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{{Short description|Largest city in the Northern District of Israel}}
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| demographics1_info2     = 0.2%
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{{Arab citizens of Israel}}

'''Nazareth''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|n|æ|z|ər|ə|θ}} {{respell|NAZ|ər|əth}}; {{lang-ar|{{Script/Arabic|النَّاصِرَة}}|an-Nāṣira}}; {{lang-he|{{Script/Hebrew|נָצְרַת}}|Nāṣəraṯ}}; {{lang-syr|ܢܨܪܬ|Naṣrath}}) is the largest [[Cities in Israel|city]] in the [[Northern District (Israel)|Northern District]] of [[Israel]]. In {{Israel populations|Year}} its population was {{Israel populations|Nazareth}}.{{Israel populations|reference}} Known as "the Arab capital of Israel",<ref name="Irani">{{cite journal |author=Laurie King-Irani |date=Spring 1996 |title=Review of "Beyond the Basilica: Christians and Muslims in Nazareth" |journal=Journal of Palestine Studies |volume=25 |issue=3 |pages=103–105 |doi=10.1525/jps.1996.25.3.00p0131i |jstor=2538265}}</ref> Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and commercial center for the [[Arab citizens of Israel]],<ref name=":1" /> as well as a center of Arab and [[Palestinian nationalism]].<ref name=":1">{{cite book|author1=Tamir Sorek|title=Palestinian Commemoration in Israel: Calendars, Monuments, and Martyrs|date=10 March 2015|publisher=Stanford University Press|isbn=9780804795203|page=97|edition=2|quote=}}</ref> The inhabitants are predominantly [[Arab citizens of Israel]], of whom 69% are [[Muslim]] and 30.9% [[Christianity|Christian]].<ref name=Irani/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbs.gov.il/publications/local_authorities2005/pdf/207_7300.pdf |title=2005 |publisher=Cbs.gov.il |access-date=16 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120905053711/http://www.cbs.gov.il/publications/local_authorities2005/pdf/207_7300.pdf |archive-date=5 September 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=Dumperp274>{{Cite book|title=Cities of the Middle East and North Africa: a historical encyclopedia|first1=Michael|last1=Dumper|first2=Bruce E.|last2=Stanley|first3=Janet L.|last3=Abu-Lughod|edition=Illustrated|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2006|isbn=9781576079195|pages=273–274|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3SapTk5iGDkC&q=%22arab+capital+of+israel%22&pg=PA274}}</ref><ref>{{citation|title=Birthing the nation: strategies of Palestinian women in Israel|last=Kanaaneh|first=Rhoda Ann|publisher=University of California Press|year=2002|isbn=978-0-520-22379-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T2JmeRYaXJIC&pg=PA117|page=117|quote=All-Arab cities such as Nazareth, the largest Palestinian city in Israel|access-date=27 February 2016|archive-date=11 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140111143719/http://books.google.com/books?id=T2JmeRYaXJIC&pg=PA117|url-status=live}}{{citation|title=Flight into the maelstrom: Soviet immigration to Israel and Middle East peace|last=Quigley|first=John|author-link=John Quigley (academic)|publisher=Garnet & Ithaca Press|year=1997|isbn=978-0-86372-219-6|page=190|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AwVw59HmVdEC&pg=RA1-PA190|quote=The other major Jewish population centre in Galilee was Upper Nazareth, established next to Nazareth, the principal Palestinian city in Arab-populated Galilee.|access-date=27 February 2016|archive-date=11 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140111143228/http://books.google.com/books?id=AwVw59HmVdEC&pg=RA1-PA190|url-status=live}}</ref> The city also commands immense religious significance, deriving from its status as the hometown of [[Jesus]], the central figure of [[Christianity]] and a prophet in [[Islam]].

Findings unearthed in the neighboring [[Qafzeh Cave]] show that the area around Nazareth was populated in the prehistoric period. Nazareth was a [[Jews|Jewish]] village during the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] and [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] periods and is described in the [[New Testament]] as the childhood home of [[Jesus]].<ref name="Jeffrey">{{cite book |last=Jeffrey |first=David L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7R0IGTSvIVIC |title=A Dictionary of biblical tradition in English literature |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |year=1992 |isbn=978-0-85244-224-1 |pages=538–40 |access-date=1 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008221946/https://books.google.com/books?id=7R0IGTSvIVIC |archive-date=8 October 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> It became an important city during the [[Crusades]] after [[Tancred, Prince of Galilee|Tancred]] established it as the capital of the [[Principality of Galilee]]. The city declined under [[Mamluk]] rule, and following the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] conquest, the city's Christian residents were expelled, only to return once [[Fakhr al-Din II|Fakhr ad-Dīn II]] granted them permission to do so.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Nazareth {{!}} Israel {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Nazareth-Israel |access-date=2 August 2022 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en |archive-date=17 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211217105524/https://www.britannica.com/place/Nazareth-Israel |url-status=live }}</ref> In the 18th century, [[Zahir al-Umar]] transformed Nazareth into a large town by encouraging immigration to it. The city grew steadily during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when European powers invested in the construction of churches, monasteries, educational and health facilities.

Since late antiquity, Nazareth has been a center of [[Christian pilgrimage]], with many shrines commemorating biblical events. The [[Basilica of the Annunciation|Church of the Annunciation]] is considered one of the largest Christian sites of worship in the [[Middle East]]. It contains the Grotto of the Annunciation, where, according to [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] tradition, angel [[Gabriel]] appeared to Mary and announced that she would conceive and bear [[Jesus]]. According to [[Greek Orthodox Church|Greek Orthodox]] belief, the same event took place at the [[Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation]], also known as Church of Saint Gabriel. Other important churches in Nazareth include the [[Synagogue Church (Nazareth)|Synagogue Church]], [[St. Joseph's Church, Nazareth|St. Joseph's Church]], the [[Mensa Christi Church]], and the [[Basilica of Jesus the Adolescent]].<ref name=":0" />

==Etymology==

===Hebrew {{transliteration|he|Netzer}}===
One view holds that the name 'Nazareth' is derived from one of the Hebrew words for 'branch', namely {{transliteration|he|ne·ṣer}}, {{wikt-lang|he|&rlm;נצר&lrm;|&rlm;נֵ֫צֶר&lrm;}},{{efn|The other is {{wikt-lang|he|&rlm;צמח&lrm;|&rlm;צֶמַח&lrm;}} {{transliteration|he|tsémakh}}.}} and alludes to the prophetic, messianic words in [[Book of Isaiah]] 11:1: "from (Jesse's) roots a Branch [{{transliteration|he|netzer}}] will bear fruit".<ref>{{bibleverse|Isaiah|11:1|HE}}</ref> One view suggests this [[toponym]] might be an example of a tribal name used by resettling groups on their return from exile.<ref>Bargil Pixner, cited in Paul Barnett'', Jesus & the Rise of Early Christianity: A History of New Testament Times, ''InterVarsity Press, 2002 p. 89, n. 80.</ref> Alternatively, the name may derive from the verb {{transliteration|he|na·ṣar}}, {{lang|he|נָצַר}}, 'watch, guard, keep",<ref>"...if the word ''Nazareth'' is be derived from Hebrew at all, it must come from this [Hebrew] root [i.e. 'to watch']" ([[Selah Merrill|Merrill, Selah]], (1881) ''Galilee in the Time of Christ'', p. 116. Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, Charles A. Briggs, ''The Brown–Driver–Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon'' (1906/2003), p. 665.</ref> and understood either in the sense of 'watchtower' or 'guard place', implying the early town was perched on or near the brow of the hill, or, in the passive sense as 'preserved, protected' in reference to its secluded position.<ref>R. H. Mounce, "Nazareth", in Geoffrey W. Bromiley (ed.) ''The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia'', Vol. 3 Eerdmans Publishing 1986, pp. 500–501.</ref> The negative references to Nazareth in the [[Gospel of John]] suggest that ancient Jews did not connect the town's name to prophecy.<ref>Bauckham, Jude, ''Jude, Relatives of Jesus in the Early Church'', pp. 64–65. See {{bibleverse|John|1:46}} and {{bibleverse|John|7:41–42}}</ref>

===Greek {{transliteration|grc|Nazara}}===
Another theory holds that the Greek form {{wikt-lang|grc|Ναζαρά}} ({{transliteration|grc|Nazará}}), used in the [[Gospel of Matthew]] and [[Gospel of Luke]], may derive from an earlier [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] form of the name, or from another [[Semitic language]] form.<ref name=Carruthp417>Carruth, 1996, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Y8ZnM0bt4CEC&pg=PA415 417] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210528163521/https://books.google.com/books?id=Y8ZnM0bt4CEC&pg=PA415 |date=28 May 2021 }}.</ref> If there were a ''[[tsade]]'' (צ) in the original Semitic form, as in the later Hebrew forms, it would normally have been transcribed in Greek with a ''[[sigma]]'' (σ) instead of a ''[[zeta]]'' (ζ).<ref name=Carruthp415>{{cite book|title=Q 4:1–13,16: the temptations of Jesus : Nazara|first1=Shawn|last1=Carruth|first2=James McConkey|last2=Robinson|first3=Christoph|last3=Heil|publisher=Peeters Publishers|year=1996|isbn=90-6831-880-2|page=415}}</ref> This has led some scholars to question whether "Nazareth" and its cognates in the New Testament actually refer to the settlement known traditionally as Nazareth in Lower [[Galilee]].<ref>T. Cheyne, "Nazareth", in Encyclopaedia Biblica, 1899, col. 3358 f. For a review of the question see H. Schaeder, "Nazarenos, Nazoraios", in Kittel, ''Theological Dictionary of the New Testament'', IV:874 f.</ref> Such linguistic discrepancies may be explained, however, by "a peculiarity of the 'Palestinian' Aramaic dialect wherein a sade (ṣ) between two voiced (sonant) consonants tended to be partially assimilated by taking on a zayin (<span class="ltr">z</span>) sound".<ref name=Carruthp415/>

===Arabic {{transliteration|ar|an-Nāṣira}}===
The Arabic name for Nazareth is {{transliteration|ar|an-Nāṣira}}, and Jesus ({{lang-ar|يَسُوع|Yasū'}}) is also called {{transliteration|ar|an-Nāṣirī}}, reflecting the Arab tradition of according people an [[nisba (onomastics)|attribution]], a name denoting whence a person comes in either geographical or tribal terms. In the [[Qur'an]], Christians are referred to as {{transliteration|ar|naṣārā}}, meaning "followers of {{transliteration|ar|an-Nāṣirī}}", or "those who follow Jesus of Nazareth".<ref name=Antounp50>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9cn1gwQXfgkC&q=nasira+nazareth&pg=PA50|title=Syria: society, culture, and polity|first1=Richard T.|last1=Antoun|first2=Donald|last2=Quataert|editor1=[[Richard T. Antoun]]|publisher=SUNY Press|year=1991|isbn=9780791407134|access-date=1 November 2020|archive-date=28 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210528163525/https://books.google.com/books?id=9cn1gwQXfgkC&q=nasira+nazareth&pg=PA50|url-status=live}}</ref>

==New Testament references==
In the Gospel of Luke, Nazareth is first described as "a town of Galilee" and home of [[Mary (mother of Jesus)|Mary]].<ref>{{bibleverse|Luke|1:26}}</ref> Following the birth and early epiphanial events of chapter 2 of Luke, Mary, [[Saint Joseph|Joseph]] and Jesus "returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth".<ref>{{bibleverse|Luke|2:39|NKJV}}</ref>

