Editing Samaritans (section)

=== Early Islamic period ===
By the time of the [[Muslim conquest of the Levant]], apart from Jund Filastin, small dispersed communities of Samaritans were living in [[History of Muslim Egypt|Muslim Egypt]], [[Bilad al-Sham|Syria]], and [[Muslim conquest of Persia|Muslim Iran]]. According to Milka Levy-Rubin, many [[Forced Islamization of the Samaritans|Samaritans were forced to convert]] under [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasid]] and [[Tulunids|Tulunid]] rule (878–905 CE), having been subjected to hardships such as droughts, earthquakes, persecution by local governors, high taxes on religious minorities, and anarchy.{{sfn|Ehrlich|2022|p=33}}

Like other non-Muslims in the empire, such as Jews, Samaritans were often considered to be [[People of the Book]] and were guaranteed religious freedom.{{sfn|Pummer|1987|p=4}} Their minority status was protected by the Muslim rulers, and they had the right to practice their religion, but as [[dhimmi]], adult males had to pay the [[jizya]] or "protection tax". This however changed during late Abbasid period, with increasing persecution targeting the Samaritan community and considering them infidels which must convert to Islam.<ref name=":1"/>

Anarchy overtook Palestine during the early years of Abbasid Caliph [[al-Ma'mun]] (813–833 CE), when his rule was challenged by internal strife. According to the Chronicle of Abu l-Fath, during this time, many clashes took place, the locals suffered from famine and even fled their homes out of fear, and "many left their faith". An exceptional case is of ibn Firāsa, a rebel who arrived in Palestine in 830 and was said to have loathed Samaritans and persecuted them. He punished them, forced them to convert to Islam, and filled the prisons with Samaritan men, women, and children, keeping them there until many of them perished from hunger and thirst. He had also demanded payment for enabling them to circumcise their sons on the eighth day. As a result of the persecution, many Samaritans abandoned their religion at that time.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=לוי-רובין |first=מילכה |title=ספר השומרונים |publisher=יד יצחק בן צבי, רשות העתיקות, המנהל האזרחי ליהודה ושומרון: קצין מטה לארכיאולוגיה |year=2006 |isbn=965-217-202-2 |editor-last=שטרן |editor-first=אפרים |edition=2 |location=ירושלים |pages=562–586 |language=Hebrew |trans-title=Book of the Samaritans; The Continuation of the Samaritan Chronicle of Abu l-Fath |editor-last2=אשל |editor-first2=חנן}}</ref> The revolt was put down, but caliph [[al-Mu'tasim]] then increased taxes on the rebels, which sparked a second uprising. Rebel forces captured Nablus, where they set fire to synagogues belonging to the Samaritan and Dosithian (Samaritan sect) faiths. The community's situation briefly improved when this uprising was put down by Abbasid forces, and High Priest Pinhas ben Netanel resumed worship in the Nablus synagogue. Under the reign of [[Al-Wathiq|al-Wāthiq bi-llāh]], Abu-Harb Tamim, who had the support of [[Yaman (tribal group)|Yaman tribes]], led yet another uprising. He captured Nablus and caused many to flee, the Samaritan High Priest was injured and later died of his wounds in [[Hebron]]. The Samaritans could not go back to their homes until Abu-Harb tamim was vanquished and captured (842 CE).<ref name=":1" />

A number of restrictions on the dhimmi were reinstituted during the reign of the Abbasid Caliph [[al-Mutawakkil]] (847–861 CE), prices increased once more, and many people experienced severe poverty. "Many people lost faith as a result of the terrible price increases and because they became weary of paying the jizya. There were many sons and families who left their faith and became lost".<ref name=":1" /> The tradition of men wearing a red [[tarboosh]] may also go back to an order by al-Mutawakkil, that required non-Muslims to be distinguished from Muslims.{{sfn|Pummer|1987|p=17}} However, this is disputed because praying while wearing a tarboosh was easier for Muslims, because they put their heads to the ground during Salah (daily prayers).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kinross |first=Patrick Balfour |title=The Ottoman centuries: the rise and fall of the Turkish empire |date=1979 |publisher=Morrow |isbn=978-0-688-08093-8 |series=Morrow Quill paperbacks |location=New York, N.Y}}</ref>

The numerous instances of Samaritans converting to Islam that are mentioned in the Chronicle of Abu l-Fath are all connected to economic difficulties that led to widespread poverty among the Samaritan population, anarchy that left Samaritans defenseless against Muslim attackers, and attempts by those people and others to force conversion on the Samaritans. It is crucial to keep in mind that the Samaritan community was the smallest among the other dhimmi communities and that it was also situated in Samaria, where Muslim settlement continued to expand as evidenced by the text; by the ninth century, villages such as [[Sinjil]] and [[Jinsafut]] were already Muslim. This makes it possible to assume that the Samaritans were more vulnerable than other ''dhimmi'', what greatly broadened the extent of their Islamization.<ref name=":1" />

Archaeological data demonstrates that during the 8th and 9th centuries, winepresses west of Samaria stopped operating, but the villages to which they belonged persisted. Such sites could be securely identified as Samaritan in some of those cases, and it is likely in others. According to one theory, the local Samaritans who converted to Islam kept their villages going but were barred by [[Sharia|Islamic law]] from [[Khamr|making wine]]. These findings date to the Abbasid period, and are in accordance with the Islamization process as described in the historical sources.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=שור |first=נתן |title=ספר השומרונים |publisher=יד יצחק בן-צבי; רשות העתיקות |year=2006 |isbn=965-217-202-2 |editor-last=שטרן |editor-first=אפרים |edition=2 |location=ירושלים |pages=587–590 |language=Hebrew |trans-title=Book of the Samaritans |chapter=רדיפות השומרונים בידי העבאסים והיעלמות היישוב השומרוני החקלאי |editor-last2=אשל |editor-first2=חנן}}</ref>

As time goes on, more information from recorded sources refers to Nablus and less to the vast agricultural regions that the Samaritans had previously inhabited. Hence, the Abbasid era marks the disappearance of Samaritan rural habitation in Samaria. By the end of the period, Samaritans were mainly centered in Nablus, while other communities persisted in [[Caesarea Maritima|Caesarea]], [[Cairo]], [[Damascus]], [[Aleppo]], [[Sarepta]], and [[Ashkelon|Ascalon]].<ref name=":2" /> The Samaritans transitioned from speaking Aramaic and Arabic to exclusively speaking Arabic starting from the 11th century onward.<ref name="Neishtadt">{{cite book |last1=Neishtadt |first1=Mila |title=Semitic Languages in Contact |publisher=Brill |year=2015 |isbn=978-90-04-30015-6 |editor-last=Butts |editor-first=Aaron |page=281 |chapter=The Lexical Component in the Aramaic Substrate of Palestinian Arabic |doi=10.1163/9789004300156_016 |oclc=1105497638}}</ref>