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| native_name = {{lang|ar|عِمواس}}
| native_name = {{lang|ar|عِمواس}}
| native_name_lang = ar
| native_name_lang = ar
| other_name = 'Amwas, Amwas
| other_name = Emmaus<br/>'Amwas<br/>Amwas
| settlement_type = Village
| settlement_type = Village
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| pushpin_map = Mandatory Palestine
| pushpin_map = Mandatory Palestine
| pushpin_map_caption = Location within [[Mandatory Palestine]] | image_map = {{Historical map series|default=2|date1=1870s|date2=1940s|date3=modern|date4=1940s with modern overlay|width=225}} | map_caption = A series of historical maps of the area around {{PAGENAME}} (click the buttons)
| pushpin_map_caption = Location within [[Mandatory Palestine]] | image_map = {{Historical map series|default=2|date1=1870s|date2=1940s|date3=modern|date4=1940s with modern overlay|width=225}} | map_caption = A series of historical maps of the area around Imwas (click the buttons)
| pushpin_mapsize = 200
| pushpin_mapsize = 200
| coordinates = {{coord|31|50|26|N|34|59|30|E|type:city_region:PS|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates = {{coord|31|50|26|N|34|59|30|E|type:city_region:PS|display=inline,title}}
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| blank3_info_sec1 = [[Canada Park]]
| blank3_info_sec1 = [[Canada Park]]
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}}
'''Imwas''' or '''Emmaus''' ({{lang-ar|عِمواس}}), known in classical times as '''Nicopolis''' ({{lang-gr| Νικόπολις|lit=City of Victory}}), was a [[Palestinian people|Palestinian]] [[Arab]] village located {{convert|12|km|mi}} southeast of the city of [[Ramla]] and {{convert|26|km|mi}} from [[Jerusalem]] in the [[Latrun]] [[salient (geography)|salient]] of the [[West Bank]].<ref name=Warehamp108>Wareham and Gill, 1998, p. 108.</ref> It is traditionally (possibly from as early as the 3rd century, but probably incorrectly) identified with the biblical [[Emmaus]].<ref name=CathEnc>{{Cite encyclopedia |author=Siméon Vailhé |encyclopedia=The Catholic Encyclopedia |title=Emmaus |year=1909 |publisher=Robert Appleton Company |volume=5 |location=New York |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05405a.htm }}
'''Imwas''' or '''Emmaus''' ({{langx|ar|عِمواس|ʿImwās}}), known in classical times as '''Nicopolis''' ({{langx|grc|Νικόπολις|lit=City of Victory}}), was a [[Palestinians|Palestinian]] village located {{convert|12|km|mi}} southeast of the city of [[Ramla]] and {{convert|26|km|mi}} from [[Jerusalem]] in the [[Latrun]] [[salient (geography)|salient]] of the [[West Bank]].<ref name=Warehamp108>Wareham and Gill, 1998, p. 108.</ref> It is traditionally (possibly from as early as the 3rd century, but probably incorrectly) identified with the biblical [[Emmaus]].<ref name=CathEnc>{{Cite encyclopedia |author=Siméon Vailhé |encyclopedia=The Catholic Encyclopedia |title=Emmaus |year=1909 |publisher=Robert Appleton Company |volume=5 |location=New York |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05405a.htm|quote=Today 'Am'was (the native name) is a Mussulman village about eighteen miles from Jerusalem, on the road to Jaffa. There are still visible ruins of a beautiful basilica built in the fourth or the fifth century, and repaired by the Crusaders. Near 'Am'was, at El-Atroun, the Trappists founded a priory in 1890. In the opinion of many 'Am'was is the Emmaus of the Gospel (Luke 24:13-35), where Christ manifested Himself to two of His Disciples. Such is, indeed, the tradition of the Church of Jerusalem, attested as early as the fourth century by Eusebius of Cæsarea, Titus of Bostra, and St. Jerome, a tradition confirmed by all pilgrims, at least to the time of the Crusades; it may even date back to the third century to [[Julius Africanus]] and Origen. It is also supported by many Biblical commentaries, some of which are as old as the fourth or the fifth century; in these the Emmaus of the Gospel is said to have stood at 160 stadia from Jerusalem, the modern 'Am'was being at 176 stadia. In spite of its antiquity, this tradition does not seem to be well founded. Most manuscripts and versions place Emmaus at only sixty stadia from Jerusalem, and they are more numerous and generally more ancient than those of the former group. It seems, therefore, very probable that the number 160 is a correction of Origen and his school to make the Gospel text agree with the Palestinian tradition of their time. Moreover, the distance of 160 stadia would imply about six hours' walk, which is inadmissible, for the Disciples had only gone out to the country and could return to Jerusalem before the gates were shut (Mark 16:12; Luke 24:33). Finally, the Emmaus of the Gospel is said to be a village, while 'Am'was was the flourishing capital of a 'toparchy'. Josephus (''Ant. Jud.'', VII, vi, 6) mentions at sixty stadia from Jerusalem a village called Ammaus, where Vespasian and Titus stationed 800 veterans. This is evidently the Emmaus of the Gospel. But it must have been destroyed at the time of the revolt of Bar-Cocheba (A.D. 132-35) under Hadrian, and its site was unknown as early as the third century. Origen and his friends merely placed the Gospel Emmaus at Nicopolis, the only Emmaus known at their time. The identifications of Koubeibeh, Abou Gosh, Koulonieh, Beit Mizzeh, etc. with Emmaus, as proposed by some modern scholars, are inadmissible.}}
</ref> Its population was expelled and its buildings razed by Israeli forces during the [[Naksa]] of 1967.
"Today 'Am'was (the native name) is a Mussulman village about eighteen miles from Jerusalem, on the road to Jaffa. There are still visible ruins of a beautiful basilica built in the fourth or the fifth century, and repaired by the Crusaders. Near 'Am'was, at El-Atroun, the Trappists founded a priory in 1890.
In the opinion of many 'Am'was is the Emmaus of the Gospel (Luke 24:13-35), where Christ manifested Himself to two of His Disciples. Such is, indeed, the tradition of the Church of Jerusalem, attested as early as the fourth century by Eusebius of Cæsarea, Titus of Bostra, and St. Jerome, a tradition confirmed by all pilgrims, at least to the time of the Crusades; it may even date back to the third century to Julius Africanus and Origen. It is also supported by many Biblical commentaries, some of which are as old as the fourth or the fifth century; in these the Emmaus of the Gospel is said to have stood at 160 stadia from Jerusalem, the modern 'Am'was being at 176 stadia. In spite of its antiquity, this tradition does not seem to be well founded. Most manuscripts and versions place Emmaus at only sixty stadia from Jerusalem, and they are more numerous and generally more ancient than those of the former group. It seems, therefore, very probable that the number 160 is a correction of Origen and his school to make the Gospel text agree with the Palestinian tradition of their time. Moreover, the distance of 160 stadia would imply about six hours' walk, which is inadmissible, for the Disciples had only gone out to the country and could return to Jerusalem before the gates were shut (Mark 16:12; Luke 24:33). Finally, the Emmaus of the Gospel is said to be a village, while 'Am'was was the flourishing capital of a 'toparchy'. Josephus (''Ant. Jud.'', VII, vi, 6) mentions at sixty stadia from Jerusalem a village called Ammaus, where Vespasian and Titus stationed 800 veterans. This is evidently the Emmaus of the Gospel. But it must have been destroyed at the time of the revolt of Bar-Cocheba (A.D. 132-35) under Hadrian, and its site was unknown as early as the third century. Origen and his friends merely placed the Gospel Emmaus at Nicopolis, the only Emmaus known at their time. The identifications of Koubeibeh, Abou Gosh, Koulonieh, Beit Mizzeh, etc. with Emmaus, as proposed by some modern scholars, are inadmissible."
</ref>


After the [[1948 Arab-Israeli war]], Imwas fell under [[Jordanian annexation of the West Bank|Jordanian rule]]. Its population at the time was predominantly Arab [[Muslim]], though there was an [[Arab Christian]] minority. Captured by the [[Israeli Defense Forces]] during the [[Six-Day War]] on June 7, 1967 along with the neighbouring villages of [[Yalo]] and [[Bayt Nuba]], the villagers of Imwas were expelled and the village destroyed on the orders of [[Yitzhak Rabin]].{{cn|date=October 2016}} Today the area of the former village lies within [[Canada Park]], which was established by the [[Jewish National Fund]] in 1973.
After the [[1948 Arab-Israeli war]], Imwas fell under [[Jordanian annexation of the West Bank|Jordanian rule]]. Its population at the time was predominantly [[Muslim]] although there was a [[Palestinian Christians|Palestinian Christian]] minority. Captured by the [[Israeli Defense Forces]] during the [[Six-Day War]] on June 7, 1967 along with the neighbouring villages of [[Yalo]] and [[Bayt Nuba]], the villagers of Imwas were expelled and the village destroyed on the orders of [[Yitzhak Rabin]].<ref>{{cite book | last=Oren | first=M.B. | title=Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East | publisher=Random House Publishing Group | year=2017 | isbn=978-0-345-46431-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lEklDwAAQBAJ |page=306}}</ref> Today the area of the former village lies within [[Canada Park]], which was established by the [[Jewish National Fund]] in 1973.


==Etymology==
==Etymology==
The name of the modern village was pronounced by its inhabitants as 'Imwās. [[Arabic language|Arabic]] literary sources indicate the name was formerly pronounced 'Amwās and 'Amawās, the latter being form transcribed by the [[Bilad al-Sham|Syria]]n geographer [[Yaqut al-Hamawi|Yakut]] (1179–1229).<ref name=Sharonp79>Sharon, 1997, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=j1rSzWgHMjoC&pg=PA79 79]</ref>
The name of the modern village was pronounced {{lang|ar|ʿImwās}} by its inhabitants. [[Arabic language|Arabic]] literary sources indicate the name was formerly pronounced {{lang|ar|ʿAmwās}} and {{lang|ar|ʿAmawās}}, the latter being form transcribed by the [[Bilad al-Sham|Syria]]n geographer [[Yaqut al-Hamawi|Yakut]] (1179–1229).<ref name=Sharonp79>Sharon, 1997, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=j1rSzWgHMjoC&pg=PA79 79]</ref>


In the time of [[Jerome]], the Semitic name of [[Emmaus Nicopolis]] was 'Ammaôs or 'Emmaus, both beginning with an '[[Ayin|āyin]].<ref>{{cite book | author = Charles Clermont-Ganneau | title = Archaeological Researches in Palestine during the Years 1873–1874 | volume = 1 | page = 490 | year = 1899}}</ref> Following [[Charles Clermont-Ganneau|Clermont-Ganneau]], [[Moshe Sharon]] argued that the [[Arabic language|Arabic]] name more faithfully approximates the town's original ancient name when compared against the name as transcribed in the [[Talmud]], where it begins with an '[[Aleph|alef]].<ref name=Sharonp79/> [[Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|Kitchener]] and [[Claude Reignier Conder|Conder]] suggested the name Emmaus is derived from the [[Biblical Hebrew|ancient Hebrew]] Hammath, a thermal spring.<ref name=":0">Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP III, p. [https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp03conduoft/page/36/mode/1up?view=theater 36-37]</ref>
In the time of [[Jerome]], the Semitic name of [[Emmaus Nicopolis]] was ''ʿAmmaôs'' or ''ʿEmmaus'', both beginning with an ''[[ayin|ʿāyin]]'' (ʿ).<ref>{{cite book | author = Charles Clermont-Ganneau | title = Archaeological Researches in Palestine during the Years 1873–1874 | volume = 1 | page = 490 | year = 1899}}</ref> Following [[Charles Clermont-Ganneau|Clermont-Ganneau]], [[Moshe Sharon]] argued that the [[Arabic language|Arabic]] name more faithfully approximates the town's original ancient name when compared against the name as transcribed in the [[Talmud]], where it begins with an [[aleph|alef]] (ʾ).<ref name=Sharonp79/> [[Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|Kitchener]] and [[Claude Reignier Conder|Conder]] suggested the name ''Emmaus'' is derived from the [[Biblical Hebrew|ancient Hebrew]] ''ḥammat'', a thermal spring.<ref name=":0">Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP III, p. [https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp03conduoft/page/36/mode/1up?view=theater 36-37]</ref>

