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 Remaining structures of az-Zeeb (today a recreational area), including its mosque, 2009 | |
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| Alternative name | Az-Zeeb (الزيب) al-Zib, al-Zaib[1] |
|---|---|
| Location | Israel |
| Region | Northern District |
| Coordinates | 33°02′52″N35°06′08″E / 33.04778°N 35.10222°E /33.04778; 35.10222 |
| Area | 12.4 |
| History | |
| Cultures | Israeli, Coptic, Islamic |
| Events | Battle of Casal Imbert (1232), part of theWar of the Lombards |
Achziv (Hebrew:אַכְזִיבʾAḵzīḇ) orAz-Zeeb (Arabic:الزيب,romanized: Az-Zīb) is an ancient site on the Mediterranean coast of northernIsrael, between the border withLebanon and the city ofAcre. It is located 13.5 kilometres (8.4 mi) north ofAcre on the coast of theMediterranean Sea, within the municipal area ofNahariya. Today it is anIsraeli national park.
Excavations have unearthed a fortified Canaanite city of the second millennium BCE. The Phoenician town of the first millennium BCE is known both from theHebrew Bible and Assyrian sources. Phoenician Achzib went through ups and downs during the Persian and Hellenistic periods. In early Roman times the town, known asAcdippa, was a road station. TheBordeaux Pilgrim mentions it in 333-334 CE still as a road station; Jewish sources of the Byzantine period call itKheziv andGesiv. 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 oldtell (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 theHaganah'sOperation Ben-Ami, on May 14, 1948, thelast 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 andmicronationalist who hosted visitors to the legally disputedmicronation of "Akhzivland", a small stretch of beach where he lived since 1975 until his death.[2]
Mentioned in theBible by its ancient nameAchzib, 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 itEcdippa,[3]Ecdeppa, orEcdippon. By theearly Middle Ages, theArab name for the village "Az-Zeeb", or "al-Zib" (Arabic:الزيب meaning 'trickster') was locally in common usage. Az-Zeeb is a shortened form of the site's original ancientCanaanite/Phoenician name,Achzib.[3]
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.[4] A tell excavated between 1941–44 and 1959-1964 found evidence of settlement from theMiddle Bronze Age II, through theRoman Empire and theEarly Middle Ages.[3] Achziv was the first fortified settlement found at the site by archaeologists.
In the Middle Bronze IIA (MBIIA), remains are found at Phase N5 with features including child burials in storage jars below floors.
At the transition from MBIIA to MBIIB, the settlement was subject to a violent destruction.[5]
In the Middle Bronze IIB (MBIIB), Phase N4 was part of a large Canaanite port city.[6][7] The massive ramparts, some 4.5 metres (15 feet) 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 afosse, thus transforming Achzib into an island.[6] A substantial destruction level from the beginning of the Late Bronze Age proves that even these fortifications were eventually not sufficient.[7] A fierce conflagration ended Phase N4 and led to the transition to the MBIIC/LBI in Phase N3.[5]
By the 1000 BCE, Achziv was a prosperous and fortifiedPhoenician town. Conquered by theAssyrian empire in the 8th century BCE, however, it was subsequently ruled by thePersians during the rule of theRoman Empire.
Positioned on a passage between the plain ofAcre and the city ofTyre, Achzib was an important road station.[3] Between the 10th and 6th centuries BCE, it was a prosperous town, with public buildings and tombs withPhoenicianinscriptions, attesting to the identity of its inhabitants at the time.[3] Conquered by theAssyrians in 701 BCE and listed inSennacherib's Annals asAk-zi-bi, the continuation of Phoenician settlement through this period and during the decline endured during thePersian period, is evidenced in 5th and 4th century BCE Phoenician inscriptions that were found at the site.[3]
Prior to the Assyrian invasion of Achziv underSennacherib, in the late 8th-century BCE, Achziv andAkko belonged to the king ofSidon, and were consideredHittite territory.[8]
Achzib is mentioned in theBook of Joshua (19:29) andBook of Judges (1:31) as a town assigned to the tribe ofAsher in theHebrew Bible, but the Asherites did not manage to conquer it from the Phoenicians:[9]
According toBiblical history,King David added the city into his Kingdom, butKing Solomon returned it toHiram I as part of the famous pact;archaeological evidence indicates that it remained Phoenician.[3]
Az-Zeeb الزيب l-Zib, al-Zaib, Achzib[1] | |
|---|---|
| Etymology: "Trickster" | |
.jpg) 1870s map.jpg) 1940s map.jpg) modern map.jpg) 1940s with modern overlay mapA series of historical maps of the area around Achziv (click the buttons) | |
| Palestine grid | 160/272 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Acre |
| Date of depopulation | May 14, 1948[10] |
| Area | |
• Total | 12,607 dunams (12.607 km2 or 4.868 sq mi) |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 1,910[12][11] |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault byYishuv forces |
| Current Localities | Gesher HaZiv,[13]Sa'ar,[14] |
During the reign of the Seleucids the border was established atRosh HaNikra, just north to Achziv, making it a border city which they calledEkdippa (Έκδιππα inAncient Greek) and put it under the control ofAcre. Mentioned in the writings ofPseudo-Scylax, the site likely regained some importance inHellenistic times.
