Manna-18th and 19th century Rebellions in Palestine

7/30/2019 Manna-18th and 19th century Rebellions in Palestine

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Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Rebellions in Palestine

Author(s): 'Adel Manna'Reviewed work(s):Source: Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 24, No. 1 (Autumn, 1994), pp. 51-66Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the Institute for Palestine StudiesStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2537982 .Accessed: 06/12/2011 05:31

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EIGHTEENTH-ANDNINETEENTH-CENTURYREBELLIONS IN PALESTINE'ADEL MANNA'

At he imef hentifada,istorians,oliticalcientists,nd ournal-ists calledattentiono a previous alestinianebellion,n 1936-39.While he nalogy as apparento those n allsides, he omparisonwasmore requentlyade y sraelisnorderohighlightertain ega-tive spectsnboth prisings.In contrastothe1936-39 evolt,eryittle as beenwrittenboutseveral ther opular prisingshat ook lace nPalestineuringheeighteenthndnineteenthenturies,r ndeed bout therventsnthemodern istoryfthe ountryeforehebeginningf heZionistenterprise.t strue hat istoryoesnot epeattself,ach vent av-ing tsunique ircumstanceshatdetermineow tplaystself ut.Still, familiarityith arlier ebellionsould nrichurunderstand-ing f hemost ecentntifada,nduncoveringhe ast san mportantaspect frebuildingnation. his swhat iveshe tudyf he opu-lar rebellionsn times astan importanceeyondhe vents er se,milestoneshoughhey eren thehistoryfmodernalestine.Writ-ingPalestinianistoryince he ighteenthenturys also mperative

'AdelManna' s a historianfthemodernMiddle ast nd authorfA'iamFilastiniAwakhirl-'Ahdl-'Uthmani:800-1918.Anearlierversionf his rticleppearedn ArabicnQadayaUerusalem),ol.2(February990),pp.3-22.JournalfPalestinetudies XIV, o. 1 (Autumn1994), pp. 51-66.


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52 JOURNAL OF PALESTINE STUDIESfor iberating inds fthemyth hatnothing orth elling appened nPalestine ntil he advent f Zionism.

The last twocenturies f Ottoman ulesaw three opularuprisingsofsignificancenPalestine.The first, hich ookplace n and aroundJerusalemn 1703-5, s known s thenaqib l-ashraf ebellion ecauseofthe eading oleplayed yJerusalem'saqib l-ashrafthehead oftheassociation fsharifs, r direct escendants f theProphet) fJerusa-lem.' Thesecondtookplace n 1825-26, lsoinjerusalem.Despite heinterveningentury nd a quarter, hesefirst wo rebellions haredmanycharacteristicsn terms f causes and the unfolding f events.The third evoltwas against he rule ofMuhammadAliand his sonIbrahim n the pring f 1834. In contrasto the woearlier ebellions,each ofwhich astedfor woyears, his evolt as crushedwithin fewmonths.But hefact hattwas thickwith vents nd that arge ectorsofthePalestinianopulation, romGalilee n thenorth o Hebron ndGaza inthesouth, articipated ives ta special place nthehistory fmodernPalestine.A detailed tudy f thesepopularuprisingsies beyond he cope ofthis tudy, nd we shall atisfy urselves ith utliningheirmain har-acteristics.We shall then ompare hesewith henationalist ebellionsofthe wentiethentury. urhope s thatnhighlightingoth he on-stant nd changing actorshat rove hese xtraordinaryvents,nd intryingo seewhat s common o all three nd what s peculiar oeach,thiscomparativetudymaydeepenourunderstandingfthe ntifadaof the Palestiniansgainst sraelioccupation.TheRebellionfNaqib l-Ashraf

There s nohistoricalvidence f nyorganizedopular esistanceoOttoman uleorpolicies n any partof Palestine rior o thenaqibal-ashraf ebellionn thevery arlyyears f theeighteenthentury. heOttoman tate was strong nd centralizedn the sixteenthentury,which swhy t thetimeBedouin lanswere loneinraising n occa-sionalchallenge o the uthorities. utbythe eventeenthentury,heOttoman dministrationn Palestine,s in neighboring egions, adweakened, nd conflictsmong ocal rulers ncreased. The combina-tion of their uarrels nd the deteriorationfthesecurityituationtook tstollon the ocalpopulation, holost faithnthe tate's bilitytoprovideusticeandprotection. hepeople earned oprotecthem-selves nd their ropsfrom hedepredationsfbandits, edouin ribes,and greedy axcollectors.Thus, nthe hadowofweakand ineffectivettoman ule, ocal ead-ersemerged rommongfamiliesfrural haykhsndurbannotables.Itwas thisgroup hat ed thepopulationwhenthey esistedOttomangovernors ho evied xcessive axes ndtried o collect hem yforce.


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18TH AND 19TH CENTURY REBELLIONS 53Mostoftherebellions gainst hepoliciesof ocalOttoman dministra-tors merged gainst hisbackground.

