Sharon plain
32°24′00″N 34°52′59″E / 32.400°N 34.883°E
The Sharon plain (
Parts of the plain are included in the Central, Haifa and Tel Aviv Districts of Israel.
History
Early
The Sharon valley is mentioned in an ancient Egyptian stele of Amenhotep II,[1] and as the Sharon field containing both Jaffa and Dor on the Sarcophagus of Eshmunazar II.
The Plain of Sharon is mentioned in the Bible (
Excavations were performed before road construction in the north part of Sharon plain. Near
Modern
Before the 20th century, the region was covered by the Forest of Sharon, an open woodland dominated by Mount Tabor Oak (Quercus ithaburensis), which extended from Kfar Yona in the north to Ra’ananna in the south. The area was called al-Ġāba in Arabic, “The forest, e.g. the great Oak forest of Sharon”.[3] The local Arab inhabitants traditionally used the area for pasture, firewood and intermittent cultivation. The intensification of settlement and agriculture in the coastal plain during the 19th century led to deforestation and subsequent environmental degradation known from Hebrew sources.[4]
Prior to 1948, the region was subordinate to Jaffa Subdistrict and Tulkarm Subdistrict.
Historically, while some parts of the Sharon plain were very fertile, much of it was swampy and malarial, a condition exacerbated by massive Ottoman deforestation. Zionist immigrants arrived in the early 20th century, drained much of the swampy land, and populated the region with many settlements.[5]
By 1945, Jaffa Subdistrict had a population of 373,800, consisting of 71% Jewish resdients and 29% Palestinian Muslim and Christian residents. Tulkarm Subdistrict had a population 86,120, consisting of 17% Jewish residents and 83% Palestinian Muslim and Christian residents. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the Arab population of the region left or was expelled almost entirely.[citation needed]
In 2008, it was the most densely populated region of Israel.[6]
Cities and regional councils
Cities | Regional Councils |
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See also
- Sarona, a Templar settlement in the Plain of Sharon
References
- ^ Service des Antiquités de l'Égypte (1943). Vol 42: Annales du Service des Antiquités de l'Égypte (1943). France) Bibliothèque d'égyptologie du Collège de France (Paris. Le Caire, Imprimerie de l'Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale.
- ^ "Archäologen finden in Israel 5.000 Jahre alte Großstadt". ORF (in German). 2019-10-06. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
- ^ Marom, Roy; Zadok, Ran (2023). "Early-Ottoman Palestinian Toponymy: A Linguistic Analysis of the (Micro-)Toponyms in Haseki Sultan's Endowment Deed (1552)". Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins. 139 (2).
- ^ Marom, Roy (2022-12-01). "יער השרון (אל-ע'אבה) בתקופה העות'מאנית: בתקופה מהמחקר חדשות תובנות הגיאוגרפי-היסטורי The Oak Forest of the Sharon (al-Ghaba) in the Ottoman Period: New Insights from Historical- Geographical Studies". Muse. 5: 90–107.
- ^ "Sharon Plain". Bartleby.com. Archived from the original on 2008-07-06. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
- ^ "Sharon Plain of Israel". Encarta. Archived from the original on 2007-09-16. Retrieved 2008-01-14.