A maritime city named Cziv, nine miles (14 km) north of Acre, is mentioned byJosephus Flavius and later byEusebius. Achziv (Cheziv) is mentioned in Jewishrabbinic writings, for example MidrashVayikra Rabba 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.[15]
By theEarly Middle Ages,Arab geographers were referring to the area as "az-Zeeb".[3]
With the arrival of theCrusaders and after the fall ofAcre in 1104, "Casal Imbertia" or "Lambertie" was established there.[16][17] During the Crusader era, it expanded and became the main centre of a large estate with the same name, Casal Imbert.Lefiegre,Le Quiebre andLa Gabassie were all part of this estate.[18] The site was commonly known as "Casale Umberti,"[19] or Casal Humberti (after Hubert of Pacy who held thecasale), and it is documented in 1108.[20]
Az-Zeeb (meaning "trickster"), is first mentioned in Crusader sources in 1123 as a village belonging to Hubert of Pacy.[21] In 1146, the Crusaders established a settlement there protected by a castle and named "Casale Huberti"[22][16] and sometimes still as "Casal Humberti".[23] UnderBaldwin III, European farmers settled there sometime before 1153.[24]
Arab geographerIbn Jubayr touredPalestine in 1182 and mentioned az-Zeeb as a large fortress with a village and adjoining lands between Acre and Tyre.[25] In 1198, KingAimery gave a large part of the income from Az-Zeeb to theTeutonic Order.[26] In 1226, Arab geographerYaqut al-Hamawi described az-Zeeb as a large village on the coast whose name was also pronounced "az-Zaib".[25]
In 1232 it was the site of theBattle of Casal Imbert between German and French Crusaders as part of theWar of the Lombards. In 1253King Henry gave the whole estate of Casal Imbert toJohn of Ibelin.[27] Shortly after, in 1256, John of Ibelin leased Az-Zeeb and all its dependant villages to the Teutonic Order for 10 years.[28] In 1261, the whole estate was sold to the Teutonic Order, in return for an annual sum for as long asAcre was in Christian hands.[29] In 1283 the village was mentioned as part of the domain of the Crusaders, according to thehudna (truce) between the Crusaders in Acre and theMamluk sultanQalawun.[30]
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 theMamluks in the region.
In the early 16th century, az-Zeeb was incorporated into theOttoman Empire and its inhabitants cultivated various crops and raised livestock on which they paid taxes to the Ottoman authorities. According to the 1596tax records, it was a village in thenahiya (subdistrict) of Akka, part ofSanjak Safad with a population of 132 households and 27 bachelors and an estimated total of 875 persons. All wereMuslim. 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 23,669akçe. All of the revenue went to awaqf.[31][32]
A map byPierre Jacotin fromNapoleon's invasion of 1799 showed the village, named asZib.[33]British travelerJames Silk Buckingham describes az-Zeeb in 1816 as a small town built on a hill near the sea with fewpalm trees rising above its houses.[34] During the period ofEgyptian rule in Palestine, thesheikh (chief) of az-Zeeb, Said al-Sabi, joined the1834 peasants' rebellion against governorIbrahim Pasha. He was arrested and exiled to Egypt by the authorities in the summer of that year because of his participation.[35]
In 1875, whenVictor Guérin 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.[36] By the late 19th century, most of the village houses were built of stone, amosque and a clinic had been established, and the residents cultivatedolives,figs,mulberries, andpomegranates. The population consisted of about 400 Muslims.[37] In 1882, the Ottomans established an elementary school in az-Zeeb.[38] A population list from about 1887 showed that Kh. ez Zib had about 730 inhabitants, all Muslim.[39]
Az-Zeeb became a part of theBritish Mandate of Palestine in 1922.[38] In the1922 census of Palestine, "Al Zib" had a population of 804; 803 Muslims and 1 Christian,[40] where the one Christian was a Roman Catholic.[41] The population had increased in the1931 census to 1059, all Muslims, in a total of 251 houses.[42]
The main economic sectors in the village were in fishing and agriculture, particularly fruit cultivation, which includedbananas,citrus, olives, and figs. The town held fourolive presses: two mechanized and two animal-drawn. Between 1927 and 1945, the village's annual fish catch was 16 metric tons.[38] In the1945 statistics, the population of Az Zeeb was 1,910, all Muslims, with a total land area of 12,607 dunams.[11] Of this, 2,973 dunams were used for citrus and bananas; 1,989 dunums were irrigated or used for orchards; 4,425 were forcereals;[43] while 62 dunams were built-up (urban) areas.[44]
The population of the village in 1945 was 1,910.[11]
In 1946,The Jewish Resistance Movement attempted to blow up the railroad bridge over the creek at Achziv in an operation known asNight of the Bridges. A monument to the 14 soldiers killed there was erected on the site.
Just before the official end to Mandate rule on May 14, 1948, and the start of the1948 Arab-Israeli War, az-Zeeb was captured by theHaganah'sCarmeli Brigade, being one of the main places targeted inOperation Ben-Ami. According to Haganah accounts, the residents immediately "fled upon the appearance ofJewish forces, and the Haganah command decided to hold on to [it]." However,Israeli historianBenny Morris 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.[45][38] 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".[46] Eyewitness accounts from among the villagers indicate that they mistook the incoming Israeli forces for Arab reinforcements because they had donned red and whitekeffiyehs, and that these forces quickly overwhelmed the local militia of 35-40 men. Many of the inhabitants fled toLebanon or nearby villages, but many also remained in az-Zeeb until they were relocated by the Israeli authorities to the Arab coastal town ofMazra'a. Some villagers later claimed that the Haganah had "molested or violated" a number of women.[47]
TheIsraeli localities ofSa'ar andGesher HaZiv were established on the village lands in 1948 and 1949. A domedmosque from the village has since been restored and serves as a tourist site, and the house of the lastmukhtar (village headman) is now a museum.
Achziv is anIsraeli national park. Today Achziv shores are part of the Achziv-Rosh haNikramarine protected area, 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.[48] Near the national park isAkhzivland, founded by Eli Avivi in 1971 and currently used as a vacation village and camping site.[49]
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.
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