Sir () is a Palestinian town in the Jenin Governorate of Palestine, in the West Bank, located 18 kilometers south of Jenin. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 769 inhabitants in mid-year 2006 and 857 by 2017.Projected Mid -Year Population for Jenin Governorate by Locality 2004- 2006 Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
Location Sir is located on the southern part of Marj Sanur, together with Meithalun.Saulcy, 1854, vol 1, p. 87
History
SWP noted: "The ruin west of the village has the appearance of an ancient site. Foundations, cisterns cut in the rock, and heaps of stones among bushes."Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 245
Pottery sherds from the Persian,Zertal, 2007, p. 147 early and late Roman, and ByzantineDauphin, 1998, pp. 757-8 eras have been found here.
Sir is identified with Kfar Zir (), mentioned in the 6th-7th century Mosaic of Reḥob as a Jewish village in the region of Sebastia inhabited mostly by non-Jews and, therefore, agricultural produce obtained from the area could be taken by Jews without the normal restrictions imposed during the Sabbatical years, or the need for tithing.
A Crusader estate named Casale Syrorum, whose rights were affirmed in the year 1165/1166 CE by Amalric of Jerusalem, was located here.Röhricht, 1904, RRH Ad, pp. 25 -26, #422aZertal, 2007, p. 146
Ottoman era Sir, like the rest of Palestine, was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1517, and in the census of 1596 it was a part of the nahiya ("subdistrict") of Jabal Sami which was under the administration of the Nablus Sanjak. The village had a population of 31 households and 4 bachelors, all Muslim. The villagers paid a fixed tax-rate of 33,3% on agricultural products, such as wheat, barley, summer crops, olive trees, beehives and/or goats, in addition to occasional revenues, a tax for people of liwa Nablus, and a press for olive oil or grape syrup; a total of 7,832 akçe.Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 125
In 1870, Victor Guérin noted it as a small village on a high hill. There were many cisterns and tombs cut out from the rock, which convinced Guérin that the place was ancient. The inhabitant, which numbered 150, had a mosque.Guérin, 1874, p. 353
In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described Sir as: "A small village on a knoll amid brushwood, with a large house on the west."Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 228
British Mandate era In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Sir had 194 Muslims inhabitants,Barron, 1923, Table IX, Sub-district of Jenin, p. 29 increasing in the 1931 census to 233; 2 Christians and 231 Muslims, in a total of 42 houses.Mills, 1932, p. 71
In the 1945 statistics the population of Sir was 290, all Muslims,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 17 with 12,499 dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 55 Of this, 1,908 dunams were used for plantations and irrigable land, 6,045 dunams for cereals,Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 99 while 10 dunams were built-up (urban) land and 4,536 dunams were classified as "non-cultivable".Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 149
Jordanian era In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Sir came under Jordanian rule.
The Jordanian census of 1961 found 470 inhabitants.Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. 25
Post-1967 Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Sir has been under Israeli occupation.
References
Bibliography
External links Welcome To Sir Sir, Welcome to Palestine Survey of Western Palestine, Map 12: IAA, Wikimedia commons