TUQAN FAMILY

Prominent Palestinian family from Nablus.

Descended from an ancient Arabian tribe, the Tuqans settled in Nablus during the twelfth century. Through the nineteenth century, they were associated with other Qaysi tribes in rivalry with the local Yemeni federation. By the 1800s they had amassed great wealth, owning an imposing palace as well as a number of villas in Nablus. They shared the post of governor with the Abd al-Hadi family and used their land and tax-farm wealth to build up Nablus's famed soap and olive oil industries. Their political dominance in Nablus lasted through the 1970s as various family members gained posts under the rule of Jordan.

Prominent family members include Hafiz, a late-nineteenth-century banker; Ahmad (1903–1981), a Cambridge University graduate who was prominent in education under the British Mandate and Jordanian rule; Sulayman (1893–1958), mayor of Nablus from 1925 to 1948 and a leader of resistance to Zionism; Fadwa (1917–2003) and Ibrahim (1905–1941), sister and brother who became noted poets; Qadri (1911–1971), an educator and writer who sat in the Jordanian parliament from 1951 to 1955 and became Jordan's foreign minister in 1964; Baha al-Din (1910–1998), a historian and politician in the Jordanian government; and Aliya (1948–1977), daughter of Baha al-Din who became the third wife of Jordan's King Hussein ibn Talal from December 1972 until her death in a helicopter crash in February 1977.

see also abd al-hadi family; hussein ibn talal; nablus; tuqan, fadwa.

Bibliography

Fischbach, Michael R. "Tuqan Family." In Encyclopedia of the Palestinians, edited by Philip Mattar. New York: Facts On File, 2000.

Muslih, Muhammad Y. The Origins of Palestinian Nationalism. New York: Columbia University Press, 1988.

elizabeth thompson
updated by michael r. fischbach