According to a tradition held by local [[fellah]]in in the 19th century, the village's name is related to an epidemic that killed the ancient [[Jews|Jewish]] inhabitants of the village, but they were miraculously brought back to life after [[Uzair|Neby Uzair]]'s visited the place and prayed to God to revive the victims. The fellahin described the pestilience as ''amm-mou-asa'', which according to [[Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau|Clermont-Ganneau]], roughly means "it was extended generally and was an affliction". Clermont-Ganneau thought this local etymology was "evidently artificial".<ref name="CG1874">C. Clermont-Ganneau, "Letters: VII-X," ''Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly Statement'' 6.3 (July 1874): p. 162</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Conder |first1=C. R. (Claude Reignier) |url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp03conduoft/page/66/mode/1up? |title=The survey of western Palestine : memoirs of the topography, orography, hydrography, and archaeology |last2=Kitchener |first2=Horatio Herbert Kitchener |last3=Palmer |first3=Edward Henry |last4=Besant |first4=Walter |date=1881–1883 |publisher=London : Committee of the Palestine exploration fund |others=Robarts - University of Toronto |pages=66}}</ref>


==History==
==History==
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===Classical antiquity===
===Classical antiquity===
{{main|Emmaus Nicopolis}}
{{main|Emmaus Nicopolis}}
Emmaus is also mentioned in the first [[Books of the Maccabees|Book of the Maccabees]] as the site where [[Judas Maccabeus]] defeated the Syrian General [[Gorgias (general)|Gorgias]] in the 2nd century BCE.<ref name=Robinsonp147/> It was subsequently fortified by [[Bacchides (general)|Bacchides]] in 160 BCE, and replaced [[Gezer]] as the head of a [[toparchy]] in 47 BCE.<ref name=Sharonp79/> [[Edward Robinson (scholar)|Edward Robinson]] relates that its inhabitants were enslaved by [[Gaius Cassius Longinus|Cassius]], while [[Josephus]] relates that the city (called Άμμoὺς) was burned to the ground by [[Publius Quinctilius Varus|Varus]] after the death of [[Herod the Great|Herod]] in 4 BCE.<ref name=Robinsonp147>Robinson and Smith, 1856, p. [https://archive.org/stream/laterbiblicalre01smitgoog#page/n196/mode/1up 147]</ref><ref name=Bromileyp77>Bromiley, 1982, p. 77.</ref> Imwas has been identified as the site of ancient Emmaus, where according to the [[Book of Luke]] (24:13-35), [[Jesus]] appeared to a group of his disciples, including [[Cleopas]], after his death and resurrection.<ref name=Pringlep52/>
Emmaus is also mentioned in the first [[Books of the Maccabees|Book of the Maccabees]] as the site where [[Judas Maccabeus]] defeated the [[Gorgias (general)|Syrian Seleucid general Gorgias]] in the [[2nd century BCE]]<ref name=Robinsonp147/> and subsequently fortified by [[Bacchides (general)|General Bacchides]] in 160 BCE. It replaced [[Gezer]] as the head of a [[toparchy]] in 47 BCE.<ref name=Sharonp79/>


[[Edward Robinson (scholar)|Edward Robinson]] relates that its inhabitants were enslaved by [[Gaius Cassius Longinus]] while [[Josephus]] relates that the city, called {{lang|grc|Άμμoὺς}}, was burned to the ground by [[Publius Quinctilius Varus]] after the death of [[Herod the Great]] in 4 BCE.<ref name=Robinsonp147>Robinson and Smith, 1856, p. [https://archive.org/stream/laterbiblicalre01smitgoog#page/n196/mode/1up 147]</ref><ref name=Bromileyp77>Bromiley, 1982, p. 77.</ref>
Reduced to a small market-town, its importance was recognized by the Emperor [[Vespasian]], who established a fortified camp there in 68 CE to house the fifth ("Macedonian") legion, populating it with 800 veterans.<ref name=Sharonp79/><ref>Josephus, [[The Jewish War|''De Bello Iudaico'']] Bk 7,6:6.</ref> In 131 CE, the city was destroyed by an earthquake.<ref name=Sharonp79/> It was rebuilt and renamed Nicopolis ("City of Victory") by [[Elagabalus]] in 221 CE, becoming the chief ''[[polis]]'' in a region that bore its name.<ref name=Sharonp79/><ref name=Negevp159>Negev and Gibson, 2005, p. 159.</ref> Robinson writes that the town was rebuilt "by the exertions of the writer [[Julius Africanus]]."<ref name=Pringlep52/><ref name=Robinsonp147/> In 222 CE, a [[basilica]] was erected there, which was rebuilt first by the Byzantines and later by the Crusaders.<ref name=Sharonp80>Sharon, 1997, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=j1rSzWgHMjoC&pg=PA80 80]</ref> In the 4th century, the city served as an [[episcopal see]].<ref name=Bromileyp77/> Remains of a [[Samaritan]] [[synagogue]] point the presence of a [[Samaritan]] community in Imwas in the late Roman period.<ref name=Negevp159/>


Described by [[Eusebius of Caesarea]] in his ''Onomasticon'', [[Jerome]] is also thought to have referred to the town and the building of a shrine-church therein, when he writes that the Lord "consecrated the house of Cleopas as a church."<ref name=Pringlep52>Pringle, 1993, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=BgQ6AAAAIAAJ&lpg=PP1&pg=PA52#v=onepage&q=&f=false 52]</ref> In the 5th century, a second tradition associated with Emmaus emerges in the writings of [[Sozomen]], who mentions a fountain outside the city where Jesus and his disciples bathed their feet, thus imbuing it with curative powers.<ref name=Pringlep52/>
Imwas has been identified as the site of ancient Emmaus, where according to the [[Gospel of Luke]] (24:13-35), [[Jesus]] appeared to a group of his disciples, including [[Cleopas]], after his death and resurrection.<ref name=Pringlep52>Pringle, 1993, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=BgQ6AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA52 52]</ref>

Reduced to a small market town, its importance was recognized by the Emperor [[Vespasian]], who established a fortified camp there in 68 CE to house [[Legio V Macedonica]], populating it with 800 veterans.<ref name=Sharonp79/><ref>Josephus, [[The Jewish War]] Bk 7,6:6.</ref> In 131 CE, the city was destroyed by an earthquake.<ref name=Sharonp79/> It was rebuilt and renamed Nicopolis ("City of Victory") by [[Elagabalus]] in 221 CE, becoming the chief ''[[polis]]'' in a region that bore its name.<ref name=Sharonp79/><ref name=Negevp159>Negev and Gibson, 2005, p. 159.</ref> Robinson writes that the town was rebuilt "by the exertions of the writer Julius Africanus."<ref name=Pringlep52/><ref name=Robinsonp147/> In 222 CE, a [[basilica]] was erected there, which was rebuilt first by the Byzantines and later by the Crusaders.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Šārôn |first1=Moše |title=Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarum Palaestinae (CIAP).: A. Volume one |date=1997 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-10833-2 |page=80 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j1rSzWgHMjoC&pg=PA80 |language=en}}</ref> In the [[4th century]], the city served as an [[episcopal see]].<ref name=Bromileyp77/> Remains of a [[Samaritan]] [[synagogue]] point the presence of a Samaritan community in Imwas in the late Roman period.<ref name=Negevp159/>

Described by [[Eusebius]] in his ''Onomasticon'', [[Jerome]] is also thought to have referred to the town and the building of a shrine-church therein, when he writes that the Lord "consecrated the house of Cleopas as a church."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pringle |first1=Denys |title=The Churches of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem: A Corpus: Volume 1, A-K (excluding Acre and Jerusalem) |date=1993 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-39036-1 |page=52 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BgQ6AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA52 |language=en}}</ref> In the [[5th century]], a second tradition associated with Emmaus emerges in the writings of [[Sozomen]], who mentions a fountain outside the city where [[Maundy (foot washing) |Jesus and his disciples bathed their feet]], thus imbuing it with curative powers.<ref name=Pringlep52/>


===Arab caliphates era===
===Arab caliphates era===
After the conquest of Palestine by forces of the [[Rashidun Caliphate]] in the 7th century, a military camp was established at Imwas, which formed part of the newly created administrative district of [[Jund al-Urdunn]] (District of Jordan).<ref name=Hittip424/> This military camp, among others established in [[Tiberias]] and [[Homs]], was made up of [[Arabian]] soldiers who were soon to become citizens of the newly conquered areas. The soldiers brought their wives and [[concubine]]s to the camps, some of whom, according to [[Philip Hitti]], were no doubt captured native women. The governmental framework of the [[Byzantine]] era was preserved, though a commander-in-chief/governor-general was appointed from among the new conquerors to head the government, combining executive, judicial and military roles in his person.<ref name=Hittip424>Hitti, 2002, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=IfprUbVS5cIC&pg=PA424 424]</ref>
After the [[Muslim conquest of the Levant|conquest of Palestine]] by forces of the [[Rashidun Caliphate]] in the [[7th century]], a military camp was established at ʿImwas, which formed part of the newly created administrative district of [[Jund al-Urdunn]].<ref name=Hittip424/> This ''jund'' or military camp, among others established in [[Tiberias]] and [[Homs]], was made up of Arab soldiers, who were soon to become citizens of the newly conquered areas. The soldiers brought their wives and [[concubine]]s to the camps, some of whom, according to [[Philip K. Hitti]], were no doubt captured native women.


The governmental framework of the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine rule]] was preserved, though a commander-in-chief/governor-general was appointed from among the new conquerors to head the government, combining executive, judicial and military roles in his person.<ref name=Hittip424>Hitti, 2002, p. 424]</ref>
In 639, a [[Plague of Emmaus|plague]] which began in Imwas and spread out from there, ended up killing some 20,000 people, including the commander-in-chief [[Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah|Abu Ubaydah]], and his successor [[Yazid I|Yazid]]. The [[caliph]] [[Umar]] appointed Yazid's younger brother [[Mu'awiyah]] to the position of commander-in-chief in 640, and he served as the governor of Syria for 20 years before becoming the caliph himself.<ref name=Hittip425>Hitti, 2002, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=IfprUbVS5cIC&pg=PA425 425]</ref><ref>Al-Baladhuri, 1916, p. [https://archive.org/stream/originsofislamic00balarich#page/215/mode/1up 215]</ref> Studies on the impact of the plague note that it was responsible for a massive depopulation of the countryside, with the consequence that the new Arab rulers, particularly under the [[Umayyad]] caliphate which followed, were prompted to intervene more directly in the affairs of these areas than they had intended.<ref name=Brayp40>Bray, 2004, p. [https://archive.org/details/armiesofpestilen0000bray/page/40 40]</ref> Until as late as the 19th century, a well in the village was known locally as ''Bir at-Taun'' ("the plague well"), its name suggesting a derivation from these events.<ref name=Sharonp80/>


In 639, the [[Plague of Amwas]] began and spread from there, killing some 20,000 people, including the commander-in-chief [[Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah]] and his successor, Yazid. The Rashid Caliph [[Umar]] appointed Yazid's younger brother [[Mu'awiya]] to the position of commander-in-chief in 640, and he served as the governor of Syria for 20 years before becoming the [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad caliph]].<ref name=Hittip425>Hitti, 2002, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=IfprUbVS5cIC&pg=PA425 425]</ref><ref>Al-Baladhuri, 1916, p. [https://archive.org/stream/originsofislamic00balarich#page/215/mode/1up 215]</ref> Studies on the impact of the plague note that it was responsible for a massive depopulation of the countryside, with the consequence that the new Arab rulers, particularly under the subsequent Umayyad Caliphate, were prompted to intervene more directly in the affairs of these areas than they had intended.<ref name=Brayp40>Bray, 2004, p. [https://archive.org/details/armiesofpestilen0000bray/page/40 40]</ref> Until as late as the 19th century, a well in the village was known locally as "The Plague Well" ({{lang|ar|بئر الطاعون}}), its name suggesting a derivation from these events.<ref name=Sharonp80>Sharon, 1997, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=j1rSzWgHMjoC&pg=PA80 80]</ref>
In 723, [[Willibald]] of [[Eichstätt]] visited Imwas. In his writings, he notes that the church, which he thought lay over the house of Cleopas, was still intact; he also recalls and describes the miraculous water source mentioned by Sozomen.<ref name=Thiedep59>Thiede and D'Ancona, 2005, p. 59.</ref> [[Hygeburg|Hugeburc von Heidenheim]], a nun who visited Palestine in the 8th century, mentions both the church and the fountain in Imwas in her work on ''The Life of St. Willibald.''<ref name=Pringlep52/> By the 9th century, the administrative districts had been redrawn and Imwas was the capital of a sub-district within the larger district of [[Jund Filastin]].<ref name=Gilp111>Gil, 1997, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=M0wUKoMJeccC&pg=PA111 111]</ref> The Arab geographer [[al-Muqaddasi]] (c. 945-1000), recalls that Imwas had been the capital of its province, while noting, "that the population [was] removed therefrom to be nearer to the sea, and more in the plain, on account of the [[Water well|wells]]."<ref>[[al-Muqaddasi]] quoted in le Strange, 1890, [https://archive.org/stream/palestineundermo00lestuoft#page/393/mode/1up p.393].</ref>
[[File:Statue des Hl Willibald an der Kirche St Willilbald in Muenchen.jpg|120px|thumb|Palestine Pilgrim Saint Willibald]]

