Emmaus-Nicopolis
Emmaus in Muslim tradition
An interesting legend concerning Emmaus during the Old Testament period comes from a book by Mujir ad-Din al-Ulaymi, a Muslim chronicler who lived and worked in Jerusalem:
“At the time of Solomon, the rock of Bayt al-Maqdis [the Jerusalem Temple] was 12 cubits high. It was the ‘good’ cubit equivalent to a cubit, a span and a handbreadth. The height of the dome was 18 miles above the rock. It is reported [by others] that it was only twelve. At the top of the dome there stood a golden gazelle, having between its eyes a pearl or a red hyacinth. Thanks to the bright light of this stone, women of al-Balqâ’ [in Transjordan] could spin during the night. This region of al-Balqâ’ is more than two stages away from Jerusalem. The residents of ‘Amawâs [Emmaus] used to shelter at the shadow of the dome, when the sun was rising in the East... ‘Amawâs is close to Ramlah of Palestine. It is a barid and a half [ca. 18 miles, 29 km] away from Jerusalem. At sunset, it was the people of Bayt ar-Râmah and other residents of al-Gawr [Jordan valley] who used to shelter in the shadow of the dome. Bayt ar-Ramah is further away from Jerusalem than ‘Amawâs …”
Mudjir ad-Din, The History of Jerusalem and of Hebron (late 15th - early 16th c.), translated by us from:
A.-S. Marmardji, Textes geographiques arabes sur la Palestine, Paris, 1951, p. 245.
Emmaus (‘Amawas) is mentioned by the Persian historian Al-Baladhuri (9th c.) among the cities captured by the Muslims in the year 634:
“Abu-Hafs ad-Dimashki from learned sheikhs: - The first conflict between Moslems and Greeks took place in the caliphate of abu-Bakr in the province of Palestine, the one in chief command over the Moslems being ‘Amr ibn-al-’Âsi. Later on in the caliphate of abu-Bakr, ‘Amr ibn-al-’Âsi effected the conquest of Ghazzah, then Sabastiyah [Samaria] and Nâbulus [Neapolis] with the stipulation that he guaranteed to the inhabitants the safety of their lives, their possessions and their houses on condition that they pay poll-tax, and kharâj on their land. He then conquered Ludd [Lydda] and its district, and then Yubna [Jabneh or Jabneel], ‘Amawâs [Emmaus] and Bait-Jabrîn [Eleutheropolis, Beit-Guvrin] where he took for himself an estate which he named ‘Ajlân after a freedman of his. He then conquered Yâfa [Jaffa]…”
Al-Baladhuri, The Book of Conquests, 138 (9th c.), quoted from:
The origins of the Islamic state, being a translation from the Arabic
accompanied with annotations, geographic and historic notes of the
Kitâb futûh al-buldân of al-Imâm Abu-l Abbâs, Ahmad ibn-Jâbir al-Balâdhuri,
by Philip Khûri Hitti, NY, 1916, p. 213
An important event connected to Emmaus and mentioned by many ancient Muslim historians, was an epidemic of plague in 639 AD. At this point, the area of Emmaus had apparently become an administrative centre and home to a large number of Arab troops. This explains the fact that this plague that raged across Syria was called “that of ‘Amawas”.
