Az-zeeb had been inhabited since 18th century BCE, and by the 10th century BCE it was a fortified Phonecian town, with public buildings and tombs, an important way station between the towns Tyre and the plain of Akko.Az-zeeb was Conqured by the Assyrinans in 701 BCE.The Romans renamed it Ecdippa during their occupation of the area, and wtih the arrival of the Crusaders in 1099 it was renamed ”Casal Imbertia” or “Lambertie”.On his tour of Palestine in 1182, the Arab geographer Ibn Jubayr, told of it being a fortress with a village and in 1226, Yaqut al-Hamawi, spoke of it as a large villageon the coast, it was ruled by the Marmalukes at that time.It is known that around the early middle ages that Arab geographerrs were using the name Az-zeeb for this area.
Map of the area Az-zeeb was located in during the Roman era...
Az-zeeb became part of the Ottoman empire in the Early 16th century, paying taxes on “
agricultural items including, wheat, barley, “summer crops”, fruits, cotton, beehives, goats, and water buffalo”.In the early 19th century, Az-zeeb was described as “A small town built on a hill near the sea with a few palm trees growing above the houses” by British traveller James Silk Buckingham.At the end of the 19th century therecultivated olives, figs, mulberries, and pomegranates was a Mosque,a clinic and an elementary school.The residents lived in stone houses and cultivated olives, figs, mulberries, and pomegranates.
Home of Husayn Ataya, the last mukhtar of Az-zeeb