The phrase "Jesus of Nazareth" appears seventeen times in English translations of the New Testament, whereas the Greek original contains the form『Jesus the {{transliteration|grc|Nazarēnos}}』or "Jesus the {{transliteration|grc|Nazōraios}}."{{efn|{{lang|grc|Ναζαρηνός}} ('Nazarene') and its permutations are at Mark 1:24; 10:47; 14:67; 16:6; Luke 4:34 and 24:19. {{lang|grc|Ναζωραῖος}} ('Nazōraean') and its permutations are at Matthew 2:23; 26:71; Luke 18:37; John 18:5, 7; 19:19; and six times in Acts of the Apostles.}} One plausible view is that {{transliteration|grc|Nazōraean}} ({{lang|grc|Ναζωραῖος}}) is a normal Greek adaptation of a reconstructed, hypothetical term in [[Jewish Aramaic]] for the word later used in Rabbinical sources to refer to Jesus.{{efn|According to G.F. Moore, the Hebrew {{transliteration|he|Nôṣri}}, the [[gentilic]] used of Jesus from the [[Tannaim|Tannaitic period]] onwards, would have corresponded to a hypothetical Jewish Aramaic {{transliteration|arc|*Nōṣrāyā}}, which would have in turn produced {{transliteration|arc|*N{{sup|e}}ṣōrāyā}}. A normal adaptation of this in Greek would yield {{transliteration|grc|Nazoraios}}.<ref>In Carruth p.404</ref><ref>G.F.Moore, 'Nazarene and Nazareth,' in ''The Beginnings of Christianity 1/1,'' 1920 pp.426–432</ref>}}『Nazaréth』is named twelve times in surviving Greek manuscript versions of the New Testament, 10 times as {{transliteration|grc|Nazaréth}} or {{transliteration|grc|Nazarét}},<ref>Textual evidence suggests this form is an emendation made during the secondary process of synoptic standardization. Shawn Carruth, James McConkey Robinson, Christoph Heil, ''Q 4:1–13,16: The Temptations of Jesus: Nazara,'' p.395</ref> and twice as {{transliteration|grc|Nazará}}.<ref name="Carruthp415"/> The former two may retain the 'feminine' endings common in Galilean toponyms.<ref name="Carruthp415"/> The minor variants, {{transliteration|grc|Nazarat}} and {{transliteration|grc|Nazarath}} are also attested.{{efn|{{transliteration|grc|Nazarat/Nazarath}} are attested in a few Greek manuscripts, while the Syriac versions read {{transliteration|syc|Nazarath}}.<ref>''Q 4:1–13,16: The Temptations of Jesus: Nazara,'' p.402.</ref>}} {{transliteration|grc|Nazara}} ({{lang|grc|Ναζαρά}}) might be the earliest form of the name in Greek, going back to the putative [[Q document]]. It is found in Matthew 4:13<ref>{{Bibleverse|Matthew|4:13}}</ref> and Luke 4:16.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Luke|4:16}}</ref><ref name="Carruthp415"/> {{dubious|date=January 2013}} However, the [[Textus Receptus]] clearly translates all passages as {{lang|la|Nazara}}, leaving little room for debate there.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G3478&t=KJV|title = Blue Letter Bible: Lexicon|access-date = 13 January 2013|archive-date = 24 November 2012|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121124112900/http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G3478&t=KJV|url-status = live}}</ref>

Many scholars have questioned a link between "Nazareth" and the terms "[[Nazarene (sect)|Nazarene]]" and "[[Nazoraean]]" on linguistic grounds,<ref>Cheyne in 1899 Ency. Biblica, "Nazareth"; Lidzbarski [Kittel p. 878]; Kennard [JBL 65:2,134 ff.]; Berger [Novum Test. 38:4,323], ''et multi.''</ref> while some affirm the possibility of etymological relation "given the idiosyncrasies of [[Galilean Aramaic]]."<ref>S. Chepey, "Nazirites in Late Second Temple Judaism" (2005), p 152, referring to W. Albright, G. Moore, and H. Schaeder.</ref>

==Extrabiblical references==
[[File:Meister der Kahriye-Cami-Kirche in Istanbul 001.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Nazareth as depicted on a [[Byzantine]] mosaic ([[Chora Church]], [[Constantinople]])]]
The form ''Nazara'' is also found in the earliest non-scriptural reference to the town, a citation by [[Sextus Julius Africanus]] dated about AD 221<ref>Eusebius ''Ecclesiastical History'', 1, vii,14, cited in Carruth, ibid. p.415.</ref> (see "Middle Roman to Byzantine Periods" below). The Church Father [[Origen]] (c. AD 185 to 254) knows the forms ''Nazará'' and ''Nazarét''.<ref>''Comment. In Joan.'' Tomus X (Migne, ''Patrologia Graeca'' 80:308–309.</ref> Later, [[Eusebius]] in his ''Onomasticon'' (translated by [[St. Jerome]]) also refers to the settlement as ''Nazara''.<ref>{{cite CE1913  |last=Meistermann |first=Barnabas |wstitle=Nazareth |volume=10}}</ref> The ''nașirutha'' of the scriptures of the [[Mandaeism|Mandeans]] refers to "priestly craft", not to Nazareth, which they identified with [[Qom]].<ref>E. S. Drower, ''The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran'', Oxford University Press, 1937 reprint Gorgias Press, 2002 p.6</ref>

The first non-Christian reference to Nazareth is an inscription on a marble fragment from a [[synagogue]] found in [[Caesarea Maritima]] in 1962.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Avi-Yonah | first1 = M. | year = 1962 | title = A List of Priestly Courses from Caesarea | journal = Israel Exploration Journal | volume = 12 | pages = 137–139 }}</ref> This fragment gives the town's name in Hebrew as נצרת (n-ṣ-r-t). The inscription dates to c. AD 300 and chronicles the assignment of priests that took place at some time after the [[Bar Kokhba revolt]], AD 132–35.<ref>R. Horsley, ''Archaeology, History and Society in Galilee.'' Trinity Press International, 1996, p. 110.</ref> (See "Middle Roman to Byzantine Periods" below.) An 8th-century AD Hebrew inscription, which was the earliest known Hebrew reference to Nazareth prior to the discovery of the inscription above, uses the same form.<ref name=Carruthp415/>

===Nazarenes, Nasranis, ''Notzrim'', Christians===
{{main|Nazarene (title)}}
Around 331, Eusebius records that, from the name Nazareth, Christ was called a Nazoraean, and that, in earlier centuries, Christians were once called Nazarenes.<ref>Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies: Volume 65, Issue 1 University of London. School of Oriental and African Studies – 2002 "... around 331, Eusebius says of the place name Nazareth that ' from this name the Christ was called a Nazoraean, and in ancient times we, who are now called Christians, were once called [[Nazarene (sect)|Nazarenes]] ';6 thus he attributes this designation ..."</ref> [[Tertullian]] (Against Marcion 4:8) records that "for this reason the Jews call us 'Nazarenes'." In the New Testament Christians are called "Christians" three times by Paul in Romans, and "Nazarenes" once by [[Tertullus]], a Jewish lawyer. The Rabbinic and modern Hebrew name for Christians, ''notzrim'', is also thought to derive from Nazareth, and be connected with Tertullus' charge against Paul of being a member of the sect of the [[Nazarene (title)|Nazarenes]], ''Nazoraioi'', "men of Nazareth" in Acts. Against this, some medieval Jewish polemical texts connect ''notzrim'' with the ''netsarim'' "watchmen" of Ephraim in Jeremiah 31:6. In Syriac Aramaic ''Nasrath'' (ܢܨܪܬ) is used for Nazareth, while "Nazarenes" (Acts 24:5) and "of Nazareth" are both ''Nasrani'' or ''Nasraya'' (ܕܢܨܪܝܐ) an adjectival form.<ref>Bruce Manning Metzger The early versions of the New Testament p86 – 1977 "Peshitta Matt, and Luke ... nasraya, 'of Nazareth'."</ref><ref>[[William Jennings (Syriacist)|William Jennings]] ''Lexicon to the Syriac New Testament'' 1926 p143</ref><ref>[[Robert Payne Smith]] ''Compendious Syriac Dictionary'' 1903 p349</ref> ''[[Nasrani (Arabic term for Christian)|Nasrani]]'' is used in the Quran for Christians, and in [[Modern Standard Arabic]] may refer more widely to Western people.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nasara|url=http://www.mazyanbizaf.com/mbs002|website=Mazyan Bizaf Show|access-date=30 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171013151448/http://www.mazyanbizaf.com/mbs002/|archive-date=13 October 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Saint Thomas Christians]], an ancient community of [[Jewish Christians]] in [[India]] who trace their origins to evangelistic activity of [[Thomas the Apostle]] in the 1st century, are sometimes known by the name "Nasrani" even today.<ref name=Zupanov>{{cite book|last=Županov|first=Ines G.|author-link=Ines G. Županov|year=2005|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nix4M4dy7nQC|title=Missionary Tropics: The Catholic Frontier in India (16th–17th centuries)|page=99 and note|publisher=University of Michigan|isbn=0-472-11490-5|access-date=27 February 2016|archive-date=11 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611094108/http://books.google.com/books?id=Nix4M4dy7nQC|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="BMalieckal">Bindu Malieckal (2005) Muslims, Matriliny, and A Midsummer Night's Dream: European Encounters with the Mappilas of Malabar, India; The Muslim World Volume 95 Issue 2 page 300</ref>

==History==
===Stone Age===
Archaeological researchers{{who|date=June 2019}} have revealed that a funerary and cult center at [[Kfar HaHoresh]], about two miles ({{convert|2|mi|abbr=out|disp=output only}}) from current Nazareth, dates back roughly 9,000 years to the [[Pre-Pottery Neolithic B]] era.<ref>Goring-Morris, A.N. "The quick and the dead: the social context of Aceramic Neolithic mortuary practices as seen from Kfar HaHoresh." In: I. Kuijt (ed.), ''Social Configurations of the Near Eastern Neolithic: Community Identity, Hierarchical Organization, and Ritual'' (1997).</ref> The remains of some 65 individuals were found, buried under huge horizontal headstone structures, some of which consisted of up to 3 tons of locally produced white plaster. Decorated human skulls uncovered there have led archaeologists to identify Kfar HaHoresh as a major cult centre in that era.<ref>{{cite web |title= Pre-Christian Rituals at Nazareth |date= November–December 2003 |publisher= Archaeology: A Publication of the Archaeological Institute of America |url= http://www.archaeology.org/0311/newsbriefs/nazareth.html |access-date= 2 July 2006 |archive-date= 28 May 2006 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060528171322/http://www.archaeology.org/0311/newsbriefs/nazareth.html |url-status= live }}</ref>

===Bronze and Iron Age===
The Franciscan priest [[Bellarmino Bagatti]], "Director of Christian Archaeology", carried out extensive excavation of this "Venerated Area" from 1955 to 1965. Fr. Bagatti uncovered pottery dating from the [[Middle Bronze Age]] (2200 to 1500 BC) and ceramics, silos and grinding mills from the [[Iron Age]] (1500 to 586 BC) which indicated substantial settlement in the Nazareth basin at that time.

===Roman period===
[[File:Nazarene Fountain Reputed to be Mary & Jesus'.jpg|thumb|200px|Historic photo of [[Mary's Well]]]]
Archaeological evidence shows the Nazareth was occupied during the late Hellenistic period, through the Roman period and into the Byzantine period.<ref name="Atiqot98">{{cite journal | author = Yardenna Alexandre | title = The Settlement History of Nazareth in the Iron Age and Early Roman Period | journal = 'Atiqot | volume = 98 | year = 2020 | url = http://www.atiqot.org.il/download.ashx?id=1797 | access-date = 26 May 2020 | archive-date = 26 May 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200526102938/http://www.atiqot.org.il/download.ashx?id=1797 | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Archaeology of Jesus' Nazareth |last=Dark |first=Ken |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2023 |isbn=978-0-19-268899-6 |pages=50 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bpynEAAAQBAJ |access-date=28 May 2023 |archive-date=8 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230508201222/https://books.google.com/books?id=bpynEAAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

According to the [[Gospel of Luke]], Nazareth was the home village of Mary as well as the site of the [[Annunciation]] (when the angel [[Gabriel]] informed Mary that she would give birth to Jesus). According to the [[Gospel of Matthew]], Joseph and Mary resettled in Nazareth after returning from the [[flight to Egypt|flight from Bethlehem to Egypt]]. According to the Bible, Jesus grew up in Nazareth from some point in his childhood. However, some modern scholars also regard Nazareth as the birthplace of the historical Jesus.<ref>[[John P. Meier]], ''A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus: The Roots of the Problem and the Person,''Vol. 1, Doubleday 1991, p.216; [[Bart D. Ehrman]], ''Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium'', Oxford University Press, 1999, p.97; [[E. P. Sanders]], ''The Historical Figure of Jesus'', Penguin 1993, p.85.</ref>

