Stronghold in the Galilee Capture of Tiberias Around 1730, the governor of Sidon and the rural sheikhs of
Jabal Nablus (e.g.
Samaria) collaborated in a military campaign to suppress the Saqr Bedouins. The tribe had long dominated the area between
Nablus and Safed, rendering the highways unsafe for travel and commerce, while often plundering villages and ignoring tax obligations. Under pressure, the Saqr resolved to appoint a local dignitary to negotiate on their behalf with the government. Their leader, Rashid al-Jabr, nominated Daher for the role, hoping his tribe could benefit from the Zayadina's good reputation with the authorities and the local inhabitants. The Zayadina's chief at the time, Sa'd, was bypassed in favor of the younger Daher, a signal that the Saqr did not intend to subordinate themselves to the Zayadina's will. The historian
Thomas Philipp comments the Bedouins "probably hoped to use Ẓāhir for their own purposes" but "did not anticipate how quickly Ẓāhir al-ʿUmar would use them for his own ambitions". Not long after allying with the Saqr, Daher initiated his takeover of Tiberias with the Bedouins' support. Daher captured the town's (subdistrict governor and tax collector) and sent him to the governor of Sidon with a letter accusing the of oppressing and illegally taxing the population, thereby engendering the inhabitants' ire toward the government. Daher requested the of Tiberias and Arraba, promising to timely forward taxes and rule justly. The governor of Sidon consented, marking the first time a Zaydani was directly appointed by a provincial governor rather than through the Shihabi . Daher made Tiberias his principal base and was joined there by his Zaydani kinsmen. He appointed his cousin Muhammad, the son of Ali, as commander of the family militia. Daher spent the 1730s fortifying Tiberias and expanding his territory.
Northern and western expansion , in the northwestern Galilee Due to the relative justice and fairness of his rule, peasants from nearby areas moved to Daher's domains or invited him to rule over them. The people living under the rule of Ahmad al-Husayn, the of the
Jiddin district, in the northwestern Galilee, appealed for Daher to relieve them of Ahmad's heavy-handedness, as well as the extortions of the Bedouins. Daher accepted their proposition and obtained permission from Sidon's governor,
Ibrahim Pasha al-Azm, to seize the area. Ahmad had also requested permission to attack Daher, to which Ibrahim Pasha consented in the hope of neutralizing two powerful local leaders. In 1738, Daher assembled a 1,500-strong force and defeated Ahmad's forces near the
Jiddin fortress, occupying it and the adjacent areas under its control, namely
Abu Sinan, to the west, and
Tarshiha, to the east. He was then formally granted the of Jiddin. During the confrontation, Daher encountered a mercenary, Ahmad Agha al-Dinkizli, whom he commissioned to raise and command a private army of
Maghrebi troops. Daher next moved on Safed, whose , Muhammad al-Naf'i, surrendered the town around 1740, after prolonged negotiations and military pressure. Control of the strategically situated town, with its citadel built on a high hill, gave the Zayadina command over the surrounding countryside. Afterward, the fortified village of Bi'ina, which had withstood a siege by Daher in 1739, was added to his domains through an agreement sealed by Daher's marriage to the daughter of the village (headman). He also acquired the fortress of
Suhmata through diplomacy, followed by the nearby fortified village of
Deir al-Qassi, after marrying the daughter of its sheikh, Abd al-Khaliq Salih. All the above gains solidified his hold over the northern and eastern Galilee. Elsewhere, Sa'd had taken control of
Deir Hanna, establishing his headquarters there, while their cousin Muhammad, who was already the of Damun, added
Shefa-Amr to his holdings, increasing the Zayadina's presence in the western Galilee.
