as-Samu

Since the 1990s, as-Samu' has been governed by the Palestinian Authority as part of Area A of the West Bank. It is known for its handwoven kilims.

• Name — As Samu' • Native Name — السموع • Translit Lang1 — Arabic • Translit Lang1 Type — Arabic • Translit Lang1 Info — السموع • Translit Lang1 Type1 — Latin • Translit Lang1 Info1 — es Samu' (official) Samua (unofficial) • Type — Municipality type B • Grid Name — Palestine grid • Grid Position — 156/89 • Subdivision Type — State • Subdivision Name — State of Palestine • Subdivision Type1 — Governorate • Subdivision Name1 — Hebron • Established Title — Founded • Government Type — Municipality • Leader Title — Head of Municipality • Leader Name — abed ennabe elhawamde • Unit Pref — dunam • Area Total Km2 — 13.8 • Area Total Dunam — 13800 • Population Total — 26011 • Population As Of — 2017 • Population Density Km2 — auto • Custom Label Sec1 — Name meaning • Custom Data Sec1 — originally Eshtemoa, "Place where prayer is heard"

The area is a hilly, rocky area cut by some wadis. The Armistice Demarcation Line (ADL, Green line) runs generally east to west approximately five kilometers south of as-Samu'. The village of as-Samu' is located on twin hills with a wadi varying from shallow to deep between them. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics the town had a population of 19,649 in 2007.

As-Samu' is built upon a tell identified with the biblical Eshtemoa mentioned in various historical sources. In 1971, five pottery jars dated to the 9th-8th centuries BCE were found in as-Samu', bearing inscriptions written in the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet. These jars contained one of the largest silver hoards ever found in Palestine.

In the 4th-century CE, Eshtemoa was described by Eusebius in his Onomasticon as a large Jewish village. In the late 19th century, a number of explorers visited the village and documented carved architectural elements scattered within it. These elements were incorporated into the walls of the village houses, with some reportedly adorned with a menorah and Hebrew/Aramaic inscriptions. A distinctive burial cave from the second and third centuries CE was discovered at as-Samu'. It features an elliptical layout along with collection pits and storage chambers integrated into its walls. Inside, twelve intact Jewish ossuaries dating from Late Second Temple Period to the Late Roman period. The remains of the "Eshtemoa synagogue" were identified at as-Samu' in 1934 with excavations following in 1935 and 1936. The synagogue is dated to around the 4th–5th century CE. Four seven-branched menorahs were discovered carved onto door lintels and one of them is displayed in Jerusalem's Rockefeller Museum. • Illustration — Eshtemoa synagogue/Omari Mosque at as-Samu' and dated to the 4th–5th century CE

After the Muslim conquest, as-Samu' was resettled by Muslims. Under Islamic rule, the synagogue was repurposed as a mosque, which was constructed in its main prayer hall, with the addition of a mihrab. Some sources attribute the repurposing to the 7th century, during the Umayyad period, while Robert Schick suggests it may have taken place later, in the 10th century. What was earlier identified to be part of a 12th-century Crusaders tower.

• Illustration — As-Samu in 1839, from The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, and Nubia. As-Samu' was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1517. In the 16th century, it was a minor village, predominantly a cave settlement that remained stable over various periods. Its inhabitants routinely made seasonal journeys into the Samirah region. In the census of 1596 the village appeared as being in the Nahiya of Halil of the Liwa of Quds. It had a population of 16 households, all Muslim. They paid a fixed tax-rate of 33,3% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, vineyards and fruit trees, in addition to occasional revenues, goats and bee-hives; a total of 3000 akçe. In 1838, Edward Robinson identified the town of Semua with biblical Eshtemoa. He described As-Samu as a "considerable" village..."full of flocks and herds all in fine order". He also found remains of walls built from very large stones, some of which were more than 10 feet long. In 1863 the French explorer Victor Guérin visited the place. An Ottoman village list from about 1870 found that as-Samu had a population of 298, in 77 houses, though the population count included men, only. In 1883, the Palestine Exploration Fund's Survey of Western Palestine described it as "A village of moderate size, standing high. On the north is an open valley, and the modern buildings extend along a spur which runs out west from the watershed. The ground is rocky on the hills, but the valleys are arable land. There are remains of an ancient castle in the village, and other fragments. A church is said once to have existed here, and the ruins to the west show that the town was once much larger. To the south there are olives in the valley. To the north there are rock-cut tombs on the hill-side; the water-supply is from cisterns. The inhabitants number some 400 to 500 souls.

In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, As-Samu (called: Al Samu) had an entirely Muslim population of 1,600 inhabitants. In the 1931 census, As-Samu, together with Khirbat al-Simia and Kh. Rafat had a total of 1,882 Muslims, in 372 houses. In 1934, remains of the towns ancient synagogue were discovered and the site was later excavated in 1969, by Ze'ev Yeivin. In the 1945 statistics the population of as-Samu' was 2,520, all Muslims, who owned 138,872 dunams of land according to an official land and population survey. 30 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 40,398 for cereals, while 165 dunams were built-up (urban) land.

In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and the 1949 Armistice Agreements, As-Samu was annexed by Jordan along with the rest of the renamed ‘West Bank’. In 1961, the population of Samu was 3,103.

In 1966 Israel launched a full-scale military operation against the town, which resulted in the deaths of fifteen Jordanian soldiers and three Jordanian civilians; fifty-four other soldiers were wounded. The villagers suffered 3 civilians killed and 96 wounded. According to David Dean Shulman, the villagers were unconnected to the incident that had triggered the reprisal. Much of the village was destroyed. The commander of the Israeli paratroop battalion, Colonel Yoav Shaham, was killed and ten other Israeli soldiers were wounded.

As a result of the Six-Day War in 1967, 'as-Samu came under Israeli occupation. The population in the 1967 census conducted by the Israeli authorities was 3,784. Under the Oslo Accords, the town was assigned to Area A. It was reported in 2005 that 10,000 dunums of land in the towns of 'as-Samu, Yatta and ad-Dhahiriya near Hebron were to be seized by the Israel Defense Forces for the construction of the separation wall. Palestinian sources have alleged that settler violence from the nearby Israeli settlements of Ma'on and Asa'el has prevented them from accessing their fields.

Among the residents of as-Samu are the Abu Awwad, al-Badareen, ad-Daghameen, al-Hawadah, al-Mahareeq, ar-Rawashdah, al-Salameen and az-Za'areer families.

A headdress or 'money hat' (wuqayat al-darahem) from as-Samu (c. 1840s, with later additions) is exhibited at the British Museum. The caption notes that the headdress was worn in the 19th century and early 20th century during the wedding ceremony, especially for the 'going out to the well' ceremony when the bride appeared in public as a married woman for the first time. Generally, the headdress was considered to be one of the most important parts of the Palestinian costume. As-Samu' is also known for its handwoven kilims.