Nasir ad-Din, Tiberias

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Nasir ad-Din
Nasir ad-Din is located in Mandatory Palestine
Nasir ad-Din
Nasir ad-Din
Arabic نصر الدين
Also spelled Nasr ad-Din, Nasir al-Din
Subdistrict Tiberias
Coordinates 32°46′42.93″N 35°31′24.30″E﻿ / ﻿32.7785917°N 35.5234167°E﻿ / 32.7785917; 35.5234167Coordinates: 32°46′42.93″N 35°31′24.30″E﻿ / ﻿32.7785917°N 35.5234167°E﻿ / 32.7785917; 35.5234167
Population 90 (1945)
Area 4,185 (together with al-Manara) dunams
Date of depopulation 12 and 23 April, 1948[1]
Cause(s) of depopulation Military assault by Yishuv forces
Secondary cause Influence of nearby town's fall
Tertiary cause Fear of being caught up in the fighting
Current localities Residential areas of Tiberias

Nasir ad-Dīn (Arabic: نصر الدين‎) was a small Palestinian Arab village 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) southwest of Tiberias, on the crest of a slope that overlooks the Sea of Galilee. The village had several springs to the east, south, and southeast. In a 1931 British census, 179 people lived there,[2] decreasing to 90 in a 1945 census. Nasir ad-Din and nearby al-Manara were in the same jurisdiction with 4,185 dunams of land, most of which was allocated to cereals.


Nasir ad-Din is named after a shrine dedicated to Nasir ad-Din, an Ayyubid general who died while fighting the Crusaders and buried to the north of the village, according to local legend. A kilometer to the west is the shrine for another Muslim soldier who died fighting the Crusaders, named Sheikh al-Qaddumi.[2]

At the time of the 1931 census, Zab'a had 35 occupied houses and a population of 179 Muslims.[3]

During the British Mandate in Palestine, in the first half of the twentieth century, most of Nasir ad-Din's houses were scattered north-south, with no particular village plan. The inhabitants were Muslims, and mainly worked in agriculture and animal breeding.[2]

1948 War[edit]

On April 12, 1948, the 12th battalion of Israel's Golani Brigade captured Nasir ad-Din to cut off Tiberias from major Arab centers to the west (Nazareth and Lubya). The skirmish lasted four hours because the Haganah encountered unexpected local resistance, but eventually most of the inhabitants fled to Tiberias or Lubya — British troops escorted villagers to Lubya. During the battle 22 Arabs were killed, six were wounded, and three were captured.[4] The civilian deaths included seven men, at least one women, and a number of children. Two Haganah troops were also wounded. The capture and killing in Nasir ad-Din was a decisive factor for the flight of Arabs from Tiberias, and was a major demoralizing factor for Arab forces. All the houses were destroyed, and residents that remained were expelled on April 23.[5]

See also[edit]


  1. ^ Morris, 2004, p.xvii, village #97. Also gives causes of depopulation.
  2. ^ a b c Khalidi, 1992, p.534.
  4. ^ Morris, 2004, p.183
  5. ^ Morris, xv, 71. Quoted in Khalidi, 1992, p.534


External links[edit]