There was a sort of suburb on the north, with a double wall, which now seems to have disappeared entirely, though the sea-rampart is, in all probability, Crusading work. The southern quarter of the town belonged to the Venetians, and north of them the Germans had several streets. The Templars and Hospitallers had each their Custodia; and, in the thirteenth century, the Teutonic knights had wide possessions, in the plains round Acre, and among the villages, or "casales,â as they called them, of Lower Galilee.
The splendid buildings of the Christians were levelled to the ground, and the place remained desolate until 1749 A.D.
The rebuilding of 'Akka, as the town is now called, was effected by the celebrated Dhahr el 'Amr, of the Zeidaniyîn family. The rise and fall of this famous house forms a natural parallel to that of the native Jewish ruling family of the Hasmoneans. Zeidan was a chief of Arab race settled in the town of 'Arrâbeh, north of the Buttauf plain. The power of the family gradually extended, until Dhahr el 'Amr, his grandson, became virtually King of Galilee. Under this famous Sheikh, who paid no tribute, and who governed all Lower and a great part of Upper Galilee, eight districts, including 162 villages, were ruled by his eight sons. Strong forts were erected all over the country, many of which still remain, while in the other cases the foundations only are visible. The mosque and Serai (or court-house) of Haifa, the castles of Shefa-'Amr, Jedin, and Seffurieh, the fortress of Deir Hanna, the walls and mosques of Tiberias, and part of the fortifications of Acre, were built by this family, while many mills and works of irrigation by the Sea of Galilee date from the same period. The country appears to have been prosperous under the rule of its native chiefs, and their buildings are remarkable for good workmanship and well-chosen positions.
But, in 1775, Dhahr, who had long been governor at Acre--where his walls still stand, with an inscription on them, giving the date of their construction--was seized and beheaded by the cruel Bosnian Pacha called Jezzar, or "butcher,â from his many murders. The old man was nearly ninety when he died. His family decayed in power, and it has been so persecuted by the Turks, that now only one representative remains in the village of B'aîneh. From him we obtained lists of the possessions of the Zeidaniyîn, of their fortresses and towns, their mosques and public buildings, with the names of the various builders and approximate dates.