In 723, Saint [[Willibald]] visited Imwas. He was the son of [[Kingdom of the West Saxons|West Saxon]] [[Saint Richard the Pilgrim]] and Saint [[Wuna of Wessex]], brother of Saint [[Winnibald]] and [[Saint Walpurga|Walpurga]]. Later Willibald's uncle (his mother's brother), [[Saint Boniface]], recruited his nephews in Rome to assist him in evangelizing the still-pagan [[Germans]]. Willibald eventually became the first [[bishop of Eichstätt]]. In his writings, he notes that the church, which he thought lay over the house of Cleopas, was still intact; he also recalls and describes the miraculous water source mentioned by Sozomen.<ref name=Thiedep59>Thiede and D'Ancona, 2005, p. 59.</ref> [[Hygeburg]] of [[Heidenheim, Bavaria]], a nun who visited Palestine in the 8th century, mentions both the church and the fountain in Imwas in her work on ''The Life of St. Willibald.''<ref name=Pringlep52/>

By the [[9th century]], the administrative districts had been redrawn and Imwas was the capital of a sub-district within the larger district of [[Jund Filastin]].<ref name=Gilp111>Gil, 1997, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=M0wUKoMJeccC&pg=PA111 111]</ref> The geographer [[al-Maqdisi]] (c. 945-1000) recalls that ʿImwas had been the capital of its province, while noting, "that the population [was] removed therefrom to be nearer to the sea, and more in the plain, on account of the [[well]]s."<ref>[[Al-Maqdisi]] quoted in le Strange, 1890, [https://archive.org/stream/palestineundermo00lestuoft#page/393/mode/1up p.393].</ref>


By 1009, the church in Imwas had been destroyed by Yaruk, the governor of [[Ramla]], after the [[Fatimid]] caliph of [[Egypt in the Middle Ages|Egypt]], [[al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah]], ordered the destruction of Christian sites, affecting some 30,000 churches in the territory under his rule.<ref name=Thiedep59/> [[Carsten Peter Thiede]] describes this destruction and other acts of suppression against Christian worship as one of the main impetuses behind the [[First Crusade]], in which, "Saving Christian sites and guaranteeing access to them was paramount."<ref name=Thiedep59/>
By 1009, the church in Imwas had been destroyed by Yaruk, the governor of [[Ramla]], after the [[Fatimid]] caliph of [[Egypt in the Middle Ages|Egypt]], [[al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah]], ordered the destruction of Christian sites, affecting some 30,000 churches in the territory under his rule.<ref name=Thiedep59/> [[Carsten Peter Thiede]] describes this destruction and other acts of suppression against Christian worship as one of the main impetuses behind the [[First Crusade]], in which, "Saving Christian sites and guaranteeing access to them was paramount."<ref name=Thiedep59/>
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===Crusader era===
===Crusader era===
[[William of Tyre]], describing the arrival of the armies of the [[First Crusade]] to Imwas from [[Ramla]] in 1099, notes the abundance of water and [[fodder]] available at the site. Throughout the 12th century, Imwas continued to be identified as the Biblical Emmaus by [[Eastern Orthodox]] [[Christians]]. For example, in 1106-7, [[Daniel Kievsky|Abbot Daniel]] writes of Imwas: "Once there was a large village here, and a church was built here, but now all is destroyed by the pagans and the village of Emmaus is empty. It was near the road beyond the mountains on the right hand as you go from [[Jerusalem]] to [[Jaffa]]."<ref name=Pringlep52/> [[John Phocas]] (c. 1185) also located Emmaus in the same position.<ref name=Pringlep52/> Conversely, Western sources in the late 12th century identified Biblical Emmaus with another village closer to Jerusalem: Qaryat al-'Inab or [[Abu Ghosh]]. [[Denys Pringle]] and Peter E. Leach attribute the reasons for this shift as stemming from a difference in the description of the distance between Emmaus and Jerusalem in the Gospel texts, versus the distance as transcribed in the earliest Greek Gospel codices. In the Gospel texts, more widely embraced by the West, the distance is transcribed as 60 [[stadia (length)|stades]], whereas the [[Codex Sinaiticus]], which was known to Eusebius and Jerome, places the distance at 160 [[stadia (length)|stades]].<ref name=Pringlep53>Pringle, 1993, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=BgQ6AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA53 53]</ref><ref name=Brownriggp49>Brownrigg, 2001, p. 49.</ref>
[[William of Tyre]], describing the arrival of the armies of the [[First Crusade]] to Imwas from [[Ramla]] in 1099, notes the abundance of water and [[fodder]] available at the site. Throughout the 12th century, Imwas continued to be identified as the Biblical Emmaus by [[Eastern Orthodox]] [[Christians]]. For example, in 1106-7, [[Daniel Kievsky|Abbot Daniel]] writes of Imwas: "Once there was a large village here, and a church was built here, but now all is destroyed by the pagans and the village of Emmaus is empty. It was near the road beyond the mountains on the right hand as you go from [[Jerusalem]] to [[Jaffa]]."<ref name=Pringlep52/> [[John Phocas]] (c. 1185) also located Emmaus in the same position.<ref name=Pringlep52/> Conversely, Western sources in the late 12th century identified Biblical Emmaus with another village closer to Jerusalem: Qaryat al-'Inab or [[Abu Ghosh]]. [[Denys Pringle]] and Peter E. Leach attribute the reasons for this shift as stemming from a difference in the description of the distance between Emmaus and Jerusalem in the Gospel texts, versus the distance as transcribed in the earliest Greek Gospel codices. In the Gospel texts, more widely embraced by the West, the distance is transcribed as 60 [[stadia (length)|stades]], whereas the [[Codex Sinaiticus]], which was known to Eusebius and Jerome, places the distance at 160 [[stadia (length)|stades]].<ref name=Pringlep53>Pringle, 1993, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=BgQ6AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA53 53]</ref><ref name=Brownriggp49>Brownrigg, 2001, p. 49.</ref>
[[Image:Defense de la Celesyrie par Raymond du Puy - Edouard Cibot 1844.jpg|thumb|Raymond du Puy in the [[Salles des Croisades|Hall of Crusades]], [[château de Versailles|Versailles]].]]

The identification of Biblical Emmaus with two villages in the 12th century has led to some confusion among modern historians when apprehending historical documents from this time. Generally speaking, however, Abu Ghosh was referred to by the Latin Biblical name for Emmaus, ''Castellum Emmaus'', whereas Imwas was referred to simply as Emmaus. In 1141, [[Robert of Sinjil]] leased the "land of Emmaus", which included Imwas and six other villages, to [[Raymond du Puy de Provence|Raymond of Le Puy]], the master of the [[Knights Hospitaller|Hospitallers]] for 500 [[bezant]]s a year.<ref>Röhricht, 1893, RRH, p. [https://archive.org/stream/regestaregnihie00rhgoog#page/n56/mode/1up 50], No 201; cited in Pringle, 1993, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=BgQ6AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA53 53]</ref> The same year, [[William of Malines|William]], the [[Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem|Patriarch of Jerusalem]] granted half of the [[tithes]] from six surrounding villages to the Hospitallers, one of these villages was nearby [[Khulda]].<ref>de Roziére, 1849, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/cartulairedelgl00jergoog#page/n229/mode/1up 219]-220, No. 117; cited in Röhricht, 1893, RRH, p. [https://archive.org/stream/regestaregnihie00rhgoog#page/n57/mode/1up 51], No 205; cited in Pringle, 1993, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=BgQ6AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA53 53]</ref> In February 1151 or 1152 the Hospitallers were still leasing, but the terms of the lease were modified.<ref>Röhricht, 1893, RRH, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/regestaregnihie00rhgoog#page/n67/mode/1up 61]-62, No 244; p. [https://archive.org/stream/regestaregnihie00rhgoog#page/n71/mode/1up 65], No 257; p. [https://archive.org/stream/regestaregnihie00rhgoog#page/n75/mode/1up 69], No 274; all cited in Pringle, 1993, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=BgQ6AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA53 53]</ref> An 1186 reference to a "bailiff of Emmaus" named Bartholomew suggests that the Hospitallers had an established a commandery in Imwas.<ref>Röhricht, 1893, RRH, p. [https://archive.org/stream/regestaregnihie00rhgoog#page/n178/mode/1up 172], No 649; cited in Pringle, 1993, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=BgQ6AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA53 53]</ref> There is also archaeological and documentary evidence that suggests that the local Eastern Christian population continued to live in Imwas during this time, and likely attended services alongside the Crusaders at the parish church dedicated to St. George which was constructed in the village by the latter on the site of the ruins of the earlier churches.<ref name=Levyp508>Levy, 1998, p. 508.</ref><ref name=Thiedep60>Thiede and D'Ancona, 2005, p. 60</ref>
The identification of Biblical Emmaus with two villages in the 12th century has led to some confusion among modern historians when apprehending historical documents from this time. Generally speaking, however, Abu Ghosh was referred to by the Latin Biblical name for Emmaus, ''Castellum Emmaus'', whereas Imwas was referred to simply as Emmaus. In 1141, [[Robert of Sinjil]] leased the "land of Emmaus", which included Imwas and six other villages, to [[Raymond du Puy de Provence|Raymond of Le Puy]], the master of the [[Knights Hospitaller|Hospitallers]] for 500 [[bezant]]s a year.<ref>Röhricht, 1893, RRH, p. [https://archive.org/stream/regestaregnihie00rhgoog#page/n56/mode/1up 50], No 201; cited in Pringle, 1993, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=BgQ6AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA53 53]</ref> The same year, [[William of Malines|William]], the [[Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem|Patriarch of Jerusalem]] granted half of the [[tithes]] from six surrounding villages to the Hospitallers, one of these villages was nearby [[Khulda]].<ref>de Roziére, 1849, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/cartulairedelgl00jergoog#page/n229/mode/1up 219]-220, No. 117; cited in Röhricht, 1893, RRH, p. [https://archive.org/stream/regestaregnihie00rhgoog#page/n57/mode/1up 51], No 205; cited in Pringle, 1993, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=BgQ6AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA53 53]</ref> In February 1151 or 1152 the Hospitallers were still leasing, but the terms of the lease were modified.<ref>Röhricht, 1893, RRH, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/regestaregnihie00rhgoog#page/n67/mode/1up 61]-62, No 244; p. [https://archive.org/stream/regestaregnihie00rhgoog#page/n71/mode/1up 65], No 257; p. [https://archive.org/stream/regestaregnihie00rhgoog#page/n75/mode/1up 69], No 274; all cited in Pringle, 1993, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=BgQ6AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA53 53]</ref> An 1186 reference to a "bailiff of Emmaus" named Bartholomew suggests that the Hospitallers had an established a commandery in Imwas.<ref>Röhricht, 1893, RRH, p. [https://archive.org/stream/regestaregnihie00rhgoog#page/n178/mode/1up 172], No 649; cited in Pringle, 1993, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=BgQ6AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA53 53]</ref> There is also archaeological and documentary evidence that suggests that the local Eastern Christian population continued to live in Imwas during this time, and likely attended services alongside the Crusaders at the parish church dedicated to St. George which was constructed in the village by the latter on the site of the ruins of the earlier churches.<ref name=Levyp508>Levy, 1998, p. 508.</ref><ref name=Thiedep60>Thiede and D'Ancona, 2005, p. 60</ref>


