Daher al-Umar

Stronghold in the Galilee

Northern and western expansion

Due to Daher's relative justice and fairness, peasants from nearby areas moved to his domains or invited his rule.^[26] The people living under Ahmad al-Husayn, the multazim of the Sahil Akka (plain of Acre) nahiye (subdistrict), appealed for Daher to relieve them of his heavy-handedness and the extortions of the Bedouin. Daher obtained permission from Sidon's governor, Ibrahim Pasha al-Azm, to seize the area and Ahmad also requested permission to attack Daher, to which Ibrahim Pasha consented in the hope of neutralizing two powerful local leaders.^[21] In 1738, Daher led a 1,500-strong force which defeated Ahmad and gained control over his fortress Jiddin and its dependencies, Abu Sinan and Tarshiha.^[21][26] He was then formally granted the iltizam of Sahil Akka.^[21] During the confrontation, Daher encountered a mercenary, Ahmad Agha al-Dinkizli, whom he commissioned to raise and command a private army of Maghrebi troops.^[20]

Daher next moved on Safed, whose multazim, Muhammad al-Naf'i, surrendered the town around 1740.^[26][21] Control of the strategically situated town, with its citadel built on a high hill, gave the Zayadina command over the surrounding countryside.^[21] 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 mukhtar.^[20] 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.^[29] These gains solidified Daher's hold over the northern and eastern Galilee. Sa'd established his fortified headquarters in Deir Hanna, while their cousin Muhammad al-Ali, who was based in Damun, added Shefa-Amr to his holdings, boosting the Zaydani presence in the western Galilee.^[20][i]

Capture of Nazareth and conflict with Nablus

Nazareth, a mostly Christian town, came under Daher's control by the end of 1740, following his capture of Safed.^[31] 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.^[20] Although it administratively belonged to Sidon, 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.^[20][31] Through these connections, he forged good ties with its residents.^[31] They preferred Daher, who had a reputation for religious tolerance, over the chiefs and merchants of Nablus, who they viewed as oppressive or extortionary.^[31]

The dominant clans of Jabal Nablus, especially the Jarrars, challenged Daher's advance, recruiting the Saqr as allies. By then, the Saqr had grown hostile toward Daher, their ostensible junior partner,^[32] for stemming their raids against the peasants in his territories.^[33] Probably sometime after 1738, Daher, leading his kinsmen, Maghrebi mercenaries, and the Nazarenes, routed the Jarrar–Saqr coalition in Marj Ibn Amer, near the village of al-Mansi.^[34][j] Afterward, Daher mobilized the people of his domains to subdue Jabal Nablus. Among them were many Nazarenes, including Christian women who supplied the troops with food and water.^[38] Daher's forces pursued the Jarrars to their throne village of Sanur, but retreated 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.^[20]

Confrontations and respite with Damascus

Daher's rise coincided with that of the Azm family, whose members governed Damascus for over a quarter century starting in 1725.^[39][40] Sulayman Pasha al-Azm (r. 1734–1738, 1741–1743) opposed Daher's buildup of power on the borders of his province and encroachments into Nablus Sanjak.^[41] More alarming to Sulayman Pasha than Daher's activities in Palestine were his incursions east of the Jordan River. In 1737 and 1738, Daher launched raids into the Jawlan (Golan) and Hauran, and attacked Damascus city. The imperial government in Constantinople determined Daher was a threat to the all-important Hajj pilgrim caravan to Mecca,^[42] which was annually marshaled in Damascus and traditionally led by its governor.^[43] With imperial sanction,^[44] Sulayman Pasha launched an abortive attack against Daher in 1738.^[39] The Saqr then captured his brother, Salih, and handed him to Sulayman Pasha, who executed him, embittering Daher.^[32] 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.^[39]

In September 1742, Sulayman Pasha besieged Tiberias for ninety days,^[45] with unprecedented orders from Constantinople to execute Daher.^[46][k] The latter proclaimed his loyalty to the Ottoman sultan, but failed to sway Sulayman Pasha during ensuing negotiations.^[47] Sulayman Pasha resumed the operation after his return to Damascus from the Hajj in July 1743.^[39] He died suddenly in August on the outskirts of Tiberias, and Daher raided his camp.^[48] Sulayman Pasha's successor, his nephew As'ad Pasha al-Azm (r. 1743–1757), did not act against Daher.^[49][l] The following fourteen years were characterized by peace between Daher and Damascus, partly because As'ad Pasha was dissuaded by his uncle's unsuccessful experience and preoccupied with domestic affairs.^[51]

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, including Sultan Osman III's sister. The attack shocked the government, and discredited the governor of Damascus, Husayn Pasha ibn Makki (r. 1757–1757), 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.^[m] Daher denied this 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).^[52]

Control of Acre and Haifa

Daher consolidated control over the port of Acre in a drawn-out process starting in the 1730s.^[39] Joudah views Daher's moves as "inevitable" and motivated by "potential profits", considering he already controlled the agricultural output of Acre's countryside and needed "an outlet to the sea".^[31] Control of Acre would greatly improve his business potential, and peace with Damascus enabled Daher to focus his military resources against the port.^[53][54]