Atthebeginning f theeighteenthentury,hedistricts fJenin, a-blus, andJerusalem eregoverned rom amascus,while the Galileeand coastal regions ame underthe vilayet f Sidon.2Despite the re-forms ttempted y the Ottoman iziers fthe Koprulufamily t theend ofthe eventeenthentury,ocalgovernmentndadministrationntheregion emained asicallyunchanged.The authorities ailed imeand again to ensure ecurity nd stabilityor easants nd citydwell-ers. In Hebron, ornstance,we read of renewedtruggles uring hisperiodbetween heKurds ndTamimisDayris),who enlistedhehelpofpeasantsfrom eighboringillages.3Thegovernors,urists, enior'ulama', nd notables fJerusalemntervenedo settle hedispute ndmakepeace between hewarring actions.Theyweresuccessful ttimes, utonlyfor rief eriods.4The governorsfJerusalem ere unable to establish ecurity, otonly in Hebron and its surrounding ills,but even in ruralareasaroundJerusalemtself.As an example fthekindofproblemhatwascommon, court egisterells fa group fMuslimswho, fter isitingtheAqsaMosque,theDomeoftheRock, nd theresting laceofMusaal-KalimMoses),wereunable toreturn ometo their illages ecausethe nhabitantsfBayt qsa andBayt aqiawere uarrellingverwhichof the twovillageswas to collect heghafar ax.5Fearing andits ndthevillagers rom ayt qsa andBayt aqia,thevisitors skedtheqadishar'i to intercede n theirbehalfand guarantee heir afepassagethroughhe rea. Theqadi didso and theMuslim isitors ere ble toleave,butthebasic problem f"the ackofsecurityn theroads," sthe documents ut t,remained.6The mainroad from erusalem oJaffa as not muchmoresecurethan heroadsfrom erusalemo Nablus and Hebron. At imes hegov-ernors emporarilyucceedednrestoringecuritylongtheroads, utthepricefor uch nitiatives as sometimes igh:whenAql Agha, headministratormutasallim) fLydda,for xample, ed a sortie n hisdistrictgainst edouinbanditsnresponse o ocalcomplaints,eandone of his soldierswerekilled nan ambush,whiletherest f his menwere aken risonerndstrippedftheir ossessions.7Given heover-all lack ofsecurity, any eopledecidednot topaytaxes o thegover-norsand torely n themselvesoprotectheir ives ndproperty.

In 1701,Muhammad asha KurdBayramwasappointedwali gover-nor)ofJerusalem, ablus,and Gaza and grantedxtensiveowers orestoreecuritynd reestablishuthorityn theregion.He arrived nJerusalemt the head of a largearmy nd doubledtaxes,making tclearthatmoneynotpaidwillingly ouldbe collected yforce.As anindication fhis resolve nd hispower ocarry ut histhreat,hewaliledtwosuccessful ampaigns gainst heBedouin lans thathadtaken


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54 JOURNAL OF PALESTINE STUDIEScontrolftheroads nGaza and thatwere ordingt over he ocal popu-lation. Muhammad ashareturned rom he second campaign n No-vember 701 laden withprisoners nd booty, ncludingwomen, irls,and flocks fsheep.8 Thefollowing ear, hewali aunchednew mili-tary ampaigns gainst ebellious edouins nd peasants n the GazaandJerusalem overnorates,nd returned oJerusalem ith heheadsofeleven ebels,whichhehungover hegatewayso the ity. Over200Bedouins and peasants reestimated o have been killed n the 1702campaign.9ButMuhammad asha'sharsh epression id notbring ecurity ndstabilityo theregion,nd in fact ncreased esistance o his rule. Alargenumber f rebellious edouins ndpeasantsfortifiedhemselvesinthevillage fBaytJibrinndcould onlybe dislodged y thewali andhis army fter ightmonths fsiege. Muhammad asha'sforces aidwaste omany fthevillages hey assed throughnthe ourseoftheserepeated ampaigns.The ulama' and notables fJerusalem, any fwhomwere ustodi-ans ofwaqfproperty ispersed hroughouthe Palestinian ountry-side,10advised thewali throughhe intermediaryf the qadi andMuhammad ffendiarallah,hemuftifJerusalem,odesistfrom ispolicy. When MuhammadPasha persisted, hepeople ofJerusalemrose up. A stateof rebellionwas declared fter ridayprayers t theAqsa Mosque in May 170311 when thewali was awayon one of hismilitaryampaignsntheNablusregionnd had eft nly mutasallimand a few roops ehind. The inhabitantsfJerusalemeized thisop-portunityo attack heprison ndfree heprisoners,henmoved n tothe mutasallim'suartersn thegovernmentouse (saraya) and ar-rested imalongwith ome ofhisguards.12TheJanissariesnd timar(land grant) olders sipahis) oinedtherebels nthecity,whichmadeiteasyfor heJerusalemiteso overcome hemutasallimnd histroops.Peasantsfrom earby illages,who had heard bout the ulama"sap-peal,came ntoJerusalemo takepart ntherebellion. n thisway, hepeople easilytook control f thecity nd set aboutpreparing orcounterattackyMuhammad asha.Oncetherebels ained ontrol fJerusalem,hey ppointedhenaqibal-ashraf, uhammadbnMustafa l-Wafa'il-Husayni,s shaykhndleaderof the city. Theyalso appointed he shaykhs f the variousquarters fJerusalemo help thenaqibadministerhecity's ffairs,thusbeginning period f elf-rulehatastedfor ver woyears, earlyuntil he endof 1705. During hisperiod,Muhammad asha and thewalisofDamascusmade several ainattemptsoregain erusalem,utthe rebels uccessfullyookadvantage f thesanctityftheholy cityand itsfortifications,losing hecity ates ndreturningirewheneverthe statearmiesapproached.The following ocument emonstrates


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18TH AND 19TH CENTURY REBELLIONS 55the nthusiasm fthepeople ndefendinghemselvesnd their olidar-ity t that rucial uncture:

