Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

Nahariya Nahariya () is the northernmost coastal city in Israel. As of , the city had a population of . The city was founded in 1935 by Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany. Etymology Nahariya takes its name from the stream of Ga'aton River, Ga'aton (riv ...

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Bordeaux Pilgrim mentions it in 333-334 CE still as a road station; Jewish sources of the Byzantine period call it ''Kheziv'' and ''Gesiv''. There is no information about settlement at the site for the early Muslim period. The Crusaders built a new village with a castle there. During the Mamluk and Ottoman periods a modest village occupied the old tell (archaeological mound). In modern times the site was known as the Palestinian town of Az-Zeeb, with a population of almost 2,000. It was depopulated during the

Haganah Haganah ( , ) was the main Zionist political violence, Zionist paramilitary organization that operated for the Yishuv in the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine. It was founded in 1920 to defend the Yishuv's presence in the reg ...

's

Operation Ben-Ami Operation Ben-Ami () was one of the last operations launched by the Haganah before the end of the British Mandate. The first phase of this operation was the capture of Acre. A week later four villages east and north of Acre were captured. The Ca ...

, on May 14, 1948, the last day of the British Mandate for Palestine. The sole permanent resident of Achziv since declaration of the State was Eli Avivi (1930–2018), an Israeli photographer and micronationalist who hosted visitors to the legally disputed

micronation A micronation is a polity, political entity whose representatives claim that they belong to an independent nation or sovereign state, but which lacks legal recognition by any sovereign state. Micronations are classified separately from list o ...

of "

Akhzivland Akhzivland () is a micronation between the Israeli town of Nahariya and the Lebanon, Lebanese border on the Mediterranean coast of northern Israel, founded by Eli Avivi in 1971. The micronation is promoted by the Ministry of Tourism (Israel), I ...

", a small stretch of beach where he lived since 1975 until his death.

Etymology

Mentioned in the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

by its ancient name ''Achzib'', evidence of human settlement at the site dates back to the 18th century BCE. During the Roman period (and in classical literature) the imperial authorities called it ''Ecdippa'', ''Ecdeppa'', or ''Ecdippon''. By the

early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...

, the

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

name for the village "Az-Zeeb", or "al-Zib" ( meaning 'trickster') was locally in common usage. Az-Zeeb is a shortened form of the site's original ancient Canaanite/ Phoenician name, ''Achzib''.

History

Human settlement at the site dates to as early as the 18th century BCE; and by the 10th century BCE it was a walled town.Khalidi, 1992, p.35. A tell excavated between 1941–44 and 1959-1964 found evidence of settlement from the Middle Bronze Age II, through the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

and the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...

.Lipinski, 2004, pp
302
3 Achziv was the first fortified settlement found at the site by archaeologists.

Middle Bronze Age

Middle Bronze Age IIA

In the Middle Bronze IIA (MBIIA), remains are found at Phase N5 with features including child burials in storage jars below floors.

Middle Bronze Age IIA-B

At the transition from MBIIA to MBIIB, the settlement was subject to a violent destruction.Tell Achziv - Preliminary Report 2017

Middle Bronze Age IIB

In the Middle Bronze IIB (MBIIB), Phase N4 was part of a large Canaanite port city. The massive ramparts, some high, protected the city proper and a large area of port facilities. To the north and south the city extended to the two nearby rivers, which the Canaanite engineers connected by a fosse, thus transforming Achzib into an island. A substantial destruction level from the beginning of the Late Bronze Age proves that even these fortifications were eventually not sufficient. A fierce conflagration ended Phase N4 and led to the transition to the MBIIC/LBI in Phase N3.

Iron Age

Iron II

By the 1000 BCE, Achziv was a prosperous and fortified

Phoenicia Phoenicians were an Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syria, Syrian ...

n town. Conquered by the

Assyrian empire Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, an indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire ** Post-im ...

in the 8th century BCE, however, it was subsequently ruled by the

Persians Persians ( ), or the Persian people (), are an Iranian ethnic group from West Asia that came from an earlier group called the Proto-Iranians, which likely split from the Indo-Iranians in 1800 BCE from either Afghanistan or Central Asia. They ...

during the rule of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

. Positioned on a passage between the plain of

Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

and the city of Tyre, Achzib was an important road station. Between the 10th and 6th centuries BCE, it was a prosperous town, with public buildings and tombs with Phoenician

inscription Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

s, attesting to the identity of its inhabitants at the time. Conquered by the

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...

ns in 701 BCE and listed in ''

Sennacherib's Annals Sennacherib's Annals are the annals of Sennacherib, emperor of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. They are found inscribed on several artifacts, and the final versions were found in three clay prisms inscribed with the same text: the Taylor Prism is in the ...