In 1743,^[55] Daher executed his cousin Muhammad to remove him as a rival for influence in Acre.^[39] That year, Daher's request for Acre's iltizam was rejected by Ibrahim Pasha, who was wary of Daher's growing power. Daher took Acre by force,^[49] probably in 1744,^[56] and killed its multazim.^[49] After mobilizing its ulema (Muslim scholars) and qadi (judge) to petition the sultan on his behalf,^[56] in July 1746, Daher was formally appointed the multazim of Acre.^[49] After completing Acre's walls and other public works, Daher made it his headquarters around 1750, relocating there from Deir Hanna.^[49] Afterward, Daher confiscated five nearby villages, 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 waqf (endowment) of Sinan Pasha to which he paid a fixed amount yearly.^[57]

In 1757, Daher expanded his holdings southward, along Palestine's northern coastal plain, taking control of Haifa, Tira, and Tantura, and the adjoining Mount Carmel.^[58][59] Ostensibly, Daher captured the harbor village of Haifa to eliminate the base established there by Maltese pirates.^[59] More likely, he aimed to prevent the governors of Damascus from utilizing Haifa, strategically positioned across the bay from Acre, as a launchpad against him, while also seeking another potential port for his territory.^[49] As'ad Pasha had not acted against Daher's occupation of Haifa, but a new governor, Uthman Pasha al-Kurji (r. 1760–1771), attempted to return it to Damascene authority.^[60][n] 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.^[63] Upon arrival, Daher had the ship confiscated, its soldiers arrested, and its captain fined. The issue over Haifa's annexation was settled in Daher's favor by his imperial associate, Yaqub Agha.^[60][o] Yaqub Agha had a high-ranking official, the kizlar agha (chief eunuch) Sulayman Agha, revoke the imperial order sanctioning Uthman Pasha's attempt to repossess Haifa.^[60]

Family rebellions

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.^[64] 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.^[65]

In 1761, Daher detected a plot by his son Uthman and brother Sa'd, hitherto his chief adviser, to eliminate him. Daher turned Uthman to kill Sa'd, offering him control of Shefa-Amr in exchange.^[66] Although Sa'd was killed, Daher reneged on his offer, prompting Uthman and his brothers Ahmad and Sa'd al-Din to open an abortive siege of Shefa-Amr.^[65] In May 1766, Uthman renewed his rebellion but was again defeated.^[67] Mediation by Isma'il Shihab of Hasbaya culminated in a peace summit reconciling Daher and Uthman.^[68] In September 1767, a conflict between Daher and his son Ali, who controlled Safed, broke out over Ali's attempts to obtain the key fortress of Deir Hanna. The ensuing series of skirmishes drew in Ali's full brother Sa'id, who sought to expand his own territories. The disputes were settled by December 1767, with Daher ceding Deir Hanna for token payment.^[69]

The rebellions by Daher's sons were nearly always backed by the governor of Damascus, Uthman Pasha, in a bid to sustain internal dissent and undermine Daher.^[70] The latter lodged complaints to the imperial government about Uthman Pasha's support for his rebellious sons at least once in 1765.^[71] 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 backing had no practical military value, the support of his nominal superior provided Daher with official legitimacy amid his family's insurrections.^[72]

Alliance with the Metawalis

Daher's takeover of Safed 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'.^[73] Their territory was wedged between the Shihabs in Mount Lebanon and the Zayadina in northern Palestine.^[74] In 1743, Nassar, the sheikh of the Ali al-Saghirs, the strongest Metawali clan, 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 Metawali villagers and sacked villages in Jabal Amil. With Daher's support, the Ali al-Saghirs routed the Shihabs at Marjayoun.^[75] Daher al-Nassar died that year and was succeeded by his brother, Nasif al-Nassar.^[74]

Nasif and the other Metawali sheikhs backed Daher's son Uthman during his rebellion against him in 1766, and then his other son Ali in 1767.^[76] Amid the conflict, Daher captured the fortified Metawali villages of Bassa and Yaroun on the borders of Zaydani territory.^[76] While the contemporary Rukayni and the near contemporary Mikha'il Sabbagh agree that the capture of the two villages sparked the subsequent battles between Daher and Nasif, they diverge on the other details.^[77] After a series of clashes, the two sides fought at the village of Tarbikha on 6 October 1766, with Sabbagh claiming the battle ended in Daher's victory and Rukayni claiming Nasif as the decisive victor.^[77] 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.^[78] This account is considered a local legend by the historian Stefan Winter,^[76] and Philipp deems Rukayni more reliable for these events.^[77]

Despite their conflict, Daher and the Metawalis shared an interest in limiting Sidon's power and keeping the Druze emirs at bay.^[79] Daher's son Uthman secured a treaty between Daher and Nasif,^[80] dated by Rukayni to 24 November 1767.^[77] By its terms, Daher kept control of Bassa and Yaroun,^[73] represented the Metawalis in their fiscal relations with Sidon, and reduced their tax obligations by a quarter. Daher backed the Metawalis in any confrontation with the Druze, in return for the Metawalis' military support.^[77] He effectively became the multazim of Jabal Amil, greatly expanding his territory.^[79] The backing of thousands of Metawali fighters significantly boosted Daher's military potential,^[81] and the Metawalis "remained faithful allies ... to the end", in Philipp's words, participating in fifteen subsequent campaigns against Daher's foes.^[79] Further, the alliance secured Daher's northern borders, allowing him to focus on operations in the south.^[81]

