| Mi'ilya | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Hebrew transcription(s) | |||
| • Hebrew | מִעִלְיָא | ||
| • ISO 259 | Miˁilyaˀ | ||
| • Also spelled | Malia (unofficial) | ||
| Arabic transcription(s) | |||
| • Arabic | معليا | ||
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Mi'ilya
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| Coordinates: | |||
| District | North | ||
| Founded | Prior to 1160[1] | ||
| Government | |||
| • Type | Local council (from 1957) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 1,365 dunams (1.4 km2 / 0.5 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2009)[2] | |||
| • Total | 2,800 | ||
Mi'ilya (Arabic: معليا, Hebrew: מִעִלְיָא) is an Arab local council in the western Galilee in the North District of Israel. Its name during the Kingdom of Jerusalem era in Galilee was Castellum Regis.[1] All of its inhabitants are Christians.
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Archaeological excavations in Mi'ilya gives indication of inhabitation from the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age, as well as Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Crusader, Mamluk and Ottoman periods.[3]
The Arab geographer, Al-Dimashqi, noted the "fine castle", and that close it was a very pleasant valley, where musk-pears and large citrons were grown.[4]
In 1596, Mi'ilya appeared in Ottoman tax registers as being in the Nahiya of Akka of the Liwa of Safad. It had a population of 15 Muslim households and 2 Christian households and paid taxes on wheat, barley, olives, and goats or beehives.[5]
In 1881 Mi'ilya was described as being a large and well-built village of stone, containing 450 Christians, surrounded by olives and arable land.[6]
The King's castle in Mi'ilya dates back at least to 1160, when King Baldwin III of Jerusalem granted title to it to a certain John of Haifa and his heirs. In 1182, Baldwin IV granted it to his uncle, Jocelyn III. At this time it was called "The new castle in the mountains of Acre". By 1187, the castle fell to Saladin. Later, in the early 1200, ownership passed to the Teutonic Knights. However, the importance of the castle of Mi'ilya was by this time superseded by the Montfort Castle.[7]
At the time of the 1931 census of Palestine, Mi'ilya had 138 occupied houses and a population of 553 Christians, 25 Muslims and 1 Druse.[8] By 1945, this had increased to 790 Christians and 110 Muslims.[9]
After the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, Mi'ilya was incorporated into the newly established State of Israel. It was recognized as a local council in 1957.
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