Lajjun or Lejjun (, el-Lejjūn) was a large Palestinian Arab village located northwest of Jenin and south of the remains of the biblical city of Megiddo. The Israeli kibbutz of Megiddo was built 600 metres north-east of the depopulated village on the hill called Dhahrat ed-Dar starting from 1949.
The initial settlement grew next to a Roman legion camp, known simply as "Legio", used by the Legio VI Ferrata, for which it provided services. With map showing Abu Shusha, Maximianopolis, Lejjun, Tel Megiddo, Legio. Named after the camp, Lajjun's history of habitation spanned some 1,800 years, from the 2nd century during the Roman province of Syria Palaestina, to the 20th century. Under Abbasid rule it was the capital of a subdistrict, during Mamluk rule it served as an important station in the postal route, and during Ottoman rule it was the capital of a district that bore its name. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire towards the end of World War I, Lajjun and all of Palestine was placed under the administration of the British Mandate. The village was depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, when it was captured by Israel. Most of its residents subsequently fled and settled in the nearby town of Umm al-Fahm.
Etymology The name Lajjun derives from the Roman name Legio, referring to the Roman legion stationed there. In the 3rd century, the town was renamed Maximianopolis ("City of Maximian") by Diocletian in honor of Maximian, his co-emperor,Tepper 2003 but the inhabitants continued to use the old name. Under the Caliphate, the name was Arabicized into al-Lajjûn or el-Lejjûn,Cline, 2002, p.115 which was used until the Crusaders conquered Palestine in 1099. The Crusaders restored the Roman name Legio, and introduced new names such as Ligum and le Lyon, but after the town was reconquered by the Muslims in 1187, al-Lajjun once again became its name.
Geography Modern Lajjun was built on the slopes of three hills, roughly 135–175 meters above sea level, located on the southwestern edge of the Jezreel Valley (Marj ibn Amer). Jenin, the entire valley, and Nazareth range are visible from it. The village was located on both the banks of a stream, a tributary of Kishon River. The stream flows to the north and then east over before arriving at Lajjun. That section is called Wadi es-Sitt (valley of the lady) in Arabic,Palmer 1881, p. 156 The northern quarter was built in close proximity to a number of springs, including 'Ayn al Khalil, 'Ayn Nasir, 'Ayn Sitt Leila, and 'Ayn Jumma, collectively known as 'Uyun Seil Lajjun.State of Israel, Hydrographic list part 2, items no. 282-286,295. The eastern quarter was next to 'Ayn al Hajja. From Lajjun onward the stream is called Wadi al-Lajjun in Arabic. In Hebrew, the Israeli Government Naming Committee decided in 1958 to use the name Nahal Qeni () for the entire length of the stream, based on its ancient identification (see below).State of Israel, Hydrographic list part 1, item no. 177 (in list and indices). Lajjun is bordered by Tall al-Mutsallem to the northeast, and by Tall al-Asmar to the northwest. Lajjun, which was linked by secondary roads to the Jenin-Haifa road, and the road that led southwest to the town of Umm al-Fahm, laid close to the junctions of the two highways.
Nearby localities included, the destroyed village of Ayn al-Mansi to the northwest, and the surviving villages of Zalafa to the south, Bayada and Musheirifa to the southwest, and Zububa (part of the Palestinian territories) to the southeast. The largest town near al-Lajjun was Umm al-Fahm, to the south.
History
Bronze and Iron Ages Lajjun is about south of Tel Megiddo, Arabic name: Tell al-Mutasallim, which is identified with ancient Megiddo. During the rule of the Canaanites and then the Israelites, Megiddo, located on the military road leading from Asia to Egypt and in a commanding situation, was heavily fortified by both peoples.
Lajjun stream has been identified with the brook Kina, or Qina, which is mentioned in the Egyptian descriptions of Thutmose III's Battle of Megiddo. According to the reconstruction of Harold Hayden Nelson, the entire battle was fought in the valley, between the three quarters of modern Lajjun.Nelson (1921) However, both Na'aman and ZertalZertal, 2016, pp. 51-52, 74 suggested alternative locations for Qina. This stream may be the "Waters of Megiddo" in the Song of Deborah In the same context, attests to the presence of a branch of the Kenite clan somewhere in the area; relating this name to Thutmose's Annals, scholars like Shmuel Yeivin theorized that the name Qina derives from qyni (). Donald B. Redford noted that the Egyptian transliteration might be of "qayin".Redford 2003, p. 109 note 26
Roman era Modern-day historical geographers have placed the Second Temple period village of Kefar ʿUthnai () in the confines of the Arab village, and which place-name underwent a change after a Roman Legion had camped there.Safrai (1980), p. 223 (note 5) It appears in Latin characters under its old name Caporcotani in the Tabula Peutingeriana Map, and lay along the Roman road from Caesarea to Scythopolis (Beit Shean).Tsafrir, Di Segni & Green, p. 170B. Isaac & I. Roll 1982Thomsen, p. 77 Ptolemy (Geography V, 15: 3) also mentions the site in the second century CE, referring to the place under its Latin appellation, Caporcotani, and where he mentions it as one of the four cities of the Galilee, with Sepphoris, Julias and Tiberias.David Adan-Bayewitz, Martin (Szusz) Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology, Bar-Ilan University, Question & Response (2 December 2013) Among the village's famous personalities was Rabban Gamliel.Babylonian Talmud, Gittin 10b (Mishnah Gittin 1:5) After the Bar Kochba Revolt—a Jewish uprising against the Roman Empire—had been suppressed in 135 CE, the Roman emperor Hadrian ordered a second Roman legion, Legio VI Ferrata (6th "Ironclad" Legion), to be stationed in the north of the country to guard the Wadi Ara region, a crucial line of communication between the coastal plain of Palestine and the Jezreel Valley.Pringle, 1998, p. 3-5Khalidi, 1992, p. 334 The place where it established its camp was known as Legio.