A [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] inscription found in [[Caesarea Maritima|Caesarea]] dating to the late 3rd or early 4th century mentions Nazareth as the home of the [[kohen|priestly]] Hapizzez/Hafizaz family after the [[Bar Kokhba revolt]] (AD 132–135).<ref name="Emmett 1995, p. 17">Emmett 1995, p. 17.</ref><ref>The family is thought to have moved to Nazareth after the [[First Jewish Revolt]] (70 AD), although some speculate that the relocation may have been "well into the second (or even the third) century [<span class="ltr">AD</span>]." ''History and Society in Galilee'', 1996, p. 110. In 131 AD, the Roman Emperor [[Hadrian]] forbade Jews to reside in Jerusalem, forcing Jewish residents to move elsewhere.</ref> From the three fragments that have been found, the inscription seems to be a list of the twenty-four priestly courses,<ref>cf. [[Books of Chronicles]] - {{bibleverse|1 Chronicles|24:7–19}} and Book of [[Nehemiah]] - {{bibleverse|Nehemiah 11;12|multi=yes}}</ref> with each course (or family) assigned its proper order and the name of each town or village in [[Galilee]] where it settled. Nazareth is not spelled with the "z" sound but with the Hebrew [[tsade]] (thus "Nasareth" or "Natsareth").<ref>{{cite journal |last= Avi-Yonah |first= M. |year= 1962 |title= A List of Priestly Courses from Caesarea |journal= Israel Exploration Journal |volume= 12 |page= 138 }}</ref> [[Eleazar Kalir]] (a Hebrew Galilean poet variously dated from the 6th to 10th century) mentions a locality clearly in the Nazareth region bearing the name Nazareth נצרת (in this case vocalized "Nitzrat"), which was home to the descendants of the 18th [[Kohen]] family Happitzetz (הפצץ), for at least several centuries after the [[Simon bar Kokhba|Bar Kochva]] revolt.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}}

Although it is mentioned in the New Testament gospels, there are no extant non-biblical references to Nazareth until around AD 200, when [[Sextus Julius Africanus]], cited by Eusebius (''Church History'' 1.7.14), speaks of Nazara as a village in Judea and locates it near Cochaba (modern-day [[Kaukab Abu al-Hija|Kaukab]]).<ref>"A few of the careful, however, having obtained private records of their own, either by remembering the names or by getting them in some other way from the registers, pride themselves on preserving the memory of their noble extraction. Among these are those already mentioned, called Desposyni, on account of their connection with the family of the Saviour. Coming from Nazara and Cochaba, villages of Judea, into other parts of the world, they drew the aforesaid genealogy from memory and from the book of daily records as faithfully as possible." (Eusebius, [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf201.iii.vi.vii.html ''Church History'', Book I, Chapter VII] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190509055028/http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf201.iii.vi.vii.html |date=9 May 2019 }},§ 14)</ref> In the same passage Africanus writes of ''[[desposyni|desposunoi]]'' – relatives of Jesus – who he claims ''kept the records of their descent with great care''. [[Ken Dark]] describes the view that Nazareth did not exist in Jesus's time as "archaeologically unsupportable".<ref>Ken Dark, "Book review of ''The Myth of Nazareth: The Invented Town of Jesus''", ''STRATA: Bulletin of the Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society'', vol. 26 (2008), pp. 140–146; cf. Stephen J. Pfann & Yehudah Rapuano, "On the Nazareth Village Farm Report: A Reply to Salm", ''STRATA: Bulletin of the Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society'', vol. 26 (2008), pp. 105–112.</ref>

[[File:Nazareth the magical city 111.jpg|thumb|200px|The [[Basilica of the Annunciation]]]]
James F. Strange, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of South Florida,<ref>{{cite web |title=Excavating a Lasting Legacy |website=University of South Florida |url=https://giving.usf.edu/impact/excavating-lasting-legacy |access-date=24 May 2023 |archive-date=24 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230524115252/https://giving.usf.edu/impact/excavating-lasting-legacy |url-status=live }}</ref> notes: "Nazareth is not mentioned in ancient Jewish sources earlier than the third century AD. This likely reflects its lack of prominence both in Galilee and in Judaea."<ref>Article "Nazareth" in the ''Anchor Bible Dictionary.'' New York: Doubleday, 1992.</ref> Strange originally calculated the population of Nazareth at the time of Christ as "roughly 1,600 to 2,000 people" but, in a subsequent publication that followed more than a decade of additional research, revised this figure down to "a maximum of about 480."<ref>E. Meyers & J. Strange, ''Archaeology, the Rabbis, & Early Christianity'' Nashville: Abingdon, 1981; Article "Nazareth" in the ''Anchor Bible Dictionary.'' New York: Doubleday, 1992.</ref> In 2009, Israeli archaeologist Yardenna Alexandre excavated archaeological remains in Nazareth that date to the time of Jesus in the early Roman period. Alexandre told reporters, "The discovery is of the utmost importance since it reveals for the very first time a house from the Jewish village of Nazareth."<ref>[http://israel21c.org/news/house-from-jesus-time-excavated/ House from Jesus' time excavated] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130706141709/http://israel21c.org/news/house-from-jesus-time-excavated/ |date=6 July 2013 }} (23 December 2009) in [http://www.israel21c.org/ ''Israel 21c Innovation News Service''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229170256/http://www.israel21c.org/briefs/israels-gelfand-wins-chess-world-cup |date=29 February 2012 }} Retrieved 5 January 2010</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.antiquities.org.il/article_eng.aspx?sec_id=25&subj_id=240&id=1638|title=For the Very First Time: A Residential Building from the Time of Jesus was Exposed in the Heart of Nazareth (12/21/09)|website=Israel Antiquities Authority|access-date=7 January 2017|archive-date=21 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221022914/http://www.antiquities.org.il/article_eng.aspx?sec_id=25&subj_id=240&id=1638|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Atiqot98"/>

Other sources state that during Jesus' time, Nazareth had a population of 400 and one public bath, which was important for civic and religious purposes, as a ''[[mikva]]''.<ref>Korb, Scott. ''Life in Year One.'' New York: Riverhead books, 2010. print, 109. {{ISBN|978-1-59448-899-3}}.</ref>

[[File:Nazareth Church Crusaders1.jpg|thumb|200px|Crusader-era carving in Nazareth]]
A tablet at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, dating to AD 50, was sent from Nazareth to Paris in 1878. It contains an inscription known as the "Ordinance of Caesar" that outlines the penalty of death for those who violate tombs or graves. However, it is suspected that this inscription came to Nazareth from somewhere else (possibly [[Sepphoris]]). Bagatti writes: "we are not certain that it was found in Nazareth, even though it came from Nazareth to Paris. At Nazareth there lived various vendors of antiquities who got ancient material from several places."<ref>Bagatti, B. ''Excavations in Nazareth,'' vol. 1 (1969), p. 249.</ref> C. Kopp is more definite: "It must be accepted with certainty that [the Ordinance of Caesar]… was brought to the Nazareth market by outside merchants."<ref>C. Kopp,『Beiträge zur Geschichte Nazareths.』''Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society'', vol. 18 (1938), p. 206, n.1.</ref> [[Princeton University]] archaeologist Jack Finnegan describes additional archaeological evidence related to settlement in the Nazareth basin during the [[Bronze Age|Bronze]] and [[Iron Age]]s, and states that "Nazareth was a strongly [[Jew]]ish settlement in the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] period."<ref>Jack Finnegan, ''The Archaeology of the New Testament'', [[Princeton University]] Press: Princeton, 1992, pp. 44–46.</ref>

In 2020, Yardenna Alexandre confirmed that Jews from Judea migrated to Galilee and settled in new villages and settlements, including Nazareth, since the late Hellenistic-Hasmonean period ({{Circa|late 2nd century }}). Under the leadership of priestly families, the Jewish inhabitants observed ritual purity laws. Previously, most of Galiee, except for minor short-lived Israelite settlements in the Naḥal Ẓippori basin, had an occupational gap for about 5 centuries because of the [[Assyrian captivity|Assyrian conquest in 732 BCE]].<ref name="Atiqot98" /> However, there is strong evidence for Assyrian presence in Galilee, based on artefacts in [[Cana]], which was north of Nazareth.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Skinner |first=Andrew C. |date=1996–1997 |title=A Historical Sketch of Galilee |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43044121 |journal=Brigham Young University Studies |volume=36 |issue=3 |pages=113–125 |jstor=43044121 |via=JSTOR |access-date=10 March 2024 |archive-date=21 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240321101527/https://www.jstor.org/stable/43044121 |url-status=live }}</ref> Konrad Schmid and Jens Schroter note that Assyrians were typically relocated to conquered territories, which most likely included Israel.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schmid |first=Konrad |title=The Making of the Bible: From the First Fragments to Sacred Scripture |last2=Schroter |first2=Jens |publisher=Belknap Press |year=2021 |isbn=978-0674248380}}</ref> 

Some scholars believed [[Jesus]], a native of Nazareth, was influenced by [[Cynicism (philosophy)|Cynicism]],<ref>Quoted in R. Ostling, [https://web.archive.org/web/20080401050600/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,968139,00.html "Who was Jesus?", ''Time'', August 15, 1988, pp. 37–42].</ref><ref>John Dominic Crossan, (1991), ''The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant'', {{ISBN|0-06-061629-6}}</ref> which was popular in Hellenized Galilean cities such as [[Gadara]].<ref>In particular, [[Menippus]] (3rd century BC), [[Meleager of Gadara|Meleager]] (1st century BC), and [[Oenomaus of Gadara|Oenomaus]] (2nd century CE), all came from Gadara.</ref>

===Byzantine period===
[[Epiphanius of Salamis|Epiphanius]] in his ''[[Panarion]]'' ({{Circa|AD 375}}) numbers Nazareth among the cities devoid of a non-Jewish population.<ref>[[Epiphanius of Salamis|Epiphanius]], [[Panarion|Panárion]] 30.11.10, cited Andrew S. Jacobs,''Remains of the Jews: The Holy Land and Christian Empire in Late Antiquity,'' Stanford University Press, p.50 n.124, p.127.</ref> Epiphanius, writing of [[Joseph of Tiberias]], a wealthy Roman Jew who converted to Christianity in the time of [[Constantine I (emperor)|Constantine]], says he claimed to have received an imperial rescript to build Christian churches in Jewish towns and villages where no gentiles or Samaritans dwell, naming [[Tiberias]], [[Diocaesarea]], [[Sepphoris]], Nazareth and [[Capernaum]].<ref>Frank Williams,''The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis,'' Book I (Sects 1–46)'' E. J. Brill (1897), rev.ed. 2009, p.140.</ref> From this scarce notice, it has been concluded that a small church which encompassed a cave complex might have been located in Nazareth in the early 4th century",<ref>Taylor, J. ''Christians and the Holy Places''. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993, p. 265.</ref> although the town was Jewish until the 7th century.<ref>Taylor 229, 266; Kopp 1938:215.</ref>

The Christian monk and Bible translator [[Jerome]], writing at the beginning of the 5th century, says Nazareth was a ''viculus'' or mere village.<ref name="Kopp">C. Kopp,『Beiträge zur Geschichte Nazareths.』Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society, vol. 18 (1938), p. 215. Kopp is citing the Byzantine writer Eutychius (''Eutychii Annales'' in Migne's ''Patrologia Graeca'' vol. 111 p. 1083).</ref>

In the 6th century, religious narrations from local Christians about the [[Blessed Virgin Mary|Virgin Mary]] began to spark interest in the site among pilgrims, who founded the first church at the location of the current [[Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation]] at the site of a freshwater spring, today known as [[Mary's Well]]. Around 570, the [[Antoninus of Piacenza (pilgrim)|Anonymous of Piacenza]] reports travelling from [[Sepphoris]] to Nazareth. There he records seeing in the Jewish synagogue the books from which Jesus learnt his letters, and a bench where he sat. According to him, Christians could lift it, but Jews could not, since it disallowed them from dragging it outside.<ref>Andrew S. Jacobs, ''Remains of the Jews,'' p.127.</ref> Writing of the beauty of the Hebrew women there, he records them saying St. Mary was a relative of theirs, and notes that, "The house of St. Mary is a basilica."<ref>P. Geyer, ''Itinera Hierosolymitana saeculi'', Lipsiae: G. Freytag, 1898: page 161.</ref> Constantine the Great ordered that churches be built in Jewish cities, and Nazareth was one of the places designated for this purpose, although construction of churches apparently only started decades after Constantine's death, i.e. after 352.<ref name="Emmett 1995, p. 18">Emmett 1995, p. 18.</ref>

