Surda

Surda (Arabic: سرده‎) is a Palestinian town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, located northeast of Ramallah in the northern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a population of 1,031 inhabitants in 2007.[3]

For a fictional country, see Inheritance Cycle.
Surda
Municipality type C
Arabic transcription(s)
 • Arabicسردا
View of Surda, 2011
Surda
Location of Surda within Palestine
Coordinates: 31°56′29″N 35°12′12″E
Palestine grid169/150
StateState of Palestine
GovernorateRamallah and al-Bireh
Government
 • TypeMunicipality
Population
 (2007)
 • Total1,031
Name meaningpossibly from a Syriac word which can be translated to mean fear and isolation,[1] or possibly from Zerada[2]

Location

Surda is located 3.7 kilometers (2.3 mi) north of Ramallah. It is bordered by Al-Bireh and Dura al-Qar' to the east, Jifna to the north, Abu Qash to the west, and Ramallah and Al Bireh to the south.[1]

History

Pottery sherds from the Byzantine and the Mamluk eras have been found here.[4]

Ottoman era

In 1517, the village was included in the Ottoman empire with the rest of Palestine, and in the 1596 tax-records it appeared as Surda, located in the Nahiya of Quds of the Liwa of Al-Quds. The population was 10 households, all Muslim. They paid a fixed tax rate of 33,3% on agricultural products, such as wheat, barley, olive trees, vineyards, goats and beehives, in addition to occasional revenues; a total of 1,660 akçe.[5] Pottery sherds from the early Ottoman era have also been fond here.[4]

In 1838, it was noted as the village Surada, in the Beni Harith district.[6]

An Ottoman village list of about 1870 indicated 13 houses and a population of 63, though the population count included men, only.[7][8]

In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described Surdah as: "A small village on a hillside, with a garden to the south of it, and the spring 'Ain Jelazun on the east."[9]

In 1896 the population of Surda was estimated to be about 108 persons.[10]

British Mandate era

In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Surda had a population of 125 Muslims,[11] increasing in the 1931 census to 179 Muslims, in 43 houses.[12]

In the 1945 statistics the population of Surda was 250 Muslims,[13] while the total land area was 3,726 dunams, according to an official land and population survey.[14] Of this, 1,002 dunums were used for plantations and irrigable land, 1,244 for cereals,[15] while 20 dunams were classified as built-up areas.[16]

Jordanian era

In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Surda came under Jordanian rule.

The Jordanian census of 1961 found 415 inhabitants in Surda.[17]

1967-present

After the Six-Day War in 1967, Surda has been under Israeli occupation.

After the 1995 accords, 95.4% of village land has been defined as Area B land, while the remaining 4.6% is Area C.[18]

Surda is the birthplace of the Palestinian diplomat Hasan Abdel Rahman.

Footnotes
  1. Surda Village Profile, ARIJ, p. 4
  2. Palmer, 1881, p. 245
  3. 2007 PCBS Census. Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. p.114.
  4. Finkelstein et al, 1997, pp. 423-424
  5. Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 117
  6. Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Appendix 2, p. 124
  7. Socin, 1879, p. 161. It was also noted to be in the Beni Harit district.
  8. Hartmann, 1883, p. 126 also noted 13 houses
  9. Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. 295. They further noted: "The name suggests its identity with Zereda, the native town of Jeroboam, (1 Kings 11:26)", but based on archeological evidence, Finkelstein et al, 1997, p. 424 thinks this is irrelevant.
  10. Schick, 1896, p. 123
  11. Barron, 1923, Table VII, Sub-district of Ramallah, p. 17
  12. Mills, 1932, p. 51.
  13. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. 26
  14. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 65
  15. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 113
  16. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. Village Statistics, April, 1945. Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 163
  17. Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. 24
  18. Surda Village Profile, ARIJ, p. 15

Bibliography
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