Capture of Nazareth and conflict with Nablus During the 1740s, Daher extended his control to the northern part of the
Marj Ibn Amer (Jezreel Valley), making it a frontier of conflict with the local strongmen of the
Jenin and Nablus areas. Nazareth, a mostly Christian town, came under Daher's control by the end of 1740, following his capture of Safed. Philipp contends the extension of Daher's rule southward toward Nazareth and the neighboring Marj Ibn Amer, the wide plain between the Galilee and Jabal Nablus through which the Damascus–Nablus trade routes passed, was a drawn-out process and the precise dating of the associated events is unclear. Although it administratively belonged to the Sidon Eyalet, Nazareth was controlled by the rural chiefs of
Nablus Sanjak, a district of the
Damascus Eyalet. The town was the residence of Daher's first, Damascene wife and the hometown of his second wife. Through these connections, he forged good ties with its residents. They preferred Daher, who had a reputation for religious tolerance, over the chiefs and merchants of Nablus, who they viewed as oppressive or extortionary. , 1839 The dominant clans of Jabal Nablus, especially the
Jarrar family, challenged Daher's advance, recruiting the Saqr as allies. By then, the Saqr had become hostile toward Daher, their ostensible junior partner, for stemming their raids against the peasants in his territories. Probably sometime after 1738, Daher, backed by his kinsmen, Maghrebi mercenaries, and the residents of Nazareth, routed the Jarrar–Saqr coalition at the Marj Ibn Amer village of al-Rawda, near
al-Mansi. Following his victory, Daher called for reinforcements from the people of his domains to subdue Jabal Nablus. Among them were many residents of Nazareth, including Christian women who supplied the troops with food and water. Daher's forces pursued the Jarrars to their
throne village of
Sanur, but withdrew after failing to capture its fortress. The defeat marked the limit of Daher's influence south of Marj Ibn Amer and confirmed the Jarrars as the dominant force of Jabal Nablus over their rivals, the
Tuqans. While the Jarrars and Daher eventually concluded a truce, the former continued to mobilize the clans of Jabal Nablus to prevent Daher's southward expansion.
Confrontations and respite with Damascus , built by Daher's son
Salibi Daher's rise coincided with that of the
Azm family, whose members governed Damascus Eyalet for over a quarter century, beginning with
Isma'il Pasha al-Azm in 1725. The Azms often attempted to expand their control to the provinces of
Tripoli and Sidon. Isma'il Pasha's brother,
Sulayman Pasha al-Azm, became governor of Sidon in 1733, before taking up office in Damascus the following year. He opposed Daher's buildup of power on the borders of his province and encroachments into the Nablus Sanjak. More alarming to the governor than Daher's activities in Palestine were his incursions east of the
Jordan River. In 1737 and 1738, he had launched raids into the
Golan Heights and the
Hauran plain, and attacked Damascus city. For threatening Damascus, the imperial government determined Daher was a threat to the all-important
Hajj pilgrim caravan to
Mecca, which was annually marshaled in Damascus and
traditionally led by its governor. With Constantinople's sanction, Sulayman Pasha launched an abortive attack against Daher in 1738. The Banu Saqr then captured his brother, Salih, and handed him over to Sulayman Pasha, who executed him, further embittering Daher toward the Saqr. Sulayman Pasha renewed his efforts to suppress the Zayadina in 1741, enlisting his nephew, Ibrahim Pasha of Sidon, who was defeated by Daher near
Acre. In September 1742, Sulayman Pasha
besieged Tiberias for ninety days, with unprecedented orders from Constantinople to execute Daher. The latter proclaimed his loyalty to the
Ottoman sultan, but failed to sway Sulayman Pasha during ensuing negotiations. When Sulayman Pasha lifted the siege to lead the Hajj caravan, Daher marshaled French mercantile partners in Acre and Jewish allies in Tiberias to lobby the authorities in Constantinople. His efforts to sway the government failed and Sulayman Pasha resumed the operation after his return to Damascus in July 1743. He died suddenly in August on the outskirts of Tiberias, and Daher used the opportunity to assault his camp and capture its weapons and goods. Sulayman Pasha's successor, his nephew
As'ad Pasha al-Azm, relented from further action against Daher. The following fourteen years were characterized by peace between Daher and Damascus, partly because As'ad Pasha was dissuaded by his brother's unsuccessful experience and preoccupied with domestic affairs. In late 1757, the
Banu Sakhr and Sardiyya tribes launched an
assault on the Hajj caravan on its return to Syria. Thousands of Muslim pilgrims were killed in the raid, including Sultan
Osman III's sister. The attack shocked the government, and discredited the governor of Damascus,
Husayn Pasha ibn Makki, for failing to ward off the Bedouin. Husayn Pasha had replaced As'ad Pasha, and among his priorities were subduing Daher. He lodged a complaint to the imperial government alleging Daher's involvement in the raid. Daher denied the allegation and pressed for an investigation into the assault. To earn the government's favor, he purchased the looted goods of the caravan from the Bedouin, including the decorated banners representing the Islamic prophet
Muhammad and the sovereignty of the sultan, and restored them to Sultan
Mustafa III (Osman III had died on 30 October). Husayn Pasha was replaced by
Uthman Pasha al-Kurji in 1760.
