Iron Age

In the 1920s, Albright suggested that Hizma was identical with the biblical town of (Beth) Azmaveth of the Israelite tribe of Benjamin (see Ezra 2:24; Neh. 7:28, 12:29).^[3][4]

Gibson, after surveying the village in 1981,^[4] questioned this identification, citing the lack of archaeological remains from the necessary time period.^[5] However, another survey conducted two years later by Uri Dinur yielded Iron Age II pottery.^[4]

Dinur and Feig found sherds from Iron Age II, Persian and Hellenistic period. Based on the findings, Finkelstein asserts that Hizma can be positively identified with Azmaveth.^[6]

Roman period

Vessels made of chalkstone (a type of soft limestone) are typical for and unique to Jewish sites from the time between the second half of the first century BCE and the Bar Kokhba revolt (132-135 CE), frequently found in Judea, Transjordan, Galilee and the Golan, with Hizma being one of the few identified quarrying and production sites.^[7][8] Towards the end of the Roman period, there was an industry in Hizma producing fine stoneware from the local limestone.^[9] Products included vases and bowls turned on a lathe, and mugs carved by hand.^[9] Examples of stoneware that may have originated here have been found in many places in the Jerusalem region, mostly dating from the first and second centuries CE.^[9]

A burial cave from the first centuries BCE and CE was found in Hizmeh in 1931. Six ossuaries were present, two of which had inscriptions, which bear the names Hoshea and Mariam in Hebrew and Aramaic using the Jewish script.^[10]

Byzantine period

Ceramics from the Byzantine period have also been found at Hizma.^[11]

Ottoman period

In 1517, the village was incorporated into the Ottoman empire with the rest of Palestine, and in the 1596 tax-records it appeared as Hamza, located in the Nahiye of Jerusalem in the Sanjak of the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem. The population was 28 households, all Muslim according to census records. They paid a tax rate of 33,3% on agricultural products, which included wheat, barley, vineyards and fruit trees, occasional revenues, goats and beehives; a total of 2800 akçe.^{[12][lower-alpha 1]}

In 1838, Edward Robinson found the village had been deserted for two months, as the villagers had "fled across the Jordan" to escape conscription.^[13] He further noted it as a Muslim village, located in the immediate vicinity of Jerusalem.^[14]

In 1863 Victor Guérin found the village to have 200 inhabitants. He further noted that some of the houses, particularly the lower part, seemed to be built from ancient materials, and some cisterns also looked ancient.^[15]

An Ottoman village list of about 1870 showed 51 houses and a population of 150, though the population count included only the men.^[16][17] In 1883, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described Hizma as a "small stone village, standing high on a prominent hill, the slopes of which are covered with olives. It has a well to the west."^[18]

In 1896 the population of Hizma was estimated to be about 192 persons.^[19]

British Mandate

In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Hizma had a population of 515 Muslims,^[20] increasing slightly in the 1931 census to 521 Muslims in 91 inhabited houses.^[21]

In the 1945 statistics the population of Hizma was 750 Muslims,^[22] and the total land area was 10,438 dunams of land according to an official land and population survey.^[23] Of this, 200 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 2,338 for cereals,^[24] while 45 dunams were built-up (urban) land.^[25]

Jordanian period (1948-1967)

In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Hizma came under Jordania rule.

In 1961, the population of Hizme was 1,134.^[26]

Israeli occupation (since 1967)

Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Hizma has been under Israeli occupation. The population in the 1967 census conducted by the Israeli authorities was 1,109, 5 of whom were refugees from the previous war.^[27]

Map of northern Jerusalem, with Hizma on the right

In the 1970-1980s 19% of the village's total area were expropriated by Israel in order to establish three Israeli settlements which are considered illegal by the international community:

• 1544 dunams of land were taken for Pisgat Amir,^[28]
• 385 dunams of land were taken for Neve Ya'akov,^[28]
• 89 dunams of land were taken for Pisgat Ze'ev.^[28][29]

After the 1995 accords, about 9% of the village area was classified as Area B, while the remaining 91% became Area C.^[28]

There is a bypass road connecting the settlements with the neighboring Israeli settlements. There is also a buffer zone of 75 meters along the roads on each side. Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank are prohibited from using these roads, only Israelis and foreign nationals can use them, the status purpose being security concerns.^[28]