# Sarta

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**Sarta** (Arabic: سرطه) is a [Palestinian](/source/Palestinian_people) town in the [Salfit Governorate](/source/Salfit_Governorate) in the northern [West Bank](/source/West_Bank), 22 kilometers southwest of [Nablus](/source/Nablus). According to the [Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics](/source/Palestinian_Central_Bureau_of_Statistics), it had a population of approximately 3,382 in 2017.[2]

## Location

Sarta is bordered by [Haris](/source/Haris,_Salfit) to the east, [Bruqin](/source/Bruqin) to the south, [Biddya](/source/Biddya) to the west, and [Qarawat Bani Hassan](/source/Qarawat_Bani_Hassan) to the north.[3]

## History

Sarta is on an ancient site, where [cisterns](/source/Cistern) and [columbariums](/source/Columbarium) carved into rock have been found.[4] [Sherds](/source/Sherd) from [Iron Age II](/source/Iron_Age#Near_East_timeline) and [Persian](/source/Achaemenid_Empire) eras have been found, but were possibly washed down from a nearby higher [Tell](/source/Tell_(archaeology)).[5] Sherds from [Byzantine](/source/Byzantine_Empire)/Early [Umayyad](/source/Umayyad_Caliphate) and [Crusader](/source/Crusader_states)/[Ayyubid](/source/Ayyubid_dynasty) occupations can be suggested according to the finds of sherds at Sarta, and according to finds at the site of the nearby [sheikh](/source/Sheikh) tomb.[5]

[Yakut](/source/Yaqut_al-Hamawi) mentions "Suratah", as being in "a village in Jabal Nabulus".[6] It has been suggested that this was Sarta.[5]

### Ottoman era

The village was incorporated into the [Ottoman Empire](/source/Ottoman_Empire) in 1517 with all of Palestine, and in 1596 it appeared in the [tax registers](/source/Daftar) as being in the *[nahiya](/source/Nahiya)* of Jabal Qubal in the *[liwa](/source/Liwa_(Arabic))* of [Nablus](/source/Sanjak_of_Nablus). It had a population of 6 households, all [Muslim](/source/Muslim). They paid a fixed tax-rate of 33.3% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, olive trees, goats and beehives; a total of 1,500 [akçe](/source/Ak%C3%A7e).[7]

In the 18th and 19th centuries, Sarta formed part of the highland region known as Jūrat ‘Amra or Bilād Jammā‘īn. Situated between [Dayr Ghassāna](/source/Dayr_Ghassana) in the south and the present [Route 5](/source/Highway_5_(Israel%E2%80%93Palestine)) in the north, and between [Majdal Yābā](/source/Majdal_Yaba) in the west and [Jammā‘īn](/source/Jamma'in), [Mardā](/source/Marda,_Salfit) and [Kifl Ḥāris](/source/Kifl_Haris) in the east, this area served, according to historian [Roy Marom](/source/Roy_Marom), "as a buffer zone between the political-economic-social units of the [Jerusalem](/source/Jerusalem) and the [Nablus](/source/Nablus) regions. On the political level, it suffered from instability due to the migration of the [Bedouin](/source/Bedouin) tribes and the constant competition among local clans for the right to collect taxes on behalf of the [Ottoman authorities](/source/Ottoman_Empire)."[8]

In 1838 it was noted as a village *Serata*, part of the *Jurat Merda* district, south of Nablus.[9]

French explorer [Victor Guérin](/source/Victor_Gu%C3%A9rin) travelled through the village in 1870, and found it to have around 40 houses, some better built than in the average village. The stones of the houses were alternately red and white. Several ancient [cisterns](/source/Cistern) dug into the rock provided water for the residents.[10]

In 1870/1871 (1288 [AH](/source/Anno_Hegirae)), an Ottoman census listed the village with a population of 27 households in the *[nahiya](/source/Nahiyah)* (sub-district) of Jamma'in al-Awwal, subordinate to Nablus.[11]

In 1882, the [Palestine Exploration Fund](/source/Palestine_Exploration_Fund)'s "Survey of Western Palestine" described Serta as a small stone village.[12]

### British Mandate era

In the [1922 census of Palestine](/source/1922_census_of_Palestine) conducted by the [British Mandate authorities](/source/Mandatory_Palestine), Sarta had a population of 275 [Muslims](/source/Muslim) and 1 Jew,[13] increasing in the [1931 census](/source/1931_census_of_Palestine) to 317, all Muslim, in a total of 76 houses.[14]

In the [1945 statistics](/source/Village_Statistics,_1945) the population was 420, all Muslims,[15] while the total land area was 5,584 [dunams](/source/Dunam), according to an official land and population survey.[16] Of this, 1,858 were used for plantations and irrigable land, 766 for cereals,[17] while 23 dunams were classified as built-up areas.[18]

### Jordanian era

In the wake of the [1948 Arab–Israeli War](/source/1948_Arab%E2%80%93Israeli_War), and after the [1949 Armistice Agreements](/source/1949_Armistice_Agreements), Sarta came under [Jordanian rule](/source/Jordanian_annexation_of_the_West_Bank).