On the date recorded elow, there ame to theaugustmajlisal-shari'a all the renownedulama',noble shaykhs nd grand mams,the ipahis, hecommander f thefort, heJanissaries,nd thenota-bles of thevilayet nd all the ubjects, anissaries,nhabitantsf thequarters f thecity, nd the entire opulation fJerusalem.Andthey nterednto common ccord,ngoodfaithnd withoutreservation,hat ll the nhabitantsfJerusalemhallbe ofone mindas to what the hari'arequires,nd that hey houldsuccorone an-other ccordingothetrue hari'a:Ifbrigandshouldattack Jerusalemiter a group fthem, nd ifthey hould try o killhim outside hecity,n an orchard r village,and ifhe should atisfy imselfhat heywere ut to killhim, nd ifhe should thendefendhimself nd fight hem, illing ne of theirnumber o fend ff heattack, hediya blood money, r compensa-tion o thefamilyfthedeceased] hallbe divided mong ll thepeo-ple ofJerusalem, uslims nddhimmisChristiansndJews] like.Ifbrigands houldattack Jerusalemite,nd ifthe nhabitants fJerusalem,earning fthis, houldrush o fend ff he ttack gainsthimby attacking he brigands, nd ifa Jerusalemitehouldfiremusket r similar ontrivance,ittingneofthe ttackers,ndifthefamilyf thismanshoulddemandpaymentf a diya, he said diyashall be paid byall thepeopleofJerusalem,ot ust the man whofired he musket.Ifa Jerusalemitehould discover thief rbrigandnhis home atnight,nd ifhe shouldstrike nd kill him n order o ward off heattack nhimself,henhisdiya hallalso be divided mong hepeo-ple ofJerusalem.Ifbrigandshould ttack ndkill Jerusalemite,hepeopleofJeru-salemshall ask forhisdiyato be paid,and they hallexact the duereparationsnd remediesn fullmeasure.The aboveaccordhas been enteredntobycommon onsent.

Recorded n thethird fMuharram,115 [19 May1703].13Whilethe nhabitants ere ongsuccessfulnrepellinghe tate's t-temptsoquelltherebellion,olidarity, hichwas theessential ondi-tion for success,was underminedwithtime. Personaldifferencesrose,as wellas differencesfprinciple,or nstance nthe manner n whichthe and was to beadministerednd theform ftherelation-ship withtheOttoman uthorities. hecostsoftherebelliongainst he tate oseas theuprising ragged n. Thestipendsthat heJanissariesnd thesipahis cavalry) nd the ulama'used toreceive romstanbulwere utoff.Businessdriedup for hemerchantsbecause of thesecurity ituation,he unsaferoads,and the fact hatpilgrims ad stopped omingnto heholy ity nd tsenvirons.Underthesecircumstances,ncreasing umberswantedto acceptthe offer

While the nhabitants erelong successfulnrepellingthestate's ttemptsoquelltherebellion,olidarity asundermined ith ime.


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56 JOURNAL OF PALESTINE STUDIESmadebytheOttomanuthoritieso dismiss hewali,believing hat hiswould be a sufficientchievementor herebellion.Butanother action, eadedby thenaqib l-ashraf,was distrustfulfOttoman romisesnotbackedby adequate guaranteesnd wanted ocontinue herebellion.Thusthepopulationwas split, nd differencesofopiniongrew ntobloody lashesbetween henaqib l-ashrafnd hisfollowersn theone hand, ndtheopposition, hichwas gainingwidesupport rom hepopulation, n the ther.14 t was atthis uncture,n1705, thatthe Ottoman uthorities, ho had encouraged he opposi-tion,felt he timewas ripe for new militaryampaign o quell therebellion.The Ottomanforcemade slow progress romDamascus, meetingresistance rom hepeople oftheNablus district hoharried t alongtheway,but to ittle ffect.Meanwhile, he rmed lashesbetween henaqib's men and theiropponentswere raging nside theJerusalemwalls.As theOttoman orce eached heoutskirtsfthecity,henaqiband his men realized heywerefighting losingbattle nd decided towithdraw efore heywerecutoff.Theyretreatedhrough he Amud(Damascus) gateand theMagharibah ate on thenight f28 October1705, eaving hecityn thehands of thegroupfavoringeconciliationwith heOttomans.5Thus,when the Ottomanrmy rrived fewdays ater, hegatesofthe citywereopen,and it enteredwithout struggle. husended therebellion fthenaqib l-ashraf,nd therestorationfOttoman uthor-ityand Ottoman dministrationegan. This includedpursuing ndpunishingmanyof thosewhohad participatedn the rebellion.Thenaqibal-ashrafhimself ad disappearedwith fewofhis faithfulol-lowers; heauthoritiesontinuedearchingorhimuntilhewas foundand arrested everalmonths ater n theTartus astle,which s withintheTripoli ilayet. rom here e was sent n to stanbul,wherehe wastried nd sentenced odeath.He was executedn 1707.16In thecityofJerusalemtself,he stateappointed newnaqibal-ashraf,Muhial-Din bn Abd al-Samad.Manyofthosewhohad takenpart n the rebellion nd had remained aithfulo theold naqibwerearrested.The property f thenaqibwho had led the rebellionwasseized,as was thatofhis brotherMusa. Theirpossessions nd posi-tionswerebestowed ntheir pponents ithin hefaction hathad col-laboratedwith the authorities.17Faced with theproblem f findingquarters orhundreds ftroopswhohadbeenbroughtnto hecity omaintain rder,nd topreventheoutbreakf similar ebellionsnthefuture,he Ottoman uthoritiesequisitionedmanyhouses near thefort nwhich o billet oldiers.18But thepolicyof the Ottoman tate n thewake oftherebellion idnot consist olely fthe tick; herewasalso the arrot frebuildingrrestoring osquesandholyplacesthathad beendestroyedr had suf-