'' as ''Ak-zi-bi'', the continuation of Phoenician settlement through this period and during the decline endured during the

Persian period The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian peoples, Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, i ...

, is evidenced in 5th and 4th century BCE Phoenician inscriptions that were found at the site. Prior to the Assyrian invasion of Achziv under

Sennacherib Sennacherib ( or , meaning "Sin (mythology), Sîn has replaced the brothers") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 705BC until his assassination in 681BC. The second king of the Sargonid dynasty, Sennacherib is one of the most famous A ...

, in the late 8th-century BCE, Achziv and

Akko Acre ( ), known in Hebrew as Akko (, ) and in Arabic as Akka (, ), is a city in the coastal plain region of the Northern District of Israel. The city occupies a strategic location, sitting in a natural harbour at the extremity of Haifa Bay on ...

belonged to the king of

Sidon Sidon ( ) or better known as Saida ( ; ) is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast in the South Governorate, Lebanon, South Governorate, of which it is the capital. Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre, t ...

, and were considered Hittite territory.

Biblical tradition

Achzib is mentioned in the

Book of Joshua The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament, and is the first book of the Deuteronomistic history, the story of Israel from the conquest of Canaan to the Babylonian captivity, Babylonian exile. It tells of the ...

(19:29) and

Book of Judges The Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. In the narrative of the Hebrew Bible, it covers the time between the conquest described in the Book of Joshua and the establishment of a kingdom in the ...

(1:31) as a town assigned to the tribe of

Asher Asher ( ''’Āšēr''), in the Book of Genesis, was the younger of the two sons of Jacob and Zilpah, and Jacob's eighth son overall. He was the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Asher. Name The text of the Torah states that the name אָ� ...

in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' ::And the fifth lot came out for the tribe of the children of Asher ... and the outgoings thereof are at the sea from the coast to Achzib. () ::Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, ... or of Achzib ... () According to

Biblical history The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

,

King David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Damas ...

added the city into his Kingdom, but

King Solomon King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by f ...

returned it to

Hiram I Hiram I ( Phoenician: 𐤇𐤓𐤌 ''Ḥirōm'' "my brother is exalted"; Hebrew: חירם ''Ḥīrām''; also called ''Hirom'' or ''Huram'')archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

evidence indicates that it remained Phoenician.

Classic era

Hellenistic period

During the reign of the Seleucids the border was established at Rosh HaNikra, just north to Achziv, making it a border city which they called ''Ekdippa'' (Έκδιππα in

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

) and put it under the control of

Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

. Mentioned in the writings of Pseudo-Scylax, the site likely regained some importance in

Hellenistic In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...

times.

Roman and Byzantine periods

A maritime city named Cziv, north of Acre, is mentioned by

Josephus Flavius Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing '' The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of pr ...

and later by

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (30 May AD 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilius, was a historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian polemicist from the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. In about AD 314 he became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima. ...

. Achziv (Cheziv) is mentioned in Jewish rabbinic writings, for example Midrash

Vayikra Rabba Leviticus Rabbah, Vayikrah Rabbah, or Wayiqra Rabbah is a homiletic midrash to the Biblical book of Leviticus (''Vayikrah'' in Hebrew). It is referred to by Nathan ben Jehiel (c. 1035–1106) in his ''Arukh'' as well as by Rashi (1040–1105 ...

37:4. Additionally, Achziv is mentioned in the Babylonian Talmud, and by the relating Middle Age commentators, concerning the location of Achziv in regards to historical borders of Israel. At the end of the Roman era, a pottery workshop was located there.

Middle Ages

By the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...

,

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

geographers were referring to the area as "az-Zeeb".

