Editing Nablus (section)

==History==
===Classical antiquity===
{{further|Samaritan Revolts|Samaria}}
[[File:Volusian Neapolis.jpg|thumb|right|Coin minted in Nablus ({{lang|la|Neapolis}}), in the name of Emperor [[Volusian]], 251–253 CE]]
{{lang|la|Flavia Neapolis}} ('new city of the emperor [[Flavius]]') was named in 72 CE by the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] emperor [[Vespasian]] and applied to an older [[Samaritan]] village, variously called {{lang|und|Mabartha|italic=yes}} ('the passage')<ref name=Negevp175>Negev and Gibson, 2005, p. 175.</ref> or {{lang|und|Mamorpha|italic=yes}}.<ref>(a) {{lang|grc|ὅθεν διὰ τῆς Σαμαρείτιδος καὶ παρὰ τὴν Νέαν πόλιν καλουμένην, Μαβαρθὰ δ᾽ ὑπὸ τῶν ἐπιχωρίων, καταβὰς εἰς Κορέαν}}, [[Josephus]], {{lang|la|[[Bellum Judaicum]]}}, 4:449 {{lang|la|intus autem Samaria; oppida Neapolis, quod antea Mamortha dicebatur}}, 'the town are Naplous, formerly called Mamorpha'. [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]], {{lang|la|[[Natural History (Pliny)|Historia Naturalis]]}}, 5.69.</ref> Located between [[Mount Ebal]] and [[Mount Gerizim]], the new city lay {{convert|2|km|mi|sp=us}} west of the [[Bible|Biblical]] city of [[Shechem]] which was destroyed by the Romans that same year during the [[First Jewish–Roman War]].<ref name="STF">{{cite web |url=http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/mad/discussion/035discuss.html |title=Neapolis – (Nablus) |access-date=2008-04-19 |date=19 December 2000 |publisher=Studium Biblicum Franciscanum – Jerusalem |archive-date=22 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081122101623/http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/mad/discussion/035discuss.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="DNTA">{{cite web |url=http://www.dundee-nablus.org.uk/nablushistory.html |title=History of Nablus |access-date=2008-04-24 |publisher=Dundee–Nablus Twinning Association}}</ref> Holy places at the site of the city's founding include [[Joseph's Tomb]] and [[Jacob's Well]]. Because of the city's strategic geographic position and the abundance of water from nearby springs, Neapolis prospered, accumulating extensive territory, including the former [[Judea]]n [[toparchy]] of [[Aqraba, Nablus|Acraba]].<ref name="STF" />

Insofar as the hilly topography of the site would allow, the city was built on a Roman [[grid plan]] and settled with veterans who fought in the victorious legions and other foreign colonists.<ref name=Negevp175 /> In the 2nd century CE, Emperor [[Hadrian]] built a grand [[Roman theatre (structure)|theater]] in Neapolis that could seat up to 7,000 people.<ref name="Semplici" /> Coins found in Nablus dating to this period depict Roman military emblems and gods and goddesses of the Greek pantheon such as [[Zeus]], [[Artemis]], [[Serapis]], and [[Asklepios]].<ref name=Negevp175 /> Neapolis was entirely [[Paganism|pagan]] at this time.<ref name=Negevp175 /> [[Justin Martyr]] who was born in the city c. 100 CE, came into contact with [[Platonism]], but not with Christians there.<ref name=Negevp175 /> The city flourished until the civil war between [[Septimius Severus]] and [[Pescennius Niger]] in 198–9 CE. Having sided with Niger, who was defeated, the city was temporarily stripped of its legal privileges by Severus, who designated these to [[Sebastia, Nablus|Sebastia]] instead.<ref name=Negevp175 />

In 244 CE, [[Philip the Arab]] transformed Flavius Neapolis into a Roman colony named {{lang|la|Julia Neapolis}}. It retained this status until the rule of [[Trebonianus Gallus]] in 251 CE. The {{lang|la|[[Encyclopaedia Judaica]]}} speculates that Christianity was dominant in the 2nd or 3rd century, with some sources positing a later date of 480 CE.<ref name="OCHA" /> It is known for certain that a bishop from Nablus participated in the [[First Council of Nicaea|Council of Nicaea]] in 325 CE.<ref name=Negevp176>Negev and Gibson, 2005, p. 176.</ref> The presence of Samaritans in the city is attested to in literary and epigraphic evidence dating to the 4th century CE.<ref name=Negevp176 /> As yet, there is no evidence attesting to a Jewish presence in ancient Neapolis.<ref name=Negevp176 />

