Meiron
| Meiron | |
|---|---|
 Meiron
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| Arabic | ميرون |
| Also spelled | Mirun, Meron, Meroon, Marun, Meirun, Mairun |
| Subdistrict | Safad |
| Coordinates | 32°58′56″N 35°26′17″E / 32.98222°N 35.43806°ECoordinates: 32°58′56″N 35°26′17″E / 32.98222°N 35.43806°E |
| Palestine grid | 191/265 |
| Population | 290 (1945) |
| Area | 14,114 dunams |
| Date of depopulation | May 10–12, 1948 |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Influence of nearby town's fall |
| Current localities | Meron |
Meiron (Arabic: ميرون, Mayrûn; Hebrew: מירון הקדומה) was a Palestinian village, located 5 kilometers (3.1 mi) west of Safad. Associated with the ancient Canaanite city of Merom, excavations at the site have found extensive remains from the Hellenistic and Early Roman periods. The remains include a 3rd-century synagogue, and Meiron served as a prominent local religious centre at the time.
From the 13th century onward, Meiron was a popular site for Jewish pilgrims. During Ottoman rule in Palestine, the Jewish population fluctuated considerably, with at least two thirds of the population being Arab Muslims. Landownership in the village was nonetheless split almost evenly between Arabs and Jews. Depopulated in two waves over the course of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, the moshav of Meron was founded in its place in 1949 by Israeli soldiers who fought in that war.
The association of Meiron with the ancient Canaanite city of Merom or Maroma is generally accepted, though the absence of hard archaeological evidence means other sites a little further north, such as Marun as-Ras or Jebel Marun, have also been considered.Merom is mentioned in 2nd millennium BCE Egyptian sources, and in Tiglath-pileser III's accounts of his expedition to the Galilee in 733-732 BCE (where it is transcribed as Marum).
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