View source for Achziv

{{short description|Ancient site on the Mediterranean coast of northern Israel}}
{{Hatnote|For the self-proclaimed micronation, see [[Akhzivland]].}}
{{Distinguish|Achziv of Judah}}
{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{Infobox ancient site
 |name = Achziv
 |native_name = 
 |alternate_name = Az-Zeeb (الزيب) al-Zib, al-Zaib<ref name="Palmer1881">Palmer, 1881, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp00conduoft#page/60/mode/1up 60]</ref>
 |image = Achziv IMG 5322.JPG
 |caption = Remaining structures of az-Zeeb (today a recreational area), including its mosque, 2009
 |map_type = Israel northwest#Israel
 |map_size = 250
 |location = [[Israel]]
 |region = [[Northern District (Israel)|Northern District]]
 |coordinates = {{coord|33|02|52|N|35|06|08|E|display=inline,title|region:IL_type:city}}
 |type = 
 |part_of = 
 |area = 12.4
 |built = 
 |cultures = Israeli, Coptic, Islamic 
 |occupants = 
 |event = Battle of Casal Imbert (1232), part of the [[War of the Lombards]]
 |excavations = 
 |public_access = 
 |website = 
 |notes = 
}}

'''Achziv''' ({{langx|he|אַכְזִיב}} ''ʾAḵzīḇ'') or '''Az-Zeeb''' ({{langx|ar|الزيب|''Az-Zīb''}}) is an ancient site on the Mediterranean coast of northern [[Israel]], between the border with [[Lebanon]] and the city of [[Acre, Israel|Acre]]. It is located {{convert|13.5|km|mi}} north of [[Acre, Israel|Acre]] on the coast of the [[Mediterranean Sea]], within the municipal area of [[Nahariya]]. Today it is an [[National parks and nature reserves of Israel|Israeli 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 the [[Hebrew Bible]] and Assyrian sources. Phoenician Achzib went through ups and downs during the Persian and Hellenistic periods. In early Roman times the town, known as ''Acdippa'', was a road station. The [[Itinerarium Burdigalense|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 (archaeology)|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]]'s [[Operation Ben-Ami]], on May 14, 1948, the [[End of the British Mandate for Palestine|last day of the British Mandate for Palestine]].

The sole permanent resident of Achziv since declaration of the State was Eli Avivi<!--Q6986778--> (1930–2018), an Israeli photographer and [[micronationalist]] who hosted visitors to the legally disputed [[micronation]] of "[[Akhzivland]]", a small stretch of beach where he lived since 1975 until his death.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2018-05-16 |title=Micronation founder Eli Avivi dies in Israel |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-44142794 |access-date=2024-12-25 |language=en-GB}}</ref>

==Etymology==
Mentioned in the [[Hebrew Bible|Bible]] 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'',<ref name=Lipinskip302/> ''Ecdeppa'', or ''Ecdippon''. By the [[early Middle Ages]], the [[Arabs|Arab]] name for the village "Az-Zeeb", or "al-Zib" ({{langx|ar|الزيب}} meaning 'trickster') was locally in common usage. Az-Zeeb is a shortened form of the site's original ancient [[Canaanite languages|Canaanite]]/[[Phoenician language|Phoenician]] name, ''Achzib''.<ref name=Lipinskip302/>

==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.<ref name="Khalidi">Khalidi, 1992, p.35.</ref>  A tell excavated between 1941–44 and 1959-1964 found evidence of settlement from the [[Bronze Age|Middle Bronze Age II]], through the [[Roman Empire]] and the [[Early Middle Ages]].<ref name="Lipinskip302">Lipinski, 2004, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=SLSzNfdcqfoC&pg=PA302 302]-3</ref> 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.<ref name="ReferenceA">Tell Achziv - Preliminary Report 2017</ref>

====Middle Bronze Age IIB====
In the Middle Bronze IIB (MBIIB), Phase N4 was part of a large Canaanite port city.<ref name="Prausnitz75">{{Cite journal |last=M. W. Prausnitz |date=1975 |title=The Planning of the Middle Bronze Age Town at Achzib and its Defences |journal=Israel Exploration Journal |publisher=Israel Exploration Society |volume=25 |issue=4 |pages=202–210 |jstor=27925533}}</ref><ref name="Negev">{{Cite book |last=Avraham Negev and Shimon Gibson |title=Achzib (b) A Canaanite city on the Mediterranean coast |work=Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land |publisher=Continuum |year=2001 |isbn=0-8264-1316-1 |location=New York and London |page=16}}</ref>  The massive ramparts, some {{convert|4.5|m|ft|abbr=off}} 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 [[Moat|fosse]], thus transforming Achzib into an island.<ref name=Prausnitz75/>  A substantial destruction level from the beginning of the Late Bronze Age proves that even these fortifications were eventually not sufficient.<ref name=Negev/> A fierce conflagration ended Phase N4 and led to the transition to the MBIIC/LBI in Phase N3.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