Imwas was likely abandoned in 1187 and unlike the neighboring villages of Beit Nuba, [[Yalo]], [[Yazur]] and [[Latrun]], it is not mentioned in chronicles describing the [[Third Crusade]] of 1191-2, and it is unclear whether it was reoccupied by the Hospitallers between 1229 and 1244.<ref name=Pringlep53/> The village was re-established just north of where the church had been located.<ref name=Pringlep53/>
Imwas was likely abandoned by Crusaders in 1187 and unlike the neighboring villages of Beit Nuba, [[Yalo]], [[Yazur]] and [[Latrun]], it is not mentioned in chronicles describing the [[Third Crusade]] of 1191-2, and it is unclear whether it was reoccupied by the Hospitallers between 1229 and 1244.<ref name=Pringlep53/> The village was re-established just north of where the church had been located.<ref name=Pringlep53/>


===Mamluk era===
===Mamluk era===
[[File:Ibn-Jebal-9833.jpg|250px|thumb|[[Maqam (shrine)|Maqam]] Sheikh Mu'alla]]
[[File:Ibn-Jebal-9833.jpg|250px|thumb|[[Maqam (shrine)|Maqam]] Sheikh Mu'alla]]
[[Maqam (shrine)|Maqam]] Sheikh Mu'alla had an endowment text (now lost), dating it to 687 AH/1289-1290 CE.<ref name=Sharonp84>Sharon, 1997, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=j1rSzWgHMjoC&pg=PA84 84]</ref>
[[Maqam (shrine)|Maqam]] Sheikh Mu'alla had an endowment text (now lost), dating it to 687 AH/1289-1290 CE.<ref name=Sharonp84>Sharon, 1997, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=j1rSzWgHMjoC&pg=PA84 84]</ref> Clermont-Ganneau described it:


Clermont-Ganneau described it: "The most important, and most conspicuous Mussulman sanctuary in 'Amwas is that which stands on the hill some 500 metres 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." 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 [karbeh) wherewith he slays his enemies. This is the [[Sheikh]], of whom they stand in holy awe. This legend, and the name of the personage, puzzled me greatly, and it was not without some trouble that I discovered the answer to the riddle. It is directly derived from the historical memory of the famous Plague of 'Amwas, in connection with the Plague-well. The Arab* historians tell us, as I have already explained, that the epidemic originated at 'Amwas, whence it took the name by which it is known in their chronicles. Among the most illustrious victims of the disease was one of the companions of [[Muhammad|Mahomet]], [[Abu 'Abd er Rahman Muadh ben Jabal]], who was entrusted by [[Umar|'Omar]] with the organisation of the conquered country. This personage died beyond Jordan, and was buried there. (As for the exact place in which he was buried, a topographical question connected with that of the place where Jesus was baptized, see my ''Recucil d'Archeologie Orientale'', Vol. I, p. 344, et sqq. I may add that instead of Deir ''Fakhur'', many Mohammedan writers, for example [[Beladhory]] and [[Yaqut al-Hamawi|Yakut]], call the place where ''Mu'adh ben Jabal'' died and was buried, ''Ukhuana''...... I have established the exact position of ''Ukhuana'', and its identity with the ''Cauan'' of the Crusaders, in my ''Etudes d'Archeologie Orientale'', Vol. II, p. 123.)
{{quote|The most important, and most conspicuous Mussulman sanctuary in 'Amwas is that which stands on the hill some 500 metres 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." 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 [karbeh) wherewith he slays his enemies. This is the [[Sheikh]], of whom they stand in holy awe. This legend, and the name of the personage, puzzled me greatly, and it was not without some trouble that I discovered the answer to the riddle. It is directly derived from the historical memory of the famous Plague of 'Amwas, in connection with the Plague-well. The Arab* historians tell us, as I have already explained, that the epidemic originated at 'Amwas, whence it took the name by which it is known in their chronicles. Among the most illustrious victims of the disease was one of the companions of [[Muhammad|Mahomet]], [[Abu 'Abd er Rahman Muadh ben Jabal]], who was entrusted by [[Umar|'Omar]] with the organisation of the conquered country. This personage died beyond Jordan, and was buried there. (As for the exact place in which he was buried, a topographical question connected with that of the place where Jesus was baptized, see my ''Recucil d'Archeologie Orientale'', Vol. I, p.&nbsp;344, et sqq. I may add that instead of Deir ''Fakhur'', many Mohammedan writers, for example [[Beladhory]] and [[Yaqut al-Hamawi|Yakut]], call the place where ''Mu'adh ben Jabal'' died and was buried, ''Ukhuana''...... I have established the exact position of ''Ukhuana'', and its identity with the ''Cauan'' of the Crusaders, in my ''Etudes d'Archeologie Orientale'', Vol. II, p.&nbsp;123.)
.....We may presume that originally this monument was merely commemorative, and that local tradition has at last wrongly ended in regarding it as the real tomb of this celebrated personage, inferring from his having succumbed to the 'Plague of 'Amwas' that he died and was buried at 'Amwas itself. However, the mistake of the legend on this point must be a very ancient one, for as early as the twelfth century, '''Aly el Herewy'' has the following passage : " One sees at 'Amwas the tombs of a great number of companions of the prophets and of ''tabis'' who died of the Plague. Among them (sic) is mentioned 'Abd er Rahman ibn {sic) Mu'adh ben Jabal and his children. ..."<ref>Clermont-Ganneau, 1899, ARP 1, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/archaeologicalre01cler#page/492/mode/1up 492]-493</ref>
.....We may presume that originally this monument was merely commemorative, and that local tradition has at last wrongly ended in regarding it as the real tomb of this celebrated personage, inferring from his having succumbed to the 'Plague of 'Amwas' that he died and was buried at 'Amwas itself. However, the mistake of the legend on this point must be a very ancient one, for as early as the twelfth century, ''Aly el Herewy'' has the following passage : " One sees at 'Amwas the tombs of a great number of companions of the prophets and of ''tabis'' who died of the Plague. Among them (sic) is mentioned 'Abd er Rahman ibn {sic) Mu'adh ben Jabal and his children. ...<ref>Clermont-Ganneau, 1899, ARP 1, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/archaeologicalre01cler#page/492/mode/1up 492]-493</ref>}}


===Ottoman era===
===Ottoman era===
Imwas came under the rule of the Ottoman Empire in the early 16th century and by the end of that century, the church built by the Crusaders had been converted into a [[mosque]], which itself stood for almost a century before falling into ruin.<ref name=Pringlep52/> In the 1596 [[Defter|tax record]] its population was reported as 24 [[Muslim]] families. They paid a fixed tax rate of 25% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, vineyards, fruit trees, goats and beehives, in addition to "occasional revenues"; a total of 3,600 [[akçe]]. Part of the revenue went to a [[waqf]].<ref>Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 153</ref>
Imwas came under the rule of the Ottoman Empire in the early 16th century and by the end of that century, the church built by the Crusaders had been converted into a [[mosque]], which itself stood for almost a century before falling into ruin.<ref name=Pringlep52/> In the 1596 [[Defter|tax record]] its population was reported as 24 [[Muslim]] families. They paid a fixed tax rate of 25% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, vineyards, fruit trees, goats and beehives, in addition to "occasional revenues"; a total of 3,600 [[akçe]]. Part of the revenue went to a [[waqf]].<ref>Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 153</ref>


[[Edward Robinson (scholar)|Edward Robinson]] visited Imwas during his mid-19th century travels in [[Ottoman Syria|Ottoman]] [[Syria (region)|Syria]] and [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]]. He describes it as "a poor hamlet consisting of a few mean houses." He also mentions that there are two fountains of living water and that the one lying just beside the village must be that mentioned by Sozomen in the 5th century, [[Theophanes of Byzantium|Theophanes]] in the 6th, and by Willibald in the 8th.<ref name=Robinsonp146>Robinson and Smith, 1856, p. [https://archive.org/stream/laterbiblicalre01smitgoog#page/n195/mode/1up 146]</ref> The ruins of the "ancient church" are described by Robinson as lying just south of the built-up area of the village at that time.<ref name=Robinsonp146/>
[[Edward Robinson (scholar)|Edward Robinson]] visited Imwas during his mid-19th century travels in [[Ottoman Syria|Ottoman]] [[Syria (region)|Syria]] and [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]]. He describes it as "a poor hamlet consisting of a few mean houses." He also mentions that there are two fountains of living water and that the one lying just beside the village must be that mentioned by Sozomen in the 5th century, [[Theophanes of Byzantium|Theophanes]] in the 6th, and by Willibald in the 8th.<ref name=Robinsonp146>Robinson and Smith, 1856, p. [https://archive.org/stream/laterbiblicalre01smitgoog#page/n195/mode/1up 146]</ref> The ruins of the "ancient church" are described by Robinson as lying just south of the built-up area of the village at that time.<ref name=Robinsonp146/>


In 1863 [[Victor Guérin]] visited and identified it as ancient [[Emmaus Nicopolis]].<ref>Guérin, 1868, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/descriptiongog01gu#page/293/mode/1up 293]-308</ref>
In 1863 [[Victor Guérin]] visited and identified it as ancient [[Emmaus Nicopolis]].<ref>Guérin, 1868, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/descriptiongog01gu#page/293/mode/1up 293]-308</ref>


[[Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau]] also visited Imwas in the late 19th century and describes a local tradition centered around a bathhouse dating to the Roman era. The upper part of the structure, which protruded above the ground, was known to locals as "Sheikh Obaid" and was considered to be the burial place of Abu Ubayd who succumbed to the plague in 639. The site served as both a religious sanctuary and cemetery until the town's depopulation in 1967.<ref name=Sharonp80/><ref>Clermont-Ganneau, 1899, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/archaeologicalre01cler#page/483/mode/1up 483]-493</ref>
[[Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau]] also visited Imwas in the late 19th century and describes a local tradition centered around a [[Thermae|bathhouse]] dating to the Roman era. The upper part of the structure, which protruded above the ground, was known to locals as "Sheikh Obaid" and was considered to be the burial place of Abu Ubayd who succumbed to the plague in 639. The site served as both a religious sanctuary and cemetery until the town's [[Nakba|depopulation in 1967]].<ref name=Sharonp80/><ref>Clermont-Ganneau, 1899, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/archaeologicalre01cler#page/483/mode/1up 483]-493</ref>


In 1875, the [[Carmelite]]s of [[Bethlehem]] acquired the site containing the ruins of the church of Imwas. The debris was removed in 1887-8, and excavations were conducted intermittently from November 1924 to September 1930 by the [[Ecole Biblique]].<ref name=Pringlep53/> In 1884, [[Conrad Schick|Dr. C. Schick]] discovered a [[baptistry]] with a well-preserved font dating to the 4th century. The square building housed an [[apse]] and a shallow [[cruciform]] basin where it is thought that those undergoing baptismal rites would stand.<ref name=Driverp325>Schick, 1884, p. [https://archive.org/stream/zeitschriftdesde07deut#page/n54/mode/1up 15]; cited in Driver et al., 2006, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=CmDG8eqcMLIC&pg=PA325 325]</ref>
In 1875, the [[Carmelite]]s of [[Bethlehem]] acquired the site containing the ruins of the church of Imwas. The debris was removed in 1887-8, and excavations were conducted intermittently from November 1924 to September 1930 by the [[École biblique|École biblique et archéologique française de Jérusalem]].<ref name=Pringlep53/> In 1884, [[Conrad Schick|Dr. C. Schick]] discovered a [[baptistry]] with a well-preserved font dating to the 4th century. The square building housed an [[apse]] and a shallow [[cruciform]] basin where it is thought that those undergoing baptismal rites would stand.<ref name=Driverp325>Schick, 1884, p. [https://archive.org/stream/zeitschriftdesde07deut#page/n54/mode/1up 15]; cited in Driver et al., 2006, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=CmDG8eqcMLIC&pg=PA325 325]</ref>


In 1883, the [[Palestine Exploration Fund|PEF]]'s ''[[PEF Survey of Palestine|Survey of Western Palestine]]'' described Imwas as an [[adobe]] village, of moderate size.<ref>Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp03conduoft#page/14/mode/1up 14]</ref>
In 1883, the [[Palestine Exploration Fund|PEF]]'s ''[[PEF Survey of Palestine|Survey of Western Palestine]]'' described Imwas as an [[adobe]] village, of moderate size.<ref>Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp03conduoft#page/14/mode/1up 14]</ref>


