In 1737 and 1738, Zahir had intensified his raids, incursions, and operations to areas under the jurisdiction of Damascus, prompting the imperial orders to eliminate him and his local allies.

The first siege of Tiberias lasted for nearly three months, with Sulayman Pasha unable to breach the fortifications and forced to withdraw to lead the Hajj caravan to Mecca.

From at least the late 17th century, its members, including Zahir's father, Umar al-Zaydani, had served as multazims (local, limited-term tax farmers) over different subdistricts in the Galilee.

[2] As multazims, they were officially subordinate to the governor of Sidon Eyalet, the province which spanned the Galilee, southern Mount Lebanon and the adjacent Mediterranean coast.

Zahir followed up by leading an assault on the city, with backing from allies among the Twelver Shia Muslim (called 'Metawali') clans of Jabal Amil and the paramount chief of the Mount Lebanon Druze, Mulhim al-Shihabi.

East of the River Jordan, Zahir led a raid that year against Turkmen tribes in the Hauran, plundering their herds and other property.

While his infringements on the jurisdiction of Damascus in the early 1730s had been limited to the province's sanjaks in Palestine (Lajjun and Nablus), the moves of 1737 and 1738 expanded his scope of operations to areas east of the Jordan.

Thus, according to the historian Amnon Cohen, eliminating Zahir had become "a top priority" for the governor, while the imperial government likewise was determined to neutralize him and destroy the fortifications of Tiberias.

While the imperial orders urged Sulayman Pasha to eliminate Zahir and destroy his fortifications, he also had strict instructions not to infringe on Sidon's authority by harming the inhabitants or damaging the local economy, and to conclude the operation before the departure of the Hajj caravan.

[13] A contemporary Jewish source indicates that Sulayman Pasha attempted to launch a surprise assault against Zahir by feigning his mobilization of troops in Palestine as part of the dawra to finance the Hajj caravan.

[14] The Jewish community of Damascus warned the Jews of Tiberias of Sulayman Pasha's actual intention, and they in turn alerted Zahir, who was operating in the Safed area at the time, and elected to remain and support him.

[16] Zahir used the withdrawal as a respite to strengthen his fortifications in Tiberias, as well as the smaller forts of the Banu Zaydan, particularly Shefa-Amr in the western Lower Galilee.

He also had the Tiberian Jews lobby their Damascene coreligionists and their Jewish contacts in Constantinople to establish an additional line of communication with the imperial authorities.

[21] The following fourteen years were characterized by peace between Zahir and Damascus, partly because As'ad Pasha was dissuaded by his uncle's unsuccessful experience and preoccupied with domestic affairs.