Beit Wazan
| Beit Wazan | |
|---|---|
| Other transcription(s) | |
| • Arabic | بيت وزن |
| • Also spelled | Beit Wazan (official) Bayt Wazan (unofficial) |
Beit Wazan to the right
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 Beit Wazan
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| Coordinates: 32°13′53″N 35°12′57″E / 32.23139°N 35.21583°ECoordinates: 32°13′53″N 35°12′57″E / 32.23139°N 35.21583°E | |
| Palestine grid | 170/181 |
| Governorate | Nablus |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipality |
| Population (2006) | |
| • Jurisdiction | 1,120 |
| Name meaning | The house of Udhen |
Beit Wazan (Arabic: بيت وزن) is a Palestinian town in the Nablus Governorate in northern West Bank, located 4.5 kilometers west of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a population of 1,120 inhabitants in mid-year 2006.
Beit Wazan translates from Arabic as "the house of Udhen". Alternatively, Udhen was also spelled "Uden", "Uzen", or "Awzan". Today, the local name is "Wazan". According to the village council of Beit Wazan, "Wazan" was the name of the wife of one of the village's former chiefs.
Archaeological findings indicate traces of Crusader settlement in Beit Wazan in the 12th century CE.
Beit Wazan, like the rest of Palestine, was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1517, and in the census of 1596 the village appeared under the name Bayt Awzan as being in the Nahiya (Subdistrict) of Jabal Qubal of the Liwa (District) of Nablus. It had a population of 52 families and 4 bachelors, all Muslim. They paid a fixed tax-rate of 33.3% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, olive trees, goats and bee-hives; vineyards and fruit trees, in addition to occasional revenues; a total of 13,000 akçe.
In the 17th century, members of the Arab Bani Ghazi tribe migrated to Beit Wazan from Transjordan. The Qasim branch of the tribe established itself at Beit Wazan, as well as Deir Istiya, as their throne village from which they exerted power in the Jamma'in subdistrict of Jabal Nablus. The village contained the Qasim clan's palace, built in 1820, and was heavily fortified. The chief of the clan in the early 19th century, Qasim al-Ahmad, was the leading commander of the countrywide 1834 Peasants' Revolt in Palestine. When the Egyptian governor Ibrahim Pasha defeated the rebels of Jabal Nablus, he had Beit Wazan destroyed. In 1838, Edward Robinson noted it under the name of Beit Uzin.
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