Crusader period

With the arrival of the

Crusader Crusader or Crusaders may refer to: Military * Crusader, a participant in one of the Crusades * Convair NB-36H Crusader, an experimental nuclear-powered bomber * Crusader tank, a British cruiser tank of World War II * Crusaders (guerrilla), a C ...

s and after the fall of

Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

in 1104, "Casal Imbertia" or "Lambertie" was established there. During the Crusader era, it expanded and became the main centre of a large estate with the same name, Casal Imbert. Lefiegre, Le Quiebre and La Gabassie were all part of this estate.Frankel, 1988, p. 264 The site was commonly known as "''Casale Umberti''," or Casal Humberti (after Hubert of Pacy who held the casale), and it is documented in 1108. Az-Zeeb (meaning "trickster"), is first mentioned in Crusader sources in 1123 as a village belonging to Hubert of Pacy. In 1146, the Crusaders established a settlement there protected by a castle and named "Casale Huberti"Crusader: ''Casel Imbert, casale Huberti de Paci, Casale Lamberti, Castellum Ziph, Qasale Imbert/Siph''; Hebr. ''Akhziv''; in Pringle, 1997, p.
110
/ref>Pringle, 1998, pp
384
385 and sometimes still as "Casal Humberti". Under Baldwin III, European farmers settled there sometime before 1153.Strehlke, 1869, pp
1
2, No. 1; cited in Röhricht, 1893, RRH, p
71
No. 281; cited in Pringle, 1998, p
384
/ref> Arab geographer

Ibn Jubayr Ibn Jubayr (1 September 1145 – 29 November 1217; ), also written Ibn Jubair, Ibn Jobair, and Ibn Djubayr, was an Arab geographer, traveller and poet from al-Andalus. His travel chronicle describes the pilgrimage he made to Mecca from 1183 to 11 ...

toured

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

in 1182 and mentioned az-Zeeb as a large fortress with a village and adjoining lands between Acre and Tyre.Ibn Jubayr and al-Hamawi quoted in Le Strange, 1890
p.555
In 1198, King Aimery gave a large part of the income from Az-Zeeb to the

Teutonic Order The Teutonic Order is a religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious institution founded as a military order (religious society), military society in Acre, Israel, Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Sa ...

.Strehlke, 1869, pp
27
8, No. 34; No 122; No. 128; cited in Pringle, 1998, p
384
/ref> In 1226, Arab geographer

Yaqut al-Hamawi Yāqūt Shihāb al-Dīn ibn-ʿAbdullāh al-Rūmī al-Ḥamawī (1179–1229) () was a Muslim scholar of Byzantine ancestry active during the late Abbasid period (12th–13th centuries). He is known for his , an influential work on geography con ...

described az-Zeeb as a large village on the coast whose name was also pronounced "az-Zaib". In 1232 it was the site of the

Battle of Casal Imbert A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...

between German and French Crusaders as part of the

War of the Lombards The War of the Lombards (1228–1243) was a civil war in the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Kingdom of Cyprus between the "Lombards" (also called the imperialists), the representatives of the Emperor Frederick II, largely from Lombardy, and the ...

. In 1253

King Henry King Henry may refer to: * Rulers named Henry; see * King Henry (producer) (born 1989), American record producer and DJ See also * Henry King (disambiguation) {{disambiguation, tndis ...

gave the whole estate of Casal Imbert to John of Ibelin.Strehlke, 1869, pp
84
5, No. 105; cited in Röhricht, 1893, RRH, p
318
No. 1208; cited in Pringle, 1998, p
384
/ref> Shortly after, in 1256, John of Ibelin leased Az-Zeeb and all its dependant villages to the Teutonic Order for 10 years.Röhricht, 1893, RRH, p
328
No. 1250; cited in Pringle, 1998, p
384
5 In 1261, the whole estate was sold to the Teutonic Order, in return for an annual sum for as long as

Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

was in Christian hands.Strehlke, 1869, pp
106
7, No. 119; cited in Röhricht, 1893, RRH, pp
341
2, No. 1307; cited in Pringle, 1998, p
384
/ref> In 1283 the village was mentioned as part of the domain of the Crusaders, according to the ''

hudna A ''hudna'' (from the Arabic meaning "calm" or "quiet") is a truce or armistice. It is sometimes translated as " cease-fire". In his medieval dictionary of classical Arabic, the '' Lisan al-Arab'', Ibn Manzur defined it as: : "''hadana'': he ...

