Ceramics from the
Byzantine era have been found here.
Ottoman era Kur was incorporated into the
Ottoman Empire in 1517 with all of Palestine, and in 1596 it appeared in the
tax registers as being in the
Nahiya of Bani Sa'b of the
Liwa of
Nablus. It had a population of 32 households and 6 bachelors, all
Muslim. The villagers paid a fixed tax-rate of 33,3% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, olive trees, occasional revenues, goats and/or beehives, a press for olive oil or grape syrup, and a customary tax on subjects in Nablus region; a total of 13,166
akçe. In 1838,
Robinson noted
Kur as a village in the ''Beni Sa'ab'' district, west of Nablus. In 1870/1871 (1288
AH), an Ottoman census listed the village in the
nahiya (sub-district) of Bani Sa'b. In 1882, the
PEF's
Survey of Western Palestine described it as: "A stone village in a strong position on a ridge, with a steep slope to the east. It is of moderate size, well-built of stone, and supplied by
cisterns. Traces of an ancient road exist near it. It is the
Kursi, or seat of a famous native family (
Beit Jiyusi). It is, perhaps, worthy of notice that the name resembles the Corea of
Josephus, near which was a fortress called Alexandrium. About a mile north of Kur is
Khurbet Iskander (Ruin of Alexander); the position, however, does not seem to agree with the account of Josephus." They further noted: "A ruined watchtower, like the one described at
'Azzun, exists north-east of this place."
British Mandate era In the
1922 census of Palestine conducted by the
British Mandate authorities, Kur had a population of 301, all
Muslims, decreasing by the
1931 census when Kur had a population of 280 Muslims, in 58 houses. In the
1945 statistics Kur had a population of 280 Muslims and a land area of 8,514
dunams, according to an official land and population survey. Of this, 253 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 1,677 used for cereals, while 17 dunams were built-up (urban) land. File:Kur 1942.jpg|Kur 1942 1:20,000 File:Taiyiba 1945.jpg|Kur 1945 1:250,000
Jordanian era After the
1948 Arab–Israeli War and the
1949 Armistice Agreements, Kur came under
Jordanian rule. The Jordanian census of 1961 found 336 inhabitants in Kur.
Post-1967 Since the
Six-Day War in 1967, Kur has been under
Israeli occupation. ==References==