Lajjun

This article is about the Palestinian village. For the adjacent archaeological site, see Legio.

Not to be confused with the al-Lajjun or el-Lejjun archaeological site in Karak Governorate, Jordan.

Lajjun اللجّون al-Lajjun, el-Lejjun
Lajjun, 1924. Half-buried Roman or Byzantine columns and modern huts (Rockefeller Museum).
A series of historical maps of the area around Lajjun (click the buttons)
Lajjun Location within Mandatory Palestine
Coordinates: 32°34′29″N 35°10′40″E
Palestine grid	167/220
Geopolitical entity	Mandatory Palestine
Subdistrict	Jenin
Date of depopulation	May 30, 1948
Area
• Total	77,242 dunams (77.242 km2; 29.823 sq mi)
Population  (1948)
• Total	1,280
Cause(s) of depopulation	Military assault by Yishuv forces
Current Localities	Kibbutz Megiddo

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Lajjun or Lejjun (Arabic: اللجّون, el-Lejjūn) was a large Palestinian Arab village located 16 kilometers (9.9 mi) northwest of Jenin and 1 kilometer (0.62 mi) south of the remains of the biblical city of Megiddo. The Israeli kibbutz of Megiddo was built 600 metres north-east of the depopulated village on the hill called Dhahrat ed-Dar starting from 1949.

The initial settlement grew next to a Roman legion camp, known simply as "Legio", used by the Legio VI Ferrata, for which it provided services. Named after the camp, Lajjun's history of habitation spanned some 1,800 years, from the 2nd century during the Roman province of Syria Palaestina, to the 20th century. Under Abbasid rule it was the capital of a subdistrict, during Mamluk rule it served as an important station in the postal route, and during Ottoman rule it was the capital of a district that bore its name. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire towards the end of World War I, Lajjun and all of Palestine was placed under the administration of the British Mandate. The village was depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, when it was captured by Israel. Most of its residents subsequently fled and settled in the nearby town of Umm al-Fahm.