'' (truce) between the Crusaders in Acre and the

Mamluk Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-so ...

sultan

Qalawun (, – November 10, 1290) was the seventh Turkic Bahri Mamluk sultan of Egypt; he ruled from 1279 to 1290. He was called (, "Qalāwūn the Victorious"). After having risen in power in the Mamluk court and elite circles, Qalawun eventually hel ...

.

Mamluk period

The Arab village of Az-Zeeb was established during the later Mamluk period with the houses erected using the stones of the destroyed Crusader castle; and thrived throughout the Ottoman rule. There are descriptions of the castle and village by Arab chroniclers in the 12th and 13th centuries, just prior to and during the rule of the

Mamluks Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-sold ...

in the region.

Ottoman era

In the early 16th century, az-Zeeb was incorporated into the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

and its inhabitants cultivated various crops and raised livestock on which they paid taxes to the Ottoman authorities. According to the 1596 tax records, it was a village in the ''

nahiya A nāḥiyah ( , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiyeh, nahiya or nahia, is a regional or local type of administrative division that usually consists of a number of villages or sometimes smaller towns. In Tajikistan, it is a second-level divisi ...

'' (subdistrict) of Akka, part of

Sanjak Safad Safed Sanjak (; ) was a ''sanjak'' (district) of Damascus Eyalet ( Ottoman province of Damascus) in 1517–1660, after which it became part of the Sidon Eyalet (Ottoman province of Sidon). The sanjak was centered in Safed and spanned the Galilee, ...

with a population of 132 households and 27 bachelors and an estimated total of 875 persons. All were

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

. The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 25% on several agricultural items including, wheat, barley, "summer crops", fruits, cotton, beehives, goats, and water buffalo; a total of 23,669

akçe The ''akçe'' or ''akça'' (anglicized as ''akche'', ''akcheh'' or ''aqcha''; ; , , in Europe known as '' asper'') was a silver coin mainly known for being the chief monetary unit of the Ottoman Empire. It was also used in other states includi ...

. All of the revenue went to a

waqf A (; , plural ), also called a (, plural or ), or ''mortmain'' property, is an Alienation (property law), inalienable charitable financial endowment, endowment under Sharia, Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot ...

. A map by

Pierre Jacotin Pierre Jacotin (1765–1827) was the director of the Surveying, survey for the ''Carte de l'Égypte (Description de l'Égypte)'', the first triangulation-based map of Egypt, Syria and Palestine. The maps were drafted in 1799–1800 during Napole ...

from Napoleon's invasion of 1799 showed the village, named as ''Zib''.

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

traveler

James Silk Buckingham James Silk Buckingham (25 August 1786 – 30 June 1855) was a British author, journalist and traveller, known for his contributions to Indian journalism. He was a pioneer among the Europeans who fought for a liberal press in India. Early life B ...

describes az-Zeeb in 1816 as a small town built on a hill near the sea with few

palm tree The Arecaceae () is a family of perennial, flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are colloquially c ...

s rising above its houses. During the period of

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

rule in Palestine, the

sheikh Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning "elder (administrative title), elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim ulama, scholar. Though this title generally refers to me ...

(chief) of az-Zeeb, Said al-Sabi, joined the 1834 peasants' rebellion against governor Ibrahim Pasha. He was arrested and exiled to Egypt by the authorities in the summer of that year because of his participation. Survey_of_Western_Palestine_1880

In 1875, when

Victor Guérin Victor Guérin (; 15 September 1821 – 21 September 1890) was a French people, French intellectual, explorer and amateur archaeologist. He published books describing the geography, archeology and history of the areas he explored, which included ...

visited, Az-Zeeb had 500 Muslim inhabitants. Guérin noted that the hill on which it was built had formerly been surrounded by a wall, traces of which were still to be seen on the east side. By the late 19th century, most of the village houses were built of stone, a

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

and a clinic had been established, and the residents cultivated

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...

s,

fig The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of tree or shrub in the flowering plant family Moraceae, native to the Mediterranean region, together with western and southern Asia. It has been cultivated since ancient times and i ...

s,

mulberries ''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of 19 species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 subordinate ...

