NAPLUSA (Arabic Nabulus). — City of Jordan, capital of Samaria, 67 km. north of Jerusalem. It was founded by Titus in the year 72 on the site of a small, unimportant village called Mabortha. It was given the name Flavia Neapolis, from which the present Arabic name Nabulus or Nabulis derives. It Sichem (v.), with which it was sometimes confused, Hebal (v.) Garizim (v.). The new inhabitants were Roman legionaries, who greatly developed the city, including through the erection of public monuments such as baths, thermal baths, temples, etc. In 244 N. became a “colonia.”
In the 2nd century, s. Giustino (v.) was born there. In the 4th century it became an episcopal see, and its first bishop, Germano, took part in the Councils of Ancyra (314) and Nicaea (325). The Christians, however, often had to struggle with the Samaritans, who, among other things, once attacked them on Garizim during a religious ceremony. Occupied by the Muslims, N. lost its importance until the Middle Ages, when the Crusaders made it a lordship, erecting beautiful churches, though without restoring the bishopric there. From 1152 to 1161 it was the residence of Queen Melisenda. Occupied by Saladin in 1187, N. remained in Muslim hands, except for a brief interlude in 1242. The churches were converted into mosques. The earthquake of 1927 also brought down the remains of the ancient buildings that had survived, so that today almost nothing is visible in situ. Afterwards, the city began to develop on the slopes of Hebal. As a result of the Arab-Jewish conflict, many Arabs took refuge there, so that the number of inhabitants, although fluctuating, is around 30,000. Most are Muslims, but there is a small group of Christians and another, very small, group of Samaritans. Since 1950 it has formed part, not without opposition, of Jordan.