NAPLUSA (Arabic Nàbulus). — A city of Jordan, capital of Samaria, 67 km north of Jerusalem. It was founded by Titus in the year 72 on the site of an insignificant hamlet called Mabortha. It took the name Flavia Neapolis, from which the modern Arabic name Nàbulus or Nàbulis is derived. It Sichem (v.), with which it was sometimes confused, Hebal (v.) and Mount Garizim (v.). The new inhabitants were Roman legionaries, who greatly developed the city, also by erecting public monuments such as baths, thermal baths, temples, etc. In 244 N. became a "colony."
In the 2nd century, St. Justin was born there (v.). In the 4th century it became an episcopal see, and its first bishop, Germanus, attended the Councils of Ancyra (314) and Nicaea (325). The Christians, however, often had to contend with the Samaritans, who, among other things, once attacked them on Mount Garizim during a religious ceremony. When occupied by the Muslims, N. lost its importance until the Middle Ages, when the Crusaders made it a lordship, building fine churches without, however, restoring the bishopric. 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 interval in 1242. The churches were converted into mosques. The earthquake of 1927 caused even the remains of the ancient structures that had survived to collapse, so that today almost nothing is visible in situ. Afterward, the city
began to develop on the slopes of Mount Hebal. From the Arab-Israeli conflict, many Arabs have taken refuge there, so that although the number of inhabitants fluctuates, it is around 30,000. Most are Muslims, but there is a small group of Christians and an even smaller one of Samaritans. Since 1950 it has been part of Jordan, not without controversy.