, and

pomegranate The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punica, Punicoideae, that grows between tall. Rich in symbolic and mythological associations in many cultures, it is thought to have o ...

s. The population consisted of about 400 Muslims.Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I,
148
Quoted in Khalidi, 1992, p. 36 In 1882, the Ottomans established an elementary school in az-Zeeb.Khalidi, 1992, p.36. A population list from about 1887 showed that Kh. ez Zib had about 730 inhabitants, all Muslim.

British Mandate period

Az-Zeeb became a part of the British Mandate of Palestine in 1922. In the

1922 census of Palestine The 1922 census of Palestine was the first census carried out by the authorities of the British Mandate of Palestine, on 23 October 1922. The reported population was 757,182, including the military and persons of foreign nationality. The divis ...

, "''Al Zib''" had a population of 804; 803 Muslims and 1 Christian,Barron, 1923, Table XI, Sub-district of Acre, p
36
/ref> where the one Christian was a Roman Catholic. The population had increased in the 1931 census to 1059, all Muslims, in a total of 251 houses.Mills, 1932, p
104 Zib, Ez
/ref> The main economic sectors in the village were in fishing and agriculture, particularly fruit cultivation, which included

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing the ...

s,

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

, olives, and figs. The town held four

olive press Olive oil extraction is the process of extracting the olive oil present in olive drupes. Olive oil is produced in the mesocarp cells, and stored in a particular type of vacuole called a lipo vacuole, i.e., every cell contains a tiny oliv ...

es: two mechanized and two animal-drawn. Between 1927 and 1945, the village's annual fish catch was 16 metric tons. In the 1945 statistics, the population of Az Zeeb was 1,910, all Muslims, with a total land area of 12,607 dunams. Of this, 2,973 dunams were used for citrus and bananas; 1,989 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards; 4,425 were for

cereal A cereal is a grass cultivated for its edible grain. Cereals are the world's largest crops, and are therefore staple foods. They include rice, wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, and maize ( Corn). Edible grains from other plant families, ...

s; while 62 dunams were built-up (urban) areas. The population of the village in 1945 was 1,910.Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p.
41
/ref>

Political unrest

In 1946,

The Jewish Resistance Movement The Jewish Resistance Movement (, ''Tnu'at HaMeri Ha'Ivri'', literally ''Hebrew Rebellion Movement''), also called the United Resistance Movement (URM), was an alliance of the Zionist paramilitary organizations Haganah, Irgun and Lehi in the B ...

attempted to blow up the railroad bridge over the creek at Achziv in an operation known as

Night of the Bridges The Night of the Bridges (formally Operation Markolet) was a Haganah venture on the night of 16 to 17 June 1946 in the British Mandate of Palestine, as part of the Jewish insurgency in Palestine (1944–47). Its aim was to destroy eleven brid ...

. A monument to the 14 soldiers killed there was erected on the site.

1948 War

Just before the official end to Mandate rule on May 14, 1948, and the start of the

1948 Arab-Israeli War Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

, az-Zeeb was captured by the

Haganah Haganah ( , ) was the main Zionist political violence, Zionist paramilitary organization that operated for the Yishuv in the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine. It was founded in 1920 to defend the Yishuv's presence in the reg ...

's

Carmeli Brigade 2nd "Carmeli" Brigade (Hebrew: חטיבת כרמלי, Hativat Carmeli, former 165th Brigade) is a reserve infantry brigade of the Israel Defense Forces, part of the Northern Command. Today the brigade consists of four battalions, including one ...

, being one of the main places targeted in

Operation Ben-Ami Operation Ben-Ami () was one of the last operations launched by the Haganah before the end of the British Mandate. The first phase of this operation was the capture of Acre. A week later four villages east and north of Acre were captured. The Ca ...

