Ottoman Land Registration Practices in B’ir al-Sabʿ (Beersheba) as a Case of Transition to Private Property and Their Reflections in the Mandate Period

Abstract

The name ‘Beersheba’ refers to the region located in the southern part of Palestine, bounded by the triangle formed by Gaza, Hebron (al-Khalil) and Aqaba. Covering an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometres (12 million dunams/dönüm), The territory in question is also referred to in the literature as the Negev (Naqab) Desert.1 Despite the region’s semi-arid climate, which is a consequence of its proximity to the Sinai Desert, agricultural and pastoral activities have historically been carried out across much of its territory.2 Indeed, the name of the region itself derives from the historical water wells located there. Five major Arab tribes and their affiliated sub-branches have inhabited this geography in a semi-nomadic manner.3 The major tribes, known in modern literature as the Negev Bedouins, are referred to by the names of Tiyaha, Tarabin, Azazma, Jabarat and Hanajira.4 Despite the absence of a population census in the region during the late Ottoman period, it was widely accepted, based on information gathered from tribal chiefs, that the Bedouin population belonging to these tribes was approximately 70,000.