Julis 3.19

Julis is a Druze village and local council in the Northern District of Israel. In it had a population of.EtymologyAccording to local legend, the name is derived from "Julius," the name of a Roman commander who camped in the area. Others say it is from the Arabic word for "sitting" - "jalis", as it is located on lower hills than the surrounding villages, and thus seems to be sitting.HistoryOttoman eraAccording to the 1596 Ottoman tax records Julis had a predominantly Muslim (Druze?) population, with a total of 79 households. The taxable produce comprised wheat, barley, "summer crops", fruit trees, and "goats and bees". Julis also had a press for olive oil or grape syrup. During the 16th century there was also a small Jewish population.In the early part of the 18th century Julis was one of the major cotton producing villages in the area. Later in the same century it was one of five villages in nahiya ("subdistrict") Sahil Akka (Acre coast), which were owned directly by the governor of Acre, and were exempt from the usual Ottoman taxes.A map by Pierre Jacotin from Napoleon's invasion of 1799 showed the place, named as Gioules.In 1875, the French explorer Victor Guérin visited the village, which he called Djoules. He noted that "before arriving at Julis I came upon a small plateau pierced by many cisterns. The cisterns and the cut stones which are built up in the modern houses show that the place is the site of an ancient town or village. On a neighbouring hill a waly is consecrated to the Sheikh Aly.'" In 1881, the Palestine Exploration Fund's Survey of Western Palestine described Julis as "a village built of stone containing about 200 Druzes, surrounded by olives and arable land."