===Iron Age===
====Iron II====
By the 1000 BCE, Achziv was a prosperous and fortified [[Phoenicia]]n town. Conquered by the [[Assyrian empire]] in the 8th century BCE, however, it was subsequently ruled by the [[Achaemenid Empire|Persians]] during the rule of the [[Roman Empire]].
 
Positioned on a passage between the plain of [[Acre, Israel|Acre]] and the city of [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]], Achzib was an important road station.<ref name=Lipinskip302/> Between the 10th and 6th centuries BCE, it was a prosperous town, with public buildings and tombs with [[Phoenician language|Phoenician]] [[inscription]]s, attesting to the identity of its inhabitants at the time.<ref name=Lipinskip302/> Conquered by the [[Assyria]]ns in 701 BCE and listed in ''[[Sennacherib's Annals]]'' as ''Ak-zi-bi'', the continuation of Phoenician settlement through this period and during the decline endured during the [[Persian Empire|Persian period]], is evidenced in 5th and 4th century BCE Phoenician inscriptions that were found at the site.<ref name=Lipinskip302/>

Prior to the Assyrian invasion of Achziv under [[Sennacherib]], in the late 8th-century BCE, Achziv and [[Akko]] belonged to the king of [[Sidon]], and were considered [[Hittites|Hittite]] territory.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Luckenbill|first=Daniel David|url=https://oi.uchicago.edu/research/publications/oip/oip-2-annals-sennacherib|title=The Annals of Sennacherib|publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]]|year=1924|pages=29–30 |location=Chicago|oclc=506728}}</ref>

====Biblical tradition====
Achzib is mentioned in the [[Book of Joshua]] (19:29) and [[Book of Judges]] (1:31) as a town assigned to the tribe of [[Asher]] in the [[Hebrew Bible]], but the Asherites did not manage to conquer it from the Phoenicians:<ref name="Perseus">{{Cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0064%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DE%3Aentry+group%3D1%3Aentry%3Decdippa-geo|title = Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), EBAL MONS, EBAL MONS, ECDIPPA}}</ref>
::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. ({{bibleverse|Joshua|19:24-29}})
::Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, ... or of Achzib ... ({{bibleverse|Judges|1:31}})

[[Image:Akhziv03.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1|The mosque of al-Zib, restored at Achziv National Park]]
According to [[Biblical history]], [[King David]] added the city into his Kingdom, but [[King Solomon]] returned it to [[Hiram I]] as part of the famous pact; [[Syro-Palestinian archaeology|archaeological]] evidence indicates that it remained Phoenician.<ref name=Lipinskip302/>

