Antiquity The site is believed to have been continuously inhabited from the 6th century
BCE. however,
Edward Robinson and others have identified Ananiah with present-day
Beit Hanina. According to the
Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913, there have been scholars who questioned whether al-Eizariya was the actual site of the ancient village of Bethany: Some believe that the present village of Bethany does not occupy the site of the ancient village; but that it grew up around the traditional cave which they suppose to have been at some distance from the house of Martha and Mary in the village; [Domenico] Zanecchia (La Palestine d'aujourd'hui, 1899, I, 445f.) places the site of the ancient village of Bethany higher up on the southeastern slope of the Mount of Olives, not far from the accepted site of Bethphage, and near that of the Ascension. It is quite certain that the present village formed about the traditional tomb of Lazarus, which is in a cave in the village... The site of the ancient village may not precisely coincide with the present one, but there is every reason to believe that it was in this general location."
New Testament Bethany is recorded in the
New Testament as a small village in
Judaea, the home of the siblings
Mary of Bethany,
Martha, and
Lazarus, as well as that of
Simon the Leper.
Jesus is reported to have lodged there after his
entry into Jerusalem. The village is referenced in relation to six incidents: • The interrogation of
John the Baptist by the
priests and
Levites sent by the
Pharisees:
John 1:19-34 • The
raising of Lazarus from the dead: John 11:1-46 • The return of Jesus to
Judaea, after sojourning in a "region near the wilderness, to a village called
Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples". The
Gospel of John reports that "Six days before the
Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead." • The
entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on
Palm Sunday, which Jesus begins near Bethany: Mark 11:1 and Luke 19:29 • The lodging of Jesus in Bethany during the following week: Matthew 21:17 and Mark 11:11-12 • The dinner in the house of
Simon the Leper, at which
Jesus was anointed: Matthew 26:6-13, Mark 14:3-9, and John 12:1-8 • Before the
Ascension of Jesus into heaven: Luke 24:50 In Luke 10:38-42, a visit of Jesus to the home of Mary and Martha is described, but the village of Bethany is not named (nor whether Jesus is even in the vicinity of Jerusalem).
Crusader era The
Crusaders called al-Eizariya by its Biblical name Bethany. In 1138,
Fulk, King of Jerusalem and
Melisende, Queen of Jerusalem, purchased the village from the
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem in exchange for land near
Hebron. The queen founded a large
Benedictine abbey dedicated to
Mary of Bethany and
Martha near the Tomb of Lazarus. Melisende's sister
Ioveta, thenceforward "of Bethany," was one of the first
abbesses. Melisende died there in 1163; her stepdaughter,
Sibylla of Anjou, also died there in 1165. Melisende's granddaughter
Sibylla, also later Queen of Jerusalem, was raised in the abbey. After the
fall of Jerusalem in 1187, the nuns of the convent went into exile. The village seems to have been abandoned thereafter, though a visitor in 1347 mentioned
Greek Orthodox monks attending the tomb chapel.
Yaqut al-Hamawi (d. 1229) described it as "A village near Jerusalem. There is here the tomb of Al Azar (Lazarus), whom
Isa (Jesus) brought to life from being dead."
Mamluk era In the 1480s, during the
Mamluk period,
Felix Fabri visited and described different places in the village, including a "house and storehouse" of
Maria Magdalen, the house of
Martha, the church of the
sepulchre of Lazarus, and the house of
Simon the Leper. He described the village as being "well-peopled", with the inhabitants being
saracen.
Ottoman era , In 1517, the village was included in the
Ottoman Empire with the rest of
Palestine, and in the 1596
tax-records it appeared as '
Ayzariyya, located in the
Nahiya of Jabal Quds of the
Liwa of
Al-Quds. The population was 67 households, all Muslim. They paid taxes on wheat, barley, vineyards and fruit trees, occasional revenues, goats and beehives; a total of 14,000
Akçe. The Ottomans built the al-Uzair Mosque For 100 years after it was constructed, Christians were invited to worship in it, but the practice was frowned upon by European church authorities who preferred that adherents of both faiths remain separate. In 1838,
Edward Robinson visited, and described it as a poor village of some 20 families. It was also noted as a Muslim village, located in the
el-Wadiyeh region, east of Jerusalem. In 1870, the French explorer
Victor Guérin visited the village.
Socin found that al-Eizariya had a population of 113, with a total of 36 houses, from an official Ottoman village list from about the same year. The population count included men only.
Hartmann found that the village had 35 houses. In 1883, the
PEF's
Survey of Western Palestine described the village (named
El Aziriyeh), as being on the side of a hill, with a ravine running down on the east side of it. The houses were built of stone. The village was dominated by the remains of a Crusader building. A mosque with a white dome was built over what was traditionally the tomb of Lazarus. A second small mosque, dedicated to a Sheik Ahmed, was located to the south of the village. Around 1890, Khalil Aburish, whose ancestors had officially been designated "guardians of the holy resting place of Lazarus", began promoting al-Eizariya as a tourist or pilgrimage destination. In 1896 the population of ''El-'azarije'' was estimated to be about 315 persons. In the early 20th century, visitors counted 40 family dwellings in the village.
British Mandate era In the
1922 census of Palestine conducted by the
British Mandate authorities, the village had a population of 506
Muslims and 9 Christians, where 2 of the Christians were Orthodox, and 7 Roman Catholics. In the
1931 census of Palestine this had increased to 726 persons, 715 Muslims and 11 Christians, in 152 houses. The number included members of a Greek Convent. In the
1945 statistics, the population was 1,060; 1,040 Muslims and 20 Christians, while the total land area was 11,179
dunams, according to an official land and population survey. Of this, 43 were allocated for plantations and irrigable land, 3,359 for cereals, while 102 dunams were classified as built-up (urban) areas.
Jordanian era During the
1948 Arab–Israeli War, and through the years 1948–1967, the site was
controlled by Jordan. In 1961, the population of the area was 3,308.
1967, aftermath , surrounded by the
Israeli West Bank barrier to the north, east and west. It borders the town of
Abu Dis to the south; the enclave continues until
Bethlehem. & Al-Eizariya, 1990s- 2004–2007. This shows a portion of the barrier built by Israel in the West Bank. This part is very close to the eastern part of
Jerusalem, ~2 km from
al-Aqsa Mosque. It is taken on the Israeli side of the wall, facing south. The local residents on both sides of the barrier at this point consist of predominantly Palestinians Families. - a look from
At-Tur Since the
Six-Day War in 1967, Bethany has been
occupied by Israel, and lands to the east of the village were declared a closed military zone, cutting farmers off from the lentils and wheat crops they cultivated on the hilltops where
Maaleh Adumim was later established. Today, the town is overcrowded due to rapid population growth and a lack of town planning. Many of the original inhabitants now live in
Jordan, the
United States, and the
Arab states of the Persian Gulf. In 2004, the
Israeli West Bank barrier was built across Bethany's main road, curtailing the commerce in the strip of shops along the road, which drew both Arab and Jewish customers. ==Archaeology==