Umm al-Fahm 5.8

Umm al-Fahm is a city which is located 20km northwest of Jenin in the Haifa District of Israel. In its population was, nearly all of whom are Arab citizens of Israel. The city is situated on the Umm al-Fahm mountain ridge, the highest point of which is Mount Iskander (522m above sea level), overlooking Wadi Ara. Umm al-Fahm is the social, cultural and economic center for residents of the Wadi Ara and Triangle regions.EtymologyUmm al-Fahm means "Mother of Charcoal" in Arabic. The village was surrounded by natural forests which were used to produce charcoal.HistorySeveral archaeological sites around the city date to the Iron Age, as well as the Hellenistic, Roman, and Islamic periods.Mamluk periodIn 1265 C.E. (663 H.), after Baybars won the territory from the Crusaders, the revenues from Umm al-Fahm were given to the Mamluk na'ib al-saltana (viceroy) of Syria, Jamal al-Din al-Najibi.Ottoman periodIn 1517 the village was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire with the rest of Palestine, and in 1596 it appeared in the tax registers as being in the Nahiya of Sara of the Liwa of Lajjun. It had a population of 24 households, all Muslim, and paid taxes on wheat, barley, summer crops, olive trees, occasional revenues, goats and/or beehives, and a press for olive oil or grape syrup.