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18TH AND 19TH CENTURY REBELLIONS 57fered eglectnand around heHaram l-Sharif. he state lso realizedthat t was moreproductiveo cooperatewith nfluentialocal leadersthanto alienate he entire opulation. n thisway notablefamiliesnthe ity nd shaykhsnthe ountrysideecame ctual ndofficial art-ners n local governmentnd administrations of the eighteenthen-tury,which enhanced the stability f Ottomanrule and helped itendure or nother wo centuries ithout serious hallenge rom hepopulation.19Therewas in fact nother ebellion gainst he Ottomans efore heeighteenthentury asout, his ne centerednGalilee, utfor easonsthatwillbe elucidatedpresentlyt does not fit nto our framework.Nonetheless, brief escriptions in order.The primemover ehindthisrebellionwas Zahiral-'Umar l-Zaidani,who had inherited is fa-ther'spositionas tax collector orthe regionof Tiberiasand Safad.Zahirwas ambitious nd succeedednextending is nfluenceo neigh-boringregions, radually ringingmostof thevillagesof theGalileeunderhis control espite pposition rom hegovernorsf DamascusandSidon. In 1747he added Acre o thedomain fhis taxconcession,fortifyinghecity ndmakingt his seat ofgovernment.20Despite hefact hatZahir l-'Umar ecame powerfululerwho ri-valed the governors fDamascus and Sidon, officiallye was nevermore han taxcollector; e received o high dministrativeosition.His ambitions id not stopat the borders fGalilee, nd he tried oexpandsouthwardnd to unitemostofPalestine nderhis control. nthe1760s,he made a pactwithAliBeytheGreat, heruler fEgypt,andtogetherhetwotried ooccupyDamascusand to divide yria Bi-lad al-Sham)between hem. This was too muchfor heOttoman u-thorities,nd theydecidedto getrid ofhimonce and forall: thearmies ent gainst immanaged oquashhim n 1775. Ahmad ashaal-Jazzarucceededhim s governorfall ofthevilayetfSidon. Acre,whichhadbecome prosperous ort nda fortifieditynthedaysofZahiral-'Umar, emained l-Jazzar'sapital during hethirty earsofhis rule until he died in 1804.21Zahir l-'Umar's ule overGalilee s regarded ysomeas a rebellionagainstOttoman ule.Whatever hetruth f this ssessment, ahir l-'Umar l-Zaidani's ebellionnd hisdisputewith hegovernmenton-cerned he xtentf herole ssigned ohimbythe tate,whichwastoosmallfor isambitions. ahir l-'Umar as a partofthephenomenonof the ncreasingnfluenceflocal forcesn theArabvilayetss theOttoman tateweakened nd was no longer ble to imposedirect u-thorityn thoseregions.This phenomenon, espite ts importance,differsadically rom hepopularrebellionswhichare thesubjectofthis tudy.22Thus,thehistory fPalestinen theeighteenthentury ffers oevent omparable o therebellion fnaqib al-ashraf. he next ink n


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58 JOURNALOF PALESTINE STUDIESthechain ofpopularrebellionsn Palestine omes n 1825,whentheinhabitants fJerusalemnce again rebelled gainst heOttoman u-thoritiesndsucceedednexpelling llmanifestationsfOttoman uleandadministrationuchas themutasallimnd his men, ndgovernedthemselvesor lmost woyears.TheRevolt f1825-26

Thecauses of therebellion fthe 1820swere imilar o thoseof thenaqibal-ashraf evolt,lthoughhetwo events reseparated y a cen-tury nd a quarter. n 1824Mustafa ashawas appointed overnor fDamascus. He tried o evy xorbitantaxeson thepeopleand to col-lect hem y force.Hemetwithno success nitially,23utthefollowingyearhe appeared t theheadofan army fthousands ocollect axesfromthe districts f Nablus and Jerusalem, hich fell withinhisgovernorate.MustafaPasha spenttwenty ays n theNablus region,wherehe metwithgreat esistance rom hepeasantswhorefused opaythe axeshedemanded.Thegovernorhen dvancedwithhisarmyfrom he hills ofNablus to theJerusalemegion,wherehe metwithsimilar esistancerom hepopulation, articularlyhepeasantsoftheBethlehemegionwho were llied with he Ta'amraclan. Becauseheneeded to return o theseatof hisgovernmentn Damascus,MustafaPashaagreed o accept esser ums thanhehad demanded.24No soonerhadthegovernoreftJerusalemhan hepeopleandpeas-antsof the rea revoltedgainsthismutasallim,UthmanAgha,who atthe timewas leading military ampaign gainst hepeasantsof theBethlehemegion.Whilehewas thus ngaged,herebels nJerusalemgainedcontrol fthefort nd closedthecitygates, hutting imoutandforcingim to withdrawnthedirection f Ramlah.25 rom herethemutasallimried n vain tosecurereinforcementsromMustafa a-sha inDamascus,butthe atter ould not come to his aid as he had toaccompany hehajj caravan o theHijaz.26InJerusalem,he nhabitants ad taken ontrol f the fort nd thesarayaand had arrested he mutasallim'smen still n thecity.Theydisarmed ndexpelled heTurkish, lbanian,ndother oreignroops.Thus authorityell nto the handsof therebels,who chosetwo ocalarmy olhcers-YusulAgha al-Ja'uni, howas responsible or hearms depot,andAhmadAgha al-'Asali, e commander fthefort-toakecharge f thegovernmentand thearmedresistance.27 he leadersof therebellion ctedas therulers f theregion, ewardinghe nhabitantsorpar-ticipatingn the rebellion y exemptingpeasants frompayment f the miritax

The entire opulation-Muslims ndChristians,citydwellers, ndpeasants-tookpart n therebellion,just as theyhad in theearlier evolt.