Alliance with Ali Bey and war with Damascus

Bereft of support in Constantinople, Daher appealed to his ally Ali Bey al-Kabir, the increasingly autonomous shaykh al-balad (mamluk strongman) of Egypt, to intervene against Uthman Pasha, their mutual foe.^[88][89][p] Ali Bey aimed to expand his influence to Syria for strategic purposes.^[90] Political conditions favored the two leaders' cause, as the imperial government, bogged down in war with Russia, was ill positioned to confront a joint offensive by Ali Bey and Daher.^[91][92]

Captures of Jaffa and Sidon

See also: Battle of Lake Huleh (1771)

Although Abu al-Dhahab's withdrawal "embarrassed" Daher, he was heartened by Ali Bey's determination to resume the campaign and resend troops, according to Rafeq.^[116] Philipp comments that despite Daher's increased vulnerability, he "was actually able, after the withdrawal of the Egyptians, to expand his realm as never before".^[98] Daher captured Jaffa in August 1771, fortifying and garrisoning it with 2,000 men,^[98] He took over the cotton-producing Bani Sa'b nahiye (centered around Qaqun).^[117] By the end of August, Gaza and Ramla returned to Uthman Pasha's control, but Jaffa remained with Daher.^[118][116]

Later in August, Daher moved to eliminate Uthman Pasha's last significant ally in Palestine, the Jarrars of Jabal Nablus, by pressing his forces' nearly year-long siege of their fort at Sanur.^[118][116] Using the Jarrars' appeal for intervention as a pretext, Uthman Pasha launched a campaign against Daher.^[118][119] Daher and his sons joined with their Metawali allies near Lake Huleh in anticipation of the governor's troops.^[120] In the ensuing battle, on 2 September, Uthman Pasha's army was nearly annihilated in a surprise assault; most drowned in the River Jordan after Daher's forces blocked the other escape routes.^{[121][122][98]} Daher returned to Acre in triumph on 5 September with the spoils of Uthman Pasha's camp.^[123][121]

Daher pressured Darwish Pasha to vacate Sidon on 14 October. Yusuf Shihab, an ally of Uthman Pasha, intervened and had his Druze fighters return Darwish Pasha to the city the next day.^{[123][124][q]} Yusuf Shihab then moved against the Metawalis, who had been encroaching on his territory. With Daher's backing, the Metawalis routed Yusuf Shihab at Nabatieh on 20 October.^[124][126] The Druze contingent guarding Sidon subsequently withdrew.^[124] On 23 October, Daher and the Metawalis occupied the city, while Ali Bey's troops took Gaza and Ramla. The day before, Uthman Pasha and his sons were dismissed from the governorships of Damascus, Sidon and Tripoli.^[126] Uthman Pasha was replaced by Muhammad Pasha al-Azm (r. 1771–1772, 1773–1783) as governor of Damascus, but no governor was appointed to Sidon due to Daher's control of the city.^[127]

Daher's son Ali took over the fortified village of Bayt Jibrin between Ramla and Hebron in November and afterward raided the countryside of Damascus. In a testament to Daher's power by this point, Muhammad Pasha was compelled to request Daher's permission to embark on the Hajj caravan that year. Muhammad Pasha had failed to make the required dawra collections to fund the endeavor since most of Palestine and the Hauran were in the hands of Daher or his allies, including now the Jarrars, who dominated the hill country around Nablus. The Jarrars defected to Daher in protest of Muhammad Pasha's appointment of their enemy, Mustafa Bey Tuqan, to collect the miri on his behalf.^[128] With the Jarrars' backing, Daher attempted to expand his influence to Nablus, the commercial center of Palestine, and its agriculturally-rich hinterland. Toward the end of 1771, he besieged Nablus. The city was defended by the Tuqan and Nimr families, urban rivals of the Jarrars, and their peasant riflemen. After nine days of clashes, Daher withdrew to avoid a costly stalemate. As he departed, his forces raided many of the city's satellite villages, from which its peasant defenders originated.^[129] Although he could not conquer Nablus and its countryside, Daher's domains by the end of 1771 extended from Sidon to Jaffa and included an influential presence in the Hauran.^[130]

Tentative recognition by the Ottomans

The Ottomans shored up their position in Beirut and installed Ahmad Bey al-Jazzar to guard it against Daher in 1772. Yusuf Shihab opposed Jazzar's presence but the authorities rebuffed his request for Jazzar's removal, as Beirut was a key maritime connection with Constantinople and the only port the Ottomans still controlled between Egypt and Tripoli. In response, the Shihabs allied with Daher and the Metawalis, meeting Daher's need for more allies amid the growing threat from Egypt under Abu al-Dhahab.^[130][141] In June, the new governor of Damascus, Mustafa Pasha (r. 1772–1773), opened negotiations with Daher whereupon Daher declared he was no rebel and sought only to defend his people's rights.^[142] The talks broke down when Russian ships commanded by Count Orlov bombarded Beirut on 6 July at Daher's behest, in conjunction with a land expedition sent by Daher under Dinkizli.^[130][142]