The Persian historian Al-Baladhuri (9th c.) describes the plague in this way:
“The plague of ‘Amawâs occurred in the year 18. To it a great many Moslems fell victim, among them was Abu ‘Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrâh (who was 58 years old and a commander in the army) and Mu‘âdh ibn Jabal of the banu-Salimah of al-Khazraj who was surnamed abu-‘Abd-ar-Rahmân and who died in the district of al-Ukhuwanah in the province of Jordan aged 38. Abu ‘Ubaidah had appointed Mu‘âdh as his successor while he was dying. According to others, he appointed ‘Iyâd ibn-Ghanm al-Fihri. Some others say he appointed ‘Amr ibn-al-’Âsi, who appointed his own son as successor and departed for Egypt. Al-Fadl ibn-al ‘Abbâs ibn-‘Abd-al-Muttabib, surnamed abu-Muhammad, fell, according to some, as martyr in Ajnâdin, but the truth is that he was victim to the plague at ‘Amawas. Other victims were Shurahbil ibn Hassanah, surnamed abu-‘Abdallah (who died 69 years old), Suhail ibn-‘Amr of the banu-‘Amir ibn-Lu’ai, surnamed abu-Yazîd; and al-Hârith ibn-Hisham ibn-al-Mughîrah-l-Makhzumi (who according to others, fell martyr in the battle of Ajnâdin)…”
Al-Baladhuri, The Book of Conquests, 139 (9th c.) , quoted from:
The origins of the Islamic state, being a translation from the Arabic
accompanied with annotations, geographic and historic notes of the
Kitâb futûh al-buldân of al-Imâm Abu-l Abbâs, Ahmad ibn-Jâbir al-Balâdhuri,
by Philip Khûri Hitti, NY, 1916, p.215
The Arab historian and geographer of the 9th c., al-Yaqubi, also testifies:
“The plague was raging in Syria. It was that of ‘Amawas. That year twenty-five thousand men died from the plague of ‘Amawas, besides those among them who were not counted. The prices went up. People monopolized. But ‘Umar forbade the monopoly.”
al-Yaqubi,Tarikh (History), 2nd half of the 9th century.
Translated by us from: A.-S. Marmardji, Textes géographiques arabes sur la Palestine, Paris, 1951, p. 150.
Women at a well in ‘Amwas, photo ca. 1890
The plague likely resulted from infected springs. Back in the early 20th century, a filled well near Emmaus was still called “the plague well” by the locals (in Arabic, Bir at-Ta’un). Due to the plague, Emmaus residents left their homes and moved closer to the sea (to the area of Lydda). In the 10th c. the Arab geographer al-Muqaddasi writes:
“ ’Amwas—It is said that this place was in ancient days the capital of the province, but that the population removed therefrom, to be nearer to the sea, and more in the plain, on account of the wells; for the village lies on the skirt of the hill-country.”
Al-Muqaddasi, Description of the Moslem Empire, ca. 985 AD,
Part 1, Description of the Province of Syria, including Palestine,
quoted from: Guy Le Strange, Palestine under Moslems, Beirut, 1965, p. 393, see the Arabic text here.
Arabic coins from the 7th and 8th centuries, found in excavations at Emmaus (see here: K.-H. & Louisa Fleckenstein, Emmaus-Nicopolis Ausgrabungen 2001-2005, Novum publishing, 2010):
The inscription on the obverse side: “El Malek”, “King”
The inscription on the reverse side: “Masjid”, “Mosque”
The inscription on the obverse side: “La ilaha illa Allah wahdahu” – “There is no God except Allah alone”
The inscription on the reverse side: “Muhammad Rasul Allah” – “Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah”
Two hundred years after the Muslim conquest, in the middle of the 9th century, the area of Emmaus is referred to by a Persian geographer as a populous and a prosperous countryside:
“ ‘Amawâs, whereof speaks the poet Ibn Kulthum al-Kindi: ‘Aren’t there so many young people generous and handsome like the moon, so many young women virtuous and white-faced in the valley of ‘Amawâs!’”
Ibn Khordadbeh, The Book of Roads and Kingdoms, Description of Palestine, years 846-886,
translated by us from: De Goeje, M. J., Bibliotheca geographorum Arabicorum, Vol. 6, 1889, p. 58.
(courtesy: Israel Antiquity Authority)
Marble slab with a Kufic-style inscription in Arabic, discovered at Emmaus (years 845-854):
“In the Name of Allah. Allah has testified that there is no god but He. Likewise, the angels and the people of knowledge; dispensing justice, there is no god but He, the Sublime, the Wise [Quran 3:18]. This is the tomb of Abu al-Qasim Ali son of ‘Isa son of Ja’far son of Ibrahim son of Subh al-... The mercy of Allah be upon him. He died on Monday… Muharram the year ...and thirty and [two hundred?]”
See: Moshe Sharon, "Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarum Palaestinae", v.1, Leiden-NY-Köln, 1997, pp. 82-83.