===Classic era===
{{Infobox settlement
 | name                     = Az-Zeeb
 | native_name              = الزيب
 | native_name_lang         = ar
 | other_name               = l-Zib, al-Zaib, Achzib<ref name="Palmer1881">Palmer, 1881, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp00conduoft#page/60/mode/1up 60]</ref>
 | settlement_type          = 
<!-- images, nickname, motto -->
 | image_skyline            = 
 | imagesize                = 
 | image_caption            = 
 | etymology                = "Trickster"
<!-- maps and coordinates -->
 | pushpin_map              = Mandatory Palestine | pushpin_map_caption      = Location within [[Mandatory Palestine]] | image_map                = {{Historical map series|default=2|date1=1870s|date2=1940s|date3=modern|date4=1940s with modern overlay|width=225}} | map_caption              = A series of historical maps of the area around Achziv (click the buttons)
 | pushpin_mapsize          = 200
 | coordinates              = 
 | grid_name                = [[Palestine grid|Palestine&nbsp;grid]]
 | grid_position            = 160/272
<!-- location -->
 | subdivision_type         = [[Geopolitical entity]]
 | subdivision_name         = [[Mandatory Palestine]]
 | subdivision_type1        = [[Districts of Mandatory Palestine|Subdistrict]]
 | subdivision_name1        = [[Acre Subdistrict, Mandatory Palestine|Acre]]
<!-- established -->
 | established_title1       = Date of depopulation
 | established_date1        = May 14, 1948<ref>Morris, 2004, p.  [https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PR17 xvii], village #79. Also gives the cause for depopulation</ref>
 | established_title2       = Repopulated dates
<!-- area -->
 | area_footnotes           = <ref name=Hadawi41/>
 | unit_pref                = dunam
 | area_total_dunam         = 12,607
<!-- population -->
 | population_as_of         = 1945
 | population_total         = 1,910<ref name="1945p5">Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics, 1945, p. [http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/VSpages/VS1945_p05.jpg 5]</ref><ref name=Hadawi41>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 
[http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20I/Acre/Page-041.jpg 41]</ref>
<!-- blank fields (section 1) -->
 | blank_name_sec1          = Cause(s) of depopulation
 | blank_info_sec1          = Military assault by [[Yishuv]] forces
 | blank3_name_sec1         = Current Localities
 | blank3_info_sec1         = [[Gesher HaZiv]],<ref>Morris, 2004, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PR21 xxi], settlement #54. January 1949</ref> [[Sa'ar]],<ref>Morris, 2004, p.  [https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PR21 xxi], settlement #18. August 1948</ref>
}}

====Hellenistic period====
During the reign of the Seleucids the border was established at [[Rosh HaNikra grottoes|Rosh HaNikra]], just north to Achziv, making it a border city which they called ''Ekdippa'' (Έκδιππα in [[Ancient Greek]]) and put it under the control of [[Akko|Acre]]. Mentioned in the writings of [[Pseudo-Scylax]], the site likely regained some importance in [[Hellenistic period|Hellenistic]] times.

====Roman and Byzantine periods====
A maritime city named Cziv, {{convert|9|mi|km|spell=in}} north of Acre, is mentioned by [[Josephus Flavius]] and later by [[Eusebius]]. Achziv (Cheziv) is mentioned in Jewish [[rabbinic writings]], for example Midrash [[Vayikra 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.<ref>Avshalom-Gorni, 2006, [http://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/report_detail_eng.aspx?id=392&mag_id=111 Akhziv]</ref>

===Middle Ages===
[[Image:Az-Zeeb remains.JPG|thumb|right|upright=1|Remains of az-Zeeb]]

By the [[Early Middle Ages]], [[Arab]] geographers were referring to the area as "az-Zeeb".<ref name=Lipinskip302/>

====Crusader period====
With the arrival of the [[First Crusade|Crusader]]s and after the fall of [[Acre, Israel|Acre]] in 1104,  "Casal Imbertia" or "Lambertie" was established there.<ref name=Pringle1998/><ref>[[Eilat Mazar|Mazar, Eilat]]. [http://archaeology.huji.ac.il/depart/BIBLICAL/EILATM/achziv.asp Achziv] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716162451/http://archaeology.huji.ac.il/depart/BIBLICAL/EILATM/achziv.asp |date=2011-07-16 }}. Institute of Archeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem</ref>  During the Crusader era, it expanded and became the main centre of a large estate with the same name, Casal Imbert.  [[Umm al-Faraj|Lefiegre]], [[Al-Kabri|Le Quiebre]] and [[Al-Ghabisiyya|La Gabassie]] were all part of this estate.<ref name="Frankel264">Frankel, 1988, p. 264</ref>  The site was commonly known as "''Casale Umberti'',"<ref>[http://archaeology.huji.ac.il/depart/BIBLICAL/EILATM/achziv.asp]{{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716162451/http://archaeology.huji.ac.il/depart/BIBLICAL/EILATM/achziv.asp|date=2011-07-16}} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716162451/http://archaeology.huji.ac.il/depart/BIBLICAL/EILATM/achziv.asp|date=2011-07-16}}<span> Institute of Archaeology</span>, [[Hebrew University of Jerusalem]]</ref> or Casal Humberti (after Hubert of Pacy who held the [[casalis|casale]]), and it is documented in 1108.<ref>Murray, Alan, ''The Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem: A Dynastic History 1099-1125'' (Unit for Prosopographical Research, Linacre College, Oxford, 2000) p. 210.</ref>

