ISBN 978-0-88728-224-9.
  4. ^ Government of Israel, ילקוט הפרסומים (Gazette) number 536, 14 May 1957, p. 856.
  5. ^ Asher Ovadieh; Yinon Shivtiel (2016). "The caves in the cliff shelters of Keziv Stream (Nahal Keziv) and the relief of 'The Man in the Wall'". Liber Annuus. 66: 351–375. doi:10.1484/J.LA.4.2018015.
  6. ^ Denys Pringle (1997). Secular Buildings in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem. Cambridge University Press. p. 43.