BZU professor presents Ramallah in the Ottoman era in a new book

Birzeit University Political Science professor Sameeh Hammoudeh celebrated the release of his new book “Ottoman Ramallah: A study in its social history (1517-1918),” published by the Institute of Palestine Studies, and presented by Dr. Salim Tamari

Using primary sources such as Jerusalem’s sharia court records and the writings of religious pilgrims, travelers, Western researchers, and Arab notables, the study sheds light on  the evolution of society in Ramallah, beginning with localizing families from an area near Karak in Transjordan, the relationship of these families with feudalists, and the ties between Ramallah and Al-Bireh farmers with statesmen and tax collectors, in addition to the sectarian relations between Christians and Muslims during the sixteenth and mid-seventeenth centuries.

In the book, Hammoudeh addresses several aspects of Ramallah history and its population in the Ottoman Empire, noting the co-existence between Muslims and Christians in Ramallah during the sixteenth and mid-seventeenth centuries.