Az-Zeeb (meaning "trickster"), is first mentioned in Crusader sources in 1123 as a village belonging to Hubert of Pacy.<ref>Röhricht, 1893, RRH, p. [https://archive.org/stream/regestaregnihie00rhgoog#page/n31/mode/1up 23], No. 101; cited in Pringle, 1998, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=2Y0tA0xLzwEC&pg=PA384 384]</ref>  In 1146, the Crusaders established a settlement there protected by a castle and named "Casale Huberti"<ref name="Pringle1997">Crusader: ''Casel Imbert, casale Huberti de Paci, Casale Lamberti, Castellum Ziph, Qasale Imbert/Siph''; Hebr. ''Akhziv''; in Pringle, 1997, p.  [https://books.google.com/books?id=-_NbE5obqRMC&pg=PA110 110]</ref><ref name="Pringle1998">Pringle, 1998, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=2Y0tA0xLzwEC&pg=PA384 384]-385</ref> and sometimes still as "Casal Humberti".<ref>Murray, 2000, p. 210</ref>  Under [[Baldwin III of Jerusalem|Baldwin III]], European farmers settled there sometime before 1153.<ref name="year1153">Strehlke, 1869, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/tabulaeordinist00stregoog#page/n17/mode/1up 1]-2, No. 1; cited in Röhricht, 1893, RRH, p. [https://archive.org/stream/regestaregnihie00rhgoog#page/n77/mode/1up 71], No. 281; cited in Pringle, 1998, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=2Y0tA0xLzwEC&pg=PA384 384]</ref>

Arab geographer [[Ibn Jubayr]] toured [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] in 1182 and mentioned az-Zeeb as a large fortress with a village and adjoining lands between Acre and Tyre.<ref name="LeStrange">Ibn Jubayr and al-Hamawi quoted in Le Strange, 1890, [https://archive.org/stream/palestineundermo00lestuoft#page/555/mode/1up p.555].</ref>  In 1198, King [[Aimery of Jerusalem|Aimery]] gave a large part of the income from Az-Zeeb to the [[Teutonic Order]].<ref name="year1198">Strehlke, 1869, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/tabulaeordinist00stregoog#page/n43/mode/1up 27]-8, No. 34; No 122; No. 128; cited in Pringle, 1998, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=2Y0tA0xLzwEC&pg=PA384 384]</ref>  In 1226, Arab geographer [[Yaqut al-Hamawi]] described az-Zeeb as a large village on the coast whose name was also pronounced "az-Zaib".<ref name=LeStrange/>

In 1232 it was the site of the [[Battle of Casal Imbert]] between German and French Crusaders as part of the [[War of the Lombards]]. In 1253 [[Henry I of Cyprus|King Henry]] gave the whole estate of Casal Imbert to [[John II of Beirut|John of Ibelin]].<ref name="year1253">Strehlke, 1869, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/tabulaeordinist00stregoog#page/n100/mode/1up 84]-5, No. 105; cited in Röhricht, 1893, RRH, p. [https://archive.org/stream/regestaregnihie00rhgoog#page/n324/mode/1up 318], No. 1208; cited in Pringle, 1998, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=2Y0tA0xLzwEC&pg=PA384 384]</ref>  Shortly after, in 1256, John of Ibelin leased Az-Zeeb and all its dependant villages to the Teutonic Order for 10 years.<ref name="year1256">Röhricht, 1893, RRH, p. [https://archive.org/stream/regestaregnihie00rhgoog#page/n34/mode/1up 328], No. 1250; cited in Pringle, 1998, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=2Y0tA0xLzwEC&pg=PA384 384]-5</ref> In 1261, the whole estate was sold to the Teutonic Order, in return for an annual sum for as long as [[Acre, Israel|Acre]] was in Christian hands.<ref name="year1261">Strehlke, 1869, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/tabulaeordinist00stregoog#page/n122/mode/1up 106]-7, No. 119; cited in Röhricht, 1893, RRH, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/regestaregnihie00rhgoog#page/n347/mode/1up 341]-2, No. 1307; cited in Pringle, 1998, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=2Y0tA0xLzwEC&pg=PA384 384]</ref>  In 1283 the village was mentioned as part of the domain of the Crusaders, according to the ''[[hudna]]'' (truce) between the Crusaders in Acre and the [[Bahri dynasty|Mamluk]] sultan [[Qalawun]].<ref>[[Ahmad al-Qalqashandi|al-Qalqashandi]] version of the ''hudna'', referred in Barag, 1979, p. 204, no. 22</ref>

====Mamluk period====
[[Image:Akhziv01.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1|Ancient grinding stones at Achziv National Park]]

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 [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluks]] in the region.

