Meiron

Meiron ميرون Mirun, Meron, Meroon, Marun, Meirun, Mairun
1870s map 1940s map modern map 1940s with modern overlay map A series of historical maps of the area around Meiron (click the buttons)
Meiron Location within Mandatory Palestine
Coordinates: 32°58′56″N 35°26′17″E / 32.98222°N 35.43806°E / 32.98222; 35.43806
Palestine grid	191/265
Geopolitical entity	Mandatory Palestine
Subdistrict	Safad
Date of depopulation	May 10–12, 1948[1]
Area
• Total	14,114 dunams (14.114 km2 or 5.449 sq mi)
Population  (1945)
• Total	290
Cause(s) of depopulation	Influence of nearby town's fall
Current Localities	Meron[2]

Meiron (Arabic: ميرون, Mayrûn; Hebrew: מירון הקדומה) was a Palestinian village, located 5 kilometers (3.1 mi) west of Safad. Associated with the ancient Canaanite city of Merom, excavations at the site have found extensive remains from the Hellenistic and Early Roman periods. The remains include a 3rd-century synagogue, and Meiron served as a prominent local religious centre at the time.^[3]

From the 13th century CE onward, Meiron was a popular site for Jewish pilgrims.^[3][4] During Ottoman rule in Palestine, the Jewish population fluctuated considerably, with at least two-thirds of the population being Arab Muslims. Landownership in the village was nonetheless split almost evenly between Arabs and Jews. Depopulated in two waves over the course of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, the moshav of Meron was founded in its place in 1949 by Israeli soldiers who fought in that war.