Zefta, Lebanon
village in Nabatieh Governorate, Lebanon
Zefta (Arabic: زفتا, romanized: Zaftā) is a municipality located in Nabatieh District, Southern Lebanon.
History
In the 1596 tax records, it was named as a village in the Ottoman nahiya (subdistrict) of Sagif under the liwa' (district) of Safad, with a population of 17 households and 4 bachelors, all Muslim. The villagers paid a fixed tax-rate of 25 % on agricultural products, such as wheat, barley, fruit trees, goats and beehives, in addition to "occasional revenues" and a press for olive oil or grape syrup; a total of 1,740 akçe.
In 1875, Victor Guérin found here a village with 200 Metuali inhabitants.
Demographics
In 2014 Muslims made up 99.62% of registered voters in Zefta. 97.26% of the voters were Shiite Muslims.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Zefta, Lebanon” as village in Nabatieh Governorate, Lebanon. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as village in Nabatieh Governorate, Lebanon. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q12214403. The first chronological checks are 1596, 1875 and 2014.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Zefta, Lebanon”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Zefta, Lebanon primary sources, Zefta, Lebanon archive and Zefta research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Zefta, Lebanon”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Zefta, Lebanon” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.