On 27 August, Abu al-Dhahab demanded Daher relinquish Gaza, Ramla, Jaffa and Nablus (likely meaning the Nablus countryside controlled by the Jarrars), all territories that Ali Bey had entrusted to Abu al-Dhahab during the 1771 campaign and which he claimed the Ottoman sultan had ratified.^[143] Shifting focus to Egypt, Daher recalled his men from Beirut, but sent his son Ali to assist the Shihabs defeat an Ottoman force in the Beqaa Valley on 30 September.^[144] In early October, the siege of Beirut by the Shihabs and the Russian navy compelled Jazzar to quit the city and take refuge with Daher, who agreed to safeguard him in return for his services.^{[144][130][145]} Days later, Daher commissioned Jazzar to collect taxes from the Jaffa-Jerusalem area, but Jazzar absconded with the transport animals and weapons Daher equipped him with to Damascus.^[146][147]

Unable to rein in Daher, the Ottomans negotiated with him.^{[147][146][148]} As a goodwill gesture, the Damascus authorities returned to him the livestock and munitions Jazzar had seized and formally recognized his son Ahmad's subgovernorship of Jabal Ajlun.^[147] Daher, convinced of an impending military assault by Abu al-Dhahab, who was indeed preparing troops and levying taxes in Egypt for such a campaign, sought peace with the government and welcomed the overtures.^[149][150] Daher dropped his initial demand for appointment as beylerbey (provincial governor) of Sidon, agreed to pay his tax arrears, timely pay his future obligations and Sidon's customary funds for the Hajj caravan, and vowed loyalty to the state.^[151] An agreement was reached in late January 1774, granting Daher a pardon from the sultan, the malikane (life-term tax arm) of Sidon (or more specifically the parts he already directly controlled), and the iltizam of Nablus, Gaza, Ramla, Jaffa and Ajlun.^[152][153] The letter of appointment from Wakil, dated to 9 February, was proclaimed on 17 February in Daher's court in Acre, where he was further awarded the khil'a (robe of honor).^{[152][153][130]}

Wakil's agreement was subject to ratification by the new sultan, Abdul Hamid I (r. 1774–1789), who acceded in January.^{[152][153][130]} In July, the sultan dismissed Wakil from Syria,^[153] and signed a peace treaty with Russia.^[154] The agreements reached between Daher and Wakil after years'-long negotiations had become "totally worthless", in the words of historian Amnon Cohen. Further, the imperial government, freed up from the Russian war, refocused resources on Syria.^[152] Muhammad Pasha, who had been restored as governor of Damascus in October 1773,^[143] advised Daher to pursue a new agreement. Daher's outreach to Grand Vizier Izzet Mehmed Pasha led to the sultan's issue of a hatt-i sharif (sultanic order) in January 1775 pardoning Daher and restating his financial obligations, but neither conferring upon him the desired malikane of Sidon nor the iltizam of the Palestinian districts under Damascene jurisdiction, which he controlled in practice. Formal recognition was restricted to his role as a multazim subordinate to the governor of Sidon.^[154]

Abu al-Dhahab's campaign

Conflict between Daher and his sons resumed in the summer of 1774 as they vied to succeed him.^[155][156] Ali renewed demands for more Galilee villages and defeated Daher in a battle at the village of Rameh on 11 July. Abu al-Dhahab used the internal strife to move against Daher, allying with Ali.^[157] With the imperial government's approval^[158][157] or encouragement, he launched his campaign in Palestine in March 1775.^[156] Gaza surrendered on 1 April, followed immediately by Ramla.^[159] Daher's forces in Jaffa refused to capitulate and the mamluks besieged the town on 3 April, capturing it on 20 May.^[160][159] To intimidate Daher's other towns not to resist his forces, Abu al-Dhahab executed all the men of Jaffa, took captive the women and children, and plundered the town.^[159][156]

News of the Jaffa massacre spurred panic and mass flight by Acre's residents on 23 May. Daher departed the following day for Sidon,^[156][161] "weakened by the desertion of his son 'Ali and sensing the irresistible nature of Muhammad Bey's [Abu al-Dhahab's] coming attack", according to Crecelius.^[162] Acre surrendered to a small mamluk naval force on 30 May,^[162] and Abu al-Dhahab appointed Murad Bey as its governor.^[156][161] The mamluks turned on Ali and captured Safed, while their naval forces captured Sidon and Beirut, prompting Daher to take refuge with the Metawalis in the mountains.^[161]

On 10 June, Abu al-Dhahab became ill suddenly and died, prompting the immediate withdrawal of his mamluk troops to Egypt. Daher reentered Acre two days later and reestablished order.^[163][164] Daher restored control over Jaffa and Gaza as well, but the Ottomans took Sidon.^[165] Although Daher preserved his rule, the mamluk campaign sapped his strength.^[166] Neither his sons nor his allies among the Metawalis and the Druze had responded to his calls for support against Abu al-Dhahab. The near-contemporary historian Volney blamed Daher's chief minister Ibrahim al-Sabbagh's withholding of pay to the Metawali and Druze leaders and aid to Jaffa for the standby posture of his allies.^[167]