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18TH AND 19TH CENTURY REBELLIONS 59thatyear nd byreducing he izya tax to be paid bytheheads of the28 enicity'sChristian nd Jewish ommunities. The entirepopulation-Muslims nd Christians, itydwellers nd peasants-took art n therebellion,ust as they ad in thenaqibal-ashrafebellion.The 'ulama' and notablesofJerusalem ere awareof the possibleconsequences ftheevents nd sentpetitionsxplaining he reasonsforthe rebellion o the authoritiesn Istanbuland the governors fEgypt nd Acre.29 stanbul eplied y ordering hepopulation o for-sake sedition nd end the rebellion, ut the rebelswantedguaranteesthat heywould notbe punished, hat hegovernor ould be replaced,andthathis taxation olicieswouldnotbe adoptedbyhis successors.The governmentid depose Mustafa asha and appointed replace-ment s governorfDamascus,butthepeoplemade their nding ftherebellion onditional pon guarantees or he safety f their ersonsandpossessions.Meanwhile,tbecame pparent hat henewgovernorofDamascus was unable toputdown the rebellion hroughmilitaryforce,o the ultan sked AbdAllahPasha,thegovernorfAcre, o doit.30To discharge hetask assignedtohim,Abd AllahPasha mobilized2,000 troops nd sentthem olaysiegetoJerusalem. ythetimehisarmy rrived n the outskirtsfthecity,he had won overthe AbuGhushfamily, hich ontrolledheJaffa-Jerusalemoad and had influ-encewith hepeasantsofJabal l-Quds.31'Abd AllahPasha's troops urrounded hecity nd opened negotia-tionswith herebels oavoid pilling lood ntheholy ity.Eventually,the twosides reached peaceful ettlementherebyhe nhabitantswould surrender n condition hat herebels,ncluding heireaders,wouldbe granted full ardon. So itcameaboutthat hecity urren-deredpeacefully,nd thepledgenottopunish hecity or tsrebellionwas honored. The leadersof therebellion, usuf l-Ja'unind Ahmadal-'Asali, ere xiledtonearby laces: the firsto Ramlah nd the ec-ond toNablus.32Thustherebellion ndedwithout urtherloodshed,and AbdAllahPasha'stroops emainednJerusalemntil hegovernorof Damascus sent overa new mutasallim t the end of December1826.33The similaritiesetween henaqibal-ashrafevolt nd theevents f1825-26 reobvious.Thecausesofthe worebellions,ndthemannerinwhich hey roke utandunfoldedwere lmost dentical,ndbothembraced irtuallyll classes and segments fthepopulation, uraland urbanalike. Moreover,tshould be recalled hatbothrebellions,despite heir istoricalmportance,ad limited ims. Themainenginedriving ventsn bothcases was discontent iththepoliciesof ocalgovernors,articularlyxcessive axation nd forcible ax collection.The aims of thepeoplewere imilarlyimited, asically mountingonomore han change ngovernorsnd their olicies. Thelegitimacy


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60 JOURNALOF PALESTINE STUDIESof Ottomanrule under the sultan, the Islamic caliph, was notchallenged.TheRising gainstMuhammadAli

The third ebellion f ourstudy, herebelliongainstEgyptianulewhichoccurrednthe pring f1834,resembledtstwoprecedentsncausesand objectives.MuhammadAli, heruler fEgypt, adsenthisarmy ooccupy yriaBilad l-Sham)n 1831 andinitiallymetno seri-ous popular esistance espite he ultan's xhortationsor hepopula-tion toriseup against hemutiny.34 utMuhammadAli'spolicy nBilad l-Sham nthefollowingears omentedebellionmong hepop-ulation gainst gyptian ule.Theadministrativeeformsndcentrali-zationpolicieswhichMuhammadAli implementedhrough is sonIbrahim ashaundermined heposition fthe ocal leaders, oththeurbannotables nd the rural haykhs.Other nnovationsntroducedby theEgyptians riorto the rebellion,such as the imposition f militaryon-scriptionnd thedisarmingfthepopula-

tion,were seen as detrimental o widesectors fthepeople. In addition, heOt-tomanstate was constantlynciting hepopulation orebel:Ottoman ecreesre-peatedly tressedhe llegitimacyf heEgyptianccupation,ndowingthe1834 rebellionwith n ideological haracterranscendingimiteddemandsconcerningmatters f taxation nd specificmeasures ndamountingo a challengeothe egitimacyfgovernmenttself. t s inthis ense that his ebellionmanifestedspects fmodern opularup-risings gainst oreign ccupation nvariouspartsoftheArabworld.The rebelliongainst gyptian ule n Palestinepreadfrom heGali-lee in the north o Gaza and thehills of Hebron n the south. Therebels,under the commandofrural haykhs, cored nitialvictoriesthatcompelled brahim asha to withdraw oJaffa nd requestrein-forcementsromMuhammadAli.35 But theEgyptian ulerquicklyshowedhimselfmore fficienthan heOttomansnputtingown ocalrebellions.As soon as reinforcementsrrived, brahimPashawagedmilitaryampaignsnthehillsofJerusalem, ablus, ndHebron.TheEgyptian rmy coredsuccessive ictoriesgainst herebels, nd theuprisingwas putdownwithin fewmonths.But thatdid notsatisfyMuhammadAli,who pursuedthe rebelswho had fledto theKarakregion ast of theJordan iver nd executed hemostprominentebelleaders mong ural haykhly amilies uch as al-Madi, l-Jarrar,asimal-Ahmad,l-Samhan,l-'Amr,nd others.36 e also exiled he ulama'and notablesfrom erusalem,ablus,Nazareth,ndHebronwho had

The 1834 rebellionmanifestedspectsofmodern opularuprisingsin theArabworld.