===British Mandate era===
===British Mandate era===
In the [[1922 census of Palestine]] conducted by the [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate authorities]], Imwas had a population of 824, all Muslim.<ref name="Census1922">Barron, 1923, Table VII, Sub-district of Jerusalem, p. [https://archive.org/stream/PalestineCensus1922/Palestine%20Census%20%281922%29#page/n17/mode/1up 15]</ref> This had increased by the time of the [[1931 census of Palestine|1931 census]] to 1,029, 2 Christians and 1,027 Muslim, in 224 houses.<ref name="Census1931">Mills, 1932, p. [https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas 40].</ref>
In the [[1922 census of Palestine]] conducted by the [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate authorities]], Imwas had a population of 824, all Muslim.<ref name="Census1922">Barron, 1923, Table VII, Sub-district of Jerusalem, p. [https://archive.org/stream/PalestineCensus1922/Palestine%20Census%20%281922%29#page/n17/mode/1up 15]</ref> This had increased by the time of the [[1931 census of Palestine|1931 census]] to 1,029, 2 Christians and 1,027 Muslim, in 224 houses.<ref name="Census1931">Mills, 1932, p. [https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas 40].</ref>


In the [[Village Statistics, 1945| 1945 statistics]] the population of Imwas was 1,450, all Muslims,<ref name=1945p29>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. [http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/VSpages/VS1945_p29.jpg 29]</ref> while the total land area was 5,151 [[dunam]]s, according to an official land and population survey.<ref>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20I/al-Ramla/Page-066.jpg 66]</ref> Of this, 606 dunams were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 3,612 for cereals,<ref name=1945p29/><ref>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20II/al-Ramla/Page-115.jpg 115]</ref> while 148 dunams were classified as built-up areas.<ref name=1945p29/><ref>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20III/al-Ramla/Page-165.jpg 165]</ref> By 1948, the population had dwindled to 1,100 Arabs.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Gazetteer of the Place Names which appear in the small-scale Maps of Palestine and Trans-Jordan|first1=R.F. |last1=Jardine|first2=B.A. |last2=McArthur Davies |publisher=Government of Palestine|place=Jerusalem|year=1948|page=39 |oclc=610327173}}</ref>
In the [[Village Statistics, 1945|1945 statistics]] the population of Imwas was 1,450, all Muslims,<ref name=1945p29>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. [http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/VSpages/VS1945_p29.jpg 29]</ref> while the total land area was 5,151 [[dunam]]s, according to an official land and population survey.<ref>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20I/al-Ramla/Page-066.jpg 66]</ref> Of this, 606 dunams were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 3,612 for cereals,<ref name=1945p29/><ref>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20II/al-Ramla/Page-115.jpg 115]</ref> while 148 dunams were classified as built-up areas.<ref name=1945p29/><ref>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20III/al-Ramla/Page-165.jpg 165]</ref> By 1948, the population had dwindled to 1,100 Arabs.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Gazetteer of the Place Names which appear in the small-scale Maps of Palestine and Trans-Jordan|first1=R.F. |last1=Jardine|first2=B.A. |last2=McArthur Davies |publisher=Government of Palestine|place=Jerusalem|year=1948|page=39 |oclc=610327173}}</ref>


[[File:Latrun 1942.jpg|thumb|Imwas (Anwas) 1942 1:20,000]]
[[File:Latrun 1942.jpg|thumb|Imwas (Anwas) 1942 1:20,000]]
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After the [[1949 Armistice Agreements]], Imwas came under [[Jordanian annexation of the West Bank|Jordanian control]].
After the [[1949 Armistice Agreements]], Imwas came under [[Jordanian annexation of the West Bank|Jordanian control]].


The Jordanian census of 1961 found 1,955 inhabitants in Imwas.<ref>Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. [http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/JordanCensusPages/JordanCensus1961-p24.pdf 24]</ref>
The Jordanian census of 1961 found 1,955 inhabitants in Imwas.<ref>Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. [http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/JordanCensusPages/JordanCensus1961-p24.pdf 24]</ref>

===Israeli rule===
===Israeli rule===
{{Further|Naksa}}
[[File:עמואס יוני 1967 (5).jpg|right|thumb|200px|The expulsion of the residents of Imwas, 1967]]
[[File:עמואס יוני 1967 (5).jpg|right|thumb|200px|The expulsion of the residents of Imwas, 1967]]
Imwas was one of three populated Palestinian villages in the Latrun salient which the IDF associated with an historic sense of disappointment for failing to take it in 1948.{{cn|date=October 2016}} The town, defended by a few Jordanian and Egyptian units,{{cn|date=October 2016}} was overrun and destroyed in June 1967 on the orders of [[Yitzhak Rabin]] due to its strategic location, which enabled the [[Highway 1 (Israel)|route to Jerusalem]] to be controlled. At the time, [[Moshe Dayan]] told the Cabinet he hoped Israel could get up to 300,000 Palestinians to leave: and night operations and "nipping" were used to get them to "take the hint".<ref name="Segev67" /> Villagers from Imwas, together with those of [[Yalo]] and [[Beit Nuba]], numbering some 8,000, were ordered by megaphone to abandon their homes and march towards [[Ramallah]], 32 kilometres away.<ref name="Wiles" /> Ten elderly villagers refused to leave and were never heard of again, and were presumed to have been shot or to have been buried under the demolition rubble.<ref name="Wiles" /> This exodus from the Latrun zone, during which 4 villagers died,<ref name="Wiles" /> presented a public relations problem. According to one oral account by a refugee, one week after the expulsion, villagers heard over Israeli radio that they would be allowed to return to the enclave in peace. Those in the West Bank who tried to get back found the villages surrounded by tanks, and heard that a military order had rescinded the earlier decision, and could only stand by and watch as their houses were razed.<ref name="Wiles" /> The order, in violation of Article 53 of the [[Fourth Geneva Convention]], came from [[Yitzhak Rabin]]. In his memoirs Dayan recalled that "(Houses were destroyed) not in battle, but as punishment . . in order to chase away the inhabitants."<ref name="Wiles" /> In response to the public relations problem, Dayan eventually agreed to allow those from [[Qalqiliya]], [[Habla]] and [[Zeta]] to return to their homes if it was agreed in turn to block the return of the inhabitants of the Latrun villages.<ref name="Segev67" >[[Tom Segev]], ''1967,'' Abacus Books 2007 pp.489-490.</ref><ref name="Wiles" /> Israel newspapers of the day depicted the flight as voluntary.<ref name="Segev67" /> Israel further justified the decision by claiming that its residents had taken part in the [[Siege of Jerusalem (1948)|Siege of Jerusalem]] two decades earlier, and that they had been present in an attack by [[Egypt]]ian commandos on [[Lod]] just days before the village was taken.<ref name=Orenp307/><ref name=Mayhew/> Dayan stated that the Latrun area [[fellahin]] were themselves not responsible for Jordanian shelling from that area during the Six Day War. The decision to destroy the houses was explained to soldiers operating there as necessary in order to "punish the nest of murderers" and stop housing infrastructure from being used in future for terrorist bases.<ref name="Segev67" /> Central Command orders issued to soldiers at the time described the 1948 failure, and the 1967 success in the following way, by writing of:
The town, defended by a few Jordanian and Egyptian units,{{citation needed|date=October 2016}} was overrun and destroyed in June 1967 on the orders of [[Yitzhak Rabin]] due to its strategic location, which enabled the [[Highway 1 (Israel)|route to Jerusalem]] to be controlled. At the time, [[Moshe Dayan]] told the Cabinet he hoped Israel could get up to 300,000 Palestinians to leave: and night operations and "nipping" were used to get them to "take the hint".<ref name="Segev67" /> Villagers from Imwas, together with those of [[Yalo]] and [[Beit Nuba]], numbering some 8,000, were ordered by megaphone to abandon their homes and march towards [[Ramallah]], 32 kilometres away.<ref name="Wiles" /> Ten elderly villagers refused to leave and were never heard of again, and were presumed to have been shot or to have been buried under the demolition rubble.<ref name="Wiles" /> This exodus from the Latrun zone, during which 4 villagers died,<ref name="Wiles" /> presented a public relations problem. According to one oral account by a refugee, one week after the expulsion, villagers heard over Israeli radio that they would be allowed to return to the enclave in peace. Those in the West Bank who tried to get back found the villages surrounded by tanks, and heard that a military order had rescinded the earlier decision, and could only stand by and watch as their houses were razed.<ref name="Wiles" /> The order, in violation of Article 53 of the [[Fourth Geneva Convention]], came from [[Yitzhak Rabin]]. In his memoirs Dayan recalled that "(Houses were destroyed) not in battle, but as punishment . . in order to chase away the inhabitants."<ref name="Wiles" /> In response to the public relations problem, Dayan eventually agreed to allow those from [[Qalqiliya]], [[Habla]] and [[Zeta (Palestine)|Zeta]] to return to their homes if it was agreed in turn to block the return of the inhabitants of the Latrun villages.<ref name="Segev67" >[[Tom Segev]], ''1967,'' Abacus Books 2007 pp.489-490.</ref><ref name="Wiles" /> Israel newspapers of the day depicted the flight as voluntary.<ref name="Segev67" /> Israel further justified the decision by claiming that its residents had taken part in the [[Siege of Jerusalem (1948)|Siege of Jerusalem]] two decades earlier, and that they had been present in an attack by [[Egypt]]ian commandos on [[Lod]] just days before the village was taken.<ref name=Orenp307/><ref name=Mayhew/> Dayan stated that the Latrun area [[fellahin]] were themselves not responsible for Jordanian shelling from that area during the Six Day War. The decision to destroy the houses was explained to soldiers operating there as necessary in order to "punish the nest of murderers" and stop housing infrastructure from being used in future for terrorist bases.<ref name="Segev67" /> Central Command orders issued to soldiers at the time described the 1948 failure, and the 1967 success in the following way, by writing of:
<blockquote>'terms of disappointment, terms of a long and painful account, which has now been settled to the last cent. Houses suddenly left. Intact. With their potted geraniums, their grapevines climbing up the balconies. The smell-of wood-burning ovens still in the air. Elderly people who have nothing more to lose, slowly straggling along.,'<ref name="Segev67" /></blockquote>
<blockquote>'terms of disappointment, terms of a long and painful account, which has now been settled to the last cent. Houses suddenly left. Intact. With their potted geraniums, their grapevines climbing up the balconies. The smell-of wood-burning ovens still in the air. Elderly people who have nothing more to lose, slowly straggling along.,'<ref name="Segev67" /></blockquote>


