Jebel ( hu, Széphely; german: Schebel) is a
commune in
Timiș County,
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...
. It is composed of a single village, Jebel, and also included
Pădureni village until 2004, when it was split off to form a separate commune.
History

Jebel was first mentioned in papal tithes in 1334 under the name ''Zephel''. In 1401, the local nobleman Nicolae Trentul had a fortress here, which had to be demolished later, and in 1425 the fortress was rebuilt in the nearby forest.
At that time it had the right to organize fairs and owned several floating mills on
Timiș River.
In 1479 it was sold to Miklós and Jakab Bánffy.
Turkish traveler
Evliya Çelebi
Derviş Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi ( ota, اوليا چلبى), was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman explorer who travelled through the territory of the Ottoman Empire and neighboring lands over a period of forty ye ...
, who has passed through Asia, Africa and Europe, noted various information related to the journeys he had made, describing it in ten volumes. In 1660, he, together with Ali, the Turk in charge with Timișoara region, visits Jebel and describes the village as being inhabited by Christian Romanians, as all the villages of Banat. The Jebel area, under the Turkish occupation, is represented as having large reserves of grain, livestock, forests and vast stretches of fruit trees.
In 1717, after the conquest of
Banat
Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of ...
by the Austrians, the first census was organized, the village of ''Schebell'' being registered with 200 houses. Under the new administration the locality developed, and in 1761 it also had a post office.
In 1752 the Orthodox church was built, which replaced the old wooden church and around which the village later developed. Not being colonized as intensely as other villages, it was for a long time the largest Romanian and Orthodox commune in Banat, with five parishes. During the
Revolutions of 1848
The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Euro ...
, the Serbs rebel and cause serious damage to the village. As a result, the inhabitants of Jebel rose against the Serbs, joining the hosts of
Lajos Kossuth
Lajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva (, hu, udvardi és kossuthfalvi Kossuth Lajos, sk, Ľudovít Košút, anglicised as Louis Kossuth; 19 September 1802 – 20 March 1894) was a Hungarian nobleman, lawyer, journalist, poli ...
.
In 1863, due to a severe
drought
A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...
, the village suffered from famine. In 1869, it experienced heavy flooding for several days.
On 4 June 1920, Banat was divided into three parts as a result of the
Treaty of Trianon
The Treaty of Trianon (french: Traité de Trianon, hu, Trianoni békeszerződés, it, Trattato del Trianon) was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference and was signed in the Grand Trianon château in Versailles on 4 June 1920. It formal ...
. The largest, eastern part, to which Jebel also belongs, fell to the
Kingdom of Romania
The Kingdom of Romania ( ro, Regatul României) was a constitutional monarchy that existed in Romania from 13 March ( O.S.) / 25 March 1881 with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian ...
. In the context of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, on 19 September 1939, the talks between the Romanian Foreign Minister
Grigore Gafencu and his Yugoslav counterpart
Aleksandar Cincar-Marković
Aleksandar Cincar-Marković ( sr-cyr, Александар Цинцар-Марковић; 20 June 1889 – 1947) was a Serbian politician who was the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
See also
* Yugoslav accession to the ...
on the establishment of a neutral zone in the
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
were held in a carriage at the Jebel train station.
Demographics
Jebel had a population of 3,584 inhabitants at the 2011 census, down 4% from the 2002 census. Most inhabitants are
Romanians
The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym '' Vlachs'') are a Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Romanian culture and ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they live primarily in Romania and Moldova. The 2011 Roman ...
(88.28%), larger minorities being represented by
Roma
Roma or ROMA may refer to:
Places Australia
* Roma, Queensland, a town
** Roma Airport
** Roma Courthouse
** Electoral district of Roma, defunct
** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council
* Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
(4.05%) and
Hungarians
Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Ural ...
(1.14%). For 5.58% of the population, ethnicity is unknown.
By religion, most inhabitants are
Orthodox (76.23%), but there are also minorities of
Pentecostal
Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement s (11.69%),
Baptist
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christianity, Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe ...
s (2.12%) and
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
s (1.79%). For 6.81% of the population, religious affiliation is unknown.
Education
The first school in Jebel was established in 1750.
In 1763 the archpriest Martin Șuboni (1716–1763) donated his own house to function as a school.
The confessional school functioned in his house until 1919, when it passed into the state administration.
The current school in Jebel is named after the archpriest. The building was located in the courtyard of the Orthodox church. The current school was built between 1937–1941.
Healthcare
In Jebel there are two
dispensaries, two
pharmacies and a veterinary office.
A psychiatric hospital has been operating here since 1962.
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jebel, Timis
Communes in Timiș County
Localities in Romanian Banat