Si'on suggested that Neapolis was about 900 acres in size during the Byzantine period, making it three times larger than it was when it was first established as a Roman colony.<ref name="Si2001">{{citation |author=E Si'on (שיאון, ע׳) |publisher=[[Hebrew University of Jerusalem]] |script-title=he:תפרוסת היישוב במרכז הרי שומרון בתקופה הביזנטית (עבודת דוקטור) |title=Tifroset hayeshuv bemarkaz Hari Shomron Bitkufa habizantit (avodet doctor) |trans-title=The layout of settlement in the central Samaria Mountains during the Byzantine period (doctoral thesis) |date=2001 |page=43 |language=he }}</ref> Magen estimates that around 20,000 people lived there during this period.<ref name="Magen2005">{{citation |author=Y. Magen (מגן, י׳) |script-title=he:פלאביה ניאפוליס. שכם בתקופה הרומית |title=Flavia Niapolis. Shkem Bitkufa Haromit |trans-title=Flavia Neapolis. Nablus in the Roman Period |location=[[Jerusalem]] |publisher=Archaeology Staff Officer, Civil Administration of [[Judea and Samaria Area|Judea and Samaria]], [[Israel Antiquities Authority]] |date=2005 |pages=264–45 |language=he }}</ref>

[[File:Ancient ruins in a Nablus neighborhood.JPG|thumb|right|Ruins from antiquity (foreground) in a residential area in Nablus, 2008]]

Conflict among the Christian population of Neapolis emerged in 451. By this time, Neapolis was within the [[Palaestina Prima]] province under the rule of the [[Byzantine Empire]]. The tension was a result of [[Monophysitism|Monophysite]] Christian attempts to prevent the return of the [[Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem|Patriarch of Jerusalem]], [[Juvenal of Jerusalem|Juvenal]], to his [[episcopal see]].<ref name="STF" /> However, the conflict did not grow into civil strife.

As tensions among the Christians of Neapolis decreased, tensions between the Christian community and the [[Samaritans]] grew dramatically. In 484, the city became the site of a deadly encounter between the two groups, provoked by rumors that the Christians intended to transfer the remains of [[Aaron]]'s sons and grandsons [[Eleazar]], [[Ithamar]] and [[Phinehas]]. Samaritans reacted by entering the cathedral of Neapolis, killing the Christians inside and severing the fingers of the bishop Terebinthus. Terebinthus then fled to [[Constantinople]], requesting an army garrison to prevent further attacks. As a result of the revolt, the Byzantine emperor [[Zeno (emperor)|Zeno]] erected a church dedicated to [[Mary (mother of Jesus)|Mary]] on Mount Gerizim. He also forbade the Samaritans to travel to the mountain to celebrate their religious ceremonies, and expropriated their synagogue there. These actions by the emperor fueled Samaritan anger towards the Christians further.<ref name="STF" />

Thus, the Samaritans rebelled again under the rule of emperor [[Anastasius I (emperor)|Anastasius I]], reoccupying Mount Gerizim, which was subsequently reconquered by the Byzantine governor of [[Edessa, Mesopotamia|Edessa]], Procopius. A third Samaritan revolt which took place under the leadership of [[Julianus ben Sabar]] in 529 was perhaps the most violent. Neapolis' bishop [[Ammonas]] was murdered and the city's priests were hacked into pieces and then burned together with the relics of [[saint]]s. The forces of Emperor [[Justinian I]] were sent in to quell the revolt, which ended with the slaughter of the majority of the Samaritan population in the city.<ref name="STF" />

===Early Muslim period===
[[File:Umm ar-Rasas Church of St. Stephen Nablus 2786.jpg|thumb|right|Depiction of Nablus (Neapolis) in the [[Umm ar-Rasas mosaics]], 8th century CE]]

[[File:Nablus Great Mosque-cropped.JPG|thumb|right|Minaret and entrance of 10th-century [[Great Mosque of Nablus]], 1908]]
Neapolis, along with most of Palestine, [[Muslim conquest of the Levant|was conquered by the Muslims]] under [[Khalid ibn al-Walid]], a general of the [[Rashidun army]] of [[Umar|Umar ibn al-Khattab]], in 636 after the [[Battle of Yarmouk]].<ref name="STF"/><ref name="DNTA"/> The city's name was retained in its [[Arabic language|Arabicize]]d form, {{lang|ar-Latn|Nabulus}}. The town prevailed as an important trade center during the centuries of [[Islam]]ic [[Arab]] rule under the [[Umayyad]], [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasid]] and [[Fatimid]] dynasties.