In August of that year, villagers were told that they return could pick up their stored harvests with trucks.<ref name="Wiles" /> The residents of the three villages then formed a committee to negotiate their return. The villagers' request that Israel allow their leaders, who had fled to [[Amman]], to return and negotiate on their behalf, was turned down by Dayan.<ref name="Wiles" /> Israel offered monetary compensation for the destruction of homes and the expropriation of lands. One committee leader, the father of Abu Gaush replied:
In August of that year, villagers were told that they return could pick up their stored harvests with trucks.<ref name="Wiles" /> The residents of the three villages then formed a committee to negotiate their return. The villagers' request that Israel allow their leaders, who had fled to [[Amman]], to return and negotiate on their behalf, was turned down by Dayan.<ref name="Wiles" /> Israel offered monetary compensation for the destruction of homes and the expropriation of lands. One committee leader, the father of Abu Gaush replied:
<blockquote>"We will not accept all the money in the world for one [[dunam]] in Imwas, and we will not accept one dunum in heaven for one dunam in Inwas!"<ref name="Wiles" /></blockquote>
<blockquote>"We will not accept all the money in the world for one [[dunam]] in Imwas, and we will not accept one dunum in heaven for one dunam in Inwas!"<ref name="Wiles" /></blockquote>
According to his son, he was told by his Israeli interlocutors that he had three choices: to share the fate of Sheikh Abdul Hameed Al Sayeh, the first Palestinian to be exiled by Israel after the beginning of the 1967 occupation, after he spoke up for the inalienable right of return of Palestinians; or he could choose to go to prison, or, finally, he could suck on something sweet and keep quiet;<ref name="Wiles" /> In all cases no one was allowed to return.<ref name="Wiles" >Rich Wiles, "[https://books.google.com/books?id=z4ZWqebEnHsC Behind the Wall: Life, Love, and Struggle in Palestine]," Potomac Books, Inc., 2010, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=z4ZWqebEnHsC&pg=PA17 17]-24.</ref> One descendant of the expelled villagers said her father told her they were threatened with prison if they did not agree to compensation <ref name="Wiles" /><ref name=Orenp307>Oren, 2002, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=TcD1bCMAP6AC&pg=PA307 307]</ref><ref name=Mayhew>Mayhew and Adams, 2006.</ref><ref>[[Tom Segev|Segev]], 2007, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=ggLatcD7gW4C&pg=PA407 407]–409</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.badil.org/al-majdal/item/1402-abughoush-imwas|title=Interview: Ahmad Abughoush: "Imwas : Canada Park's Concealed Crime "|access-date=2015-02-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222021814/http://www.badil.org/al-majdal/item/1402-abughoush-imwas|archive-date=2015-02-22|url-status=dead}}</ref> An Imwas Human Society now campaigns for the expelled villagers' rights and publicizes what they call the war crimes committed in the Latrun Enclave.<ref name="Wiles" />
According to his son, he was told by his Israeli interlocutors that he had three choices: to share the fate of Sheikh Abdul Hameed Al Sayeh, the first Palestinian to be exiled by Israel after the beginning of the 1967 occupation, after he spoke up for the inalienable right of return of Palestinians; or he could choose to go to prison, or, finally, he could suck on something sweet and keep quiet;<ref name="Wiles" /> In all cases no one was allowed to return.<ref name="Wiles" >Rich Wiles, "[https://books.google.com/books?id=z4ZWqebEnHsC Behind the Wall: Life, Love, and Struggle in Palestine]," Potomac Books, Inc., 2010, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=z4ZWqebEnHsC&pg=PA17 17]-24.</ref> One descendant of the expelled villagers said her father told her they were threatened with prison if they did not agree to compensation<ref name="Wiles" /><ref name=Orenp307>Oren, 2002, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=TcD1bCMAP6AC&pg=PA307 307]</ref><ref name=Mayhew>Mayhew and Adams, 2006.</ref><ref>[[Tom Segev|Segev]], 2007, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=ggLatcD7gW4C&pg=PA407 407]–409</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.badil.org/al-majdal/item/1402-abughoush-imwas|title=Interview: Ahmad Abughoush: "Imwas : Canada Park's Concealed Crime "|access-date=2015-02-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222021814/http://www.badil.org/al-majdal/item/1402-abughoush-imwas|archive-date=2015-02-22|url-status=dead}}</ref> An Imwas Human Society now campaigns for the expelled villagers' rights and publicizes what they call the war crimes committed in the Latrun Enclave.<ref name="Wiles" />


In 1973 the [[Jewish National Fund]] in Canada raised $5 million to establish a picnic park for Israelis in the area,<ref name="Wiles" /> which it created and still maintains. It descrfibes the area as:-
In 1973 the [[Jewish National Fund]] in Canada raised $5 million to establish a picnic park for Israelis in the area,<ref name="Wiles" /> which it created and still maintains. It descrfibes the area as:-
<blockquote>"one of the largest parks in Israel, covering an area of 7,500 acres in the biblical Ayalon Valley. At peak season, some 30,000 individuals visit the site each day,. enjoying its many play and recreational facilities and installations."<ref name="Wiles" /></blockquote>
<blockquote>"one of the largest parks in Israel, covering an area of 7,500 acres in the biblical Ayalon Valley. At peak season, some 30,000 individuals visit the site each day,. enjoying its many play and recreational facilities and installations."<ref name="Wiles" /></blockquote>


Since 2003, the Israeli [[NGO]] [[Zochrot]] ('Remember' in Hebrew) has lobbied the [[Jewish National Fund]] for permission to post signs designating the Palestinian villages in Canada Park.<ref name="haaretz.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/870315.html|title=Out of sight maybe, but not out of mind |author=Zafrir Rinat |date=13 June 2007 |publisher=[[Haaretz]]}}</ref> After petitioning the [[Israeli High Court]],<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20060301151806/http://www.nakbainhebrew.org/index.php?id=367 High Court Petition on Canada Park]}}, Zochrot</ref>{{better source|date=October 2016}} permission was granted. However, subsequently the signs have been stolen or vandalized.<ref name="haaretz.com"/> On June 23, 2007, Zochrot joined the refugees of the village Imwas for a tour of the remains of their village.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20071006113208/http://www.nakbainhebrew.org/index.php?id=609 Tour to Imwas]}}, Zochrot</ref>{{better source|date=October 2016}}
Since 2003, the Israeli [[NGO]] [[Zochrot]] ('Remember' in Hebrew) has lobbied the [[Jewish National Fund]] for permission to post signs designating the Palestinian villages in Canada Park.<ref name="haaretz.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/870315.html |title=Out of sight maybe, but not out of mind |author=Zafrir Rinat |date=13 June 2007 |publisher=[[Haaretz]] |access-date=31 August 2008 |archive-date=17 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090217150646/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/870315.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> After petitioning the [[Israeli High Court]],<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20060301151806/http://www.nakbainhebrew.org/index.php?id=367 High Court Petition on Canada Park]}}, Zochrot</ref>{{better source needed|date=October 2016}} permission was granted. However, subsequently the signs have been stolen or vandalized.<ref name="haaretz.com"/> On June 23, 2007, Zochrot joined the refugees of the village Imwas for a tour of the remains of their village.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20071006113208/http://www.nakbainhebrew.org/index.php?id=609 Tour to Imwas]}}, Zochrot</ref>{{better source needed|date=October 2016}}


==Artistic representations==
==Artistic representations==
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*{{cite book |title=Village Statistics of 1945: A Classification of Land and Area ownership in Palestine|url=http://www.palestineremembered.com/Articles/General-2/Story3150.html|first=S.|last=Hadawi|author-link=Sami Hadawi|year=1970|publisher=Palestine Liberation Organization Research Centre}}
*{{cite book |title=Village Statistics of 1945: A Classification of Land and Area ownership in Palestine|url=http://www.palestineremembered.com/Articles/General-2/Story3150.html|first=S.|last=Hadawi|author-link=Sami Hadawi|year=1970|publisher=Palestine Liberation Organization Research Centre}}
*{{cite book |first =P. |last=Hitti |author-link=Philip Khuri Hitti | title = History of Syria Including Lebanon and Palestine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IfprUbVS5cIC | year = 2002 | publisher = Gorgias Press LLC|isbn=1931956618}}
*{{cite book |first =P. |last=Hitti |author-link=Philip Khuri Hitti | title = History of Syria Including Lebanon and Palestine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IfprUbVS5cIC | year = 2002 | publisher = Gorgias Press LLC|isbn=1931956618}}
*{{cite book | last1= Hütteroth |first1=Wolf-Dieter |first2=Kamal | last2=Abdulfattah | title = Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=wqULAAAAIAAJ | year = 1977 | publisher = Erlanger Geographische Arbeiten, Sonderband 5. Erlangen, Germany: Vorstand der Fränkischen Geographischen Gesellschaft|isbn= 3-920405-41-2}}
*{{cite book | last1= Hütteroth |first1=W.-D.|author-link1=Wolf-Dieter Hütteroth |first2=K. | last2=Abdulfattah |author-link2=Kamal Abdulfattah | title = Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=wqULAAAAIAAJ | year = 1977 | publisher = Erlanger Geographische Arbeiten, Sonderband 5. Erlangen, Germany: Vorstand der Fränkischen Geographischen Gesellschaft|isbn= 3-920405-41-2}}
*{{cite book|title=Palestine Under the Moslems: A Description of Syria and the Holy Land from AD. 650 to 1500|url=https://archive.org/details/palestineundermo00lestuoft|first=G.|last=Le Strange|author-link=Guy Le Strange|year=1890|publisher=Committee of the [[Palestine Exploration Fund]]}}
*{{cite book|title=Palestine Under the Moslems: A Description of Syria and the Holy Land from AD. 650 to 1500|url=https://archive.org/details/palestineundermo00lestuoft|first=G.|last=Le Strange|author-link=Guy Le Strange|year=1890|publisher=Committee of the [[Palestine Exploration Fund]]}}
*{{cite book | editor = Mills, E. | title = Census of Palestine 1931. Population of Villages, Towns and Administrative Areas |url=https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas | publisher = Government of Palestine | location = Jerusalem | year = 1932}}
*{{cite book | editor = Mills, E. | title = Census of Palestine 1931. Population of Villages, Towns and Administrative Areas |url=https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas | publisher = Government of Palestine | location = Jerusalem | year = 1932}}
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==External links==
==External links==
{{Commons category-inline}}
{{Commonscatinline}}
*[http://www.palestineremembered.com/al-Ramla/Imwas/ Welcome To 'Imwas]
*[http://www.palestineremembered.com/al-Ramla/Imwas/ Welcome To 'Imwas]
*[http://www.zochrot.org/en/village/52872 Imwas], [[Zochrot]]
*[http://www.zochrot.org/en/village/52872 Imwas], [[Zochrot]]
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[[Category:1967 disestablishments in the Israeli Military Governorate]]
[[Category:1967 disestablishments in the Israeli Military Governorate]]
[[Category:Arab villages depopulated after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War]]
[[Category:Arab villages depopulated after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War]]
[[Category:Forcibly depopulated communities of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict]]
[[Category:Ancient Samaritan settlements]]

Latest revision as of 06:55, 28 October 2024

Imwas
عِمواس
Emmaus
'Amwas
Amwas
Village
Imwas, early 20th century
Imwas, early 20th century
Etymology: possibly "thermal springs"[1]
1870s map
1940s map
modern map
1940s with modern overlay map
A series of historical maps of the area around Imwas (click the buttons)
Imwas is located in Mandatory Palestine
Imwas
Imwas
Location within Mandatory Palestine
Coordinates: 31°50′26″N 34°59′30″E / 31.84056°N 34.99167°E / 31.84056; 34.99167
Palestine grid149/138
Geopolitical entityMandatory Palestine
SubdistrictRamle
Date of depopulation7 June 1967
Population
 • Total2,015
Cause(s) of depopulationExpulsion by Israeli forces
Current LocalitiesCanada Park

Imwas or Emmaus (Arabic: عِمواس, romanizedʿImwās), known in classical times as Nicopolis (Ancient Greek: Νικόπολις, lit.'City of Victory'), was a Palestinian village located 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) southeast of the city of Ramla and 26 kilometres (16 mi) from Jerusalem in the Latrun salient of the West Bank.[2] It is traditionally (possibly from as early as the 3rd century, but probably incorrectly) identified with the biblical Emmaus.[3] Its population was expelled and its buildings razed by Israeli forces during the Naksa of 1967.

After the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, Imwas fell under Jordanian rule. Its population at the time was predominantly Muslim although there was a Palestinian Christian minority. Captured by the Israeli Defense Forces during the Six-Day War on June 7, 1967 along with the neighbouring villages of Yalo and Bayt Nuba, the villagers of Imwas were expelled and the village destroyed on the orders of Yitzhak Rabin.[4] Today the area of the former village lies within Canada Park, which was established by the Jewish National Fund in 1973.

