of influence to Nablus, the commercial center of Palestine and its agriculturally-rich hinterland, Zahir besieged Nablus in late 1771. By then, he had secured an alliance with the Jarrars, who were incensed at Uthman Pasha's appointment of Mustafa Bey Tuqan as the collector of the (Hajj caravan tax). Nablus was under the de facto control of the Tuqan and Nimr clans, local rivals of the Jarrars. The loss of Jaffa and Bani Sa'b stripped Nablus of its sea access. Nablus was defended by 12,000 mostly peasant riflemen under Nimr and Tuqan commanders. After nine days of clashes, Zahir withdrew to avoid a costly stalemate. As he departed Nablus, his forces raided many of the city's satellite villages, from which its peasant defenders originated. Uthman Pasha had resumed his governorship of Damascus at the end of June 1771 and was determined to eliminate Zahir. To that end, he assembled a coalition that included Darwish Pasha, Muhammad Pasha and Yusuf Shihab. In late August, Uthman Pasha reached Lake Hula at the head of 10,000 soldiers. Before Uthman Pasha could be joined by his allies, Zahir and Nasif confronted the governor on 2 September. Zahir's son Ali raided Uthman Pasha's camp, while Zahir's other troops blocked them from the west. Uthman Pasha's troops hastily retreated towards the Jordan River, the only place where they were not surrounded. The overwhelming majority drowned in the river, with only 300–500 survivors, including Uthman Pasha, who almost drowned before being rescued by one of his men. The Battle of Lake Hula marked a decisive victory for Zahir, who entered Acre triumphantly with the spoils of Uthman Pasha's camp. He was celebrated by the city's residents and on the way there, had been given honorary gun salutes by the fortified villages between Tiberias and Acre. He also received congratulations from the French merchant ships at the port of Acre. Zahir's victory encouraged Ali Bey to relaunch his Syrian campaign. Following his victory, Zahir had Darwish Pasha vacate Sidon on 13 October. He returned two days later after receiving Yusuf Shihab's backing. Zahir decided to move against Yusuf Shihab and, together with Nasif, confronted him and his 37,000 men at the village of Nabatieh on 20 October. Zahir's Metawali cavalry feigned retreat, luring Yusuf Shihab's army into a place where they were surrounded by Zahir's men, who dealt them a decisive blow. Yusuf Shihab thereafter retreated to his mountain