[2] In 1596, it was named as a village, Markaba famous as Marj Kaba, in the Ottoman nahiya (subdistrict) of Tibnin under the liwa' (district) of Safad, with a population of fifteen households and one bachelor, 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"; a total of 5,110 akçe.

[5] He further noted: "Here a mosque replaces a more ancient sanctuary, temple, or church, to which belonged several fragments of monolithic columns, and good hewn stones scattered about in the village, or built up in the farm-buildings.

"[6] In 1881, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described it as: "A village, built of stone, containing about 400 Metawileh, situated on top of hill, surrounded by figs, olives, and arable land, with a birket, cisterns and a spring near.

Most of the village's income comes from agriculture and money sent from former residents who have overseas jobs or who work in larger cities in Lebanon.

[citation needed] Public transportation in the area takes students from their homes to school daily; there are some taxis which are operated from Marjayoun.