Control of Acre and Haifa , 1839. Daher consolidated his authority over the port of Acre in a drawn-out process starting in the 1730s. Joudah views Daher's moves as "inevitable", considering he already controlled Acre's fertile countryside and needed "an outlet to the sea" and was motivated by "potential profits". Daher had commercial dealings with the French merchants of the city through his Acre-based partner, the
Melkite merchant Yusuf al-Qassis. His first contact with the merchants came in 1731 when he arranged the settlement of debts owed to them by his brother Sa'd. Control of Acre would greatly improve his business potential, and the peace with Damascus under As'ad Pasha enabled Daher to focus his military resources against the city. In 1743, Daher had his cousin Muhammad arrested and executed to remove him as a rival for influence in Acre. That year, Daher had requested the of Acre from Ibrahim Pasha, who, wary of Daher's growing power in the province, rejected the request. Daher took Acre by force, probably in 1744, and killed its . After mobilizing its
ulema (Muslim scholars) and
qadi (Islamic head judge) to petition the sultan on his behalf, in July 1746, Daher was formally appointed the of Acre. In the first few years following his takeover of Acre, Daher resided in Deir Hanna. He began fortifying Acre by building a wall around it in 1750. He built other fortifications and public buildings in Acre and promoted immigration to the city, which became his new headquarters. Afterward, Daher confiscated five villages in Sahil Akka (the coastal plain of Acre),
Julis,
Mazra'a,
Makr,
Judayda, and
Sumayriyya, as
personal estates, which he also developed. He installed water mills on the
Na'aman River south of Acre and the
Ga'aton River north of the city, both part of the 16th-century (endowment) of
Sinan Pasha to which he paid a fixed amount yearly. In 1757, Daher had expanded his holdings southward, along Palestine's northern coastal plain, taking control of the villages of
Haifa,
Tira, and
Tantura, and the adjoining
Mount Carmel. Ostensibly, Daher captured the harbor village of Haifa to eliminate the base established there by
Maltese pirates, but he probably aimed to prevent the governors of Damascus from utilizing the port village, strategically positioned across the
bay from Acre, as a launchpad against him, while also seeking another potential port for his domains. While As'ad Pasha had not acted against Daher's occupation of Haifa, Uthman Pasha sought to return the port to Damascene authority. Acting on Uthman Pasha's request, the governor of Sidon, Nu'man Pasha, dispatched 30 Maghrebi mercenaries on a vessel captained by a Frenchman to capture Haifa in May 1761. Upon arrival, Daher had the ship confiscated, its soldiers arrested, and its captain fined. The issue over Haifa's annexation was smoothed over with the assistance of Yaqub Agha, a Constantinople-based official with friendly ties to Daher. Yaqub Agha had a high-ranking official, the (chief
eunuch) Sulayman Agha, revoke the imperial order sanctioning Uthman Pasha's attempt to capture the Haifa coast.
Family rebellions under Daher in the Galilee and surrounding areas. Daher's seats are indicated in red, while the seats of other Zaydani sheikhs are in orange To safeguard his interests in the Galilee, particularly after establishing headquarters in Acre, Daher installed his sons at strategic fortresses across the region. In the 1760s, many of his sons increasingly struggled against him and each other to expand their holdings in anticipation of their aging father's death. Besides support from elements of the Zayadina, Daher's sons maintained separate power bases, largely derived from their mothers' families, and formed alliances with other local powers. In 1761, Daher had Uthman assassinate Sa'd, hitherto his chief adviser and a key figure behind his successes, in exchange for control of Shefa-Amr. Daher reneged after Sa'd's killing, prompting Uthman and his full-brothers Ahmad and Sa'd al-Din to besiege Shefa-Amr in 1765, but they were repulsed. In May 1766, Uthman renewed his rebellion against Daher but was again defeated. Mediation by Isma'il Shihab of
Hasbaya culminated in a peace summit near
Tyre where Daher and Uthman reconciled and Uthman was given control of Nazareth. In September 1767, a conflict between Daher and his son Ali, who controlled Safed, broke out over the former's refusal to cede the strategic fortress villages of Deir Hanna and Deir al-Qassi. Before the dispute, Ali had been a key supporter of his father, helping suppress dissent among his brothers and quashing external threats. Daher's forces marched on Safed later that month, pressuring Ali to surrender. Daher pardoned Ali, but gave him Deir al-Qassi. The intra-family conflict resumed weeks later, with Ali and his full brother Sa'id poised against Daher and Uthman.