Siege of Acre and death

The death of Abu al-Dhahab did not deter the Ottomans from moving against Daher.^[163] On 7 August, a flotilla under the kapudan (admiral) Hasan Pasha al-Jaza'iri arrived outside Haifa, whose garrison of Maghrebi mercenaries immediately surrendered the town.^[168][r] Hasan Pasha's assignment was to collect Daher's tax arrears, with or without eliminating him.^[163] Along with this naval expedition, the Ottomans organized an army led by Muhammad Pasha.^[s] Wary of Daher's capabilities, Muhammad Pasha moved slowly to determine the outcome of Hasan Pasha's campaign.^[171] Daher was ensconced in Acre with Dinkizli's Maghrebi troops when Hasan Pasha's flotilla appeared before the city's walls. Negotiations followed regarding payment.^[168]

There are several accounts about the talks' collapse, all involving sabotage by Daher's chief advisers Sabbagh and Dinkizli and animated by their mutual hostility.^{[163][165][172]} Most early sources hold Daher was prepared to make the required payment but was dissuaded by Sabbagh against the counsel of Dinkizli, who advocated a settlement.^[173][t] In this version, Dinkizli preferred to bribe Hasan Pasha and, according to the Lebanese chronicler Haydar Ahmad al-Shihabi, had secured a pardon for Daher in return for a lesser settlement. Sabbagh argued that Daher lacked funds, which Daher affirmed, and that Hasan Pasha's flotilla could be repulsed. Dinkizli advised Daher to extract the necessary funds from Sabbagh personally, accusing him of having accumulated substantial wealth during the preceding years. When Daher sided with Sabbagh, Dinkizli secretly ordered his mercenaries to hold their fire against Hasan Pasha's ships, citing the inviolabality of the sultan as caliph of Islam.^{[173][174][175]} The other version of events, cited by Sabbagh's grandsons, Mikha'il Sabbagh and Abbud Sabbagh, holds that Daher had agreed to pay but that Dinkizli betrayed Daher in the negotiations, secretly encouraging the admiral to capture Acre and confiscate Daher's and Sabbagh's wealth.^[176]

According to Rafeq and Joudah, Hasan Pasha was "not interested" in the success of the negotiations in any case.^[165][177] He bombarded Acre, and Daher's Maghrebi artillerymen responded with cannon fire, damaging two Ottoman ships. The following day, Hasan Pasha's fleet resumed shelling without receiving any return fire, evidently due to Dinkizli's orders.^[175][178] Realizing his long-time lieutenant's betrayal, Daher fled Acre on 22 August,^[175] escaping through the Bab al-Saraya gate that opened to the city's northern gardens.^[178] As he exited the city, Daher's Maghrebi mercenaries opened fire on him and a bullet struck his neck, knocking him off his horse. A Maghrebi soldier then decapitated him and delivered his head to Hasan Pasha, who took it to Constantinople,^{[175][165][178]} "formal evidence of the elimination of one of the sultan's most tenacious and persistent rebels", according to Crecelius.^[166]

Aftermath

Sabbagh was captured and executed by Hasan Pasha, who confiscated the treasures he and Daher stored in Acre's warehouses and French merchant facilities and the Terra Santa convent. Dinkizli was ostensibly rewarded by Hasan Pasha with the governorship of Gaza, but died or was killed on the way to assuming office.^[179][180] Daher's governor in Jaffa, Muhammad Abu Ghurrah, put up resistance but eventually escaped to the Galilee.^[181] Hasan Pasha transferred control of Acre to Jazzar on 19 September and the Ottomans appointed him governor of Sidon in mid-October. Jazzar governed the province from Acre until his death in 1804.^[182]

With their fortified villages, private armies and a supportive population, Daher's sons remained ensconced in the Galilee and represented the main obstacle to Jazzar's authority.^[183] Daher's son Uthman defected to Jazzar in return for keeping control of Shefa-Amr and a promise to appoint him shaykh al-mashayikh (chief of chiefs) of Safed, but Ali, with the support of his brothers Ahmad, Sa'id and Salih, remained incalcitrant and controlled all the Galilee from Tiberias and Safed in the east to Majd al-Krum and Abu Sinan in the west. After an abortive assault on Jazzar's forces at Amqa, Ali was defeated in a series of battles, culminating in a lengthy siege of Deir Hanna, which fell on 22 July 1776. The village's extensive fortifications were afterward dismantled.^[u] Ali launched a counteroffensive but was assassinated by agents of Muhammad Pasha in November 1776, signaling the end to Zaydani power.^[186][v]

Security

The prerequisite conditions Daher established to foster his sheikhdom's prosperity and its survival were "security and justice", according to Joudah.^[189] Before his consolidation of power, the villages of northern Palestine were vulnerable to Bedouin raids and roads were under constant threat from highwaymen. Peasants were left destitute but still responsible for their tax obligations, causing many to abandon their villages. Agricultural output and the corresponding tax revenues substantially declined, while insecurity on the roads stymied trade.^[189]