Muslim shrines of Emmaus
The tradition that Abu ‘Ubayda, a companion of Muhammad who died of the plague in 639, was buried at Emmaus is first mentioned in the work Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kubra by the ninth-century Arab historian Ibn Sa'd:
"Abu Bakr ibn ‘Abdullah reported from some men of the people of Abu ‘Ubayda that Abu ‘Ubayda ... died in the ‘Amwas plague in 18 AH while ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab was khalif. Abu ‘Ubayda was 58 when he died. His grave is at ‘Amwas, which is four miles from Ramla in the direction of Jerusalem."
Muhammad Ibn Sa'd, The Men of Madina, translated by Aisha Bewley, Ta-Ha Publishers, London, 1997, v. 1, p. 237
The veneration at Emmaus of numerous tombs of Muhammad’s companions, the victims of the plague of ‘Amwas, has been mentioned for the first time in the late 12th- early 13th century by the Persian traveller al-Harawi:
“One sees at ‘Amwas tombs of a great number of companions of the Prophet and of Tabi’un who died here of the plague. Among them are mentioned Abder Rahman ibn Mu‘adh ben Jabal and his children, Harith, son of Hisham, Souhail, son of Amr, and many others whose place of burial is not known exactly.”
Ali ibn Abi Bakr al-Harawi (Abu al Hassan), Guide for the Places of Pilgrimages, written before 1215,
translated by us from: Archives de l’Orient latin, vol. 1, Paris, 1881, p. 609.
The French orientalist Charles Clermont-Ganneau (1846-1923), who explored the Amwas region in 1874, reported that the villagers still venerated the tombs of Muadh ibn Djebel and Abu ‘Ubayda :
“The most important, and most conspicuous Mussulman sanctuary in ‘Amwas is that which stands on the hill some 500 meters to the south of the village. It appears on the P. E. Fund Map under the name of Sheikh Mo‘alla, a name which is interpreted in the name lists by “lofty” [Arabic and English Name Lists Collected during the Survey by Lieutenants Conder and Kitchener, transliterated and explained by E. H. Palmer, London, 1881, p. 328]. I have heard the name pronounced Ma‘alleh, and also Mu‘al, or Mo‘al; but these are merely shorter or less accurate forms; the complete name, as I have on several occasions noted, is Sheikh Mu‘al iben Jabal. Although they do not know anything about its origin, the fellahin have an extraordinary reverence for this sanctuary; they declare that it is often the scene of a supernatural apparition; that of an old man, with a long white beard, mounted on a green mare, and holding in his right hand a pike (harbeh) wherewith he slays his enemies. This is the Sheikh, of whom they stand in holy awe. […]
Arab horseman, a drawing published by Johan Helffrich in: "Kurtzer und warhafftiger Bericht, Von der Reis aus Venedig nach Hierusalem", Leipzig, 1581
On the west side of the village, to the north of the church, there is another Mohammedan sanctuary, which also is greatly venerated. Here stands an ancient and very curious building, with cupolas and vaults. It is called simply Sheikh ‘Obeid. I have no doubt that this otherwise unknown Sheikh ‘Obeid is a sort of pendant to Mu‘adh ben Jabal, and that concealed under it lies the personality of another famous hero of the Mohammedan conquest, who also fell a victim to the Plague of ‘Amwas; I mean General Abu ‘Obeidah ben el Jarah, who commanded the invading army, and was succeeded in the command by Mu‘adh ben Jabal himself.”
Charles Clermont-Ganneau, Archeological Researches in Palestine during the Years 1873-1874, v.1, London, 1899, pp. 491-493.
"Tomb of Abu ‘Ubayda", originally a 3rd century Roman bathhouse rebuilt during the Byzantine period (today in the Canada (Ayalon) Park).
Muslim votive oil lamps from Abu ‘Ubaida’s sanctuary (Mameluke & Ottoman periods), see: M. Gichon, R. Linden, "Muslim Oil lamps from Emmaus", IEJ 1984, p. 156
"Mausoleum of Sheikh ibn Jebel", which was originally dedicated to Sheikh Mou’alla ibn Shoukayr, was built in 1289-1290, (today in the Canada (Ayalon) Park).
For more information on the Muslim sanctuaries of Emmaus, see: Early Arab Period and Mameluke Period