Under Muslim rule, Nablus contained a diverse population of Arabs and [[Persian people|Persian]]s, Muslims, Samaritans, Christians and [[Jew]]s.<ref name="STF" /> In the 9th century CE, [[Ya'qubi|Al-Yaqubi]] reported that Nablus had a mixed population of Arabs, [[Ajam]] (Non-Arabs), and Samaritans.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Levy-Rubin |first=Milka |date=2000 |title=New Evidence Relating to the Process of Islamization in Palestine in the Early Muslim Period: The Case of Samaria |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3632444 |journal=Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient |volume=43 |issue=3 |pages=257–276 |doi=10.1163/156852000511303 |jstor=3632444 |issn=0022-4995|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In the 10th century, the Arab geographer [[al-Muqaddasi]], described it as abundant of olive trees, with a large marketplace, a finely paved [[Great Mosque of Nablus|Great Mosque]], houses built of stone, a stream running through the center of the city, and notable mills.<ref name="Muqaddasip55">Muqaddasi, [https://archive.org/stream/cu31924028534265#page/n83/mode/2up/search/neapolis p. 55].</ref> He also noted that it was nicknamed "Little [[Damascus]]."<ref name="Semplici">Semplici, Andrea and Boccia, Mario. [http://www.ucodep.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=631&Itemid=90 – Nablus, At the Foot of the Holy Mountain] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708122053/https://www.ucodep.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=631&Itemid=90 |date=2017-07-08 }} Med Cooperation, p.6.</ref><ref name="Muqaddasip55" /> At the time, the linen produced in Nablus was well known throughout the [[Old World]].<ref name="Runcimanp353">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mrw8AAAAIAAJ|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mrw8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA353 353] |title=A History of the Crusades: The Kingdom of Acre and the later Crusades |first1=Steven |last1=Runciman |edition=Reprint, illustrated |publisher=CUP Archive |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-521-34772-3 }}</ref>

===Crusader period===
{{see also|Vassals of the Kingdom of Jerusalem}}
The city was captured by [[Crusades|Crusaders]] in 1099, under the command of [[Tancred, Prince of Galilee|Prince Tancred]], and renamed ''Naples''.<ref name="STF"/> Though the Crusaders extorted many supplies from the population for their troops who were en route to Jerusalem, they did not sack the city, presumably because of the large Christian population there.<ref name="Andersonp72"/> Nablus became part of the [[royal domain]] of the [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]]. The Muslim, Eastern Orthodox Christian, and Samaritan populations remained in the city and were joined by some Crusaders who settled therein to take advantage of the city's abundant resources. In 1120, the Crusaders convened the [[Council of Nablus]] out of which was issued the first written laws for the kingdom.<ref name="STF"/> They converted the Samaritan synagogue in Nablus into a church.<ref name="Andersonp72">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TIcWAoiRhgAC|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=TIcWAoiRhgAC&pg=PA72 72]|title=The Keepers: an introduction to the history and culture of the Samaritans|first1=Robert T.|last1=Anderson|first2=Terry|last2=Giles|edition=Illustrated|publisher=Hendrickson Publishers|year=2002|isbn=1565635191}}</ref> The Samaritan community built a new synagogue in the 1130s.<ref name=Smithp70>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y-noOrtrox4C|title=The crusades: a history|first1=Jonathan|last1=Riley-Smith|edition=2nd, illustrated|publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group|year=2005|isbn= 9780826472700|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Y-noOrtrox4C&pg=PA70 70]}}</ref> In 1137, Arab and [[Turkish people|Turkish]] troops stationed in [[Damascus]] raided Nablus, killing many Christians and burning down the city's churches. However, they were unsuccessful in retaking the city.<ref name="STF"/> Queen [[Melisende of Jerusalem]] resided in Nablus from 1150 to 1161, after she was granted control over the city in order to resolve a dispute with her son [[Baldwin III of Jerusalem|Baldwin III]]. Crusaders began building Christian institutions in Nablus, including a church dedicated to the [[Passion (Christianity)|Passion]] and Resurrection of [[Jesus]], and in 1170 they erected a hospice for pilgrims.<ref name="STF"/>

===Ayyubid and Mamluk rule===
[[File:Interior view of Nasr Mosque.JPG|thumb|right|Interior view of the [[An-Nasr Mosque]], converted from a [[Crusades|Crusader]] church to a mosque in the 13th century]]
Crusader rule came to an end in 1187, when the [[Ayyubid]]s led by [[Saladin]] captured the city. According to a liturgical manuscript in [[Syriac language|Syriac]], [[Roman Catholic Church|Latin Christians]] fled Nablus, but the original [[Eastern Orthodox]] Christian inhabitants remained.{{Citation needed|date=December 2013}} Syrian geographer [[Yaqut al-Hamawi]] (1179–1229), wrote that Ayyubid Nablus was a "celebrated city in Filastin (Palestine)... having wide lands and a fine district." He also mentions the large Samaritan population in the city.<ref name="le Strange">Le Strange, 1890, pp. [https://archive.org/details/palestineundermo00lestuoft/page/511/mode/1up 511]–515</ref> After its recapture by the Muslims, the [[Great Mosque of Nablus]], which had become a church under Crusader rule, was restored as a mosque by the Ayyubids, who also built a [[mausoleum]] in the old city.<ref name="OCHA"/>