Etymology

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The name of the modern village was pronounced ʿImwās by its inhabitants. Arabic literary sources indicate the name was formerly pronounced ʿAmwās and ʿAmawās, the latter being form transcribed by the Syrian geographer Yakut (1179–1229).[5]

In the time of Jerome, the Semitic name of Emmaus Nicopolis was ʿAmmaôs or ʿEmmaus, both beginning with an ʿāyin (ʿ).[6] Following Clermont-Ganneau, Moshe Sharon argued that the Arabic name more faithfully approximates the town's original ancient name when compared against the name as transcribed in the Talmud, where it begins with an alef (ʾ).[5] Kitchener and Conder suggested the name Emmaus is derived from the ancient Hebrew ḥammat, a thermal spring.[7]

According to a tradition held by local fellahin in the 19th century, the village's name is related to an epidemic that killed the ancient Jewish inhabitants of the village, but they were miraculously brought back to life after Neby Uzair's visited the place and prayed to God to revive the victims. The fellahin described the pestilience as amm-mou-asa, which according to Clermont-Ganneau, roughly means "it was extended generally and was an affliction". Clermont-Ganneau thought this local etymology was "evidently artificial".[8][9]

History

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Classical antiquity

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Emmaus is also mentioned in the first Book of the Maccabees as the site where Judas Maccabeus defeated the Syrian Seleucid general Gorgias in the 2nd century BCE[10] and subsequently fortified by General Bacchides in 160 BCE. It replaced Gezer as the head of a toparchy in 47 BCE.[5]

Edward Robinson relates that its inhabitants were enslaved by Gaius Cassius Longinus while Josephus relates that the city, called Άμμoὺς, was burned to the ground by Publius Quinctilius Varus after the death of Herod the Great in 4 BCE.[10][11]

Imwas has been identified as the site of ancient Emmaus, where according to the Gospel of Luke (24:13-35), Jesus appeared to a group of his disciples, including Cleopas, after his death and resurrection.[12]

Reduced to a small market town, its importance was recognized by the Emperor Vespasian, who established a fortified camp there in 68 CE to house Legio V Macedonica, populating it with 800 veterans.[5][13] In 131 CE, the city was destroyed by an earthquake.[5] It was rebuilt and renamed Nicopolis ("City of Victory") by Elagabalus in 221 CE, becoming the chief polis in a region that bore its name.[5][14] Robinson writes that the town was rebuilt "by the exertions of the writer Julius Africanus."[12][10] In 222 CE, a basilica was erected there, which was rebuilt first by the Byzantines and later by the Crusaders.[15] In the 4th century, the city served as an episcopal see.[11] Remains of a Samaritan synagogue point the presence of a Samaritan community in Imwas in the late Roman period.[14]

Described by Eusebius in his Onomasticon, Jerome is also thought to have referred to the town and the building of a shrine-church therein, when he writes that the Lord "consecrated the house of Cleopas as a church."[16] In the 5th century, a second tradition associated with Emmaus emerges in the writings of Sozomen, who mentions a fountain outside the city where Jesus and his disciples bathed their feet, thus imbuing it with curative powers.[12]

Arab caliphates era

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After the conquest of Palestine by forces of the Rashidun Caliphate in the 7th century, a military camp was established at ʿImwas, which formed part of the newly created administrative district of Jund al-Urdunn.[17] This jund or military camp, among others established in Tiberias and Homs, was made up of Arab soldiers, who were soon to become citizens of the newly conquered areas. The soldiers brought their wives and concubines to the camps, some of whom, according to Philip K. Hitti, were no doubt captured native women.

The governmental framework of the Byzantine rule was preserved, though a commander-in-chief/governor-general was appointed from among the new conquerors to head the government, combining executive, judicial and military roles in his person.[17]

In 639, the Plague of Amwas began and spread from there, killing some 20,000 people, including the commander-in-chief Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah and his successor, Yazid. The Rashid Caliph Umar appointed Yazid's younger brother Mu'awiya to the position of commander-in-chief in 640, and he served as the governor of Syria for 20 years before becoming the Umayyad caliph.[18][19] Studies on the impact of the plague note that it was responsible for a massive depopulation of the countryside, with the consequence that the new Arab rulers, particularly under the subsequent Umayyad Caliphate, were prompted to intervene more directly in the affairs of these areas than they had intended.[20] Until as late as the 19th century, a well in the village was known locally as "The Plague Well" (بئر الطاعون), its name suggesting a derivation from these events.[21]

Palestine Pilgrim Saint Willibald

In 723, Saint Willibald visited Imwas. He was the son of West Saxon Saint Richard the Pilgrim and Saint Wuna of Wessex, brother of Saint Winnibald and Walpurga. Later Willibald's uncle (his mother's brother), Saint Boniface, recruited his nephews in Rome to assist him in evangelizing the still-pagan Germans. Willibald eventually became the first bishop of Eichstätt. In his writings, he notes that the church, which he thought lay over the house of Cleopas, was still intact; he also recalls and describes the miraculous water source mentioned by Sozomen.[22] Hygeburg of Heidenheim, Bavaria, a nun who visited Palestine in the 8th century, mentions both the church and the fountain in Imwas in her work on The Life of St. Willibald.[12]

By the 9th century, the administrative districts had been redrawn and Imwas was the capital of a sub-district within the larger district of Jund Filastin.[23] The geographer al-Maqdisi (c. 945-1000) recalls that ʿImwas had been the capital of its province, while noting, "that the population [was] removed therefrom to be nearer to the sea, and more in the plain, on account of the wells."[24]

By 1009, the church in Imwas had been destroyed by Yaruk, the governor of Ramla, after the Fatimid caliph of Egypt, al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, ordered the destruction of Christian sites, affecting some 30,000 churches in the territory under his rule.[22] Carsten Peter Thiede describes this destruction and other acts of suppression against Christian worship as one of the main impetuses behind the First Crusade, in which, "Saving Christian sites and guaranteeing access to them was paramount."[22]

Crusader era

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William of Tyre, describing the arrival of the armies of the First Crusade to Imwas from Ramla in 1099, notes the abundance of water and fodder available at the site. Throughout the 12th century, Imwas continued to be identified as the Biblical Emmaus by Eastern Orthodox Christians. For example, in 1106-7, Abbot Daniel writes of Imwas: "Once there was a large village here, and a church was built here, but now all is destroyed by the pagans and the village of Emmaus is empty. It was near the road beyond the mountains on the right hand as you go from Jerusalem to Jaffa."[12] John Phocas (c. 1185) also located Emmaus in the same position.[12] Conversely, Western sources in the late 12th century identified Biblical Emmaus with another village closer to Jerusalem: Qaryat al-'Inab or Abu Ghosh. Denys Pringle and Peter E. Leach attribute the reasons for this shift as stemming from a difference in the description of the distance between Emmaus and Jerusalem in the Gospel texts, versus the distance as transcribed in the earliest Greek Gospel codices. In the Gospel texts, more widely embraced by the West, the distance is transcribed as 60 stades, whereas the Codex Sinaiticus, which was known to Eusebius and Jerome, places the distance at 160 stades.[25][26]

Raymond du Puy in the Hall of Crusades, Versailles.

The identification of Biblical Emmaus with two villages in the 12th century has led to some confusion among modern historians when apprehending historical documents from this time. Generally speaking, however, Abu Ghosh was referred to by the Latin Biblical name for Emmaus, Castellum Emmaus, whereas Imwas was referred to simply as Emmaus. In 1141, Robert of Sinjil leased the "land of Emmaus", which included Imwas and six other villages, to Raymond of Le Puy, the master of the Hospitallers for 500 bezants a year.[27] The same year, William, the Patriarch of Jerusalem granted half of the tithes from six surrounding villages to the Hospitallers, one of these villages was nearby Khulda.[28] In February 1151 or 1152 the Hospitallers were still leasing, but the terms of the lease were modified.[29] An 1186 reference to a "bailiff of Emmaus" named Bartholomew suggests that the Hospitallers had an established a commandery in Imwas.[30] There is also archaeological and documentary evidence that suggests that the local Eastern Christian population continued to live in Imwas during this time, and likely attended services alongside the Crusaders at the parish church dedicated to St. George which was constructed in the village by the latter on the site of the ruins of the earlier churches.[31][32]

Imwas was likely abandoned by Crusaders in 1187 and unlike the neighboring villages of Beit Nuba, Yalo, Yazur and Latrun, it is not mentioned in chronicles describing the Third Crusade of 1191-2, and it is unclear whether it was reoccupied by the Hospitallers between 1229 and 1244.[25] The village was re-established just north of where the church had been located.[25]

Mamluk era

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Maqam Sheikh Mu'alla

Maqam Sheikh Mu'alla had an endowment text (now lost), dating it to 687 AH/1289-1290 CE.[33] Clermont-Ganneau described it:

The most important, and most conspicuous Mussulman sanctuary in 'Amwas is that which stands on the hill some 500 metres 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." 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 [karbeh) wherewith he slays his enemies. This is the Sheikh, of whom they stand in holy awe. This legend, and the name of the personage, puzzled me greatly, and it was not without some trouble that I discovered the answer to the riddle. It is directly derived from the historical memory of the famous Plague of 'Amwas, in connection with the Plague-well. The Arab* historians tell us, as I have already explained, that the epidemic originated at 'Amwas, whence it took the name by which it is known in their chronicles. Among the most illustrious victims of the disease was one of the companions of Mahomet, Abu 'Abd er Rahman Muadh ben Jabal, who was entrusted by 'Omar with the organisation of the conquered country. This personage died beyond Jordan, and was buried there. (As for the exact place in which he was buried, a topographical question connected with that of the place where Jesus was baptized, see my Recucil d'Archeologie Orientale, Vol. I, p. 344, et sqq. I may add that instead of Deir Fakhur, many Mohammedan writers, for example Beladhory and Yakut, call the place where Mu'adh ben Jabal died and was buried, Ukhuana...... I have established the exact position of Ukhuana, and its identity with the Cauan of the Crusaders, in my Etudes d'Archeologie Orientale, Vol. II, p. 123.) .....We may presume that originally this monument was merely commemorative, and that local tradition has at last wrongly ended in regarding it as the real tomb of this celebrated personage, inferring from his having succumbed to the 'Plague of 'Amwas' that he died and was buried at 'Amwas itself. However, the mistake of the legend on this point must be a very ancient one, for as early as the twelfth century, Aly el Herewy has the following passage : " One sees at 'Amwas the tombs of a great number of companions of the prophets and of tabis who died of the Plague. Among them (sic) is mentioned 'Abd er Rahman ibn {sic) Mu'adh ben Jabal and his children. ...[34]

Ottoman era

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Imwas came under the rule of the Ottoman Empire in the early 16th century and by the end of that century, the church built by the Crusaders had been converted into a mosque, which itself stood for almost a century before falling into ruin.[12] In the 1596 tax record its population was reported as 24 Muslim families. They paid a fixed tax rate of 25% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, vineyards, fruit trees, goats and beehives, in addition to "occasional revenues"; a total of 3,600 akçe. Part of the revenue went to a waqf.[35]

Edward Robinson visited Imwas during his mid-19th century travels in Ottoman Syria and Palestine. He describes it as "a poor hamlet consisting of a few mean houses." He also mentions that there are two fountains of living water and that the one lying just beside the village must be that mentioned by Sozomen in the 5th century, Theophanes in the 6th, and by Willibald in the 8th.[36] The ruins of the "ancient church" are described by Robinson as lying just south of the built-up area of the village at that time.[36]

In 1863 Victor Guérin visited and identified it as ancient Emmaus Nicopolis.[37]

Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau also visited Imwas in the late 19th century and describes a local tradition centered around a bathhouse dating to the Roman era. The upper part of the structure, which protruded above the ground, was known to locals as "Sheikh Obaid" and was considered to be the burial place of Abu Ubayd who succumbed to the plague in 639. The site served as both a religious sanctuary and cemetery until the town's depopulation in 1967.[21][38]

In 1875, the Carmelites of Bethlehem acquired the site containing the ruins of the church of Imwas. The debris was removed in 1887-8, and excavations were conducted intermittently from November 1924 to September 1930 by the École biblique et archéologique française de Jérusalem.[25] In 1884, Dr. C. Schick discovered a baptistry with a well-preserved font dating to the 4th century. The square building housed an apse and a shallow cruciform basin where it is thought that those undergoing baptismal rites would stand.[39]

In 1883, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine described Imwas as an adobe village, of moderate size.[40]

British Mandate era

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In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Imwas had a population of 824, all Muslim.[41] This had increased by the time of the 1931 census to 1,029, 2 Christians and 1,027 Muslim, in 224 houses.[42]

In the 1945 statistics the population of Imwas was 1,450, all Muslims,[43] while the total land area was 5,151 dunams, according to an official land and population survey.[44] Of this, 606 dunams were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 3,612 for cereals,[43][45] while 148 dunams were classified as built-up areas.[43][46] By 1948, the population had dwindled to 1,100 Arabs.[47]

Imwas (Anwas) 1942 1:20,000
Imwas 1945 1:250,000

Jordanian rule

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Map of Dayr Ayyub, Imwas, Yalo, Bayt Nuba and the armistice lines

During the 1948 Palestine War, the village held strategic importance due to its location on the Latrun salient, affording control over the road to Jerusalem. Arab Liberation Army forces were there from April to the middle of May until the arrival of the Arab Legion. Israeli forces attacked the position several times but failed to gain control during the Battle of Latrun.[48]

After the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Imwas came under Jordanian control.

