Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik sponsored the planned administrative city of رملة RAMLE under the Arab Empire. The project relocated provincial authority from nearby Lod and gave imperial administration a new urban center in ארץ ישראל EREẒ YISRAʾEL.
The city’s mixed population matters to the classification. Movement from Lod was local relocation, even when directed by imperial power. It cannot all be counted as immigration from outside the homeland, and Arab rule does not establish that every inhabitant was Arab. The foundation is evidence of an imperial urban project; its demographic composition requires a separate account.
How is this dated?
Circa 715 CE is a conventional approximation for the foundation, not a dated surviving founding instrument. It corresponds approximately to AM 4475–4476. Sulayman’s accession, the beginning of construction and the completion of the new administrative center are different possible anchors. The cited study does not justify selecting an exact month or day from those events for the founding itself.
Guided reflections
- How can a planned imperial city alter political control even when some of its residents move only from a nearby town?
- What would distinguish the foundation of رملة RAMLE from its later completion or administrative occupation?
Footnotes
- The Construction of an Islamic City: Umayyad al-Ramla — A planned imperial city. Its mixed population prevents treating all inhabitants as newly arrived Arabs. ↩
- The Construction of an Islamic City: Umayyad al-Ramla — A planned imperial city. Its mixed population prevents treating all inhabitants as newly arrived Arabs. ↩