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18TH AND 19TH CENTURY REBELLIONS 61supported herebellion,ncludinghosewho did so secretly, ithoutactively articipating.Thus, n contrasto therebelliongainst hegovernor fDamascus adecadeearlier,hepopulation his ime aid a highpricefor ts actionsagainst he uthorities. ut hepeople, ong ccustomed o a largemea-sure of self-rule,ided their ime,waiting or n opportunityo ridthemselvesfEgyptian ule. Thatopportunityame whenthe armiesof theOttomanEmpirewereagainpitted gainstMuhammad Ali'stroopsas the 1830s drew to a close. Many ruralshaykhsdeclaredthemselvesn rebellion nd attackedMuhammadAli's army s it re-treated hrough alestine n its wayto Egypt.The Twilightf OttomanRule

During he two decadesfollowinghereimpositionfOttoman ulein 1840,the trugglesor ower nd influencehat ccurrednvariousregions fPalestinewere amongnotableand shaykhly amilies;37l-Nimr, hehistorianfJabalNablus, allsthem ivilwars, resurgenceoftheQaysiandYemeni euds, ndthesedo notfiguremong hepop-ularrebellions hat re the ubject f this tudy.38tis true hat hosefamiliesmobilized easantmilitias osupport hem, ut the nature finternecinetruggles orpower and influence gainst he authoritiesdifferedrom opularuprisingsnreaction othepolicies ndconductofgovernors.In thefinal ecadesofOttomanule, new class of arge andownersandbureaucraticffice olders merged.The impositionythe Otto-mansof direct nd centralizeduleover alestine nd theother ilayetsin the secondhalf ofthe nineteenthentury ad undermined he n-dependentnfluenceelongingothebigfamilies f the abals. Withthe and law of1858 and thevilayetsaw of1864,class formatione-ganto takeshapeon thebasis of andownershipnd accessiontose-nior dministrativeffice. he newsocialelite hereforead economicand politicalnterestshatdifferedromhose fthetraditionaleaderswho had led thepopularrebellions. t was not to be expected hat henewelitewouldlead rebellions gainst he authoritieshathad beenresponsible or tsrise, nablingtto consolidate ts economic ositionas partoftheTanzimatnd modernizationolicies.39

Thus twasthat herebellionf he pring f1834wasthe astpopu-laruprising f heOttomanra, ndthe tate ncounteredoorganizedresistancenPalestinep toWorldWar . And lthoughomePalestini-ans did participaten theArabRevolted bySharifHusaynofMeccaand his sons,thenature f that nsurrectionn these astdaysofOtto-man rule nd the imited alestinianoleprecludestsconsiderationsa local rebellion imilar othosethathad occurred arlier.


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62 JOURNAL OF PALESTINE STUDIESAt theend ofWorldWar I, theempire ell. The Ottoman mbrellawas blownaway and thePalestinians ame under theauthorityfagreat ower hey elieved or briefnstant obe a friendftheArabs.Theywere oon to discover hatBritainwas comnletelv iased nfavorof the Zionistagenda thatwas alreadychanginghefaceofPalestine,hough heArabsdidnot fullyppreciate t thetimethe ignificancefthe hallenge.Thus thelast eaf nthebook ofOttoman istorynPalestinewas turned, nd a new era be-gan. The British dministrationastedamere threedecades, but had a fargreater nd farcrueler mpactonPalestine hanfour enturies f Ottoman ule.The Ottomans ad ruledtheArabregion or enturies, et he Otto-man state, ikethe slamic tates hat receded t,did not ry o alter heethnic r culturalmix of the Arabpopulation. As long as the peoplepaid their nnual taxesand recognized he authorityf the ultan, orwhomMuslims aid prayers n Fridays, he uthoritiesnterferedittlein their aily ives. Thus the Arabsenjoyed elf-rule eneration ftergenerationnder heumbrella fOttoman dministration.his policyofdecentralizedulepermittedheemergencend growthfa class oftownnotablesand rural haykhswhichplayed n important ole inlocal administration,s well as in social and economic ife.Itwas only n the finaldecades ofempire,when theregion ameunder a centralized dministrationnd especiallywhen the YoungTurks etaboutTurkifyingherealm s of1908,thatOttoman ulebe-gan to be seen as intolerable.Untilthat ime, heArabs,particularlythe Muslims,had considered hesultan'sstateas their wn: it had

never ccurred othem oquestion he egitimacyf Ottoman uthor-ity, o secede,or to demand ndependence.Itwas because ofthedifferentature fBritish ule ndespeciallytssupport f theZionist genda,whose prospects ritain ad changedovernighty ssuing he1917Balfour eclaration,hat herebellionf1936 differedn kindfrom herebellions fprevious enturiesgainstOttoman overnors. he engine hatdrove he rebellion f 1936 wasnationalism, hegoal was to drive ut theforeignccupiers, rat leasttogetthem o alter heir olicies na fundamentalay o as toputanendto theprocessofJudaizationnduprooting,ndtoguaranteehatthePalestinian eoplewouldcontinue o ive n its homeland.Conclusion

Despite he imited bjectivesfthepopular ebellionsnder heOt-tomans, heir ontributiono the cumulative istoricalxperience f

Britishdministrationad afargreaterndfar ruelerimpact hanfour enturiesofOttoman ule.


