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Nablus or Shechem in the Canaanite, one of the oldest cities in the world dating back to 5600 years (about the year 3600 BC).

Foundation
It was founded at the junction of the mountains of Gerizim and Ebal in the eastern section of the present-day city of Nablus by the Canaanites on a large hill now called Tell Balata. The Canaanites called it at that time "Shechem" which means a high place, and then it became one of the most famous Canaanite cities.

Population
The Hivites and the Persians were older than the inhabitants of Shechem than the Arabs. Nablus fought many invaders and occupiers throughout its long history, so that it was conquered by the Egyptian pharaohs, the Hebrew tribes, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, and the Seleucids, until it fell to the Romans in 63 BC.

Shechem was mentioned in the texts of Ebla, which was discovered by the Italian archaeologist Paolo Matte in other Canaanite cities in Palestine, and it is in addition to Shechem, Beit Jibrin, Jericho, Ursalem (Yabus), Megiddo and Beit Shean. It was also mentioned in the letters of Tell el-Amarna (1400 BC) in the name of Shakmi, and it was also mentioned in the reports of Thutmose III.

The ancient Egyptian texts indicate that Shechem was a strategically fortified city of international importance since the year 1800 B.C. It was also a center for the Canaanite religions and political life, and it is understood from the ancient Egyptian texts that the relationship of Palestine became intimate with Egypt from the beginning of this era. The Tal al-Amarna letters (1400-1350 BC) speak of the city of Shechem, under the rule of its Canaanite prince of Abaayo, as a city that plays an important role in the struggle against Egyptian control over the area of ​​Palestine.

According to what was mentioned in the Torah, it was the first Canaanite city in which Abraham al-Khalil descended from the city of Ur in Iraq, and that was about 1805 BC. After that, Jacob came from Acre of Aram on the Euphrates in Iraq, and he descended Shechem, then lived in a Canaanite city known as Bethel It means the seat of the father of the Canaanite gods, and it was the center of the worship of the Canaanite god El, or El. And it is reported that Jacob returned later to Shechem.

And in the Iron Age (1200-323 BC) the Canaanite cities continued the same system of fortified cities with castles during the Bronze Age periods. The Torah indicates that there were wars between the Jews and the Canaanite Palestinians. The Jews took control of two Canaanite cities:

The first: the city of Jebus (Jerusalem), the city of the Jebusites of the Canaanites and the heart of their kingdom since prehistoric times. The children of Israel took control of it in 1000 BC under the leadership of Taloot (Shaul among the Jews), then David, then Solomon in 963 BC - 923 BC. The Jews continued in it under the name of the Kingdom of Judea until it fell in 586 BC at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar.

The second: the city of Shechem, whose influence began in 923 BC and ended in 722 BC at the hands of Sargon II, and its Canaanites remained in it, and some references indicate that the Canaanites were brought from the interior, who are the Amorites.

As for the Samaritans, they inhabited the city of Shechem, and they are a group of Jews that only recognize from the Torah the first five books attributed to the Prophet Moses, and this group is known as the Samaritans relative to Samaria. The Jews have been hostile to them since their appearance. The Samaritans believe that Abraham is the sacrifice of his son Isaac on Mount Gerizim. Most of the Samaritans are still present in the city of Nablus to this day, and their number does not exceed 250, and a seat was allocated for them in the elected Palestinian Legislative Council for the first time in contemporary Palestinian history in 1995.

Israeli occupation
And in the year 1967 AD, it was occupied by the Israelis.

The occupation forces withdrew from it on December 10, 1995, four days before the date agreed upon with the Palestinian Authority, and it was the only Palestinian city to be evacuated before its deadline.