the ottoman empire took over palestine for the first time in 1516.
the ottoman empire took over palestine for the first time in 1516.
when did the ottoman empire take over palestine for the first time?
1516
on august 24, 1516, at the battle of marj dabiq, the ottoman empire forces defeated the mamluk sultanate forces and thus the ottomans became the new rulers of the levant. on october 28 they defeated the mamluk forces once more in the battle of yaunis khan and they annexed the region of palestine. by december of that year the entire region of palestine was conquered by the ottoman empire. as a result of the ottoman advance during the reign of selim i, the sunni ottoman turks occupied the historic region of palestine. their leadership reinforced and ensured the centrality and importance of islam as the dominant religion in the region. swamps with the risk of malaria made it difficult to settle and farm on the coastal plains and in the valleys throughout most of the ottoman era.
islam in palestine
in the first half of the 19th century, no foreigners were allowed to purchase land in palestine. this was official ottoman policy until 1856 and in practice until 1867. when it came to the national aspirations of the zionist movement, the ottoman empire opposed the idea of jewish self-rule in palestine, fearing it might lose control of palestine after recently having lost other territories to various european powers. it also took issue with the jews, as many came from russia, which sought the empire's demise. in 1881 the ottoman governmental administration (the sublime porte) decreed that foreign jews could immigrate to and settle anywhere within the ottoman empire, except in palestine and from 1882 until their defeat in 1918, the ottomans continuously restricted jewish immigration and land purchases in palestine. in 1882, jews were banned from their four holy cities and in 1891, after briefly allowing some jewish immigration three years earlier, the turkish rulers tried to again close the empire to russian jews. in 1892, the ottoman government decided to prohibit the sale of land in palestine to jews, even if they were ottoman citizens. nevertheless, during the late 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, many successful land purchases were made through organizations such as the palestine jewish colonization association (pjca), palestine land development company and the jewish national fund.
jewish land purchase in palestine