{{anchor|Battle of Nablus (1242)}}
In October 1242, Nablus was raided by the [[Knights Templar]]. This was the conclusion of the 1242 campaign season in which the Templars had joined forces with the Ayyubid emir of Kerak, [[An-Nasir Dawud]], against the Mamluks. The Templars raided Nablus in revenge for a previous massacre of Christians by their erstwhile ally An-Nasir Dawud. The attack is reported as a particularly bloody affair lasting for three days, during which the Mosque was burned and many residents of the city, Christians alongside Muslims, were killed or sold in the slave markets of [[Acre, Israel|Acre]].
The successful raid was widely publicized by the Templars in Europe; it is thought to be depicted in a late 13th-century fresco in the Templar church of [[San Bevignate]], [[Perugia]].<ref>{{cite book|page=169|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xifq5OE7174C&pg=PA169|title=Crusader Art in the Holy Land, From the Third Crusade to the Fall of Acre|first1=Jaroslav|last1=Folda|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2005|isbn = 9780521835831}}.
{{cite book|page=271|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JfXl5kvabhoC&pg=PA271|title=From Saladin to the Mongols: the Ayyubids of Damascus, 1193–1260|first1=R. Stephen|last1=Humphreys|publisher=SUNY Press|year=1977|isbn=0873952634}}.
{{cite book|page=206|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3uFtzINjLAoC&pg=PA206 |title=The New Knighthood: A History of the Order of the Temple|first1=Malcolm|last1=Barber|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2012|isbn = 9781107604735}}.
</ref>

In 1244, the Samaritan synagogue, built in 362 by the high priest Akbon and converted into a church by the Crusaders, was converted into [[al-Khadra Mosque]]. Two other Crusader churches became the [[An-Nasr Mosque]] and al-Masakim Mosque during that century.<ref name="STF"/><ref name="Andersonp72"/>

The [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluk dynasty]] gained control of Nablus in 1260 and during their reign, they built numerous mosques and schools.<ref name="DNTA"/> Under Mamluk rule, Nablus possessed running water, many [[Turkish bath]]s and exported olive oil and [[Nabulsi soap|soap]] to [[Egypt]], Syria, the [[Hejaz]], several [[Mediterranean]] islands, and the [[Arabian Desert]]. The city's olive oil was also used in the [[Umayyad Mosque]] in Damascus. [[Ibn Battuta]], the Arab explorer, visited Nablus in 1355, and described it as a city "full of trees and streams and full of olives." He noted that the city grew and exported [[carob]] jam to [[Cairo]] and Damascus.<ref name="le Strange"/>

===Ottoman era===
[[File:Louis-François Cassas, Vue Generale de Neapolis, dite vulgairement Napelouse et remplaçant l'ancienne Sichem.jpg|thumb|Nablus in the 1780s, by [[Louis-François Cassas]].]]
[[File:Nablus from the 1871-77 Palestine Exploration Fund Survey of Palestine.jpg|thumb|Nablus from the 1871–1877 [[PEF Survey of Palestine]]]]
[[File:Nablous, The Ancient Shechem MET DP116336.jpg|thumb|Nablus in 1857, photo by [[Francis Frith]]]]
Nablus came under the rule of the [[Ottoman Empire]] in 1517, along with the whole of Palestine. The Ottomans divided Palestine into six {{lang|ota-Latn|[[sanjak]]s}} ('districts'): [[Safad]], [[Jenin]], [[Jerusalem]], [[Gaza City|Gaza]], [[Ajlun]] and [[District of Nablus|Nablus]], all of which were part of [[Ottoman Syria]]. These five {{lang|ota-Latn|sanjaks}} were subdistricts of the [[Vilayet of Damascus]]. Sanjak Nablus was further subdivided into five {{lang|ota-Latn|[[nahiya]]}} ('subdistricts'), in addition to the city itself. The Ottomans did not attempt to restructure the political configuration of the region on the local level such that the borders of the {{lang|ota-Latn|nahiya}} were drawn to coincide with the historic strongholds of certain families. Nablus was only one among a number of local centers of power within Jabal Nablus, and its relations with the surrounding villages, such as [[Beita, Nablus|Beita]] and [[Aqraba, Nablus|Aqraba]], were partially mediated by the rural-based chiefs of the {{lang|ota-Latn|nahiya}}.<ref name="Doumani3">Doumani, 1995, Chapter: "The 1657 Campaign."</ref> During the 16th century, the population was predominantly Muslim, with Jewish, Samaritan and Christian minorities.<ref name="STF" /><ref>B. Lewis, Studies in the Ottoman Archives—I, ''Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies'', University of London, Vol. 16, No. 3 (1954), 469–501.</ref><ref name="Hutteroth" />