By 1746, Daher had established order.^[189] He had coopted the Saqr Bedouins, greatly boosting security in northern Palestine.^[190] Daher entrusted the sheikhs of the villages with guaranteeing the safety of the roads in their respective areas and required them to compensate victims of robbery. General security reached a level whereby "an old woman with gold in her hand could travel from one place to another without fear or danger", according to Mikha'il Sabbagh.^[189] The general period of calm between 1744 and 1765 greatly boosted the security and economy of the Galilee, encouraging immigration from other parts of the empire.^[79] Conflict with local potentates and between Daher and his sons remained limited to periodic clashes, while there were no external attacks against Daher's domains.^[60] The population took comfort in Daher's rule, which Philipp described as "relatively just and reasonably fair".^[26]

Monopolization of cotton trade

European demand for Palestinian cotton skyrocketed in the 18th century^[191] and the cotton trade was linked to all of Daher’s activities: his establishment of law and order secured the flow of cotton to the French merchants of Acre and encouraged the immigration of peasants to its hinterland, which further boosted cultivation; profits from the trade fueled Daher's political and military power, in turn sustaining his commercial success.^[192][w] Already an established trader by the 1720s, Daher first dealt with the French merchants in 1730 and engaged with them throughout the decade.^[197][198] In 1737, he and the French consul of Sidon regulated a standard unit of weight for Galilee cotton.^[197] Nevertheless, the French remained wary of intensive dealing with Daher to avoid alienating the Ottoman establishment. Daher's successful defense of his domains from the governor of Damascus in 1742–1743 was a turning point; afterward, trade relations with the French became systemic.^[199] Around that time, Daher and the French vice consul of Acre, Joseph Blanc, arranged for the latter to pay Daher's tax obligations and supply him with firearms in exchange for purchase rights of Daher's cotton and wheat.^[197] Daher became increasingly wealthy to the chagrin of the consul of Sidon, who complained Daher and the other sheikhs were becoming "too powerful and too rich ... at our expense".^[197]

With his control of Acre solidified by 1750, Daher effectively monopolized the transport and sale of cotton.^[200] The French attempted to organize against this in 1751 by dictating prices well below the rate set by Daher, who responded with a trade ban on the French.^[200][201] A French merchant's letter described Daher's empowered status during the standoff: "He was no longer what he was ten years ago; today, he makes the laws."^[201] That case ended in a compromise, but tensions escalated through the early 1750s.^[202] Daher's attempt to circumvent the French by marketing to English merchants failed since the French maintained unrivaled shipping capacity from the Syrian coast.^[203] At the same time, Daher's control over production and overland transport made him indispensable; in the words of Philipp, Daher was "the sole middleman" and the French "had to deal exclusively with him".^[204] Daher strictly enforced his monopoly, jailing merchants and local brokers for bypassing him.^[205] He extended his monopoly to the cotton-producing region of Bani Sa'b and the valleys of Jabal Nablus; the Muslim merchants of Nablus had traditionally sold the output of these areas to European merchants through the port of Jaffa, but Daher gained control of the trade with his takeover of Jaffa in 1771.^[206]

Daher's price control of the local cash crops prevented "exploitation" of the peasants by European merchants and their "manipulation of the prices", according to Joudah.^[207] Daher aided the peasants cultivate and harvest their farmlands to ensure the steady supply of crops for export. These benefits included loans and free seed distribution.^[189] He reduced their financial burdens, offering tax relief during dry seasons or poor harvests.^[79][208] This same tax relief was extended to newcomers cultivating new farmlands.^[79] Before his monopoly, Daher assumed responsibility for peasants' outstanding debts to merchants.^[189] According to Philipp, Daher "had the good business sense not to exploit peasants to the point of destruction, but kept his financial demands to a more moderate level".^[79] Until 1771,^[209]

Development

Daher's rule radically changed the urban landscape of the Galilee.^[210] He invested his wealth from the cotton trade into developing his domains, especially northern Palestine's key towns, Tiberias, Nazareth, Acre and Haifa, all of which had been small and decaying villages before his rule. Historian Mahmoud Yazbak credits Daher for these towns' revival and socioeconomic rise, which put them on par with Nablus, hitherto Palestine's principal commercial center.^[211] Daher and his family built fortresses, watchtowers, warehouses, and khans (caravanserais).^[210] These buildings improved the domestic administration and security of the Galilee. Today, many are in a state of disrepair and remain outside the scope of Israel's cultural preservation laws.^[210] With the restoration and refortification of Acre and the establishment of the secondary harbor town of Haifa, the Galilee's ties with the Mediterranean world were significantly strengthened.^[210]

Daher governed with religious tolerance and encouraged the immigration of Christians and Jews and their participation in the local economy.^[212] This was at least partly due to their relative ease in dealing with Christian European merchants, the financial support networks many of them maintained in Damascus or Constantinople, and their role in service industries.^[213] Daher's territory became a haven for Melkites (Greek Catholics) and Greek Orthodox from other parts of Ottoman Syria, who migrated there for better trade and employment opportunities.^[214]

