Al-Zayadina
They were best known after one of their sheikhs Zahir al-Umar, who, through his tax farms, economic monopolies, popular support, and military strength ruled a semi-autonomous sheikhdom in northern Palestine and adjacent regions in the 18th century.
Some historians speculate that the clan was originally from the Hejaz (western Arabia), and that they migrated to the Levant during Saladin's conquest of the region in the late 12th century.
[1] During the early Ottoman period (1517–1917), most members of the Zayadina lived in the vicinity of Maarrat al-Numan, a city on the main road between Damascus and Aleppo.
Sabbagh maintains that from their base near Maarrat al-Numan, the Zayadina cultivated lucrative relationships with merchants from Aleppo and Damascus and the sheikh of the clan became wealthy enough to become a target of their Banu Asad protectors.
[2] The Zayadina expanded their iltizam and territory over much of the Galilee during the 1730s, with Sa'd's younger brother, Zahir al-Umar, emerging as the family's preeminent chief.
Their cousin Muhammad, the son of their uncle Ali, continued to dominate the area of Shefa-Amr from his father's headquarters in Damun.
[11] The Zayadina under Zahir and Sa'd withstood sieges against their Tiberias and Deir Hanna headquarters in 1742 and 1743 by the governor of Damascus, Sulayman Pasha al-Azm, who had the support of the imperial government in Constantinople.
[12] Headquartered in Acre from 1750, Zahir installed his sons at strategic fortresses across the Galilee to safeguard his interests there, namely by keeping subordinate village chiefs in check and protecting his domains from Bedouin raids.
[14] Zahir's three eldest sons, Salibi, Uthman, and Ali, all considered themselves their father's successor-in-waiting,[14] and the latter two in particular, were the main drivers of the rebellions for more territorial control.
[15] In 1761, Zahir detected a plot by Sa'd, hitherto his chief adviser and a key figure behind his successes, to topple and replace him, with the support of Uthman.
[16] Backed by his full-brothers Ahmad and Sa'd al-Din, who were also angered by Zahir's refusal to cede them more territory, Uthman besieged Shefa-Amr in 1765.
Before the dispute, Ali had been loyal to Zahir and proven effective in helping him suppress dissent among his other sons and in battles against external enemies.
Ibrahim Sabbagh, Zahir's financial adviser, brokered a settlement, whereby Sa'id was granted control over the villages of Tur'an and Hittin.
Ali gained Salibi's backing, and the two defeated their father, who had since demobilized his troops and was relying on local volunteers from Acre.
They mostly live in the Galilee localities of Nazareth, Bi'ina, Kafr Manda, and, before its depopulation in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, the village of Damun.
[34] The Beverly Hills-based Palestinian American real estate developer Mohamed Hadid, father of models Gigi, Bella and Anwar, claims descent from Zahir al-Umar through his mother's side.