. According to Haganah accounts, the residents immediately "fled upon the appearance of

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish forces, and the Haganah command decided to hold on to t" However,

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

i historian

Benny Morris Benny Morris (; born 8 December 1948) is an Israeli historian. He was a professor of history in the Middle East Studies department of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in the city of Beersheba, Israel. Morris was initially associated with the ...

states that the Haganah had a "long account" with az-Zeeb because it was a center of Arab attacks on Jews and that most of the inhabitants fled after the village was hit with a mortar barrage by the Haganah. Morris writes that two Haganah companies reported in mid-May 1948 that they were "attacking al Zib with the aim of blowing up the village". Eyewitness accounts from among the villagers indicate that they mistook the incoming Israeli forces for Arab reinforcements because they had donned red and white ''

keffiyeh The keffiyeh (), also regionally known as a hattah (), ghutrah (), or shemagh (), is a traditional headdress worn by men from parts of the Middle East. It is fashioned from a square scarf, and is usually made of cotton. The keffiyeh is commonly ...

s'', and that these forces quickly overwhelmed the local militia of 35-40 men. Many of the inhabitants fled to

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

or nearby villages, but many also remained in az-Zeeb until they were relocated by the Israeli authorities to the Arab coastal town of

Mazra'a Mazra'a (, ) is an Arab village and local council in northern Israel, situated between Acre and Nahariyya east of the Coastal Highway that runs along the Mediterranean coast. The local council was founded in 1896 and was incorporated into the ...

. Some villagers later claimed that the Haganah had "molested or violated" a number of women. The

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

i localities of

Sa'ar Sa'ar () is a kibbutz in the western Galilee in Israel. Located near Nahariya, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Asher Regional Council. In it had a population of . History The kibbutz was founded in August 1948 by members of the Social ...

and

Gesher HaZiv Gesher HaZiv () is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Situated in the Western Galilee on the coastal highway between Nahariya and the Lebanese border, opposite the Akhziv National Park, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Asher Regional Council ...

were established on the village lands in 1948 and 1949. A domed

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

from the village has since been restored and serves as a tourist site, and the house of the last

mukhtar A mukhtar (; ) is a village chief in the Levant: "an old institution that goes back to the time of the Ottoman rule". According to Amir S. Cheshin, Bill Hutman and Avi Melamed, the mukhtar "for centuries were the central figures". They "were ...

(village headman) is now a museum.

Israel

Achziv is an Israeli national park. Today Achziv shores are part of the Achziv-Rosh haNikra

marine protected area A marine protected area (MPA) is a protected area of the world's seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity ...

, which is located between the city of Naharia to the south and the Israeli-Lebanon border to the north. The marine protected area has 7 kilometers of shore line and continue into the sea for another 15 kilometers west. This marine nature reserve protects the fauna and flora of the stony reefs and the sandy beach environments. It is the only marine protected area in Israel in which the maximum depth is deeper than 850 meters. Near the national park is

Akhzivland Akhzivland () is a micronation between the Israeli town of Nahariya and the Lebanon, Lebanese border on the Mediterranean coast of northern Israel, founded by Eli Avivi in 1971. The micronation is promoted by the Ministry of Tourism (Israel), I ...

, founded by Eli Avivi in 1971 and currently used as a vacation village and camping site.

Archaeology

Remnants of ancient Achziv, now known as Tel Achziv, are located on a sandstone mound between two streams, Kziv on the north and Shaal on the south, close to the border with Lebanon. An ancient port was located on the coast, and another secondary port is located 700 m to the south. Archeological excavations have revealed that a walled city existed at the location from the Middle Bronze period.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
p.70

External links

Achziv Beach National Park, Israel Nature and Parks Authority websiteOne-man rule in Israel's hippy micro-state
by Raffi Berg, BBC
al-Zeeb

Zochrot Zochrot (; "Remembering"; ; "Memories") is an Israeli nonprofit organization founded in 2002. Based in Tel Aviv, its aim is to promote awareness of the Nakba, including the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight. The group was co-founded by Eitan ...

{{authority control Hebrew Bible cities National parks of Israel Protected areas of Northern District (Israel) Tells (archaeology) Biblical geography Principality of Galilee Arab villages depopulated prior to the 1948 Arab–Israeli War District of Acre Castles and fortifications of the Kingdom of Jerusalem Teutonic Order Talmud places Phoenician cities