Tiberias

Main article: Tiberias § Zaydani period

Before Daher made it his first capital, Tiberias had been described by a Dutch traveler as "little more than a collection of ruins" with a few houses.^[215] Daher built up the fortifications of Tiberias. Part of the walls ran along the shore of the Sea of Galilee and had eighteen towers. They were severely damaged in the 1837 earthquake. Most of the walls have been destroyed or form part of modern structures, while eight of the towers are extant.^[216] In 1740, Daher invited Rabbi Hayyim Abulafia of Smyrna to settle in Tiberias with his congregants, allotting them lands and financial assistance to build their houses and a synagogue and school and exempting them from taxation for three years.^[215][x] Daher believed their connections with the Jewish diaspora would encourage economic development in Tiberias, which the Jews considered particularly holy. His policies fostered the growth of the Jewish community.^[218] Muslims also settled in Tiberias.^[212] Daher built a mosque in the town center, characterized by its use of ablaq (alternating bands), typical of Daher's building works.^[219][220] While there have been restorations, the mosque retains its original plan.^[220]

Nazareth

In Nazareth, Daher built his summer residence,^[221] the Seraya.^[222] It later served as Nazareth's municipal headquarters until 1990.^[223] Daher secured the town with a garrison, deterring Bedouin raids and encouraging its repopulation, especially attracting Christians drawn by Nazareth's religious importance.^[221] The Christian community prospered and grew, receiving an influx of Maronites and Greek Orthodox from Mount Lebanon and Transjordan, respectively.^[214]

By the 1760s, three churches were built for the Roman Catholics, Greek Orthodox and Maronites:^[221] Daher permitted the Franciscans to build churches in 1741 and 1754 on sites Christians associated with the life of Jesus. He allowed the Greek Orthodox to build St. Gabriel's Church over a ruined Crusader church,^[214] and, in 1750, to enlarge St. George's Church.^[224] Commenting on Nazareth's resurgence under Daher, the contemporary traveler Giovanni Mariti wrote

[Daher] had philosophy enough to rise above the prejudices of religion ... His policy rightly foresaw, that the affection which the Christians had for Nazareth would draw thither a great number of them. On this account he received them with open arms; and, for their convenience, enlarged such of the houses as were too small and confined.^[221]

Acre

Daher extensively redeveloped Acre, building its walls, roads and public institutions, including khans, bazaars, mosques, churches, bathhouses and coffeehouses.^[225][226] Although considerable in its extent, Daher's wall was designed to ward off pirates and Bedouin raiders, and could not defend well against the Ottoman military. Under Jazzar, a major reconstruction was undertaken. Part of Daher's contributions are extant, mainly a section of the northeastern wall, and are characterized by small stone blocks.^[227] An inscription dated to 1750 credits Daher as the builder:

By the order of Allah this wall was erected in ʿAkkā [Acre] by a nobleman who generously acted.
The father of the heroes he is, the beloved Ẓāhir.
May Allah reinforce his government forever.^[228]

Among the ruined Crusader and Mamluk structures Daher repurposed or restored were Khan al-Shawarda and its Burj al-Sultan tower and Khan al-Shunah.^[229] The Crusader plan and main structure of Khan al-Shunah were preserved in Daher's 1764 restoration and it remained in use as an inn and market for traders until Haifa overtook Acre as the commercial center of the region in the late 19th century. It thereafter became housing for the poor.^[230] The original structure of the Suq al-Abyad (the White Bazaar), located in the northeastern corner of the walled city, was built by Daher, though most of the present structure dates to an 1815 reconstruction by Acre's governor, Sulayman Pasha.^[231] In 1748, Daher founded the Muallaq Mosque, which had been a synagogue; he compensated its Jewish worshippers with property elsewhere in the city.^[232] The Zaytuna Mosque was built in Acre during his rule at the initiative of Hajj Muhammad al-Sadiq, or the local scholar Muhammad Shadi al-Farid, who financed its construction.^[233][234]

Security and financial incentives encouraged economic renewal and a constant migration of Christians and Muslims to both Acre and the surrounding villages from neighboring areas and more distant lands. Daher's mild disposition, religious tolerance and low taxes and customs all served to attract new arrivals, including many merchants from Sidon seeking to avoid the heavy exactions of its governors. To further stimulate Acre's growth, he invited Greek Orthodox Christians from Cyprus to settle the city.^[226] The Melkite patriarch was based in Acre between 1765 and 1768,^[224] and Christians became the largest religious group in the city by the late 18th century.^[235] They built the city's largest church, St. Andrew's Church, in 1764, while the Maronites built St. Mary's Church for their congregation in 1750. As a testament to the exceptional prosperity Christians enjoyed under Daher, no more churches were built under his less tolerant successors in Acre.^[224] Acre's growing economic importance drew Turkish and Arab merchants from Damascus, joining their French, English and Dutch counterparts.^[236] Acre's population skyrocketed from 300 at the start of the 18th century to 20,000 by the 1760s, making it the third largest city in Syria after Damascus and Aleppo and "the thriving meeting point for east and west in commerce and culture and the vibrant crossroads for international trade", according to Yazbak.^[237]

Haifa

Daher similarly redeveloped Haifa, though on a lesser scale. He ended its long-established smuggling operations and use as a haven for Maltese pirates.^[238][239] Between 1765 and 1769, Daher had the old Haifa demolished and rebuilt at a site 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) to the southeast. While the old village was situated on a plain, the new town, which remained a port along the Haifa Bay, was built on a narrow strip at the northern foot of Mount Carmel to make it easier to defend by land.^[240] He dug wells and built a wall around it with four towers and two gates, a custom's house, a saray (governor's residence) for his deputy, and a small souk to serve the ships docked there.^{[238][239][241]} The walls stood at least until the early 19th century, when David Roberts sketched them. Daher also built a two-story square tower, the Burj al-Salam (Tower of Peace), which remained intact until the 1970s.^[242] The remains of his saray became the site of Haifa's Sail Tower.^[243]