After decades of upheavals and rebellions mounted by Arab tribes in the Middle East, the Ottomans attempted to reassert centralized control over the Arab {{lang|ota-Latn|vilayets}}. In 1657, they sent an expeditionary force led mostly by Arab {{lang|ota-Latn|[[sipahi]]}} officers from central [[Ottoman Syria|Syria]] to reassert Ottoman authority in Nablus and its hinterland, as part of a broader attempt to established centralized rule throughout the empire at that time. In return for their services, the officers were granted agricultural lands around the villages of Jabal Nablus. The Ottomans, fearing that the new Arab land holders would establish independent bases of power, dispersed the land plots to separate and distant locations within Jabal Nablus to avoid creating contiguous territory controlled by individual clans. Contrary to its centralization purpose, the 1657 campaign allowed the Arab {{lang|ota-Latn|sipahi}} officers to establish their own increasingly autonomous foothold in Nablus. The officers raised their families there and intermarried with the local notables of the area, namely the [[ulama]] and merchant families. Without abandoning their nominal military service, they acquired diverse properties to consolidate their presence and income such as soap and pottery factories, [[Turkish bath|bathhouses]], agricultural lands, grain mills and, olive and sesame oil presses.<ref name="Doumani3" />

The most influential military family were the Nimrs, who were originally local governors of [[Homs]] and [[Hama]]'s rural subdistricts. Other officer families included the Akhrami, Asqalan, Bayram, Jawhari, Khammash, Mir'i, Shafi, Sultan and Tamimi families, some of which remained in active service, while some left service for other pursuits. In the years following the 1657 campaign, two other families migrated to Nablus: the Jarrars from [[Balqa (region)|Balqa]] and the [[Tuqan family|Tuqans]] from northern Syria or Transjordan. The Jarrars came to dominate the hinterland of Nablus, while the Tuqans and Nimrs competed for influence in the town. The former held the post of {{lang|ota-Latn|[[mutasallim]]}} ('tax collector, strongman') of Nablus longer, though non-consecutively than any other family. The three families maintained their power until the mid-19th century.<ref name="Doumani3" />

[[File:Tristram142a.jpg|thumb|right|Nablus, by [[Medlycott baronets|W. C. P. Medlycott]], in [[Henry Baker Tristram|H. B. Tristram]], 1865<ref>[[Henry Baker Tristram|H. B. Tristram]]: [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Qd8TAAAAIAAJ The Land of Israel: Travels in Palestine], p. 142, 1865</ref>]]

In the mid-18th century, [[Zahir al-Umar]], the autonomous Arab ruler of the [[Galilee]] became a dominant figure in Palestine. To build up his army, he strove to gain a monopoly over the [[cotton]] and olive oil trade of the [[southern Levant]], including Jabal Nablus, which was a major producer of both crops. In 1771, during the [[Ali Bey al-Kabir|Egyptian Mamluk]] invasion of Syria, Zahir aligned himself with the Mamluks and besieged Nablus, but did not succeed in taking the city. In 1773, he tried again without success. Nevertheless, from a political perspective, the sieges led to a decline in the importance of the city in favor of Acre. Zahir's successor, [[Jezzar Pasha]], maintained Acre's dominance over Nablus. After his reign ended in 1804, Nablus regained its autonomy, and the Tuqans, who represented a principal opposing force, rose to power.<ref name="Doumani4" />

===Egyptian rule and Ottoman revival===
[[File:Nablus 1898.jpg|thumb|right|Nablus in 1898]]
[[File:Félix Bonfils Jeune femme de Naplouse.jpg|thumb|Young woman from Nablus, between 1867 and 1885]]
In 1831–32 [[Muhammad Ali Dynasty|Khedivate Egypt]], then led by [[Muhammad Ali of Egypt|Muhammad Ali]], conquered Palestine from the Ottomans. A policy of [[conscription]] and new [[taxation]] was instituted which led to a [[Peasants' Revolt of 1834 (Palestine)|revolt]] organized by the {{lang|ar-Latn|[[ayan (class)|a'ayan]]}} (notables) of Nablus, [[Hebron]] and the Jerusalem–Jaffa area. In May 1834, [[Qasim al-Ahmad]]—the chief of the [[Jamma'in]] {{lang|ota-Latn|nahiya}}—rallied the rural sheikhs and {{lang|ota-Latn|[[fellahin]]}} (peasants) of Jabal Nablus and launched a revolt against Governor [[Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt|Ibrahim Pasha]], in protest at conscription orders, among other new policies. The leaders of Nablus and its hinterland sent thousands of rebels to attack Jerusalem, the center of government authority in Palestine, aided by the [[Abu Ghosh]] clan, and they conquered the city on 31 May. However, they were later defeated by Ibrahim Pasha's forces the next month. Ibrahim then forced the heads of the Jabal Nablus clans to leave for nearby villages. By the end of August, the countrywide revolt had been suppressed and Qasim was executed.<ref name="Doumani4">Doumani, 1995, Chapter: "Egyptian rule, 1831–1840."</ref>

Egyptian rule in Palestine resulted in the destruction of [[Acre, Israel|Acre]] and thus, the political importance of Nablus was further elevated. The Ottomans wrested back control of Palestine from [[Egypt Eyalet|Egypt]] in 1840–41. However, the [[Arraba, Jenin|Arraba]]-based Abd al-Hadi clan which rose to prominence under Egyptian rule for supporting Ibrahim Pasha, continued its political dominance in Jabal Nablus.<ref name="Doumani4" />

Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, Nablus was the principal trade and manufacturing center in Ottoman Syria. Its economic activity and regional leadership position surpassed that of Jerusalem and the coastal cities of [[Jaffa]] and Acre. [[Olive oil]] was the primary product of Nablus and aided other related industries such as [[Nabulsi soap|soap-making]] and basket weaving.<ref name="Doumani" /> It was also the largest producer of cotton in the Levant, topping the production of northern cities such as Damascus.<ref name="Doumani5" /> Jabal Nablus enjoyed a greater degree of [[autonomy]] than other {{lang|ota-Latn|sanjaks}} under Ottoman control, probably because the city was the capital of a hilly region, in which there were no "foreigners" who held any military or bureaucratic posts. Thus, Nablus remained outside the direct "supervision" of the Ottoman government, according to historian [[Beshara Doumani]].<ref name="Doumani">Doumani, 1995, Chapter: "Introduction."</ref>

===World War I and British Mandate===
[[File:Nablus 1918.jpg|thumb|right|Nablus in 1918]]
Between 19 September and 25 September 1918, in the last months of the [[Sinai and Palestine Campaign]] of the First World War the Battle of Nablus took place, together with the [[Battle of Sharon]] during the set piece [[Battle of Megiddo (1918)|Battle of Megiddo]]. Fighting took place in the [[Judean Hills]] where the [[British Empire]]'s [[XX Corps (United Kingdom)|XX Corps]] and [[Royal Flying Corps]] attacked the [[Ottoman Empire]]'s [[Yildirim Army Group]]'s [[Seventh Army (Ottoman Empire)|Seventh Army]] which held a defensive position in front of Nablus, and which the [[Eighth Army (Ottoman Empire)|Eighth Army]] had attempted to retreat to, in vain.<ref>Richard P. Hallion,[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZAdtAIMTReEC&pg=PA31 ''Strike From the Sky: The History of Battlefield Air Attack, 1910-1945,''] University of Alabama Press, 2010 pp.29-33.</ref>

The [[1927 Jericho earthquake]] destroyed many of the Nablus' historic buildings, including the An-Nasr Mosque.<ref>Damage Caused By Landslides During the Earthquakes of 1837 and 1927 in the Galilee Region, By D. Wachs and D. Levitte, MINISTRY OF ENERGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE, Report HYDRO/5/78 – Jerusalem – June 1978 [http://zadok.org/research/1927/landslides.html]</ref> Though they were subsequently rebuilt by [[Haj Amin al-Husayni]]'s [[Supreme Muslim Council]] in the mid-1930s, their previous "picturesque" character was lost. During the [[1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine]], the British authorities demolished buildings in the Old City quarter of Qaryun suspected of harboring insurgents or hiding weapons.<ref name=Doumani6>Doumani, 1995, Chapter: Family, Culture, and Trade.</ref> [[Aliyah|Jewish immigration]] did not significantly impact the demographic composition of Nablus, and it was slated for inclusion in the Arab state envisioned by the [[United Nations General Assembly]]'s [[United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine|1947 partition plan for Palestine]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/un/res181.htm |title=United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181: The Arab State |publisher=The Avalon Project at Yale Law School |access-date=2008-04-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061029150108/http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/un/res181.htm |archive-date=2006-10-29 }}</ref>

===Jordanian period===
During the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]], Nablus came under [[Jordan]]ian control. Thousands of [[Palestinian refugees]] fleeing from areas captured by [[Israel]]i forces arrived in Nablus, settling in refugee camps in and around the city. Its population doubled, and the influx of refugees put a heavy strain on the city's resources. Three such camps still located within the city limits today are [[Ein Beit al-Ma']], [[Balata Camp|Balata]] and [[Askar (camp)|Askar]]. During the Jordanian period, the adjacent villages of [[Rafidia]], [[Balata al-Balad]], al-Juneid and Askar were annexed to the Nablus municipality.<ref>Abujidi, 2014, p. 96.</ref> Nablus was [[Jordanian annexation of the West Bank|annexed by Jordan]] in 1950.<ref>{{cite web |last=Cavendish |first=Richard |url=http://www.historytoday.com/richard-cavendish/jordan-formally-annexes-west-bank  |title=Jordan Formally Annexes the West Bank |work=History Today |date=4 April 2000 |access-date=7 June 2020 <!-- alternate url (paywalled): https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-61692149.html --> }}</ref>

===Israeli period===
[[File:2018 OCHA OpT map Nablus.jpg|thumb|2018 [[United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs|United Nations]] map of the area, showing the [[Israeli occupation of the West Bank|Israeli occupation]] arrangements.]]
The 1967 [[Six-Day War]] ended in the [[Israeli occupation of the West Bank|Israeli occupation]] of Nablus. Many [[Israeli settlement]]s were built around Nablus during the 1980s and early 1990s. The restrictions placed on Nablus during the First Intifada were met by a back-to-the-land movement to secure self-sufficiency, and had a notable outcome in boosting local agricultural production.<ref name="Robinson"/>