Archaeologists have unearthed evidence that previous to the erection of the Byzantine-period church at the site of Mary's house in the mid-5th century, Judeo-Christians had built there a synagogue-church, leaving behind Judeo-Christian symbols.<ref name="Emmett 1995, p. 17"/> Until being expelled in c. 630, Jews probably kept on using their older synagogue, while the Judeo-Christian needed to build their own, probably at the site of Mary's house.<ref name="Emmett 1995, p. 17"/>

The Jewish town profited from the Christian pilgrim trade which began in the 4th century AD, but latent anti-Christian hostility broke out in AD 614 when the [[Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628|Persians invaded Palestine]].<ref name="Kopp"/> The Christian Byzantine author Eutychius claimed that Jewish people of Nazareth helped the Persians carry out their slaughter of the Christians.<ref name="Kopp"/> When the [[Eastern Roman Empire|Byzantine or Eastern Roman]] emperor [[Heraclius]] ejected the Persians in AD 629-630, he expelled the Jews from the village, turning it all-Christian.<ref name="Emmett 1995, p. 18"/>

===Early Muslim period===
The [[Muslim conquest of the Levant|Arab Muslim invasion of AD 638]] had no immediate impact on the Christians of Nazareth and their churches, since Bishop [[Arculf]] remembered seeing there around 670 two churches, one at the house of Joseph where Jesus had lived as a child, and one at the house of Mary where she received the Annunciation - but no synagogue, which had possibly been transformed into a mosque.<ref name="Emmett 1995, p. 18"/> The 721 [[Yazid II#Iconoclastic edict|iconoclastic edict]] of [[Caliph]] [[Yazid II]] apparently led to the destruction of the former church, so that Willibald found during his pilgrimage in 724-26 only one church there, the one dedicated to St. Mary, which Christians had to save through repeated payments from destruction by the "pagan Saracens" (Muslim Arabs).<ref>Emmett 1995, pp. 18-19.</ref> The ruins of St. Joseph's remained untouched for a very long time, while the Church St. Mary is repeatedly mentioned throughout the following centuries, including by an [[Al-Masudi|Arab geographer]] in 943.<ref>Emmett 1995, p. 19.</ref>

===Crusader period===
[[File:Sainn7992.JPG|thumb|200px|[[Makam al-Nabi Sain Mosque]] of Nazareth]]
In 1099, the Crusader [[Tancred, Prince of Galilee|Tancred]] captured Galilee and established his capital in Nazareth. He was the ruler of the [[Principality of Galilee]], which was established, at least in name, in 1099, as a [[Vassals of the Kingdom of Jerusalem|vassal of the Kingdom of Jerusalem]]. Later, in 1115, Nazareth was created as a [[seigneuries|seigneury]] within the principality. A Martin of Nazareth, who probably acted as viscount of Nazareth, is documented in 1115 and in 1130/1131.<ref>Murray, Alan, ''The Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem: A Dynastic History 1099-1125'' (Unit for Prosopographical Research, Linacre College, Oxford, 2000) p. 217.</ref> Nazareth was the original site of the Latin Patriarch, also established by Tancred. The ancient diocese of [[Beit She'an|Scythopolis]] was relocated under the [[Archbishop of Nazareth]], as one of the four archdioceses in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. When the town returned to Muslim control in 1187 following the victory of [[Saladin]] in the [[Battle of Hattin]], the remaining Crusaders and European clergy were forced to leave town.<ref name=Dumperp273>Dumper, p. 273.</ref> [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]] managed to negotiate safe passage for pilgrims from Acre in 1229, and in 1251, [[Louis IX]], the king of France, attended mass in the grotto, accompanied by his wife.<ref name=Dumperp273/>

===Mamluk period===
In 1263, [[Baybars]], the [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluk Sultan]], destroyed the Christian buildings in Nazareth and declared the site off-limits to Latin clergy, as part of his bid to drive out the remaining Crusaders from Palestine.<ref name=Dumperp273/> While Arab Christian families continued to live in Nazareth, its status was reduced to that of a poor village. Pilgrims who visited the site in 1294 reported only a small church protecting the [[grotto]].<ref name=Dumperp273/> In the 14th century, Franciscan friars were permitted to return and live within the ruins of the basilica.<ref name=Dumperp273/>

===Ottoman period===
[[File:Titus Tobler's 1868 map of Nazareth.jpg|260px|thumb|[[Titus Tobler]]'s 1868 map of Nazareth]]
[[File:Nazareth, by Jansson.png|260px|thumb|Nazareth, in 1657, by [[Jan Janssonius]]]]
[[File:Nazareth the holy land 1842.jpg|260px|thumb|Nazareth, in 1839, published in ''[[The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, and Nubia]]'']]
[[File:Well of St. Mary, Nazareth, by Felix Bonfils.jpg|260px|thumb|[[Well of St. Mary]], Nazareth, by [[Felix Bonfils]], ca 1880]]
In 1584 the Franciscan friars were evicted again from the site of the ruined basilica.<ref name=Dumperp273/> In 1620, [[Fakhr-al-Din II]], a [[Druze]] [[emir]] who controlled this part of [[Ottoman Syria]], permitted them to build a small church at the [[Grotto of the Annunciation]]. Pilgrimage tours to surrounding sacred sites were organised by the Franciscans, but the monks suffered harassment from surrounding [[Bedouin]] tribes who often kidnapped them for ransom.<ref name=Dumperp273/>

Stability returned with the rule of [[Zahir al-Umar]], a powerful Arab [[sheikh]] who ruled the [[Galilee]], and later much of the [[Levant]]ine coast and Palestine. He transformed Nazareth from a minor village into a large town by encouraging immigration to it. Nazareth played a strategic role in Zahir's [[sheikhdom]] because it allowed him to wield control over the agricultural areas of central Galilee.<ref>{{cite book |last=Yazbak |first=Mahmoud |author-link=Mahmoud Yazbak |title=Haifa in the Late Ottoman Period, A Muslim Town in Transition, 1864–1914 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DPseCvbPsKsC |publisher=Brill Academic Pub |year=1998 |isbn=90-04-11051-8 |page=15 |access-date=27 February 2016 |archive-date=25 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225102059/https://books.google.com/books?id=DPseCvbPsKsC |url-status=live }}</ref> He ensured Nazareth's security for other reasons as well, among them strengthening ties with [[France]] by protecting the Christian community and protecting one of his wives who resided in Nazareth.<ref name="Emmett22">Emmett 1995, p. 22.</ref>

Zahir authorized the Franciscans to build a church in 1730. That structure stood until 1955, when it was demolished to make way for a larger building completed in 1967.<ref name=Dumperp273/> He also permitted the Franciscans to purchase the [[Synagogue Church]] in 1741 and authorized the Greek Orthodox community to build [[Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation|St. Gabriel's Church]] in 1767.<ref name="Emmett22"/> Zahir commissioned the construction of a government house known as the [[Seraya]], which served as the city's municipal headquarters until 1991. His descendants—known as the "Dhawahri"—along with the Zu'bi, Fahum, and 'Onassah families later constituted Nazareth's traditional Muslim elite.<ref>{{cite book|last=Srouji|first=Elias S.|title=Cyclamens from Galilee: Memoirs of a Physician from Nazareth|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fp1y2bMtvNUC&q=Dhaher&pg=PA187|year=2003|publisher=iUniverse, Inc.|isbn=9780595303045|page=187|access-date=1 November 2020|archive-date=28 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210528163546/https://books.google.com/books?id=fp1y2bMtvNUC&q=Dhaher&pg=PA187|url-status=live}}</ref>

Nazareth's Christian community did not fare well under Zahir's Ottoman successor, [[Jazzar Pasha]] (r. 1776–1804), and friction increased between its Christians and Muslim peasants from the surrounding villages.<ref>Emmett 1995, p. 23.</ref> Nazareth was temporarily captured by the troops of [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] in 1799, during his [[Napoleonic Campaign in Egypt|Syrian campaign]]. Napoleon visited the holy sites and considered appointing his general [[Jean-Andoche Junot]] as the duke of Nazareth.<ref name=Dumperp273/> During the rule of Governor [[Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt]] (1830–1840) over much of [[Ottoman Syria]], Nazareth was opened to European missionaries and traders. After the Ottomans regained control, European money continued to flow into Nazareth and new institutions were established. The Christians of Nazareth were protected during the [[1860 Mount Lebanon civil war#Spread of conflict|massacres of 1860]] by [[Aqil Agha]], the Bedouin leader who exercised control over the Galilee between 1845 and 1870.<ref name=Dumperp273/>

[[Kaloost Vartan]], an [[Armenians|Armenian]] from [[Istanbul]], arrived in 1864 and established the first medical mission in Nazareth, the Scottish "hospital on the hill", or [[the Nazareth Hospital]] as it is known today, with sponsorship from the [[List of Protestant missionary societies|Edinburgh Medical Missionary Society]]. The Ottoman Sultan, who favored the French, allowed them to establish an orphanage, the Society of Saint Francis de Sale. By the late 19th century, Nazareth was a town with a strong Arab Christian presence and a growing European community, where a number of communal projects were undertaken and new religious buildings were erected.<ref name=Dumperp273/> In 1871 Christ Church, the city's only Anglican church, was completed under the leadership of the Rev [[John Zeller]] and consecrated by Bishop [[Samuel Gobat]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Miller|first=Duane Alexander|title=Christ Church (Anglican) in Nazareth: a brief history with photographs|journal=St Francis Magazine|date=October 2012|volume=8|issue=5|pages=696–703|url=http://www.stfrancismagazine.info/ja/images/stories/DuaneMiller-oct2012.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130908180608/http://www.stfrancismagazine.info/ja/images/stories/DuaneMiller-oct2012.pdf|archive-date=8 September 2013}}</ref>

In the late 19th century and the first years of the 20th century, Nazareth prospered as it served the role of a market center for the dozens of rural Arab villages located within its vicinity. Local peasants would purchase supplies from Nazareth's many ''souks'' (open-air markets), which included separate ''souks'' for agricultural produce, metalwork, jewelry and leathers.<ref name="Emmett37">Emmett 1995, p. 37.</ref> In 1914, Nazareth consisted of eight quarters: 'Araq, Farah, Jami', Khanuq, Maidan, Mazazwa, Sharqiya and Shufani. There were nine churches, two monasteries, four convents, two mosques, four hospitals, four private schools, a public school, a police station, three orphanages, a hotel, three inns, a flour mill and eight ''souks''.<ref>Emmett 1995, p. 33.</ref> The Ottomans lost control of Palestine, including Nazareth, to the [[Allies of World War I|Allied Powers]] during [[World War I]]. By then, Nazareth's importance declined significantly as most of the Arab villages in the [[Jezreel Valley]] had been replaced by newly established [[Yishuv|Jewish]] communities.<ref name="Emmett37"/>

===British Mandate period===
[[File:Abbud08C.jpg|thumb|260px|Nazareth, postcard by [[Karimeh Abbud]], ca 1925]]
[[File:Nazareth, by Fadil Saba 1.jpg|thumb|260px|Nazareth, postcard by [[:de:Fadil Saba]], ca 1925]]
[[File:AN AERIAL PHOTO OF NAZARETH. צילום אויר של העיר נצרת.D332-053.jpg|thumb|260px|Nazareth, 1937]]
The [[United Kingdom]] gained control of Palestine in 1917, the same year of the [[Balfour Declaration]], which promised British support for the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. In the years preceding and following the declaration, Jewish immigration to Palestine had been increasing. Representatives of Nazareth opposed the [[Zionist movement]], sending a delegation to the 1919 [[Palestine Arab Congress#First congress: Jerusalem, 1919|First Palestine Arab Congress]] and issuing a letter of protest in 1920 that condemned the movement while also proclaiming solidarity with the [[Yishuv|Jews of Palestine]]. Politically, Nazareth was becoming further involved in the growing [[Palestinian nationalism|Palestinian nationalist movement]]. In 1922, a Muslim-Christian Association was established in the town, largely sponsored by the Muslim al-Zu'bi family. A consistent and effective united Palestinian Arab religious front proved difficult to establish and alternative organizations such as the [[Supreme Muslim Council]]'s Organization of Muslim Youth and the National Muslim Association were established in Nazareth later in the 1920s.<ref name="Emmett39">Emmett 1995, p. 39.</ref> In 1922 there had been a small population of 58 Jews and Jewish families living in Nazareth.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/PalestineCensus1922/Palestine+Census+(1922)#page/n8/mode/1up|title=Palestine Census ( 1922)|website=archive.org}}</ref>