The Jordanian census of 1961 found 1,955 inhabitants in Imwas.[49]

Israeli rule

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The expulsion of the residents of Imwas, 1967

The town, defended by a few Jordanian and Egyptian units,[citation needed] was overrun and destroyed in June 1967 on the orders of Yitzhak Rabin due to its strategic location, which enabled the route to Jerusalem to be controlled. At the time, Moshe Dayan told the Cabinet he hoped Israel could get up to 300,000 Palestinians to leave: and night operations and "nipping" were used to get them to "take the hint".[50] Villagers from Imwas, together with those of Yalo and Beit Nuba, numbering some 8,000, were ordered by megaphone to abandon their homes and march towards Ramallah, 32 kilometres away.[51] Ten elderly villagers refused to leave and were never heard of again, and were presumed to have been shot or to have been buried under the demolition rubble.[51] This exodus from the Latrun zone, during which 4 villagers died,[51] presented a public relations problem. According to one oral account by a refugee, one week after the expulsion, villagers heard over Israeli radio that they would be allowed to return to the enclave in peace. Those in the West Bank who tried to get back found the villages surrounded by tanks, and heard that a military order had rescinded the earlier decision, and could only stand by and watch as their houses were razed.[51] The order, in violation of Article 53 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, came from Yitzhak Rabin. In his memoirs Dayan recalled that "(Houses were destroyed) not in battle, but as punishment . . in order to chase away the inhabitants."[51] In response to the public relations problem, Dayan eventually agreed to allow those from Qalqiliya, Habla and Zeta to return to their homes if it was agreed in turn to block the return of the inhabitants of the Latrun villages.[50][51] Israel newspapers of the day depicted the flight as voluntary.[50] Israel further justified the decision by claiming that its residents had taken part in the Siege of Jerusalem two decades earlier, and that they had been present in an attack by Egyptian commandos on Lod just days before the village was taken.[52][53] Dayan stated that the Latrun area fellahin were themselves not responsible for Jordanian shelling from that area during the Six Day War. The decision to destroy the houses was explained to soldiers operating there as necessary in order to "punish the nest of murderers" and stop housing infrastructure from being used in future for terrorist bases.[50] Central Command orders issued to soldiers at the time described the 1948 failure, and the 1967 success in the following way, by writing of:

'terms of disappointment, terms of a long and painful account, which has now been settled to the last cent. Houses suddenly left. Intact. With their potted geraniums, their grapevines climbing up the balconies. The smell-of wood-burning ovens still in the air. Elderly people who have nothing more to lose, slowly straggling along.,'[50]

In August of that year, villagers were told that they return could pick up their stored harvests with trucks.[51] The residents of the three villages then formed a committee to negotiate their return. The villagers' request that Israel allow their leaders, who had fled to Amman, to return and negotiate on their behalf, was turned down by Dayan.[51] Israel offered monetary compensation for the destruction of homes and the expropriation of lands. One committee leader, the father of Abu Gaush replied:

"We will not accept all the money in the world for one dunam in Imwas, and we will not accept one dunum in heaven for one dunam in Inwas!"[51]

According to his son, he was told by his Israeli interlocutors that he had three choices: to share the fate of Sheikh Abdul Hameed Al Sayeh, the first Palestinian to be exiled by Israel after the beginning of the 1967 occupation, after he spoke up for the inalienable right of return of Palestinians; or he could choose to go to prison, or, finally, he could suck on something sweet and keep quiet;[51] In all cases no one was allowed to return.[51] One descendant of the expelled villagers said her father told her they were threatened with prison if they did not agree to compensation[51][52][53][54][55] An Imwas Human Society now campaigns for the expelled villagers' rights and publicizes what they call the war crimes committed in the Latrun Enclave.[51]

In 1973 the Jewish National Fund in Canada raised $5 million to establish a picnic park for Israelis in the area,[51] which it created and still maintains. It descrfibes the area as:-

"one of the largest parks in Israel, covering an area of 7,500 acres in the biblical Ayalon Valley. At peak season, some 30,000 individuals visit the site each day,. enjoying its many play and recreational facilities and installations."[51]

Since 2003, the Israeli NGO Zochrot ('Remember' in Hebrew) has lobbied the Jewish National Fund for permission to post signs designating the Palestinian villages in Canada Park.[56] After petitioning the Israeli High Court,[57][better source needed] permission was granted. However, subsequently the signs have been stolen or vandalized.[56] On June 23, 2007, Zochrot joined the refugees of the village Imwas for a tour of the remains of their village.[58][better source needed]

Artistic representations

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Palestinian artist Sliman Mansour made Imwas the subject of one of his paintings. The work, named for the village, was one of a series of four on destroyed Palestinian villages that he produced in 1988; the others being Yalo, Bayt Dajan and Yibna.[59]

The destruction of Imwas and the other Latrun villages of Yalo and Beit Nuba is mentioned by Palestinian novelist Emile Habibi in his famous novel The Secret Life of Saeed the Pessoptimist.[60]

Emwas, restoring memories is a recent documentary film in which the filmmaker makes a 3D model of the town using expertise and interviews with people who survived the exodus.[61]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ Palmer, 1881, p. 283
  2. ^ Wareham and Gill, 1998, p. 108.
  3. ^ Siméon Vailhé (1909). "Emmaus". The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Today 'Am'was (the native name) is a Mussulman village about eighteen miles from Jerusalem, on the road to Jaffa. There are still visible ruins of a beautiful basilica built in the fourth or the fifth century, and repaired by the Crusaders. Near 'Am'was, at El-Atroun, the Trappists founded a priory in 1890. In the opinion of many 'Am'was is the Emmaus of the Gospel (Luke 24:13-35), where Christ manifested Himself to two of His Disciples. Such is, indeed, the tradition of the Church of Jerusalem, attested as early as the fourth century by Eusebius of Cæsarea, Titus of Bostra, and St. Jerome, a tradition confirmed by all pilgrims, at least to the time of the Crusades; it may even date back to the third century to Julius Africanus and Origen. It is also supported by many Biblical commentaries, some of which are as old as the fourth or the fifth century; in these the Emmaus of the Gospel is said to have stood at 160 stadia from Jerusalem, the modern 'Am'was being at 176 stadia. In spite of its antiquity, this tradition does not seem to be well founded. Most manuscripts and versions place Emmaus at only sixty stadia from Jerusalem, and they are more numerous and generally more ancient than those of the former group. It seems, therefore, very probable that the number 160 is a correction of Origen and his school to make the Gospel text agree with the Palestinian tradition of their time. Moreover, the distance of 160 stadia would imply about six hours' walk, which is inadmissible, for the Disciples had only gone out to the country and could return to Jerusalem before the gates were shut (Mark 16:12; Luke 24:33). Finally, the Emmaus of the Gospel is said to be a village, while 'Am'was was the flourishing capital of a 'toparchy'. Josephus (Ant. Jud., VII, vi, 6) mentions at sixty stadia from Jerusalem a village called Ammaus, where Vespasian and Titus stationed 800 veterans. This is evidently the Emmaus of the Gospel. But it must have been destroyed at the time of the revolt of Bar-Cocheba (A.D. 132-35) under Hadrian, and its site was unknown as early as the third century. Origen and his friends merely placed the Gospel Emmaus at Nicopolis, the only Emmaus known at their time. The identifications of Koubeibeh, Abou Gosh, Koulonieh, Beit Mizzeh, etc. with Emmaus, as proposed by some modern scholars, are inadmissible.
  4. ^ Oren, M.B. (2017). Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East. Random House Publishing Group. p. 306. ISBN 978-0-345-46431-6.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Sharon, 1997, p. 79
  6. ^ Charles Clermont-Ganneau (1899). Archaeological Researches in Palestine during the Years 1873–1874. Vol. 1. p. 490.
  7. ^ Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP III, p. 36-37
  8. ^ C. Clermont-Ganneau, "Letters: VII-X," Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly Statement 6.3 (July 1874): p. 162
  9. ^ Conder, C. R. (Claude Reignier); Kitchener, Horatio Herbert Kitchener; Palmer, Edward Henry; Besant, Walter (1881–1883). The survey of western Palestine : memoirs of the topography, orography, hydrography, and archaeology. Robarts - University of Toronto. London : Committee of the Palestine exploration fund. p. 66.
  10. ^ a b c Robinson and Smith, 1856, p. 147
  11. ^ a b Bromiley, 1982, p. 77.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g Pringle, 1993, p. 52
  13. ^ Josephus, The Jewish War Bk 7,6:6.
  14. ^ a b Negev and Gibson, 2005, p. 159.
  15. ^ Šārôn, Moše (1997). Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarum Palaestinae (CIAP).: A. Volume one. BRILL. p. 80. ISBN 978-90-04-10833-2.
  16. ^ Pringle, Denys (1993). The Churches of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem: A Corpus: Volume 1, A-K (excluding Acre and Jerusalem). Cambridge University Press. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-521-39036-1.
  17. ^ a b Hitti, 2002, p. 424]
  18. ^ Hitti, 2002, p. 425
  19. ^ Al-Baladhuri, 1916, p. 215
  20. ^ Bray, 2004, p. 40
  21. ^ a b Sharon, 1997, p. 80
  22. ^ a b c Thiede and D'Ancona, 2005, p. 59.
  23. ^ Gil, 1997, p. 111
  24. ^ Al-Maqdisi quoted in le Strange, 1890, p.393.
  25. ^ a b c d Pringle, 1993, p. 53
  26. ^ Brownrigg, 2001, p. 49.
  27. ^ Röhricht, 1893, RRH, p. 50, No 201; cited in Pringle, 1993, p. 53
  28. ^ de Roziére, 1849, pp. 219-220, No. 117; cited in Röhricht, 1893, RRH, p. 51, No 205; cited in Pringle, 1993, p. 53
  29. ^ Röhricht, 1893, RRH, pp. 61-62, No 244; p. 65, No 257; p. 69, No 274; all cited in Pringle, 1993, p. 53
  30. ^ Röhricht, 1893, RRH, p. 172, No 649; cited in Pringle, 1993, p. 53
  31. ^ Levy, 1998, p. 508.
  32. ^ Thiede and D'Ancona, 2005, p. 60
  33. ^ Sharon, 1997, p. 84
  34. ^ Clermont-Ganneau, 1899, ARP 1, pp. 492-493
  35. ^ Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 153
  36. ^ a b Robinson and Smith, 1856, p. 146
  37. ^ Guérin, 1868, pp. 293-308
  38. ^ Clermont-Ganneau, 1899, pp. 483-493
  39. ^ Schick, 1884, p. 15; cited in Driver et al., 2006, p. 325
  40. ^ Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p. 14
  41. ^ Barron, 1923, Table VII, Sub-district of Jerusalem, p. 15
  42. ^ Mills, 1932, p. 40.
  43. ^ a b c Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 29
  44. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 66
  45. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 115
  46. ^ Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 165
  47. ^ Jardine, R.F.; McArthur Davies, B.A. (1948). A Gazetteer of the Place Names which appear in the small-scale Maps of Palestine and Trans-Jordan. Jerusalem: Government of Palestine. p. 39. OCLC 610327173.
  48. ^ Morris, 2008, see Latrun and Imwas in the index.
  49. ^ Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. 24
  50. ^ a b c d e Tom Segev, 1967, Abacus Books 2007 pp.489-490.
  51. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Rich Wiles, "Behind the Wall: Life, Love, and Struggle in Palestine," Potomac Books, Inc., 2010, pp. 17-24.
  52. ^ a b Oren, 2002, p. 307
  53. ^ a b Mayhew and Adams, 2006.
  54. ^ Segev, 2007, pp. 407–409
  55. ^ "Interview: Ahmad Abughoush: "Imwas : Canada Park's Concealed Crime "". Archived from the original on 2015-02-22. Retrieved 2015-02-21.
  56. ^ a b Zafrir Rinat (13 June 2007). "Out of sight maybe, but not out of mind". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 17 February 2009. Retrieved 31 August 2008.
  57. ^ High Court Petition on Canada Park[usurped], Zochrot
  58. ^ Tour to Imwas[usurped], Zochrot
  59. ^ Ankori, 2006, p. 82
  60. ^ Habibi, Emile, The Secret Life of Saeed the Pessoptimist, Arabia Books, London, 2010 ( Chapter 36)
  61. ^ Maude Girard, 25 May 2018, fr:Orient XXI, Le festival Ciné Palestine s’engage auprès des réalisateurs

Bibliography

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Media related to Imwas at Wikimedia Commons