Ibrahim Sabbagh, Daher's financial adviser, brokered a settlement giving Sa'id control of the villages of
Tur'an and
Hittin. Ali held out and took over Deir Hanna, which Daher previously denied him. Joined by Daher's eldest son,
Salibi, who controlled Tiberias, Ali defeated Daher, who had demobilized his troops and was relying on local volunteers from Acre. Daher remobilized his Maghrebi mercenaries and defeated Ali, prompting him to flee Deir Hanna in October. Nevertheless, he pardoned Ali for a fine and ceded him the fortress village. By December 1767, Daher's intra-family disputes had subsided. The rebellions by Daher's sons were nearly always backed by the governor of Damascus, Uthman Pasha, in a bid to sustain the internal dissent and weaken Daher. The latter lodged complaints to the imperial government about Uthman Pasha's support for his rebellious sons at least once in 1765. Daher received the support of the governor of Sidon,
Muhammad Pasha al-Azm, an opponent of Uthman Pasha who sought to restore the Azms to office in Damascus. While Sidon's support had no practical military value, the support of his nominal superior provided Daher with official legitimacy amid his family's insurrections. While Daher was victorious in the many conflicts he had with his sons, their frequent dissent weakened his rule.
Alliance with the Metawalis of Jabal Amil Daher's takeover of the Safed region and the western Galilee removed the barriers between him and the
Twelver Shia Muslim clans of
Jabal Amil, the predominantly Twelver Shia hill country east of Tyre and Sidon, who were referred to in the sources as the 'Metawalis'. Their territory was wedged between the Shihabs in Mount Lebanon and the Zayadina in northern Palestine. In 1743, Nassar, the chief of the Ali al-Saghirs, the dominant Metawali clan in the
Bilad Bishara , assisted government forces in their campaign against Daher. Around 1750, Nassar's successor, his son Daher al-Nassar, called for Daher's backing against the Shihabs, who had earlier killed hundreds of Shia Muslim villagers and sacked the of Jabal Amil in a campaign against the Metawalis. With Daher's support, the Ali al-Saghirs routed the Shihabs at
Marjayoun. Daher al-Nassar died that year and was succeeded by his brother,
Nasif al-Nassar, who soon emerged as the most powerful chief of the Metawalis. Nasif and the other Metawali chiefs backed Daher's son Uthman during his rebellion against him in 1766, and then his other son Ali in 1767. Amid the conflict, Daher captured the fortified Metawali-held villages of
Bassa and
Yaroun on the borders of Zaydani territory. While the contemporary al-Rukayni and the near contemporary Mikha'il Sabbagh agree that the capture of the two villages were the cause of the subsequent battles between Daher and Nasif, they diverge on the other details. After a series of clashes, the two sides fought at the village of
Tarbikha on 6 October 1766. While Sabbagh claims it ended in a victory for Daher, al-Rukayni held Nasif was the decisive victor. Thereafter, Daher's Maghrebi mercenaries supposedly employed a ruse by capturing two of Nasif's yong sons from Nasif's headquarters, the
Tebnine castle, compelling Nasif to negotiate terms. This account is considered a local legend by the historian
Stefan Winter, and Philipp deems Rukayni more reliable for these events. Despite their conflict, Daher and the Metawalis shared an interest in limiting the power of Sidon and keeping the Druze forces of Mount Lebanon at bay. Daher's son Uthman mediated an end to the conflict and secured a treaty between Daher and Nasif. Rukayni dates the treaty ceremony to 24 November 1767. According to its terms, Daher would keep control of Bassa and Yaroun, he would represent the Metawalis in their fiscal and other relations with the governor of Sidon, and he reduced their tax obligations to Sidon by a quarter. He promised his backing for the Metawalis in any confrontation with the Shihabs and the Druze, in return for the Metawalis' military support. In effect, though without official recognition, Daher became the of Jabal Amil, greatly expanding his territory. The backing of some 10,000 Metawali fighters significantly boosted his military potential, and the Metawalis "remained faithful allies ... to the end", in the words of Philipp, participating in fifteen subsequent campaigns against Daher's foes. The alliance secured Daher's northern borders, allowing him to focus on operations in the south. ==Zenith==