Nazareth was relatively slow to modernize. While other towns already had wired electricity, Nazareth delayed its electrification until the 1930s and invested instead in improving its water supply system.<ref>Shamir, Ronen (2013) ''Current Flow: The Electrification of Palestine''. Stanford: Stanford University Press</ref> This included adding two reservoirs at the northwestern hills and several new [[cistern]]s.<ref name="Emmett39"/> By 1930, a church for the Baptist denomination, a municipal garden at Mary's Well and a police station based in Zahir al-Umar's [[Seraya]] had been established and the Muslim Sharqiya Quarter had expanded.<ref name="Emmett37"/>

In the [[1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine|1936–1939 Arab Revolt]], Nazareth played a minor role, contributing two rebel commanders out of 281 rebel commanders active in the country. The two were Nazareth native and Christian [[Fu'ad Nassar]] and Nazareth resident and [[Indur]] native Tawfiq al-Ibrahim. The nearby villages of [[Saffuriya]] and [[al-Mujaydil]] played a more active military role, contributing nine commanders between them. The leaders of the revolt sought to use Nazareth as a staging ground to protest the [[Peel Commission|British proposal]] to include the [[Galilee]] into a future Jewish state. On 26 September 1937, the British district commissioner of the Galilee, [[Lewis Yelland Andrews]], was assassinated in Nazareth by local rebels.<ref name="Emmett40">Emmett 1995, p. 40.</ref>

By 1946, the municipal boundary of Nazareth had been enlarged and new neighborhoods, namely Maidan, Maslakh, Khanuq and Nimsawi, were established. New homes were established in existing quarters and the town still had an abundance of orchards and agricultural fields. Two cigarette factories, a tobacco store, two cinemas and a tile factory had been established, significantly boosting Nazareth's economy.<ref name="Emmett37"/> A new police station was built on Nazareth's southernmost hill,<ref name="Emmett37"/> while the police station in the Seray had been converted into Nazareth's municipal headquarters. Watchtowers were also erected on some of the hilltops around the town. Other new or expanded government offices included a headquarters for the district commissioner at the former Ottoman military barracks, and offices for the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Survey and Settlement.<ref name="Emmett39"/>

Nazareth was in the territory allotted to the Arab state under the [[1947 UN Partition Plan]]. In the months leading up to the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]], the town became a refuge for Arab-Palestinians fleeing the urban centers of [[Tiberias]], [[Haifa]] and [[Baysan]] before and during the [[Haganah]]'s [[1947–48 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine|capture]] of those cities on 18 April 22 April and 12 May 1948, respectively.<ref>Emmett 1995, pp. 40–41.</ref>

===Israeli period===

====1948 War====
[[File:Moshe Sharett - Amin Gargurah.jpg|thumb|[[Amin-Salim Jarjora]]
 (left), Mayor of Nazareth, with Israeli prime minister [[Moshe Sharett]], 1955]]
Nazareth itself was not a field of battle during the 1948 War, which began on 15 May, before the first truce on 11 June, although some of the villagers had joined the loosely organized peasant military and paramilitary forces, and troops from the [[Arab Liberation Army]] (ALA) had entered Nazareth on 9 July. The local defense of the town consisted of 200–300 militiamen distributed along the hills surrounding the town. The defense in the southern and western hills collapsed after Israeli shelling, while resistance in the northern hills had to contend with an incoming Israeli armored unit. Not long after the Israelis began shelling the local militiamen, Nazareth's police chief raised a white flag over the town's police station.<ref name="Emmett44">Emmett 1995, p. 44.</ref>

Most of the fighting around Nazareth occurred in its satellite villages, particularly in [[Saffuriya]], whose residents put up resistance until largely dispersing following Israeli air raids on 15 July.<ref name="Emmett43">Emmett 1995, p. 43</ref> During the ten days of fighting which occurred between the first and second truce, Nazareth capitulated to Israeli troops during [[Operation Dekel]] on 16 July, after little more than token resistance. By then, morale among local militiamen was low and most refused to fight alongside the ALA because of their perceived weakness in the face of Israel's perceived military superiority and the alleged maltreatment of Christian residents and clergy by ALA volunteers. The Muslim mayor of Nazareth, Yusef Fahum requested a halt to all resistance put up by Nazarenes to prevent the town's destruction.<ref name="Emmett44"/>

The surrender of Nazareth was formalized in a written agreement, whereby the town's leaders agreed to cease hostilities in return for promises from the Israeli officers, including brigade commander [[Ben Dunkelman]] (the leader of the operation), that no harm would come to the civilians of the town. Soon after the signing of the agreement, Dunkelman received an order from the Israeli General [[Chaim Laskov]] to forcibly evacuate the city's Arabs. He refused, remarking that he was 'shocked and horrified' that he would be commanded to renege on the agreement he, and also Chaim Laskov, had just signed. Twelve hours after defying his superior, he was relieved of his post, but not before obtaining assurances that the security of Nazareth's population would be guaranteed. [[David Ben-Gurion]] backed his judgement up, fearing that expelling Christian Arabs might provoke an outcry throughout the Christian world.<ref>Derek J. Penslar, [https://books.google.com/books?id=qWsPAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA235  ''Jews and the Military: A History,''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200103083953/https://books.google.com/books?id=qWsPAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA235 |date=3 January 2020 }} Princeton University Press 2013 p.235.</ref> By the end of the war, Nazareth's population saw a large influx of refugees from major urban centers and rural villages in the Galilee.<ref name="Emmett40"/>

==== 1950s–1960s ====
[[File:Habsora from selezian.jpg|thumb|View of modern Nazareth]]
In the first few years of its incorporation into Israel, Nazareth's affairs were dominated by the issues of land expropriation, [[internally displaced Palestinians|internally displaced refugees]] and the hardships of martial law, which included curfews and travel restrictions. Efforts to resolve these issues were largely unsuccessful and led to frustration among the inhabitants, which in turn contributed to political agitation in the city.<ref>Emmett 1995, p. 49.</ref> As the largest Arab town in Israel, Nazareth became a center of [[Arab nationalism|Arab]] and [[Palestinian nationalism]], and because the [[Communist Party of Israel|Communist Party]] was the sole legal political group that took up many of the local Arab causes, it gained popularity in Nazareth.<ref name="Emmett49-50">Emmett 1995, pp. 49–50.</ref> Arab political organization within Nazareth and Israel was largely stymied by the state until recent decades.<ref>Emmett 1995, pp. 50–51.</ref> Arab and Palestinian nationalist sentiment continue to influence Nazareth's political life.<ref>Emmett 1995, p. 48.</ref>

In 1954, 1,200 [[dunam]]s of Nazareth's land, which had been slated for future urban expansion by the municipality, was expropriated by state authorities for the construction of government offices and, in 1957, for the construction of the Jewish town of [[Nazareth Illit]]. The latter was built as a way for the state to counterbalance the Arab majority in the region.<ref name="Emmett52">Emmett 1995, p. 52.</ref> [[Knesset]] member [[Seif el-Din el-Zoubi]], who represented Nazareth, actively opposed the [[Israeli land and property laws#The 'Absentees Property Law'|Absentees' Property Law]], which allowed state expropriation of land from Arab citizens who were not permitted to return to their original villages. Zoubi argued that the internally displaced refugees were not absentees as they were still living in the country as citizens and wanted to return to their homes.<ref>Emmett 1995, p. 51.</ref> Israel offered compensation to these internal refugees, but most refused for fear of permanently relinquishing their [[Palestinian right of return|right of return]]. Tensions between Nazareth's inhabitants and the state came to a head during a 1958 [[May Day]] rally where marchers demanded that refugees be allowed to return to their villages, an end to land expropriation, and self-determination for Palestinians. Several young protesters were arrested for throwing stones at security forces.<ref name="Emmett49-50"/> Martial law ended in 1966.

On 5 January 1964, [[Pope Paul VI]] included Nazareth in the [[List of pastoral visits of Pope Paul VI outside Italy|first ever papal visit]] to the Holy Land.<ref name="HL">{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcatholicdirectory.com/special-feature-article/papal-visits-to-the-holy-land.html |title=Papal Visits to the Holy Land |first=Judith |last=Sudilovsky |year=2009 |publisher=Official Catholic Directory |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213055756/http://www.officialcatholicdirectory.com/special-feature-article/papal-visits-to-the-holy-land.html |archive-date=13 December 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>

====1980s–2010s====
As of the early 1990s, no city plans drafted by Nazareth Municipality have been approved by the government (both the British Mandate and later Israel) since 1942.<ref name="Emmett54">Emmett 1995, p. 54.</ref> This has left many people in Nazareth who vote in the city's municipal elections and receive services from its municipality effectively outside of the city's jurisdiction. Such areas include the Sharqiya and Jabal el-Daula quarters which are in Nazareth Illit's jurisdiction and whose residents had to acquire building permits from the latter city. Similarly, the Bilal neighborhood of the Safafra Quarter is located within [[Reineh]]'s jurisdiction. In 1993, the residents of Bilal became official residents of Reineh.<ref name="Emmett54"/> Nazareth's municipal plans for expansion prior to the establishment of Nazareth Illit, were to the north and east, areas that the latter city now occupy. Arab satellite towns are closely located to the north, west and southwest. Thus, the remaining area within the city's municipal boundaries available for expansion were to the northwest and the south, where the topography restricted urban development. After lobbying the Knesset and the [[Ministry of Interior (Israel)|Interior Ministry]], el-Zoubi was able to have areas to the northwest of the city annexed to the municipality.<ref name="Emmett53">Emmett 1995, p. 53.</ref>

In the 1980s, the government began attempts to merge the nearby village of [[Ilut]] with Nazareth, although this move was opposed by residents from both localities and the Nazareth Municipality.<ref name="Emmett53"/> Ilut's residents were included as part of Nazareth's electorate in the 1983 and 1989 municipal elections, which Ilut's residents largely boycotted, and in the 1988 national elections. Ilut was designated by the Interior Ministry as a separate [[local council (Israel)|local council]] in 1991.<ref name="Emmett54"/> The Israeli government has designated a Nazareth [[metropolitan area]] that includes the [[Local council (Israel)|local councils]] of [[Yafa an-Naseriyye]] to the south, Reineh, [[Mashhad, Israel|Mashhad]] and [[Kafr Kanna]] to the north, [[Iksal]] and Nazareth Illit to the east and [[Migdal HaEmek]] to the west.

