Bulletin of Palestine Studies

Abstract

The means of living of
the villages taking place around the Holy Cities in Palestine were mainly based
agriculture and animal husbandry. Called as “Şeyhül’l-Karye” by the settled
public in the villages, the sheikhs of the villages regulated the relationships
of the villages in this area with the provincial government and centre of the
state. Namely, the Ottoman centralized administration and the rural
administrators in Palestine held this people responsible on such issues as tax
collection. At the same time, these people were also held responsible for the
public security and social order in villages. Due to these responsibilities of the
sheikhs of the villages, it was followed meticulously whether they fulfilled
their duties, whether they collected the taxes at the right time and submitted
them to the tax collectors,and most importantly, whether they maintained security.
If adverse developments took place, On the negative situations occurring,
another sheikh from a different family (if available) was appointed as the
sheikh of the village. The present study addresses the reasons, development, and
conclusions of a conflict over sheikdom that broke out in 1863 between two
groups living in Dura. Fortt he study Ottoman Archives of Prime Ministry in
Istanbul were used.