In the 3rd century CE, when the army was removed, Legio became a city and its name was augmented with the adjectival Maximianopolis. Eusebius mentions the village in his Onomasticon, under the name Legio.
In 2001 and 2004, the Israel Antiquities Authority conducted archaeological excavations at Kefar ‘Otnay and Legio west of Megiddo Junction, recovering artifacts from the Roman and early Byzantine periods.IAA Report: Kefar ‘Otnay and LegioIsrael Antiquities Authority, Excavators and Excavations Permit for Year 2004, Survey Permit # A-4227
Early Muslim period Some Muslim historians believe the site of the Battle of Ajnadayn between the Muslim Arabs and the Byzantines in 634 CE was at Lajjun. Following the Muslim victory, Lajjun, along with most of Palestine, and southern Syria were incorporated into the Caliphate.Gil, 1997, p.42. According to medieval geographers Estakhri and Ibn Hawqal, Lajjun was the northernmost town of Jund Filastin (military district of Palestine).Estakhri and Ibn Hawqal quoted in le Strange, 1890, p.28.
A hoard of dinars dating from the Umayyad era have been found at Lajjun.Mayer, 1932, pp. 100–102
The 10th-century Persian geographer Ibn al-Faqih wrote of a local legend related by the people of Lajjun regarding the source of the abundant spring used as the town's primary water source over the ages: there is just outside al-Lajjun a large stone of round form, over which is built a dome, which they call the Mosque of Abraham. A copious stream of water flows from under the stone and it is reported that Abraham struck the stone with his staff, and there immediately flowed from it water enough to suffice for the supply of the people of the town, and also to water their lands. The spring continues to flow down to the present day.Ibn al-Faqih quoted in le Strange, 1890, p.492.
The Mosque of Ibrahim, referred to in Ibn al-Faqīh's account, was a famous 10th–15th century Islamic shrine. The mosque was attributed to a miracle by the Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham), who is said to have struck the rock with his staff to bring forth water. This association made the site a regional place of pilgrimage for centuries. The mosque disappeared from the historical record by the 16th century, but its memory survived in local oral traditions and place-names. Recent archaeological and historical research has proposed that the mosque may be identified with monumental remains above the ʿAyn al-Sitt spring, including a domed structure with vaulted chambers and reused Roman elements. Scholars interpret the shrine as part of a broader Islamization of sacred geography in the Levant, incorporating local water traditions into the Islamic Abrahamic narrative.Roy Marom, Matthew J. Adams, & Yotam Tepper (2025). "The Mosque of Ibrahim: A 10th-Century Shrine at al-Lajjun." Journal of Islamic Archaeology 11(2): 123–146. https://doi.org/10.1558/jia.28376
In 940, Ibn Ra'iq, during his conflict over control of Syria with the Ikhshidids of Egypt, fought against them in an indecisive battle at Lajjun. During the battle, Abu Nasr al-Husayn—the Ikhshidid general and brother of the Ikhshidid ruler, Muhammad ibn Tughj—was killed. Ibn Ra'iq was remorseful at the sight of Husayn's dead body and offered his seventeen-year-old son, Abu'l-Fath Muzahim, to Ibn Tughj "to do with him whatever they saw fit". Ibn Tughj was honored by Ibn Ra'iq's gesture; instead of executing Muzahim, he gave the latter several gifts and robes, then married him to his daughter Fatima.Gil, 1997, p.318.
In 945, the Hamdanids of Aleppo and the Ikhshidids fought a battle in Lajjun. It resulted in an Ikhshidid victory putting a halt to Hamdanid expansion southward under the leadership of Sayf al-Dawla. The Jerusalemite geographer, al-Muqaddasi, wrote in 985 that Lajjun was "a city on the frontier of Palestine, and in the mountain country ... it is well situated and is a pleasant place".al-Muqaddasi quoted in le Strange, 1890, p.492. Moreover, it was the center of a nahiya (subdistrict) of Jund al-Urdunn (military district of Jordan),le Strange, 1890, p.39. which also included the towns of Nazareth and Jenin.al-Muqaddasi quoted in le Strange, 1890, p.301.Al-Muqaddasi, The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions (Being a translation of "Ahsan al-Taqasim fi Maʿrifat al-Aqalim"), Reading 1994, p. 141
Crusader, Ayyubid and Mamluk periods When the Crusaders invaded and conquered the Levant from the Fatimids in 1099, al-Lajjun's Roman name, Legio, was restored and the town formed a part of the lordship of Caesarea. During this time, Christian settlement in Legio grew significantly. John of Ibelin records that the community "owed the service of 100 sergeants". Bernard, the archbishop of Nazareth granted some of the tithes of Legio to the hospital of the monastery of St. Mary in 1115, then in 1121, he extended the grant to include all of Legio, including its church as well as the nearby village of Ti'inik. By 1147, the de Lyon family controlled Legio, but by 1168, the town was held by Payen, the lord of Haifa. Legio had markets, a town oven and held other economic activities during this era. In 1182, the Ayyubids raided Legio, and in 1187, it was captured by them under the leadership of Saladin's nephew Husam ad-Din 'Amr and consequently its Arabic name, Lajjun, was restored.