[[File:Andartnazareth.jpg|thumb|Monument to Arab Israeli casualties in the [[October 2000 protests in Israel|October 2000 events]], Nazareth]]
As the political center of Israel's Arab citizens, Nazareth is the scene of annual rallies held by the community including [[Land Day]] since March 1975 and May Day.<ref name="Emmett55">Emmett 1995, p. 55.</ref> There are also frequent demonstrations in support of the Palestinian cause.<ref name="Emmett56">Emmett 1995, p. 56.</ref> During the [[First Intifada]] (1987–1993), May Day marchers vocally supported the Palestinian uprising. On 22 December 1987, riots broke out during a strike held in solidarity with the Intifada. On 24 January 1988, a mass demonstration attracted between 20,000–50,000 participants from Nazareth and other Arab towns.<ref>Emmett 1995, p. 59.</ref> On 13 May, during a [[association football|football]] match in [[Nahariya]], a riot broke out between Arab and Jewish fans, resulting in a Jewish man being stabbed and 54 people, mostly Arabs, being arrested. A rally in Nazareth on 19 May followed, in which thousands of Arabs protested against "racist attacks" against the Arab fans and discriminatory policies against Arabs in general.<ref name="Emmett55"/>

Preparations for the [[Pope]]'s visit to Nazareth in 2000 triggered highly publicized tensions related to the [[Basilica of the Annunciation]]. In 1997, permission was granted to construct a paved plaza to handle the thousands of Christian pilgrims expected to arrive. A small group of Muslims protested and occupied the site, where a nephew of Saladin, named [[Al-Mu'azzam Isa|Shihab al-Din]], is believed{{who|date=October 2014}} to be buried. A school, al-Harbyeh, had been built on the site by the Ottomans, and the Shihab-Eddin shrine, along with several shops owned by the [[waqf]], were located there. Government approval of plans for a large mosque on the property triggered protests from Christian leaders. In 2002, a special government commission permanently halted construction of the mosque.<ref>{{cite web |title=Final Bar on Controversial Nazareth Mosque |date=4 March 2002 |publisher=Catholic World News |url=http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=17590 |access-date=1 August 2006 |archive-date=6 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106233134/http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=17590 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In March 2006, public protests followed the disruption of a prayer service by an Israeli Jew and his Christian wife and daughter, who detonated firecrackers inside the church. The family said it wanted to draw attention to their problems with the welfare authorities.<ref>{{cite news |title=Thousands of Israeli Arabs protest attack |date=4 March 2006 |newspaper=USA Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-03-04-israeli-arabs_x.htm?csp=34 |access-date=5 September 2017 |archive-date=28 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120628120544/http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-03-04-israeli-arabs_x.htm?csp=34 |url-status=live }}</ref> In July 2006 a rocket fired by [[Hezbollah]] as part of the [[2006 Lebanon War|2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict]] killed two children in Nazareth.<ref>{{cite news |title=Rocket attacks kill two Israeli Arab children |date=19 July 2006 |agency=Reuters |url=http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L196187346.htm |access-date=7 August 2006 |archive-date=28 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210528163548/https://news.trust.org//humanitarian/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In March 2010, the Israeli government approved a $3 million plan to develop Nazareth's tourism industry. New businesses receive start-up grants of up to 30 percent of their initial investment from the [[Ministry of Tourism (Israel)|Ministry of Tourism]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/25/travel/nazareth-as-a-culinary-destination.html|title=Nazareth as a Culinary Destination|first=Rachel B.|last=Doyle|date=22 December 2011|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=27 February 2017|archive-date=16 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216092238/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/25/travel/nazareth-as-a-culinary-destination.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== 2020s ====
Riots broke out in Nazareth during the [[2021 Israel–Palestine crisis]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=9 May 2021|title=Clashes and arrests as Jerusalem protests spread to Haifa, Nazareth|url=https://www.ynetnews.com/article/r1X4LaHOO|access-date=12 May 2021|website=ynetnews|language=en|archive-date=12 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512150326/https://www.ynetnews.com/article/r1X4LaHOO|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Geography==
[[File:Nazareth City.jpg|thumb|Nazareth cityscape]]
Two locations for Nazareth are cited in ancient texts: the Galilean (northern) location in the Christian gospels and a southern (Judean) location mentioned in several early noncanonical texts.<ref>(<span class="ltr">a</span>) The ''[[Gospel of James|Protevangelium of James]]''(c. 150 AD. See New Testament Apocrypha, ed. W. Schneemelcher, Westminster/John Knox Press, 1991, vol. 1, p. 421 ff.) was an immensely popular text in the early Christian centuries. In it, Jesus' family lives in [[Bethlehem]] of Judea (PrJ 8.3; 17:1) and all events take place in and around the southern town. PrJ does not mention Galilee or "Nazareth"; (<span class="ltr">b</span>) the earliest reference to Nazareth outside the Christian gospels, by [[Sextus Julius Africanus]] (c. 200 AD), speaks of "Nazara" as a village in "Judea" and locates it near an as-yet unidentified "Cochaba"; (<span class="ltr">c</span>) A fourth century work known as the ''History of Joseph the Carpenter'' knows a southern location for Nazareth. It locates "Nazareth", the home of Joseph, ''within walking distance'' of the Jerusalem Temple.</ref>

Modern-day Nazareth is nestled in a natural bowl which reaches from 320 metres [[Above mean sea level|above sea level]] to the crest of the hills about 488 metres.<ref>Map ''Survey of Palestine, 1946. 1:5,000'' OCLC: 17193107. Also, Emmett 1995b, p. 31, Fig. 11</ref> Nazareth is about 25 kilometres from the [[Sea of Galilee]] and about 9 kilometres west from [[Mount Tabor]]. The major cities of [[Jerusalem]] and [[Tel Aviv]] are situated approximately 146 kilometres and 108 kilometres respectively, away from Nazareth. The Nazareth Range, in which the town lies, is the southernmost of several parallel east–west hill ranges that characterize the elevated tableau of Lower Galilee.
{{Further|Iphtahel}}

===Climate===
Nazareth has a [[hot-summer Mediterranean climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification]]: ''Csa'').
{{Weather box
|width = auto
|location = Nazareth, Israel
|metric first = Yes
|single line = Yes
|Jan record high C = 22
|Feb record high C = 28 
|Mar record high C = 31
|Apr record high C = 37
|May record high C = 42 
|Jun record high C = 40 
|Jul record high C = 40 
|Aug record high C = 42 
|Sep record high C = 41 
|Oct record high C = 38
|Nov record high C = 32
|Dec record high C = 30 
|year record high C = 
|Jan high C = 15.2 
|Feb high C = 16.0
|Mar high C = 18.3
|Apr high C = 22.7
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|Oct high C = 28.1
|Nov high C = 23.5 
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|year high C = 
|Jan mean C = 11.2
|Feb mean C = 12.0
|Mar mean C = 13.6
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|May mean C = 21.8 
|Jun mean C = 24.4 
|Jul mean C = 26.0
|Aug mean C = 26.6 
|Sep mean C = 25.0
|Oct mean C = 22.8
|Nov mean C = 18.7 
|Dec mean C = 13.7
|year mean C =
|Jan low C = 7.1
|Feb low C = 7.9
|Mar low C = 8.9
|Apr low C = 11.5 
|May low C = 15.7 
|Jun low C = 18.7 
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|Aug low C = 21.5 
|Sep low C = 19.9
|Oct low C = 17.5
|Nov low C = 13.8 
|Dec low C = 9.8
|year low C = 
|Jan record low C = -2.4  
|Feb record low C = -3.9  
|Mar record low C = -1 
|Apr record low C = 2
|May record low C = 6 
|Jun record low C = 8 
|Jul record low C = 17 
|Aug record low C = 17
|Sep record low C = 12
|Oct record low C = 7
|Nov record low C = 1
|Dec record low C = -1.4
|year record low C =  
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 156
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|Mar precipitation mm = 72 
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|Jan precipitation days = 16
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|Oct precipitation days = 6
|Nov precipitation days = 9 
|Dec precipitation days = 15
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|Jan humidity = 68
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|Oct humidity = 59
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|Jand sun = 6
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|Mayd sun = 11 
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|yeard sun = 
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|May percentsun= 76
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|Sep percentsun= 81
|Oct percentsun= 75
|Nov percentsun= 68
|Dec percentsun= 55
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|source 1 = <ref>{{cite web
| url = http://en.climate-data.org/location/28724/
| publisher = Climate-Data
| title = CLIMATE: NAZARETH
| access-date = 20 November 2014
| archive-date = 29 November 2014
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141129021119/http://en.climate-data.org/location/28724/
| url-status = live
}}</ref>
|source 2 = <ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.weather2travel.com/climate-guides/israel/nazareth.php
| publisher = Weather2Travel
| title = Nazareth Climate
| access-date = 20 November 2014
| archive-date = 26 October 2014
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141026172837/http://www.weather2travel.com/climate-guides/israel/nazareth.php
| url-status = live
}}</ref> (sunshine percentages)
|date= 2014
}}

==Demographics==
[[File:Nazareth.3women.jpg|thumb|Old postcard of Nazareth women based on photo by [[Félix Bonfils]]]]
Nazareth is the largest Arab city in Israel.<ref name=CBS1>{{cite web|author=Yurit Naffe|publisher=State of Israel Central Bureau of Statistics|title=Statistilite 15: Population|date=October 2001}}</ref> In 2009, the [[Israel Central Bureau of Statistics]] reported that Nazareth's Arab population was 69% Muslim and 30.9% Christian.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbs.gov.il/publications11/local_authorities09/pdf/254_7300.pdf|title=Nazareth Census 2009|publisher=Cbs.gov.il|access-date=16 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131011103441/http://www.cbs.gov.il/publications11/local_authorities09/pdf/254_7300.pdf|archive-date=11 October 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> The greater Nazareth metropolitan area had a population of 210,000, including 125,000 Arabs (59%) and 85,000 Jews (41%). It is the only urban area with over 50,000 residents in Israel where the majority of the population is [[Arab]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbs.gov.il/population/new_2007/table3.pdf|title=Israeli localities with populations 1000+|publisher=Cbs.gov.il|access-date=16 November 2012|archive-date=9 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181009114131/http://www.cbs.gov.il/population/new_2007/table3.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The greater Nazareth metropolitan area includes [[Nof HaGalil]], [[Yafa an-Naseriyye]], [[Reineh]], [[Migdal HaEmek]], [[Ein Mahil]], [[Ilut]], [[Kafr Kanna]], [[Mashhad, Israel|Mashhad]] and [[Iksal]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nazareth.muni.il/files/majalla-2010.pdf |title=Nazareth metropolis area |language=he |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140803034436/http://www.nazareth.muni.il/files/majalla-2010.pdf |archive-date=3 August 2014 |access-date=9 August 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Nazareth is home to the largest Arab [[Christianity in Israel|Christian community in Israel]],<ref name=Christian2020>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbs.gov.il/he/mediarelease/DocLib/2019/400/11_19_400e.pdf|title=Christmas 2019 - Christians in Israel|date=29 December 2019|publisher=Central Bureau of Statistics (Israel)|access-date=26 April 2022|archive-date=9 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109084141/https://www.cbs.gov.il/he/mediarelease/DocLib/2019/400/11_19_400e.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> the Christian communities of Nazareth are varied and included various denominations, the most prominent among them the [[Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem|Greek Orthodox]], [[Melkite Greek Catholic Church|Melkite Greek Catholic]], [[Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem|Latin Catholics]], [[Maronites]], [[Armenian Orthodox]], and [[Protestants]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Beyond the Basilica: Christians and Muslims in Nazareth| first=Chad |last=F. Emmett|year= 2012| isbn= 9780226922492| page =128|publisher=University of Chicago Press|quote=}}</ref> By far the largest among them is the Greek-Orthodox community, headed by a Patriarch based in Jerusalem, and represented in Nazareth by a Metropolite.<ref>{{cite book|title=Green Crescent Over Nazareth: The Displacement of Christians by Muslims in the Holy Land| first=Chad |last=F. Emmett|year= 2012| isbn= 9780226922492| page =21|publisher=University of Chicago Press|quote=}}</ref> The Christian communities in Nazareth tend to be wealthier and better educated compared to other Arabs elsewhere in Israel, and Christians of Nazareth occupy the majority of the top positions in the town: three [[hospital]]s and bank managers, judges and school principals and faculties.<ref name="auto">{{cite book|title=Narrow Gate Churches: The Christian Presence in the Holy Land Under Muslim and Jewish Rule| first=Raphael |last=Israeli|year= 2014| isbn=9781135315146| page =21|publisher=Routledge|quote=}}</ref> The socio-economic gap between the Christians wealth and Muslim poverty led sometimes to sectarian crises.<ref>{{cite book|title=Narrow Gate Churches: The Christian Presence in the Holy Land Under Muslim and Jewish Rule| first=Atallah |last=Mansour|year= 2004| isbn=9781932717020| page =280|publisher=Hope Publishing House|quote=}}</ref>

Many of the descendants of the [[Al-Zayadina|Zayadina]] clan in modern-day [[Israel]] use the surname 'al-Zawahirah'<ref>Joudah, 1987, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=3jZGVstzMhQC&q=bashirs&pg=PA549 118] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230929214658/https://books.google.com/books?id=3jZGVstzMhQC&q=bashirs&pg=PA549 |date=29 September 2023 }}.</ref> or 'Dhawahri'<ref>Srouji, 2003, p.  [https://books.google.com/books?id=fp1y2bMtvNUC&pg=PA187 187]</ref> in honor of Zahir (whose name is colloquially transliterated as 'Dhaher'). They mostly live in the Galilee localities of Nazareth, [[Bi'ina]], [[Kafr Manda]], and, before [[Operation Dekel|its depopulation]] in the [[1948 Arab-Israeli war]], the village of [[al-Damun|Damun]].<ref>Joudah, 1987, p. 121.</ref> ''Dhawahri'', made up one of the important families in Muslim community of Nazareth, beside the ''Fahoums'', the ''Zu'bis'', and the ''Onallas''.<ref>{{cite book|title=Cyclamens from Galilee: Memoirs of a Physician from Nazareth| first=Elias |last=S. Srouji|year= 2003| isbn=9780595303045| page =187|publisher=BRILL|quote=}}</ref>