Although Acre was the locus of trade, Haifa was used as a safe winter harbor.^[238][239] With mixed success, Daher attempted to redirect French ships from Tyre and Sidon to Haifa, in order to benefit from the customs fees he could exact.^[244] Many of Haifa's new settlers were Christians.^[245] Compared to Acre, Haifa remained small, with 250 residents in the 1770s,^[245] but its economy thrived as merchants there more easily evaded Daher's monopolies.^[246] Daher also built a congregational mosque in Haifa, the al-Jarina Mosque,^[239] though most of the present building is a later construction.^[247]

Villages

Fortifications and other structures were built in the villages under Daher's control.^[248] According to Andrew Petersen, the "best example of a fortified village in the Galilee" is Deir Hanna, where the Zayadina built a double enclosure wall with towers, a palace complex and mosque.^[249] The Zaydani building works in Deir Hanna were severely damaged during Jazzar's siege.^[250] Considerable parts of the structures remain intact and up to 1960, the town retained the same form of the fortress, with no structures built beyond the lines of the original fortifications.^[251] The 18th-century fortress at Jiddin, built on the foundations of a Crusader castle, similarly features a double enclosure wall with round towers and gun slits.^[252]

Daher's son Ali refortified the Crusader-era citadel of Safed,^[253][254] while Daher or his son Ahmad restored parts of the Crusader fort at Saffuriya.^[255][256] In Shefa-Amr, Daher's uncle Ali and son Uthman built its large fortress with four towers, of which one remains standing, and mosque.^[257][258] In the nearby village of I'billin, Daher's brother Yusuf built fortifications and a mosque.^[259] The I'billin fortress was later used as the headquarters of Aqil Agha, the 19th-century, semi-autonomous Arab sheikh of the Galilee.^[260] South of Shefa-Amr, Daher fortified Harbaj, though both the village and its fort were in ruins by the late 19th century.^[261] At Tabgha on the Sea of Galilee, Daher constructed five fountains, one of which remained in use in the mid-19th century and was the largest of its kind in the Galilee.^[262][y]

Military

Daher's initial forces consisted of 200 Zaydani horsemen under the command of his cousin Muhammad al-Ali and the Bedouin levies of the Saqr. The latter, though highly mobile and inexpensive to recruit, were unruly and given to plunder.^[276] Daher's suppression of the Bedouin caused the Saqr to largely withdraw their military backing.^[277][278] Relations between Daher and the Bedouin vacillated throughout his rule and, in times of need, he could count on at least some tribal support.^[279][278] As their territory grew, the Zayadina drew fighters among the peasants and townspeople of their domains. Those recruited by Daher's sons were fielded in Daher's service or against him in times of rebellion.^[280] By the 1740s, 1,500 such fighters could be mustered,^[281] this number increasing to around 5,000 cavalry by the 1760s.^[282][281] The local horsemen, sometimes referred to in contemporary sources as the Safadiyya ('people of Safed', i.e. the Galilee),^[283] identified with Daher and his family, considering his prosperity and success linked to their own; it is unclear if any were salaried.^[284] Mobilized on an ad-hoc basis when needed, such local fighters were similarly the mainstay of Daher's local counterparts, the sheikhs of Jabal Nablus, the Druze, and the Metawalis.^[278]

Distinguishing Daher's private army from those of his counterparts was the permanent corps of Maghrebi mercenaries he recruited in the late 1730s. Numbering roughly 1,000 infantrymen under the command of Ahmad Agha al-Dinkizli, they constituted at least one-third of Daher's standing army.^[278][284] His standing army surpassed that of Sidon's governor and was on near-equal footing with the army of Damascus. While the forces mobilized by Damascus could significantly outnumber those of Daher, they were disparate and undisciplined and often put to flight by his smaller detachments. ^[278] Daher's formal alliance with the Metawali sheikhs in 1768 augmented his military strength, enabling him to draw on the 5,000–6,000 horsemen at their disposal. The Metawali cavalry were noted for their battlefield prowess, but like Daher's other peasant levies, could only be fielded for short stints.^[285]

Daher and his relatives bolstered their military posture by building or rebuilding the walls and fortresses of Acre and the towns and villages of their domains.^[280] Acre and Haifa were manned by Maghrebis.^{[286][287][165]} The garrisons of the countryside forts were drawn from the inhabitants, referred to in contemporary sources as asker-i Arab.^[288] The key fortresses were equipped with cannons and artillerymen.^[280] By the time of his death, Daher had nearly 100 cannons between Acre, Haifa and Sidon (as compared to the three cannons the governor of Sidon had at his disposal before Daher's occupation).^[289] His soldiers' arsenal included matchlock rifles, pistols and lances. Most of the firearms were imported from Venice or France and, by the early 1770s, the Russian navy.^[208][290] Philipp notes that "strikingly absent" in Daher's military strategy was a naval force, save for the occasional gun-fitted ship raised for specific missions.^[285]