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18TH AND 19TH CENTURY REBELLIONS 63thePalestinian eopleand totheformationf a distinctivealestinianpersonalityhouldnot be minimized.In highlightinghesignificanceftherebellions,tis well to sketchcertain f their haracteristicshathad an impactbeyond he eventsreviewedn thecourseofthis tudy. t s strikinghat nthesepopularuprisings itydwellers ooperatedwithpeasantsfrom earby illagesas well as Bedouinclans, despitethesocial gap separating hem.40More ignificantly,othMuslims ndChristians, rban ndrural, ar-ticipatedn therebellions, strikinghenomenonn theperiodpriorto thespreadofnational onsciousness, henreligious nd sectarianaffiliationlayed fundamentalole nmoldingndividual nd groupconsciousness nd identity. he Christians, ho did not constitutemore han 15 percent fthepopulation, ame to form n integral artofsocietynthe astcenturies espite heirminoritytatus. TheJews,ontheother and,were xclusivelyity wellers t the ime nd fewnnumber,mostly ld people or students t religious chools, so theywereon the margin fevents.As for he eadership f therebellions,hesocial elite n town ndcountrywas at thecutting dgeofevents.DuringtheOttoman ra,until hemiddleofthenineteenthentury,lass divisions etween heapex and thebase ofthesocial pyramid ad limitedalience, articu-larlyn rural ociety,whichconstitutedhe demographicmajority.nthis ocial structureherewasnot a largegap between he eaders ndthepeople, o that he eaders ould defend he nterestsfthepublic,or at least takethose nterestsntoaccount, nd act as advocatesofthose nterests ore han s representativesfthe nterestsfthe tatetotheir eople.This social structurehanged oward heendofthenineteenthen-tury ollowinghe doption fthecapitalistystemf andownership.This led to classpolarization, reating gapbetween he elite nd thepopular lasses. Althoughhis s the ocialstructureithwhichArabsare familiar s of the ast decadesoftheOttoman ra,one should notsimplisticallyeneralizehis ituationo thefour enturiesfOttomanrule: itwas onlyverygradually ver hat ong period that he demo-graphic, conomic, nd culturalmakeup fPalestinianociety,s itap-pearedon theeveoftherapidmodernizationf thetwentiethentury,begantotakeshape.

TheBritishMandate,n contrastoOttoman ule, onstituted realand direct hreat o theexistence f thePalestinian eople and theirfutureyvirtue f tsembrace ftheZionist genda. Despitethis ig-nal difference,hosefamiliar ith heregion's istorynd societywillhave no difficultydentifyinghe continuationf old patterns,nher-ited from heOttoman ra, n theArabresponses o the newrealitiestaking hapeunder heBritish.


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64 JOURNAL OF PALESTINE STUDIESEventherebellion f 1936,whichbroke hemold of traditionalela-tionsbetween he authoritiesnd thepopulation,was notfree f thelegacyof thepopular uprisings f theOttoman ra. This legacy n-cluded, longwith uch positive spects s theparticipationfthevari-ous sectorsofthe population nd thereadiness f all concerned omakesacrifices or hecommon ood, certainnegative spects nclud-ing clannish, egional, nd sectarian ffiliations.or nstance, nhabit-ants ofmountainous egionshad a higher ateofparticipationn therebellion han nhabitants f the plainsand the coast, peasantsweremore ctive han ity wellers,ut thepoliticaleadership emained e-stricted o an elite fcitynotables.Moreover,hefactional isputesnthe 1930sbetween hefollowersfHaj Amin l-Husaynindtheoppo-sition edbytheNashashibis, hichplayed role nabortingherebel-lion, were notso verydifferentrom heclannishfeudsbetween heQaysis nd Yemenis fpast centuries.nsummary,lthoughhe ventsof 1936-39represented new kind ofnationalist ebellion, bviouspoints of similarity onnect it to the local rebellionsunder theOttomans.In concluding, ne might dd thatpopularuprisingsn Palestine,

from he naqibal-ashrafebellion o thepresent, avebroken ut de-spitea clear mbalance f power n favorof the authorities,whether Ottoman,Egyptian, ritish, r Israeli. The peoplewere ble to carry n therebellion or ev-eral years and to score gains because oftheir willingness o sacrifice nd theirability o work ogetherver n extendedperiod. It is also clearfrom hesehistori-cal experiences hat nternecinetrugglesnd differencesre amongthe most mportant auses of the ultimate ailure f those rebellions.The authorities ere n each case able toput downtherebellionmilita-rilyafter ivisionshad undermined heunity f ranks among thosewho sparked nd led the rebellions.This phenomenonwas particu-larly pparent n both henaqib l-ashrafnd 1936 rebellions. hedo-mesticwar of attrition as more erious nd took heavier ollof themorale f thepeople and their ightingpirit handid thetyrannyndrepression f theauthorities. he experience f thePalestinian eoplein thisrespect s no differenthan heexperiencesf other eoples oftheworldwhohaveundergonewarsofnational iberation.The most severe estofthewisdomand maturity f revolutionaryleadership s how responsible ecisionmakersre n directingndcon-trolling he rebellionwithoutinking o the evelof usingviolence osettleideological or personal accounts. This will also determinewhether he masseswillwillingly ally otheir ause.

PopularuprisingsnPalestine avebroken utdespite clear mbalance fpowern favor fauthorities.


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18TH AND 19TH CENTURY REBELLIONS 65