===Demographic history===
During the late Ottoman era, the religious majority of the city fluctuated. In 1838, there were 325 Christian families (half of whom were Greek Orthodox, the remainder belonged to various Catholic churches) and 120 Muslim families.<ref>Emmett 1995, p. 25.</ref> In 1856, the population was estimated to be 4,350, of which Muslims comprised 52%, while Christians from various denominations comprised 48%. In 1862, the population estimate was lower (3,120) and Christians formed a substantial majority of over 78%. The population grew to 5,660 in 1867 and Christians constituted roughly two-thirds and Muslims one-third of the inhabitants. These estimates during the late Ottoman era likely represented crude figures.<ref>Emmett 1995, pp. 26–27.</ref>

A population list from about 1887 showed that Nazareth had about 6,575 inhabitants; 1,620 Muslims, 2,485 Greek Catholics, 845 Catholics, 1,115 Latins, 220 Maronites and 290 Protestants.<ref>Schumacher, 1888, p. [https://archive.org/stream/quarterlystateme19pale#page/n207/mode/1up 182]</ref>

For much of the [[Mandate for Palestine|British Mandatory]] period (1922–1948), Nazareth had a [[Arab Christian|Christian]] majority (mostly [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox Christians]]) and a Muslim minority.<ref name=Dumperp274/>

In 1918, Nazareth had an estimated population of 8,000, two-thirds Christian.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GjApOeWHtv4C&q=nazareth+british+mandate&pg=PA15|title=Green Crescent Over Nazareth|isbn=9780714652580|last1=Israeli|first1=Raphael|year=2002|publisher=Psychology Press |access-date=1 November 2020|archive-date=28 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210528163539/https://books.google.com/books?id=GjApOeWHtv4C&q=nazareth+british+mandate&pg=PA15|url-status=live}}</ref> In the [[1922 census of Palestine|1922 British census]], Nazareth's population was recorded as 7,424 residents, of which 66% were Christian, 33% were Muslim and roughly 1% were Jewish. In the [[1931 census of Palestine|1931 census]], the population grew to 8,756 and the ratio of Muslims increased to 37%. The largest Christian community were the [[Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem|Greek Orthodox]] denomination, followed by the [[Roman Catholic]]s and the [[Melkite]]s. Smaller communities of [[Anglican]]s, [[Maronites]], [[Syriac Catholic Church|Syriac Catholic]]s, [[Protestant]]s and [[Copt]]s also existed.<ref>Emmett 1995, p. 36.</ref>

In 1946, Nazareth had a population of 15,540, of whom roughly 60% were Christians and 40% were Muslims. The 1948 War led to an exodus of Palestinians and many expelled or fleeing Muslims from villages in the Galilee and the Haifa area found refuge in Nazareth. At one point, some 20,000 mostly Muslim internally displaced persons were present in the city. Following the war's conclusion, the internally displaced persons of [[Shefa-'Amr]], [[Dabburiya]], [[Ilut]] and [[Kafr Kanna]] returned to their homes. However, those Muslim and Christian internally displaced persons from the nearby destroyed villages of [[Ma'lul]], [[al-Mujaydil]], [[Saffuriya]], the Haifa-area village of [[Balad al-Sheikh]] and the major cities of [[Acre, Israel|Acre]], [[Haifa]], [[Tiberias]], [[Safad]] and [[Baysan]] remained as they were not able to return to their hometowns.<ref name="Emmett45">Emmett 1995, p. 45.</ref> During the war and in the following months, internally displaced persons from Saffuriya established the Safafra Quarter, named after their former village.<ref>Emmett 1995, p. 43.</ref> Around 20% of Nazareth's native inhabitants left Palestine during the war. In an Israeli army census in July 1948, Nazareth had a total population of 17,118, which consisted of 12,640 Nazarenes and 4,478 internally displaced persons. In 1951, the population was recorded as 20,300, 25% of whom were internally displaced persons. The internally displaced persons came from over two dozen villages, but most were from al-Mujaydil, Saffuriya, Tiberias, Haifa, Ma'lul and [[Indur]].<ref>Emmett 1995, p. 46.</ref>

Today, Nazareth still has a significant Christian population, made up of various denominations.<ref name=Dumperp274/> The Muslim population has grown due to a number of historical factors that include the city having served as administrative center under British rule, and the influx of [[internally displaced Palestinians|internally displaced Palestinian Arabs]] absorbed into the city from neighboring towns during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.<ref name=Dumperp274/>

==Economy==
[[File:PikiWiki Israel 30994 Hi Tech Park in Nazareth.JPG|thumb|right|Nazareth [[High tech|Hi-Tech Park]]]]
In 2011, Nazareth had over 20 Arab-owned high-tech companies, mostly in the field of software development. According to the ''[[Haaretz]]'' newspaper the city has been called the "Silicon Valley of the Arab community" in view of its potential in this sphere.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/themarker/49-khatem-zuabi-ncs-software-services-1.382776 |access-date=22 September 2011|title=Haaretz.com |newspaper=Haaretz}}{{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

==Religious sites==

===Christian===
[[File:Church in Nazareth, built on supposed site of Joseph's workshop, 1891.jpg|thumb|Church in Nazareth on the supposed site of Joseph's workshop, 1891]]
[[File:Nazaret Gabrielskirche BW 8.JPG|thumb|[[Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation]]]]
[[File:Christmas in The City of Nazareth.jpg|thumb|Christmas Eve In Nazareth]]
Nazareth is home to dozens of monasteries and churches, many of them in the Old City.<ref name=Ringp539>{{cite book|title=International Dictionary of Historic Places: Middle East and Africa|editor1=Trudy Ring|editor2=Robert M. Salkin|editor3=Sharon La Boda|edition=Illustrated, annotated|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=1996|isbn=9781884964039|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2aOpeBnbxvsC&q=nasira+nazareth&pg=PA541|access-date=1 November 2020|archive-date=28 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210528163557/https://books.google.com/books?id=2aOpeBnbxvsC&q=nasira+nazareth&pg=PA541|url-status=live}}</ref>

*Churches
** The [[Basilica of the Annunciation|Church of the Annunciation]] is the largest Catholic church in the Middle East.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://slife.org/roman-curia/ |title=Roman Curia |date=24 October 2020 |publisher=The Spiritual Life |access-date=20 November 2020 |archive-date=3 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203111239/https://slife.org/roman-curia/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In [[Roman Catholic]] tradition, it marks the site where the Archangel [[Gabriel]] announced the future birth of Jesus to Mary<ref>{{bibleverse|Luke|1:26–31}}</ref>
** The [[Church of St. Gabriel]] is an alternative [[Greek Orthodox Church|Greek Orthodox]] site for the Annunciation
** The [[Greek Catholic Church of Nazareth]] is a Byzantine Rite Catholic church ([[Greek Catholic Church|Greek Catholic Melkite Church]])
** The [[Synagogue Church]] is a [[Melkite Greek Catholic Church]] at the traditional site of the synagogue where Jesus preached<ref>{{bibleverse|Luke|4}}</ref>
** The [[St. Joseph's Church, Nazareth|St. Joseph's Church]] (Roman Catholic) marks the traditional location for the workshop of [[Saint Joseph]]
** The [[Mensa Christi Church]], run by the [[Franciscan]] religious order, commemorates the traditional location where Jesus dined with the Apostles
** The [[Basilica of Jesus the Adolescent]], run by the [[Salesians of Don Bosco|Salesian]] religious order, at the top of the hill overlooking the city from the north
** The [[Christ Church, Nazareth|Church of Christ]] is an Anglican church in Nazareth
** The Church of Our Lady of the Fright (Roman Catholic) marks the spot where Mary is said to have seen Jesus being taken to a cliff by the congregation of the synagogue
* The [[Jesus Trail]] pilgrimage route connects many of the religious sites in Nazareth on a {{convert|60|km|0|abbr=on}} walking trail which ends in Capernaum
* International Marian Evangelization Center "Mary of Nazareth" (see here:<ref>International Marian Evangelization Center "Mary of Nazareth" [www.mariedenazareth.com/en  homepage]. Accessed 30 August 2018</ref>), containing among other things the only archaeologically excavated house from first-century AD Nazareth

===Muslim===
Muslim holy sites include
* The Shrine of al-Sheikh Amer
* The Shrine of "to the Prophet we go" ([[Makam al-Nabi Sain Mosque|Makam Ela-Nabi Sa'in Mosque]])
* The Shrine of Shihab ad-Din.

Muslim places of worship include
* The [[White Mosque (Nazareth)|White Mosque]] (Masjid al-Abiad), the oldest mosque in Nazareth, located in ''Harat Alghama'' ("Mosque Quarter") in the center of the Old Market.<ref>Emmett 1995b, pp. 136–138</ref><ref name=Nazareth>{{cite web|title=Nazareth: The Mosque Quarter|publisher=Discover Israel|access-date=1 December 2007|url=http://www.ddtravel-acc.com/nazareth.htm|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303213617/http://www.ddtravel-acc.com/nazareth.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* The Peace Mosque (Masjid al-Salam).

==Archaeology==
==="Venerated area" near the Basilica of the Annunciation===
While excavations conducted prior to 1931 in the Franciscan "venerated area" (the side of the hill known as Jabal Nebi Sa'in, stretching north of the Basilica of the Annunciation) revealed no trace of a Greek or Roman settlement there,<ref>R. Tonneau, ''Revue Biblique'' XL (1931), p. 556. Reaffirmed by C. Kopp (op. cit.,1938, p. 188).</ref> later digs under Fr. Bagatti, who acted as the principal [[archaeologist]] for the venerated sites in Nazareth, unearthed quantities of later [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] and [[Byzantine]] artifacts,<ref>B. Bagatti, ''Excavations in Nazareth'', vol. 1 (1969), pp. 272–310.</ref> attesting to unambiguous human presence there from the 2nd century AD onward. [[John Dominic Crossan]], a noted New Testament scholar, remarked that Bagatti's archaeological drawings indicate just how small the village actually was, suggesting that it was little more than an insignificant [[hamlet (place)|hamlet]].<ref>John Dominic Crossan, ''The Historical Jesus : The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant'', 1992, p. 18</ref>

===Early Roman house===
Remains of a residential house dating to the Early Roman period were discovered in 2009 next to the Basilica of the Annunciation and are on display in the "International Marian Center of Nazareth". According to the [[Israel Antiquities Authority]], "The artifacts recovered from inside the building were few and mostly included fragments of pottery vessels from the Early Roman period (the first and second centuries AD)... Another hewn pit, whose entrance was apparently camouflaged, was excavated and a few pottery sherds from the Early Roman period were found inside it." Archaeologist Yardenna Alexandre adds that "based on other excavations that I conducted in other villages in the region, this pit was probably hewn as part of the preparations by the Jews to protect themselves during the Great Revolt against the Romans in 67 AD".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/History/Early+History+-+Archaeology/Residential_building_time_Jesus_Nazareth_21-Dec-2009.htm |title=Residential building from the time of Jesus exposed in Nazareth 21-Dec-2009 |publisher=Mfa.gov.il |date=21 December 2009 |access-date=16 November 2012 |archive-date=13 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013090514/http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/History/Early+History+-+Archaeology/Residential_building_time_Jesus_Nazareth_21-Dec-2009.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Kokh tombs===
Noteworthy is that all the post-Iron Age tombs in the Nazareth basin (approximately two dozen) are of the [[kokhim|kokh]] (plural ''kokhim'') or later types; this type probably first appeared in Galilee in the middle of the 1st century AD.<ref>H.P. Kuhnen, "Palaestina in Griechisch-Roemischer Zeit", (Muenchen, C. Beck, 1990, pp. 254–55).</ref> Kokh tombs in the Nazareth area have been excavated by B. Bagatti, N. Feig, Z. Yavor, and noted by Z. Gal.<ref>Gal, Z. Lower Galilee During the Iron Age (American Schools of Oriental Research, Eisenbrauns, 1992) p. 15; Yavor, Z. 1998 "Nazareth", ESI 18. pp. 32 (English), 48; Feig, N. 1990 "Burial Caves at Nazareth", 'Atiqot 10 (Hebrew series). pp. 67–79.</ref>