In 1976, [[Bassam Shakaa]] was elected mayor. On 2 June 1980, he survived an assassination attempt by the [[Jewish Underground]], considered a terrorist group by Israel, which resulted in Shakaa losing both his legs. In the spring of 1982, the Israeli administration removed him from office and installed an army officer who ran the city for the following three and a half years.<ref name="Publishers p. 6">Middle East International No 270, 7 March 1986, Publishers [[Christopher Mayhew|Lord Mayhew]], [[Dennis Walters]]. [[Daoud Kuttab]] p. 6</ref>

On 29 July 1985, the Israeli army imposed a 5-day curfew on the city that was lifted 2 hours a day The curfew was in response to the murder of two Israeli teachers on 21 July near [[Jenin]] and the killing of another Israeli on 30 July. [[an-Najah University|Najah University]] was closed for 2 months for hanging PLO propaganda posters.<ref>Middle East International No 256, 9 August 1985, Publishers [[Christopher Mayhew|Lord Mayhew]], [[Dennis Walters|Dennis Walters MP]]; [[Daoud Kuttab]] pp. 4,5</ref>

In January 1986, the Israeli administration ended with the appointment of [[Zafer al-Masri]] as mayor. A popular leader of the Nablus Chamber of Commerce al-Masri began a program of improvements in the town. Despite maintaining that he would have nothing to do with Israeli autonomy plans he was assassinated on 2 March 1986.<ref name="Publishers p. 6"/> The assassination was widely believed to be the work of the [[Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine]].

On 18 June 1989 Salah el Bah'sh, aged 17, was shot dead by an [[Israeli army|Israeli soldier]] whilst walking through the Nablus [[Nablus#Old City|Casbah]]. Witnesses told [[B'Tselem]], the Israeli Human Rights group, that he was shot in the chest at close range after not responding to a soldier shouting "Ta'amod" (Halt!). The army indicated that an investigation was being carried out. B'Tselem understood that the victim was killed by a [[rubber bullet]].<ref>B'Tselem information sheet July 1989. p.9. [https://www.btselem.org/sites/default/files/sites/default/files2/update_july_1.1989.pdf pdf]</ref>

===Palestinian control===
[[File:Huwwara Checkpoint Palestine.jpg|thumb|right|View of [[Huwwara checkpoint]] with Palestinians waiting to travel south, 2006]]
Jurisdiction over the city was handed over to the [[Palestinian National Authority]] on 12 December 1995, as a result of the [[Oslo Accords]] [[Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip|Interim Agreement on the West Bank]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.passia.org/palestine_facts/chronology/19941995.htm |title=Palestine Facts 1994–1995 |access-date=2008-04-24 |publisher=[[Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs]] (PASSIA) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130729174648/http://www.passia.org/palestine_facts/chronology/19941995.htm |archive-date=2013-07-29 }}</ref> Nablus is surrounded by [[Israeli settlements]] and was site of regular clashes with the [[Israel Defense Forces]] (IDF) during the [[First Intifada]] when the local prison was known for torture.<ref name=Stanley/>
In the 1990s, Nablus was a hub of [[Palestinian nationalism|Palestinian nationalist]] activity in the West Bank and when the [[Second Intifada]] began, arsonists of Jewish shrines in Nablus were applauded.<ref name=Israeli>{{cite book|last1=Israeli|first1=Raphael|title=War, Peace and Terror in the Middle East|date=2014|publisher=Routledge|location=Hoboken|isbn=9781135295547|page=4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CRAiAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA4}}</ref> After the controversy over the [[Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy|Muhammad cartoons in ''Jyllands-Posten'']], originally published in Denmark in late September 2006, militias kidnapped two foreigners and threatened to kidnap more as a protest. In 2008, Noa Meir, an Israeli military spokeswoman, said Nablus remains "capital of terror" of the West Bank.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Neslen|first1=Arthur|title=In your eyes a sandstorm ways of being Palestinian|date=2011|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley, Calif.|isbn=9780520949850|page=197|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DSD6_qjgjOQC&pg=PT197}}</ref>