In 1961, the population was 740.[19]

### Post-1967

Since the [Six-Day War](/source/Six-Day_War) in 1967, Sarta has been under [Israeli occupation](/source/Israeli_occupation_of_the_West_Bank).

After the [1995 accords](/source/Oslo_II_Accord), 16.8% of the village land is defined as [Area B](/source/Palestinian_enclaves), while the remainder 83.2% is [Area C](/source/Area_C_(West_Bank)). Israel has confiscated 353 dunams of village land for the establishment of the [Israeli settlement](/source/Israeli_settlement) of [Barkan](/source/Barkan).[20]

## References

1. Palmer 1881, p. [241](https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp00conduoft#page/241/mode/1up)

1. [*Preliminary Results of the Population, Housing and Establishments Census, 2017*](https://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Downloads/book2364-1.pdf). [State of Palestine](/source/State_of_Palestine). February 2018. pp. 64–82. Retrieved 2023-10-24.

1. [Sarta Village Profile (including ‘Izbat Abu Adam Locality)](http://vprofile.arij.org/salfit/pdfs/vprofile/Sarta_vp_en.pdf), ARIJ, p. 4

1. Dauphin, 1998, p. 811

1. Finkelstein et al, 1998, pp. 273–274

1. Le Strange, 1890, p. [540](https://archive.org/stream/palestineundermo00lestuoft#page/540/mode/1up)

1. Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 135

1. Marom, Roy (2022-11-01). ["Jindās: A History of Lydda's Rural Hinterland in the 15th to the 20th Centuries CE"](https://www.academia.edu/90931976/Jind%C4%81s_A_History_of_Lyddas_Rural_Hinterland_in_the_15th_to_the_20th_Centuries_CE). *Lod, Lydda, Diospolis*. **1**: 17.

1. Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd appendix, p. [127](https://archive.org/stream/biblicalresearch03robiuoft#page/127/mode/1up)

1. Guérin, 1875, p. [146](https://archive.org/stream/descriptiongogr04gugoog#page/n171/mode/1up)

1. Grossman, David (2004). *Arab Demography and Early Jewish Settlement in Palestine*. Jerusalem: Magnes Press. p. 252.

1. Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. [287](https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp02conduoft#page/287/mode/1up)

1. Barron, 1923, Table IX, Sub-district of Nablus, p. [26](https://archive.org/stream/PalestineCensus1922/Palestine%20Census%20%281922%29#page/n28/mode/1up)

1. Mills, 1932, p. [65](https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas)

1. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. [19](http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/VSpages/VS1945_p19.jpg)

1. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. *Village Statistics, April, 1945.* Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [61](http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20I/Nablus/Page-061.jpg)

1. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. *Village Statistics, April, 1945.* Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [107](http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20II/Nablus/Page-107.jpg)

1. Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. *Village Statistics, April, 1945.* Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [158](http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20III/Nablus/Page-158.jpg)

1. Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics, 1964, p. [26](http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/JordanCensusPages/JordanCensus1961-p26.pdf)

1. [Sarta Village Profile (including ‘Izbat Abu Adam Locality)](http://vprofile.arij.org/salfit/pdfs/vprofile/Sarta_vp_en.pdf), ARIJ, p. 18

