Nablus Attractions

The town flourished, and in 244 was granted the status of a colonia. At first mainly populated by pagan veterans (time-served Roman soldiers) and Samaritans, it soon acquired a Christian community, which produced the philosopher and martyr Justinus (Justin Martyr, c. 100-165). In 521 the Samaritans killed the bishop and devastated the town's churches, whereupon Justinian had the rebels (except those who became converted to Christianity or managed to escape) executed or sold into slavery. In 636 the town of Neapolis was occupied by the Arabs and became known as Nablus. During the Crusader period Queen Melisande, widow of King Fulk, fortified the town against her son Baldwin III, who in 1152 excluded her from political life but left her in possession of Nablus, where she founded a number of churches. The Christian occupation of the town, however, was short-lived: in 1187 it was recovered by the Arabs and since then has remained a Muslim town.

In the 16th century Nablus was the center of one of the four Ottoman administrative divisions of Palestine (the other centers being Gaza, Jerusalem and Safed). In 1936 it was the starting-point of a rebellion against the British Mandatory authorities. Jordan seized Nablus in 1948 but it was retaken by Israel in 1967. In 1980 the mayor of Nablus, Bassam Sheker, one of the most influential Palestinian politicians in the Israeli-occupied territories, lost both legs in a bomb attack, and in 1986 his successor Zafer el-Musri was murdered. The perpetrators of these terrorist acts have not been found, but are believed to have been either Israeli extremists or Palestinians who considered the mayors too pro-Israeli.