Samaritans
ࠔࠌࠓࠉࠌ שומרונים السامريون | |
|---|---|
| Total population | |
| ≈900 (2024) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Israel (Holon) | 460 (2021) |
| Palestine West Bank (Kiryat Luza) | 380 (2021) |
| Languages | |
| Spoken: Modern Hebrew and Palestinian Arabic Liturgy: Samaritan Hebrew and Samaritan Aramaic | |
| Religion | |
| Samaritanism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Jews, Palestinians, and other Semitic-speaking peoples | |
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| Samaritanism |
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Samaritans (/səˈmærɪtənz/; Samaritan Hebrew: ࠔࠠࠌࠝࠓࠩࠉࠌ, romanized: Šā̊merīm; Hebrew: שומרונים, romanized: Šomronim; Arabic: السامريون, romanized: as-Sāmiriyyūn), often preferring to be called Israelite Samaritans, are an ethnoreligious group originating from the Hebrews and Israelites of the ancient Near East. They are indigenous to Samaria, a historical region of ancient Israel and Judah. They are adherents of Samaritanism, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion that developed alongside Judaism.
According to their tradition, the Samaritans' ancestors, the Israelites, settled in Canaan in the 17th century BCE. The Samaritans claim descent from the Israelites who were not subject to the Assyrian captivity.