Баттир: История и археология древнего поселения.

the village

Battir was inhabited during the Byzantine and Islamic periods, and in the Ottoman and British Mandate censuses its population was recorded as primarily Muslim. In former times, the city lay along the route from Jerusalem to Bayt Jibrin. Battir is situated just above the modern route of the Jaffa–Jerusalem railway, which served as the armistice line between Israel and Jordan from 1949 until the Six Day War, when it was occupied by Israel. In 2007, Battir had a population of about 4,000.

The Arabic name Battir preserves the name Betar, an ancient Jewish town destroyed in the Bar Kokhba revolt, whose ruins can be found within the present day village. also known as Tel Beitar, an archeological site that comprises the ruins of ancient Betar. It was continuously inhabited since the Iron Age up until the second century CE, when the Romans destroyed it during the Bar Kokhba revolt. Spearheads, stone balls, vessels, two cisterns, and coins from both the First Jewish Roman War and the Bar Kokhba revolt were found in Battir in 1907 when three local families who owned the land near the ruin began cleaning the stones. The Warren Cup is also said to have been found near Battir. According to one Jewish tradition, it is also the site of the tomb of the Tannaic sage Eleazar of Modi'im.

A mosaic from the late Byzantine or early Islamic period was found in Battir.

In 1596, Battir appeared in Ottoman tax registers as a village in the Nahiya of Quds in the Liwa of Quds. It had a population of 24 households and two bachelors, all Muslims, and paid taxes on wheat, summer crops or fruit trees, and goats or beehives; a total of 4,800 Akçe. All of the revenue went to a Waqf. In 1838 it was noted as Bittir, a Muslim village in the Beni Hasan district, west of Jerusalem. French explorer Victor Guérin visited the place in 1863, while an Ottoman village list from about 1870 showed that Battir had a population of 239, in a total of 62 houses, though that population count only included men. It was further noted that it had "a beautiful spring flowing through the courtyard of the mosque". In 1883, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine described Battir as a moderate sized village, on the precipitous slope of a deep valley. In 1896 the population of Bettir was estimated to be about 750 persons. In the 20th century, Battir's development was linked to its location alongside the railroad to Jerusalem, which provided access to the marketplace as well as income from passengers who disembarked to refresh themselves en route.

In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Batir had an all Muslim population of 542 persons, increasing in the 1931 census to 758; 755 Muslims, two Christians and one Jew, in 172 houses. In the 1945 statistics the population of Battir was 1,050, all Muslims, with a total of 8,028 dunams of land according to an official land and population survey. Of this, 1,805 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 2,287 for cereals, while 73 dunams were built up (urban) land.

During the 1948 war, most of the villagers had fled, but Mustafa Hassan and a few others stayed. At night they would light candles in the houses, and in the morning they would take out the cattle. When nearing the village, the Israelis thought Battir was still inhabited and gave up attacking. The armistice line was drawn between the railroad and the main part of the village, with Battir ending up just meters from Jordan's border with Israel on the Jordanian side. At least 30% of Battir's land lies on the Israeli side of the Green Line, as well as a few of its buildings, but the villagers were allowed to keep it in return for preventing damage to the railway,

The Jordanian census of 1961 found 1,321 inhabitants in Battir.

Since the Six Day War in 1967, the status of Battir changed from Jordanian occupation and annexation to Israeli occupation. The population in the 1967 census was 1445. Since the signing of the Oslo II Accord in 1995, Battir has been administered by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). It is governed by a village council currently administrated by nine members appointed by the PNA. 23.7% of the village's lands were classified as Area B, while the remaining 76.3% were classified as Area C. in 2012 the population was estimated at about 4,500.

Battir is located north west of Bethlehem on a hill above Wadi el Jundi (lit. "Valley of the Soldier"), which runs southwest through the Judean hills to the coastal plain. The village's historical core is characterized by its dense structure, surrounded by agricultural terraces. A newer section of Battir extends along the main way to Bethlehem. Ein al Balad, the village's spring, is encased in a spring house. The PEF's Survey of Western Palestine in 1883 described the city's natural defenses, saying its houses stand upon rock terraces, having a rocky scarp below; thus from the north the place is very strong, whilst on the south a narrow neck between two ravine heads connects the hill with the main ridge. Battir's summers are temperate, and its winters mild with occasional snowfall. The average annual temperature is 16o C.

Battir is renowned for its distinctive local eggplant variety, known as the Battiri eggplant or "Bitinjan Battiri" to Palestinians. This variety is a key ingredient in Palestinian dishes such as Maqluba. Battir is also known for its khyar abyad, a white cucumber grown in the village and in nearby Wadi Fukin. Every summer, Battir hosts the Eggplant Festival, an event dedicated to supporting local producers and farmers, and celebrating the cultivation of the renowned Battiri eggplants.

Among the residents of Battir village are members of the Abu 'Ebeid Allah, Abu Ni'ma, Batma, Batha, Kttoush, Mashni, Mu'ammar, and 'Uweina families.

An old Roman bath fed by a spring is located in the middle of the village. A Roman inscription was also discovered near one of the city's natural springs on which are inscribed the names of the Fifth Macedonian Legion and the Eleventh Claudian Legion, which said legions presumably took part in the siege of the city during Emperor Hadrian's reign. There isn't any evidence of habitation in the period immediately after the Revolt.