Aqir
| Aqir | |
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Palestinian house in Aqir, post 1948
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 Aqir
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| Name meaning | Barren |
| Also spelled | Akir, Akkur |
| Subdistrict | Ramle |
| Coordinates | 31°51′40″N 34°49′23″E / 31.86111°N 34.82306°ECoordinates: 31°51′40″N 34°49′23″E / 31.86111°N 34.82306°E |
| Palestine grid | 133/140 |
| Population | 2480 (1945) |
| Area | 11,322 dunams |
| Date of depopulation | 6 (??) May 1948 |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault by Yishuv forces |
| Current localities | Kiryat Ekron,Mazkeret BatyaGanei Yohanan |
Aqir, also spelt Akir and Akkur, was a Palestinian Arab village in the Ramle Subdistrict, located 9 km southwest of Ramla and 1 km north of Wadi al-Nasufiyya (today called Nahal Ekron).
Until the early 20th century, Aqir was thought to lie at the site of the ancient Philistine city of Ekron, that has now been identified as Tel Mikne, 9 km to the south. The error seems rooted in antiquity; The Romans referred to the village as Accaron.
Archeological excavations indicate that a pottery workshop operated here the Roman era, and a glass workshop was here during the Byzantine era. Buildings from the Abbasid era have also been excavated.
In the 10th century, Al-Muqaddasi writes of Aqir (Ekron) as "A large village with a mosque. Its inhabitants are much given to good works. The bread here is not to be surpassed for quality. The village lies on the high road from Ar-Ramlah to Makka."Yakut called it Al Akir, and said it belonged to Ar Ramlah.
The village mosque had a construction text, made in naskhi script, and dating it to 1296-7.
In 1596, Aqir (Amir) appeared in Ottoman tax registers as being in the Nahiya of Ramla of the Liwa of Gaza. It had a population of 31 Muslim households and paid taxes on wheat, barley, and other produce.
The mihrab in the mosque had an inscription above it dating it to 1701-1702 CE.
The scholar Edward Robinson passed by the village in 1838, and described it as being surrounded by "well-tilled gardens and fields of the richest soil". The village itself was described as being of "considerable size", built of bricks or adobe.
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Wikipedia