===Ottoman era===
In the early 16th century, az-Zeeb was incorporated into the [[Ottoman Empire]] and its inhabitants cultivated various crops and raised livestock on which they paid taxes to the Ottoman authorities. According to the 1596 [[Defter|tax records]], it was a village in the ''[[nahiya]]'' (subdistrict) of Akka, part of [[Sanjak Safad]] with a population of 132 households and 27 bachelors and an estimated total of 875 persons. All were [[Muslim]]. 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]]. All of the revenue went to a [[waqf]].<ref>Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 192; quoted in Khalidi, 1992, p. 35</ref><ref>Note that Rhode, 1979, p. [https://www.academia.edu/2026845/The_Administration_and_Population_of_the_Sancak_of_Safed_in_the_Sixteenth_Century 6] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420031504/https://www.academia.edu/2026845/The_Administration_and_Population_of_the_Sancak_of_Safed_in_the_Sixteenth_Century |date=2019-04-20 }} writes that the register that Hütteroth and Abdulfattah studied from the Safad-district was not from 1595/6, but from 1548/9</ref>

A map by [[Pierre Jacotin]] from [[French campaign in Egypt and Syria|Napoleon's invasion of 1799]] showed the village, named as ''Zib''.<ref>Karmon, 1960, p. [http://www.jchp.ucla.edu/Bibliography/Karmon,_Y_1960_Jacotin_Map_(IEJ_10).pdf 160] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222063351/http://jchp.ucla.edu/Bibliography/Karmon,_Y_1960_Jacotin_Map_(IEJ_10).pdf |date=2019-12-22 }}.</ref> [[British people|British]] traveler [[James Silk Buckingham]] describes az-Zeeb in 1816 as a small town built on a hill near the sea with few [[palm tree]]s rising above its houses.<ref>Buckingham, 1821, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/travelsinpalest01buckgoog#page/n99/mode/1up 62]-63; quoted in Khalidi, 1992, p.36.</ref> During the period of [[Muhammad Ali Dynasty|Egyptian]] rule in Palestine, the [[sheikh]] (chief) of az-Zeeb, Said al-Sabi, joined the [[1834 Arab revolt in Palestine|1834 peasants' rebellion]] against governor [[Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt|Ibrahim Pasha]]. He was arrested and exiled to Egypt by the authorities in the summer of that year because of his participation.<ref>Rustum, 1938, p. 70.</ref>

[[File:Survey_of_Western_Palestine_1880.03.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1|Survey map of western Palestine, c. 1880]]
In 1875, when [[Victor 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.<ref>Guérin, 1880, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/descriptiongogr00gugoog#page/n204/mode/1up 164]-165, partially given in Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp01conduoft#page/193/mode/1up 193].</ref>  By the late 19th century, most of the village houses were built of stone, a [[mosque]] and a clinic had been established, and the residents cultivated [[olive]]s, [[ficus|fig]]s, [[mulberry|mulberries]], and [[pomegranate]]s. The population consisted of about 400 Muslims.<ref name="SWP148">Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p.[https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp01conduoft#page/148/mode/1up 148]. Quoted in Khalidi, 1992, p. 36</ref>  In 1882, the Ottomans established an elementary school in az-Zeeb.<ref name="Khalidi2">Khalidi, 1992, p.36.</ref>  A population list from about 1887 showed that Kh. ez Zib had about 730 inhabitants, all Muslim.<ref>Schumacher, 1888, p. [https://archive.org/stream/quarterlystateme19pale#page/n197/mode/1up 172]</ref>

===British Mandate period===
[[Image:Al-Zib - 1928.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1|Az-Zeeb and its beach, 1928]]

Az-Zeeb became a part of the [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate of Palestine]] in 1922.<ref name="Khalidi2" />  In the [[1922 census of Palestine]], "''Al Zib''" had a population of 804; 803 Muslims and 1 Christian,<ref name="Census1922">Barron, 1923, Table XI, Sub-district of Acre, p. [https://archive.org/stream/PalestineCensus1922/Palestine%20Census%20%281922%29#page/n38/mode/1up 36]</ref> where the one Christian was a Roman Catholic.<ref>Barron, 1923, Table XVI, p. [https://archive.org/stream/PalestineCensus1922/Palestine%20Census%20%281922%29#page/n51/mode/1up 49]</ref>  The population had increased in the [[1931 census of Palestine|1931 census]] to 1059, all Muslims, in a total of 251 houses.<ref name="Census1931">Mills, 1932, p. [https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas 104 Zib, Ez]</ref>

