Miilya

History

Archaeological excavations in Mi'ilya gives indication of inhabitation from the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age, as well as Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Crusader, Mamluk and Ottoman periods. Remains include a mosaic carpet with a Greek inscription, dating from the fifth or early sixth century CE. In the Crusader period, Mi'ilya was first mentioned in 1160, when it and several surrounding villages was transferred to a Crusader named Iohanni de Caypha (Johannes of Haifa). In 1179 Viscountess Petronella of Acre sold the houses, vineyards and gardens of Mi'ilya to Count Jocelyn III, uncle of Baldwin IV, and in 1183, Baldwin IV transferred a house that he had bought in Mi'ilya from the scribe, John of Bogalet, in addition to other possessions in the vicinity of Mi'ilya to the same uncle, Jocelyn III. However, in 1187 Mi'ilya (including its castle) fell to Saladin. In 1188 it was granted by Conrad of Montferrat to the Pisans who were defending Acre, but it is unclear if they ever took control of it. In 1220 Jocelyn III's daughter Beatrix de Courtenay and her husband Otto von Botenlauben, Count of Henneberg, sold Mi'ilya to the Teutonic Knights on 31 May, for the sum of 7000 marks of silver. This included Mi'ilya with its dependencies, and a third of the fief of St. George. In 1228, Jocelyn III's grandson James of Mandale sold his part to the Teutonic Knights. Between 1220 and 1243, the Teutonic Knights bought a number of properties from private owners around the castle. Another document from the year 1257 mentions a house and other property in Mi‘ilya that belonged to the Bishop of Akko. By 1268–1271 Mi'ilya was conquered by Baibars. In 1596, Mi'ilya appeared in Ottoman tax registers as being in the Nahiya of Akka of the Liwa Safad, with a population of 15 Muslim…