Saydun (Arabic: صيدون) was a Palestinian village in the Ramle Subdistrict of Mandatory Palestine. It was depopulated during the 1947–48 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on April 6, 1948, during Operation Nachshon. It was located 9 km south of Ramla on the east bank of Wadi Saydun.
Saydun
صيدون | |
---|---|
Village | |
Etymology: from Zidon[1] | |
1870s map
1940s map
modern map
1940s with modern overlay map
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Saydun Location within Mandatory Palestine | |
Coordinates: 31°50′28″N 34°54′17″E / 31.84111°N 34.90472°E | |
Palestine grid | 141/138 |
Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
Subdistrict | Ramle |
Date of depopulation | not known[4] |
Population (1945) | |
• Total | 210[2][3] |
In 1838, it was noted as a large village[5] whose inhabitants were Muslim.[6]
In 1863 Victor Guérin found it to have about 200 inhabitants, He further noted: "Sitting on a low hill, [] the houses are built of adobe. Lacking wood and coal, the Arabs of this locality, as well as many others in Palestine, make fire with sun-dried cow dung in the shape of rounded clods. They feed on water at a well of modern date, because the ancient well is dry." "This village [] must certainly succeed an ancient village".[7]
An Ottoman village list from about 1870 counted 35 houses and a population of 148, though the population count included men, only.[8][9]
In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine described the place as: "a small village of the same class" (as Shahma).[10]
In the 1922 census of Palestine conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Saidum had a population of 124 inhabitants, all Muslims,[11] increasing in the 1931 census to 174, still all Muslims, in a total of 35 houses.[12]
In the 1945 statistics the village had a population of 210 Muslims[2] with a total of 7,487 dunums of land.[3] 49 dunums of land was used for plantations and irrigable land, 5,247 dunums were used for cereals,[13] while 15 dunams were classified as built-up public areas.[14]
In 1992 the village site was described: "Cactuses and numerous grapevines grow on the site. Only one stone house remains; it has a flat roof and a round-arched door and is used for storage. The surrounding land are used for agriculture by Israelis."[15]