From the start of the [[Second Intifada]], which began in September 2000, Nablus became a flash-point of clashes between the IDF and Palestinians. The city has a tradition of political activism, as evinced by its nickname, ''jabal al-nar'' (Fire Mountain)<ref name="Robinson" >Glenn E. Robinson, [https://archive.org/details/buildingpalestin00robi/page/57  ''Building a Palestinian State: The Incomplete Revolution,''] Indiana University Press, 1997 p.57.</ref> and, located between two mountains, was closed off at both ends of the valley by Israeli checkpoints. For several years, movements in and out of the city were highly restricted.<ref name="Bishara" /> Nablus produced more [[List of Palestinian suicide attacks|suicide bombers]] than any other city during the Second Intifada.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Booth |first1=William |last2=Eglash |first2=Ruth |date=21 October 2013 |title=Palestinians in Nablus, once known for suicide bombers, now seeking better days |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/palestinians-in-nablus-once-known-for-suicide-bombers-now-seeking-better-days/2013/10/20/469febe0-38d0-11e3-89db-8002ba99b894_story.html}}</ref> The city and the [[Palestinian refugee camps|refugee camps]] of [[Balata Camp|Balata]] and [[Askar (camp)|Askar]] constituted the center of "knowhow" for the production and operation of the rockets in the West Bank.<ref name="intelligence">{{cite web |url=http://www.intelligence.org.il/eng/bu/Nablus/chapt.htm |title=The Terrorist Infrastructure in Nablus – Results and Forecast |access-date=2008-04-24 |work=Terrorisminfo.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013213643/http://intelligence.org.il/eng/bu/Nablus/chapt.htm |archive-date=2007-10-13 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

According to the [[United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs]], 522 residents of Nablus and surrounding refugee camps, including civilians, were killed and 3,104 injured during IDF military operations from 2000 to 2005.<ref name="OCHA">{{cite web |url=http://www.humanitarianinfo.org/opt/docs/UN/OCHA/OCHAoPt_NblsRprt05_En.pdf |title=Nablus after Five Years of Conflict |access-date=2008-04-27 |publisher=[[United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080409050230/http://www.humanitarianinfo.org/opt/docs/UN/OCHA/OCHAoPt_NblsRprt05_En.pdf |archive-date=2008-04-09 }}</ref> In April 2002, following the [[Passover massacre]]—an attack by Palestinian militants that killed 30 Israeli civilians attending a [[Passover Seder|seder]] dinner at the Park Hotel in Netanya—Israel launched [[Operation Defensive Shield]], a major [[Battle of Nablus|military operation]] targeting in particular Nablus and Jenin. At least 80 Palestinians were killed in Nablus during the operation and several houses were destroyed or severely damaged.<ref name="AI">{{cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde15/143/2002/en/ |title=Israel and the Occupied Territories Shielded from scrutiny: IDF violations in Jenin and Nablus: Nablus |access-date=2008-04-24 |publisher=[[Amnesty International]]}}</ref>

The operation also resulted in severe damage to the historic core of the city, with 64 heritage buildings being heavily damaged or destroyed.<ref name=Stanley>{{cite book|last1=Stanley|first1=Bruce E.|last2=Dumper|first2=Michael R.T.|title=Cities of the Middle East and North Africa : a historical encyclopedia|date=2007|publisher=ABC-Clio|location=Oxford|isbn=9781576079195|pages=265–7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3SapTk5iGDkC}}</ref> IDF forces reentered Nablus during [[Operation Determined Path]] in June 2002, remaining inside the city until the end of September. Over those three months, there had been more than 70 days of full 24-hour curfews.<ref name="AI"/> According to [[Gush Shalom]], IDF bulldozers damaged the al-Khadra Mosque, the Great Mosque, the al-Satoon Mosque and the [[Greek Orthodox Church]] in 2002. Some 60 houses were destroyed, and parts of the stone-paving in the old city were damaged. The al-Shifa ''[[Turkish bath|hammam]]'' was hit by three rockets from [[Apache helicopter]]s. The eastern entrance of the Khan al-Wikala (old market) and three soap factories were destroyed in [[F-16 Fighting Falcon|F-16]] bombings. The cost of the damage was estimated at $80 million US.<ref>[http://www.gush-shalom.org/terror/report1.html#nablus Report on the Destruction to Palestinian Institutions in Nablus and Other Cities (Except Ramallah) Caused by IDF Forces Between March 29 and April 21, 2002: Nablus] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081021023418/http://gush-shalom.org/terror/report1.html |date=October 21, 2008 }}. [[Gush Shalom]]. April 22, 2002. Retrieved 2008-04-25.</ref>

In August 2016, the Old City of Nablus became a site of [[August 2016 Nablus clashes|fierce clashes]] between a militant group vs Palestinian police. On 18 August, two [[Palestinian Civil Police Force|Palestinian Police]] servicemen were killed in the city.<ref name=albawaba>{{Cite web|url=http://www.albawaba.com/news/palestinian-police-arrest-one-connection-nablus-shooting-877184|title = Palestinian police arrest one in connection with Nablus shooting}}</ref> Shortly after the raid of police on the suspected areas in the Old City deteriorated into a gun battle, in which three armed militia men were killed, including one killed by beating following his arrest.<ref name=albawaba/> The person beaten to death was the suspected “mastermind” behind the August 18 shooting - Ahmed Izz Halaweh, a senior member of the armed wing of the Fatah movement the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades.<ref name=albawaba/> His death was branded by the UN and Palestinian factions as a part of “extrajudicial executions.”<ref name=albawaba/> A widespread manhunt for multiple gunmen was initiated by the police as a result, concluding with the arrest of one suspect Salah al-Kurdi on 25 August.<ref name=albawaba/>