Arraba (; ), also known as 'Arrabat al-Battuf, is an Arab city in Israel. It is located in the Lower Galilee in the Northern District, within Sakhnin valley, adjacent to Sakhnin and Deir Hanna, and climbing a bit on Yodfat range to its south, while also owning some lands south of that in the Beit Netofa Valley (Sahl al-Battuf) to the north of Nazareth area. Arraba attained local council status in 1965, and city status in 2016. In , its population was .
During the Roman period, Arraba was a Jewish settlement known as Arab or Gabara, and was home to the priestly family of Petahiah. In the fifth or sixth century CE, it was inhabited by Christians, as evidenced by the discovery of a church. The Arab Muslim tribe of Zayadina arrived in Arraba in the middle of the 17th century and later gained control of the town. In the 18th century, Zahir al-Umar, an autonomous ruler of Galilee, lived in Arraba. In the late Ottoman period, the town had a sizable Christian minority, but since then, many have emigrated to Haifa, leaving only a small number of Christian households in the predominantly Muslim city.
History
Antiquity
Arraba is identified with the ancient Jewish village called Arab, mentioned in Josephus' writings by its pronunciation in the Greek, Gabara, but in the Mishnah and the Jerusalem Talmud as Arab. The first-century Jewish rabbi and leader Yohanan ben Zakkai is said to have lived there eighteen years. During the First Jewish-Roman War, Vespasian sacked the city, killing those of its Jewish citizens who had not already fled. The place is presumed to have been resettled by Jews in the third-fourth centuries, since the town is mentioned as being the place of residence of one of the priestly courses known as Pethahiah, as inscribed in the Caesarea Inscription.
Arabba is home to the grave of Hanina ben Dosa, a Jewish scholar who lived in the village during the first and second generations after the destruction of the Second Temple.
In the 5th or 6th century CE, there were Christians living here, as witnessed by a church whose mosaic floor and inscription have been unearthed.
The oldest settled section of Arraba lies at the village's south-east side, near the Christian church. Archaeological artefacts have been discovered there dating back to the Roman and Byzantine periods.
Middle Ages
In the Crusader era, it was known as Arabiam. In 1174, it was one of the casalia (villages) given to Phillipe le Rous. In 1236, descendants of Phillipe le Rous confirmed the sale of the fief of Arraba. In 1250, it was one of the casalia belonging to the Teutonic knights, a Crusader order.
In the 13th century, Arrabah is mentioned by Syrian geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi in his famous work Mu'jam al-Buldān (1224–1228), as a "place in the province of Acca".
Ottoman Empire
The village was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1517 with all of Palestine, and in 1596 Arraba appeared in the tax registers as being in the Nahiya ("Subdistrict") of Tabariyya, part of Sanjak Safad. It had an all Muslim population of 125 households and 2 bachelors. The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 20% on wheat, barley, summer crops or fruit trees, cotton, and goats or beehives; a total of 11,720 akçe. 1/4 of the revenue went to a waqf.
At some point in the mid-17th century the Zayadina, an Arab Muslim tribe, immigrated to Arraba. Its sheikh ("chief") later acquired control of the town and its district after wresting control of the area from the Druze sheikh of Sallama. Sallama and other Druze villages in the vicinity were subsequently destroyed, Druze suzerainty over the Shaghur district came to an end and the Zayadina consequently gained significant influence in the area, including the role of tax collector of Shaghur on behalf of the Ottoman wali ("governor") of Sidon Province. Arraba became home to Zahir al-Umar, a later sheikh of the Zayadina tribe. According to local legend, he sought refuge there after killing a Turkish soldier. He won the support of the local sheikh, Muhammad Nasser, by helping him settle a score with a neighboring village, which set off a series of campaigns that led to the conquest of the entire Galilee. A building said to be the home of Zahir is still standing.
In 1838, Arabeh was noted as a Muslim and Christian village in the Esh-Shagur district, located between Safad, Acca and Tiberias.