## Bibliography

- Barron, J.B. (ed.) (1923). [*Palestine: Report and General Abstracts of the Census of 1922*](https://archive.org/details/PalestineCensus1922). Government of Palestine.
- Conder, C.R. & Kitchener, H.H. (1882). [*The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology*](https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp02conduoft). Vol. 2. London: [Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund](/source/Palestine_Exploration_Fund)
- Dauphin, C. (1998). [*La Palestine byzantine, Peuplement et Populations*](https://books.google.com/books?id=FC1mAAAAMAAJ) (in French). Vol. III : Catalogue. BAR International Series 726. Oxford: Archeopress. ISBN 0-860549-05-4.
- Finkelstein, I. & Lederman, Zvi (eds.) (1997). [*Highlands of many cultures*](https://books.google.com/books?id=hA59tgAACAAJ). [Tel Aviv](/source/Tel_Aviv): Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University Publications Section. ISBN 965-440-007-3.
- Government of Jordan, Department of Statistics (1964). [*First Census of Population and Housing. Volume I: Final Tables; General Characteristics of the Population*](http://cs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/JordanCensus1961bits.pdf)
- Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics (1945). [*Village Statistics, April, 1945*](http://web.nli.org.il/sites/nli/Hebrew/library/Pages/BookReader.aspx?pid=856390)
- Guérin, V. (1875). [*Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine*](https://archive.org/details/descriptiongogr04gugoog) (in French). Vol. 2: Samarie, pt. 2. Paris: L'Imprimerie Nationale.
- Hadawi, S. (1970). [*Village Statistics of 1945: A Classification of Land and Area ownership in Palestine*](http://www.palestineremembered.com/Articles/General-2/Story3150.html). Palestine Liberation Organization Research Center.
- Hütteroth, W.-D. & Abdulfattah, K. (1977). [*Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century*](https://books.google.com/books?id=wqULAAAAIAAJ). Erlanger Geographische Arbeiten, Sonderband 5. Erlangen, Germany: Vorstand der Fränkischen Geographischen Gesellschaft. ISBN 3-920405-41-2.
- Le Strange, G. (1890). [*Palestine Under the Moslems: A Description of Syria and the Holy Land from A.D. 650 to 1500*](https://archive.org/details/palestineundermo00lestuoft). Committee of the [Palestine Exploration Fund](/source/Palestine_Exploration_Fund)
- Mills, E. (ed.) (1932). [*Census of Palestine 1931. Population of Villages, Towns and Administrative Areas*](https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas). Jerusalem: Government of Palestine.
- Palmer, E.H. (1881). [*The Survey of Western Palestine: Arabic and English Name Lists Collected During the Survey by Lieutenants Conder and Kitchener, R. E. Transliterated and Explained by E.H. Palmer*](https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp00conduoft). [Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund](/source/Palestine_Exploration_Fund)
- Robinson, E. & Smith, E. (1841). [*Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838*](https://archive.org/details/biblicalresearch03robiuoft). Vol. 3. Boston: [Crocker & Brewster](/source/Crocker_%26_Brewster)

## External links

- [Welcome To Sarta](http://www.palestineremembered.com/GeoPoints/Sarta_1561/index.html)
- Survey of Western Palestine, Map 14: [IAA](http://www.iaa-archives.org.il/zoom/zoom.aspx?folder_id=93&type_id=6&id=8376), [Wikimedia commons](http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Survey_of_Western_Palestine_1880.14.jpg)
- [Sarta Village (including ‘Izbat Abu Adam Locality) (Fact Sheet)](http://vprofile.arij.org/salfit/pdfs/factsheet/Sarta.pdf) [Applied Research Institute–Jerusalem](/source/Applied_Research_Institute%E2%80%93Jerusalem) (ARIJ)
- [Sarta Village Profile (including ‘Izbat Abu Adam Locality)](http://vprofile.arij.org/salfit/pdfs/vprofile/Sarta_vp_en.pdf), ARIJ
- [Sarta aerial photo](http://vprofile.arij.org/salfit/images/english/Sarta_ap_en.jpg), ARIJ
- [Development Priorities and Needs in Sarta](http://vprofile.arij.org/salfit/pdfs/needsfordevelopment/Sarta_needs_en.pdf), ARIJ
- [Sarta Village Profile](https://web.archive.org/web/20160304054601/http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/opt_villageprofile_iwps_sarta_aug_2008.pdf)
- [Land Confiscation, Tree Burning and Uprooting Campaigns against the Village of Sarta](http://poica.org/2004/09/land-confiscation-tree-burning-and-uprooting-campaigns-against-the-village-of-sarta/), 23 September 2004, POICA
- [Israeli Occupation Forces Embark on the Expansion of Burkan Industrial Compound](http://poica.org/2008/09/israeli-occupation-forces-embark-on-the-expansion-of-burkan-industrial-compound/), 3 September 2008, POICA
- [Palestinian land bulldozed for colonial expansion in Sarta village](http://poica.org/2009/07/palestinian-land-bulldozed-for-colonial-expansion-in-sarta-village/) 08, July, 2009, POICA
- [Extension of Take Over lands in Bruqin, Sarta, and Haris villages](http://poica.org/2012/01/extension-of-take-over-lands-in-bruqin-sarta-and-haris-villages/) 02, January, 2012, POICA
- [A new Israeli military order to grant more security for the settlement of Barqan](http://poica.org/2012/02/a-new-israeli-military-order-to-grant-more-security-for-the-settlement-of-barqan/), 25 February 2012, POICA
- [Barkan colony map](http://www.poica.org/editor/case_studies/BARKAN_COLONY_09_07.JPG) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20090714235450/http://www.poica.org/editor/case_studies/BARKAN_COLONY_09_07.JPG) 2009-07-14 at the Wayback Machine

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sarta](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarta) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarta?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.