Safad in the Ottoman administration (1516-1600)

Safad is a small town in northern Israel in today. Little is known of Safad in the early Islamic period, until the coming of the Crusaders. The main strategic value of Safad was that it offered the Crusaders an excellent observation point over the Tiberia-Toron (Tibnin) and Damascus-Acre road, particularly the important Vadum Jacob (Djisr Banat Jacob).Sultan Baybars was received from the Crusaders in 1266. Baybars set about repairing the fortress and civilian buildings. Inthis way, Safad was made the administrative centre of a new province with depends onTyre, Acre, Tiberia, Tibnin and Shaqif.Yavuz Sultan Selim's Egyptian expedition in 1516 the city of Safad remained under Ottoman rule until the British occupation in 1918. Being a small town and townshipstatus, Safad gained the status sanjaq associated with theprovince of Damascus in the XVI. century in the Ottoman rules. Safad prospered through the textile industry in this period. Abundant water and accessibility to ports, hence to markets, and also benefiting from an influx of jewish craftsmen from the Iberian peninsula. All this have increased Jewish immigration at the Safad and Jewish mysticism, also enriched in the region.Key Words:Safad, Crusader, Mamelouks, Ottoman, Textile