1799, Pierre Jacotin named the village Zezin on his map from the French campaign in Egypt and Syria. In 1838, Edward Robinson said Zir'in contained about 20 houses. In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine found Zir'in as consisting of about thirty houses, with the most prominent family living in a tall, tower-like house in the village center. A spring and well supplied Zir'in with water. The Ottomans founded a boys' school in the village. British Mandate In the 1922 census of Palestine, conducted by the British Mandate authorities, Zir'in had a population of 727; 723 Muslims and 4 Christians, all 4 Christians were Orthodox. In the 1931 census this had increased to a population of 978 persons; 975 Muslims and 3 Christians, in 239 inhabited houses. In the early 20th century, Zir'in was the birthplace of Mahmud Salim, a leader of the 1936-39 revolt in Palestine. The majority of the village's houses were constructed of mud and were clustered together, but house building and renovation also expanded. The commercial center of Zir'in consisted of the Mosque of Baybars, a marketplace, and the Ottoman school. Residents mainly cultivated grains, fruits, and vegetables. In the 1945 statistics, the population was 1,420, all Muslims, with a total of 23,920 dunams of land. In 1944/45 a total of 22,595 dunums of village land was allocated to cereals, while 81 dunams were built-up (urban) areas. 1948 war Prior to the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, in March 1948, Zir'in's defenders, the Arab Liberation Army (ALA), reported that the Haganah had attempted several times to capture the village, but their assaults were suspended for ten days after heavy losses. On April 19, Zir'in was briefly captured, and most of the village houses were ordered destroyed, while the remainder were to be used to accommodate Jewish troops. Controlled by the ALA, Zir'in was located in a strategic commanding position overlooking the towns of Afula and Baysan. The fear of Iraqi forces from Gesher in the east and Jenin in the south to form a "spearhead" and capture the Baysan and Jezreel valleys convinced the Jews to take Zir'in. After a mortar barrage to soften its defense, the village was captured on May 28 by the Thirteenth Battalion of the Golani Brigade with "little resistance". Women and children fled weeks prior to its capture, and after word had spread of its capture, the residents of nearby Nuris and