NOTES1. The firstmodernreference o thatrebellionwasmade by 'Arif l-Arif n his book, Al-mufassal itarikh l-Quds Jerusalem: l-Ma'arif ress, 1961),pp. 355-56. The treatment f the subject in hisbook was brief nd unclear,but nothinghas beenpublished on the subject n Arabic ince.2. Amnon ohen, alestinen the 8th enturyJe-rusalem: Magnes Press, 1973), pp. 158-71.3. Majir al-Din l-Hanbali, n his book Al-unsl-jalilbitarikh l-Qudswal-Khalil, ol. II (Jerusalem: l-Muhtasib Press, 1973), pp. 298-99, refers o theoutbreak f such conflictsn the city f Hebronbe-tween Kurds and Dayris during the fifteenthen-tury, nder Mamluk rule.4. For the renewal of clashes betweenKurds andDayris n the city f Hebron t the end of the even-teenth century, ee the records of the mahkamashar'ia ofJerusalem:Register o. 152, p. 155 andp. 364; Register o. 165, p. 113; and Register o.174, pp. 16, 174, 416, 440.5. Registerno. 183, pp. 153-54, dated the begin-ning of Rabi' al-thani 091 (10 May 1680).6. Register o. 199, p. 513 dated 8 Sha'ban 1110(29 December 1699). See also H. Maundrell,AJourneyrom leppo oJerusalemt Easter, .D.1697 (London, 1810) pp. 105, 146-47.7. Register 09, p. 513. Also see Register o. 198,pp. 124, 302.8. MinnaRosen,"The Naqib al-Ashrafebellion nJerusalemnd itsrepercussions n thecity'sDhim-mis,"Asian and African tudies, 9 (1984), p. 252.9. M. Rosen, pp. 254-55. Also see D. Savlanian,AHistory fJerusalemJerusalem: 931), p. 604 (inArmenian).10. For furthernformation n Islamic waqfs inPalestine t the beginning f theOttoman ra, seeAwqaf a amlak l-musliminiFilastinil-qarnl-asharal-hijri,dited nd introduced yMuhammadAisherly nd MuhammadDawud al-Tamimi,Istan-bul: Islamic ResearchCenter, 982).11. See M. Rosen and Savlanian.12. See M. Rosen and Savlanian.13. Registerno. 201, p. 456. The same registercontains many documentswith imilar ontent.14. Oppositionto the eadership fnaqib al-ashrafand his policies first entered n the Bab Hattaquarter,whichcame under attack from heupperquarters which supported the naqib. However,gradually,a number of 'ulama', led by ShaykhMuhammad al-Khalili, n addition to sipahis andJanissaries, eganto oin theopposition.The rebel-lion was weakenedby these internecine ivisionsand conflicts.15. Registerno. 203, pp. 101-2, dated 11 Rajab1117 (29 October 1705). In this document andothers n thesame register,he names offorty-sixpersonswho fledwiththe naqib al-ashraf re re-corded. But thosewereonlythe mostprominentfthe escapees, and not an exhaustive ist of theirnames. The names in theregister erefrequentlyfollowed y expressions uch as "and others," and

their followers," and the others who fled withhim."16. Muhammad Rashed, TarikhRashed Istanbul,1282 A.H. or 1865-66A.D.) See also Hasan ibn Abdal-Latif,arajimhlal-Qudsil-qarnl-thaniashar,manuscript ated 1195 (1781) in the BritishMu-seum (MS. no. 3047), p. 33. Another opy of themanuscript s kept at the Palestinian Museum(Rockefeller).17. Register o. 203, pp. 101-43.18. Register o. 203, p. 54.19. Of course thatdid not prevent he outbreak flimited ebellions, ven nthehills ofJerusalemndNablus close on the heals of the rebellionby thenaqib al-ashraf. here re reports f theoutbreak fa rebellion gainst he tate n thatregion, ut thereis scant nformationbout those events. See Mus-tafaAbbas,Al-Tuwani sanjaqNablusmin idayatal-qarnl-thaminasharwa hattaam1823, npub-lishedM.A.thesis, affa niversity,989, pp. 34-35(in Hebrew).20. For further etailson the roleof Zahir al-'Umarin that period, see Amnon Cohen, pp. 30-43 andAbdul Karim Rafiq, Al-Arab wal-'Uthmaniyyun1516-1916 Acre: al-SurujiPress, 1978), pp. 268-75.21. Regarding the role of Zahir al-'Umar andAhmad Pasha al-Jazzar, ee Amnon Cohen, whichfocuses n theruleof the bove twopersonalitiesnPalestine.22. Before Zahir al-'Umar,Fakhr al-Din al-Ma'ni[the emir of MountLebanon] had rebelled at thebeginning f the seventeenth entury.He triedtoexpand at theexpenseof thegovernors f districtsneighboringMount Lebanon, even allyinghimselfwith European powers against the Ottoman state.Ofcourse, here re other nstances frebellions ygovernorsnd their xpansionarymbitions uringthe eighteenth entury.23. Register o. 308, pp. 81-82, 93, 169, 182.24. S.N. Spyridon ed.),Annals fPalestine,Jerusa-lem: 1938), pp. 33-35.25. S.N. Spyridon, p. 36-37; Register o. 309, pp.57-58.26. GeorgeKoury, he ProvincefDamascus,Ph.D.dissertation, niversityfMichigan,1971, p. 176.27. See the biographiesof these two figures ndtheir oles n theevents f 1825-26 n AdelManna',A'lam ilastiniwakhirl-'ahdl-'Uthmani,Jeru-salem: Arab StudiesAssociation, 986), pp. 69-70;179-81.28. 'AdelManna',Liwa'al-Quds ain hamlatain1798-1831:Administrationnd Society, npub-lishedPh.D. dissertation, ebrewUniversity,986,p. 35.29. S.N. Spyridon, . 39.30. S.N. Spyridon, . 39; also, al-'Arif, . 361.31. For thestatusofthe Abu Ghushfamilynd itsleadership ole nthisperiod, ee AdelManna', pp.24-27.32. 'AdelManna', pp. 70, 181.


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66 JOURNAL OF PALESTINE STUDIES33. Annals,p. 42; Register o. 311, pp. 4445.34. S.N. Spyridon, p. 44-45.35. For furtherdetails on the 1834 rebellionagainst brahim asha,see IhsanNimr,TarikhJabalNablus wal-Balqa',voli, (Nablus: PrintWorkers'Cooperative, 975), pp. 324-333.36. See their iographies n Adel Manna'.37. Moshe Ma'oz, OttomanReformsn Syria andPalestine: 1840-1861, Oxford: 1968).38. Al-Nimr, ol. i, pp. 348-89.39. Al-Nimr,ol. i, pp. 277-79.

40. It is noteworthyhat the social and politicalgap between hepeople ofJerusalemnd neighbor-ing villageswas much arger hanthe gap betweenthe inhabitants f the city of Nablus and its vil-lages. The inhabitantsfNablus itselfweredividedinto Qays and Yementribes, nd were n the habitof engaging n factional isputeswith he peasants,in contrastwith the nhabitants fJerusalem, hokept their distance from such conflicts, eavingthem o the peasantsofthe region.

Documents

Manna-18th and 19th century Rebellions in Palestine