===Ancient bathhouse at Mary's Well===
In the mid-1990s, a shopkeeper discovered tunnels under his shop near [[Mary's Well]] in Nazareth. The tunnels were identified as the [[hypocaust]] of a bathhouse.<ref>SHACHAM, Tzvi. 2012. Bathhouse from the Crusader Period in Nazareth in Kreiner, R & W. Letzner (eds.). SPA. SANITAS PER AQUAM. Tagungsband des Internationalen Frontinus-Symposums zur Technik und Kulturgeschichte der antike Thermen. Aachen, 18–22. Marz 2009 : 319–326. BABESCH SUPPL. 21</ref> Excavations in 1997–98 revealed remains dating from the Roman, [[Crusade]]r, [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluk]] and [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] periods.<ref>Alexandre, Yardenna. 2012. Mary's Well, Nazareth. The Late Hellenistic to the Ottoman Periods.  Jerusalem, IAA Reports 49.</ref><ref>Alexandre, Y. "Archaeological Excavations at Mary's Well, Nazareth", Israel Antiquities Authority bulletin, 1 May 2006.</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Is This Where Jesus Bathed? |date=22 October 2003 |author=Cook, Jonathon |newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/g2/story/0,3604,1067930,00.html |access-date=15 December 2016 |archive-date=28 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210528163531/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/oct/22/research.artsandhumanities |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Under Nazareth, Secrets in Stone |date=17 December 2002 |author=Cook, Jonathan |newspaper=International Herald Tribune |url=http://www.jkcook.net/Articles1/0021.htm |access-date=7 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120216062857/http://www.jkcook.net/Articles1/0021.htm |archive-date=16 February 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Ancient Bath House in Nazareth |date=12 August 2008 |author=Shama-Sostar, Martina |url=http://www.nazarethbathhouse.org |access-date=28 May 2021 |archive-date=15 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170915035919/http://nazarethbathhouse.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Education==
[[File:PikiWiki Israel 67137 nazareth.jpg|thumb|Don Bosco School]]
With the near total depopulation of the Palestinian Arabs in the major cities of Haifa and Jaffa as a result of the 1948 war, Nazareth, [[Kafr Yasif]] and [[Rameh]] became one of a few towns in the newly-established state of Israel to emerge as a central space for [[Arab culture]] and politics.<ref name="Shihade456">Shihade 2014, p. 456.</ref>

Three prestigious Arab [[Christian schools]] in Nazareth are the St. Joseph's Eclerical School, run by the [[Melkite Greek Catholic Church]], the Nuns of St. Joseph School, a Catholic institution, and the Nazareth Baptist High School, a [[Protestant]] institution.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.comeandsee.com/view.php?sid=943|title=Maariv: Christian Schools in Nazareth among best in country|date=17 September 2015|publisher=Comeandsee|access-date=1 May 2022|archive-date=29 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230929214656/http://www.comeandsee.com/view.php?sid=943|url-status=live}}</ref> About half of students in Nazareth attend [[Christian schools]] (10 schools) that are found in the city.<ref>{{cite book|title=Palestinian Christians in Israel: State Attitudes Towards Non-Muslims in a Jewish State| first=Una |last=McGahern|year= 2011| isbn= 9780415605717| page =51|publisher=Routledge|quote=}}</ref> [[Christian school]]s in Nazareth are among the best schools in the country, and while those schools represent only 4% of the Arab schooling sector, about 34% of Arab university students come from [[Christian school]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://hcef.org/790796657-demonstration-of-christian-schools-in-jerusalem/ |title= Demonstration of Christian Schools in Jerusalem - Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation |website= Hcef.org |access-date= 5 September 2016 |date= 10 September 2015 |archive-date= 9 August 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160809222602/http://hcef.org/790796657-demonstration-of-christian-schools-in-jerusalem/ |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/society/85944-150916-israel-hundreds-protest-against-discriminatory-school-funding-for-christians |title=Israel: Hundreds protest against 'discriminatory' school funding for Christians |date=17 September 2015 |publisher=i24NEWS |access-date=1 May 2022 |archive-date=15 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515205433/https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/society/85944-150916-israel-hundreds-protest-against-discriminatory-school-funding-for-christians |url-status=live }}</ref> These Arab Christian schools accommodate Christian students, Muslims, [[Druze]] from across the country.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.lpj.org/posts/israeli-ministry-of-education-classifies-christian-schools-among-the-best-in-the-country.html|title=Israeli Ministry of Education classifies Christian schools among the best in the country|newspaper=Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem|access-date=5 September 2016|archive-date=30 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220430151718/https://www.lpj.org/posts/israeli-ministry-of-education-classifies-christian-schools-among-the-best-in-the-country.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Sports==
The city's main football club, [[Maccabi Ahi Nazareth F.C.|Ahi Nazareth]], currently plays in [[Liga Leumit]], the second tier of Israeli football. The club spent two seasons in the [[Israeli Premier League|top division]], in [[Israeli Premier League 2003-04|2003–04]] and again in [[Israeli Premier League 2009-10|2009–10]]. They are based at the [[Ilut Stadium]] in nearby [[Ilut]]. Other local clubs are Al-Nahda Nazareth, currently plays in [[Liga Bet]], [[Beitar al-Amal Nazareth F.C.|Beitar al-Amal Nazareth]], [[Hapoel Bnei Nazareth F.C.|Hapoel Bnei Nazareth]] and [[Hapoel al-Ittihad Nazareth F.C.|Hapoel al-Ittihad Nazareth]] all play in [[Liga Gimel]].

==Hospitals==
[[File:Sacra fam 0307.jpg|thumb|Italian Nazareth Hospital]]
The city has three hospitals, run by the Christian community of Nazareth,<ref name="auto"/> and serving its districts:
* [[The Nazareth Hospital]] (also called the English Hospital)
* French Nazareth Hospital
* Italian Nazareth Hospital

==Twin towns – sister cities==
Nazareth is [[Sister city|twinned]] with:
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
*{{flagicon|PHL}} [[Baguio]], Philippines<ref>{{cite news|last1=See|first1=Dexter A.|title=Twinning ties for Baguio and Nazareth|url=http://manilastandardtoday.com/news/-provinces/161129/twinning-ties-for-baguio-and-nazareth.html|newspaper=The Standard|access-date=4 March 2016|date=24 October 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308022938/http://manilastandardtoday.com/news/-provinces/161129/twinning-ties-for-baguio-and-nazareth.html|archive-date=8 March 2016}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|POL}} [[Częstochowa]], Poland<ref>{{cite web|title=Miasta zaprzyjaźnione|url=http://www.czestochowa.pl/page/1657,miasta-zaprzyjaznione.html|website=czestochowa.pl|publisher=Częstochowa|language=pl|access-date=27 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200227065518/http://www.czestochowa.pl/page/1657,miasta-zaprzyjaznione.html|archive-date=27 February 2020|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|ITA}} [[Florence]], Italy<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.comune.fi.it/export/sites/retecivica/comune_firenze/relazioni_internazionali_cooperazione/gemellaggi.html |title=Gemellaggi, Patti di amicizia e di fratellanza |publisher=Comune di Firenze |language=it |access-date=4 March 2016 |archive-date=22 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171122082353/http://www.comune.fi.it/export/sites/retecivica/comune_firenze/relazioni_internazionali_cooperazione/gemellaggi.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
*{{flagicon|PSE}} [[Nablus]], Palestine<ref>{{cite web|title=The Twinning Between Dundee and Nablus|url=http://dundee-nablus.org.uk/Jun15/OurTwinning.php|publisher=Dundee–Nablus Twinning Association|access-date=27 February 2020|archive-date=20 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200120074332/http://www.dundee-nablus.org.uk/Jun15/OurTwinning.php|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|GER}} [[Neubrandenburg]], Germany<ref>{{cite web|title=Partnerstädte|url=https://www.neubrandenburg.de/Leben-Wohnen/Vier-Tore-Stadt/Partnerst%C3%A4dte|website=neubrandenburg.de|publisher=Neubrandenburg|language=de|access-date=27 February 2020|archive-date=16 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191116181657/http://www.neubrandenburg.de/Leben-Wohnen/Vier-Tore-Stadt/Partnerst%C3%A4dte|url-status=live}}</ref>
{{div col end}}

===Other cooperation===
*{{flagicon|ITA}} [[Loreto, Marche|Loreto]], Italy (the [[Basilica of the Annunciation|Sanctuary of the Annunciation]] in Nazareth and the [[Basilica della Santa Casa|Sanctuary of the Incarnation]] in Loreto are twinned)<ref>{{cite web|title=Fraternitas: Nazareth and Loreto: Twinning|url=http://www.ofm.org/3/frat/FRAeng33.html|publisher=Order of Friars Minor|access-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303193431/http://www.ofm.org/3/frat/FRAeng33.html|archive-date=3 March 2016}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of Arab localities in Israel]]
* [[Nazareth Village]]
* [[Iris bismarckiana|Nazareth Iris]]

==References==
===Notes===
{{notelist}}

===Citations===
{{reflist|25em}}

===Sources===
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book |first= Chad Fife |last= Emmett |year= 1995 |title= Beyond the Basilica: Christians and Muslims in Nazareth |url= https://archive.org/details/beyondbasilicach0000emme |url-access= registration |page= [https://archive.org/details/beyondbasilicach0000emme/page/22 22] |issue= 237 |publisher= [[University of Chicago Press]] |isbn= 978-0-226-20711-7 }}
*{{Cite book |last= Isaac |first= Benjamin |author-link= Benjamin Isaac |year= 2017 |title= Empire and Ideology in the Graeco-Roman World |location=[[Cambridge]] |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=qgAtDwAAQBAJ |isbn=978-1-107-13589-5 |access-date=3 June 2020}}
*{{cite book|title=A Gazetteer of Buildings in Muslim Palestine (British Academy Monographs in Archaeology)|url=https://www.academia.edu/21620056|volume=I|first=Andrew|last=Petersen|year=2001|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-727011-0|pages=[https://www.academia.edu/21620056/Gazetteer_5_K-R 239]−244|access-date=19 December 2018|archive-date=28 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210528163548/https://www.academia.edu/21620056/Gazetteer_5_K_R|url-status=live}} 
*{{cite journal |last= Schumacher |first= G. |author-link= Gottlieb Schumacher |title= Population list of the Liwa of Akka |journal= Quarterly Statement - Palestine Exploration Fund |volume= 20 |pages= 169–191 |url= https://archive.org/details/quarterlystateme19pale |year= 1888 }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
{{Wikivoyage}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20191212025524/http://www.nazarethinfo.org/ Nazareth Official City Website]
* [http://virtualreligion.net/iho/nazareth.html Nazareth] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070223110025/http://virtualreligion.net/iho/nazareth.html |date=23 February 2007 }} entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith
* [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=141&letter=N Nazareth] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051207145816/http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=141&letter=N |date=7 December 2005 }} Jewish Encyclopedia
* [http://bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Def.show/RTD/Easton/ID/2676 Nazareth] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041105073557/http://bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Def.show/RTD/Easton/ID/2676 |date=5 November 2004 }} Easton's Bible Dictionary
* [http://www.nazarethvillage.com Nazareth Village, recreation of Nazareth 2000 years ago. The Nazareth Jesus Knew] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061202131156/http://www.nazarethvillage.com/ |date=2 December 2006 }}
* [http://www.veredgo.com/dynamic/cities/about/Nazareth/index.htm/ Nazareth Travel Guide] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401042039/http://www.veredgo.com/dynamic/cities/about/Nazareth/index.htm |date=1 April 2016 }}
* {{Skeptoid|id=4906|number=906|title=Unraveling the Myth of Nazareth.|date=October 17, 2023}}

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[[Category:Nazareth| ]]
[[Category:Ancient Jewish settlements of Galilee]]
[[Category:Arab Christian communities in Israel]]
[[Category:Arab localities in Israel]]
[[Category:Cities in Northern District (Israel)]]
[[Category:Holy cities]]
[[Category:New Testament cities]]