The main economic sectors in the village were in fishing and agriculture, particularly fruit cultivation, which included [[banana]]s, [[citrus]], olives, and figs. The town held four [[olive press]]es: two mechanized and two animal-drawn. Between 1927 and 1945, the village's annual fish catch was 16 metric tons.<ref name="Khalidi2" />  In the [[Village Statistics, 1945|1945 statistics]], the population of Az Zeeb was 1,910, all Muslims, with a total land area of 12,607 dunams.<ref name=Hadawi41/>  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]]s;<ref>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p.  [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20II/Acre/Page-082.jpg 82]</ref> while 62 dunams were built-up (urban) areas.<ref>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20III/Acre/Page-132.jpg 132]</ref>

The population of the village in 1945 was 1,910.<ref name=Hadawi41>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. 
[http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20I/Acre/Page-041.jpg 41]</ref>

====Political unrest====
In 1946, [[the Jewish Resistance Movement]] attempted to blow up the railroad bridge over the creek at Achziv in an operation known as [[Night of the Bridges]]. A monument to the 14 soldiers killed there was erected on the site.

===1948 War===
[[File:Az-Zib.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1|Az-Zeeb 1948]]

Just before the official end to Mandate rule on May 14, 1948, and the start of the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]], az-Zeeb was captured by the [[Haganah]]'s [[Carmeli Brigade]], being one of the main places targeted in [[Operation Ben-Ami]]. According to Haganah accounts, the residents immediately "fled upon the appearance of [[Jew]]ish forces, and the Haganah command decided to hold on to [it]."  However, [[Israel]]i historian [[Benny 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.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PR17 xvii], ''Village #79''; Morris, 2004, p. Also gives the cause for depopulation</ref><ref name="Khalidi2" />  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".<ref>Morris, 2004, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PA347 347]</ref> 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]]s'', and that these forces quickly overwhelmed the local militia of 35–40 men. Many of the inhabitants fled to [[Lebanon]] 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]]. Some villagers later claimed that the Haganah had "molested or violated" a number of women.<ref>Morris, 2004, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C&pg=PA253 253]</ref>

The [[Israel]]i localities of [[Sa'ar]] and [[Gesher HaZiv]] were established on the village lands in 1948 and 1949. A domed [[mosque]] from the village has since been restored and serves as a tourist site, and the house of the last [[mukhtar]] (village headman) is now a museum.

=== Israel ===
[[File:1אכזיב.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1|Achziv at sunset]]

Achziv is an [[National parks and nature reserves of Israel|Israeli national park]]. Today Achziv shores are part of the Achziv-Rosh haNikra [[marine 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.parks.org.il/reserve-park/nikra/|title = שמורת ים ראש הנקרה-אכזיב – רשות הטבע והגנים}}</ref> Near the national park is [[Akhzivland]], founded by Eli Avivi in 1971 and currently used as a vacation village and camping site.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Magazine |first=Go World Travel |date=2013-01-08 |title=A World of His Own: Eli Avivi |url=https://www.goworldtravel.com/travel-israel-a-world-of-his-own-eli-avivi/ |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=Go World Travel Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>

==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. [[Archaeology of Israel|Archeological excavations]] have revealed that a walled city existed at the location from the Middle Bronze period.

==See also==
* [[National parks of Israel]]
* [[Depopulated Palestinian locations in Israel]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

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==External links==
{{Wikivoyage}}
{{Commons category}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150415055436/http://old.parks.org.il/BuildaGate5/general2/data_card.php?Cat=~25~~870795330~Card12~&ru=&SiteName=parks&Clt=&Bur=581787047 Achziv Beach National Park, Israel Nature and Parks Authority website]
*[https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-31800580 One-man rule in Israel's hippy micro-state], by Raffi Berg, BBC 
*[http://www.zochrot.org/en/village/49145 al-Zeeb],  [[Zochrot]]

{{Palestinian Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Palestine War}}
{{National parks of Israel}}
{{Crusader Sites in Israel}}
{{Phoenician cities and colonies navbox}}

{{authority control}}

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