gained respect from the people of Damascus, with whom they continued commercial relationships established by their father. The wealth that earlier Zaydans had generated from trade with Damascus and Aleppo had given them the financial ability to establish themselves as tax farmers. Throughout the 1720s, Zahir frequently joined caravans bound for Damascus, where he bought and sold goods. Among the contacts Zahir made there was the Muslim scholar Abd al-Ghaffar al-Shuwayki, who introduced Zahir to Sayyid Muhammad of the Husayni family, whose members were part of the city's elite (descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad). Zahir married Sayyid Muhammad's daughter and established her residence in Nazareth because she considered Arraba too small. When Sayyid Muhammad died, Zahir inherited his fortune. Rise and consolidation of power Establishing stronghold in the Galilee Capture of Tiberias Around 1730, the governor of Sidon and the rural sheikhs of Jabal Nablus (e.g Samaria) collaborated in a military campaign to suppress the Saqr Bedouins. The tribe had long dominated the area between Nablus and Safed, rendering the highways unsafe for travel and commerce, while often plundering villages and ignoring tax obligations. Under pressure, the Saqr resolved to appoint a local dignitary to negotiate on their behalf with the government. Their leader, Rashid al-Jabr, nominated Zahir for the role, hoping his tribe could benefit from the Zaydans' good reputation with the authorities and the local inhabitants. The Zaydans' chief at the time, Sa'd, was bypassed in favor of the younger Zahir, a signal that the tribe did not intend to subordinate themselves to the Zaydans' will. Philipp comments the Bedouins "probably hoped to use Zahir for their own purposes" but "did not anticipate how quickly Zahir al-Umar would use them for his own ambitions". Not long after allying with the Saqr, Zahir initiated his takeover of Tiberias with the Bedouins' support. Zahir captured the town's (subdistrict governor and tax collector) and sent him to the governor of Sidon with a letter accusing the of oppressing and illegally taxing the population, thereby engendering the inhabitants' ire toward the government. Zahir requested the of Tiberias and Arraba, promising to timely forward taxes and rule justly. The governor of Sidon consented, marking the first time a Zaydani was directly appointed by a provincial governor rather than through the Shihabi . Zahir made Tiberias his principal base and was joined there by his Zaydani kinsmen. He appointed his cousin Muhammad, the