Description : Ramallah (UK: /rəˈmælə/ rə-MAL-ə, US: /rəˈmɑːlə/ rə-MAH-lə; Arabic: رامالله, romanized: Rām Allāh, lit. 'God's Height') is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank located 10 km (6 miles) north of Jerusalem at an average elevation of 880 meters (2,890 ft) above sea level, adjacent to al-Bireh. It currently serves as the de facto administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). While historically an Arab Christian town, Muslims constituted a majority of Ramallah's 27,902 residents by 2007, with Christians making up a significant minority. Ancient times Ancient rock-cut tombs have been found near Ramallah. Crusader period Potsherds from the Crusader/Ayyubid and early Ottoman period have also been found there. Ramallah has been identified with the Crusader place called Ramalie. Remains of a building with an arched doorway from the Crusader era, called al-Burj, have been identified, but the original use of the building is undetermined. Ottoman era Ramallah was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1517 with all of Palestine. In 1596 it was listed in the tax registers as being in the nahiya of Quds, part of the Liwa of Quds. It had a population of 71 Christian households and 9 Muslim households. It paid a fixed tax rate of 25% on wheat, barley, olives, vines or fruit trees, and goats or beehives; a total of 9,400 akçe. All of the revenue went to a waqf. Modern Ramallah was founded in the mid-1500s by the Haddadins (also: Haddadeen), a clan of brothers descended from Ghassanid Christians. The Haddadins (ancestors of the present-day Jadallah family, among others), and their leader Rashid El-Haddadin, arrived from east of the Jordan River from the areas of Karak and Shoubak. The Haddadin migration is attributed to fighting and unrest among clans in that area. Rashid and his brothers were blacksmiths. The Haddadin name comes from the old (Aramaicܚܕܕ or ܚܕܐܕ ) word Haddad, which translates to blacksmith. Haddadin was attracted to the mountainous site of Ramallah because it was similar to the other mountainous areas he came from. In addition, the heavily forested area could supply him with plenty of fuel for his forges. In 1838 American biblical scholar Edward Robinson visited the area, noting that the inhabitants were Christian "of the Greek rite". There were 200 taxable men, which gives an estimated total population of 800–900 people. The village "belonged" to the Haram al-Sharif, Jerusalem, to which it paid an annual tax of 350 Mids of grain.
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