Ceramics from the
Byzantine era have been found here. Several rock cut tombs were found south and south west of the village. They have been dated to the Christian era.
Ottoman era In 1859, the English Consul Rogers stated that the population was 350 souls, with 25
feddans of cultivation. In 1870,
Victor Guérin found the village to have four hundred and fifty inhabitants. Some gardens were surrounded by a cactus. The
medhafeh, or guest house, also served as a mosque. In 1882, the
PEF's
Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described the village as: "A good-sized village on a saddle, built principally of stone, with a well on the south. This seems to be an ancient site, having many well-cut rock-tombs." Umm al-Zinat had an elementary school for boys which was founded by the Ottomans in 1888.
British Mandate era In the
1922 census of Palestine Umm al-Zainat had a population of 787; 782 Muslims and 5 Christians, where the Christians were all
Melkite. This had increased in the
1931 census to 1,020 Muslims and 9 Christians, in a total of 209 houses. In the
1945 statistics, the village had a population of 1,470; 1,450 Muslims and 20 Christians, while 69 dunams were classified as built-up land.
1948, aftermath Umm az-Zinat became depopulated in May 1948. One of the villagers said that "One day before the fall of Umm al-Zaynat, three men from the settlement of
Ein HaEmek entered our village, warning us that the
Haganah forces were preparing to enter our village, where their aim was to intimidate us to flee, and leave the village. Some of them feared and fled, and some of them remained and waited for their fate." The
Golani Brigade took the village on 15 May, 1948, and expelled the remaining villagers. In August 1948 Israeli troops returned, with orders to kill any males and expel any females they found in the village. At least 2 Palestinian men were killed, and a number of females were expelled. In 1949
Eliakim was established, just south of the village site. In 1992 the village site was described: "The houses have been reduced to rubble, piles of which are scattered over the site. The site itself is overgrown with thorns, bushes, cactuses, and pomegranate and fig trees. There is also a small forest on part of the site. The village's cemetery is still visible. Part of the surrounding land is used by Israeli farmers as cattle pasture and is planted with fruit and olive trees." ==References==