Salibi al-Daher
Salibi al-Daher was the eldest son of Daher al-Umar, the Arab strongman over northern Palestine during Ottoman rule in the mid-18th century. He served as his father's deputy or administrator over Tiberias. He was known to be Daher's most loyal son, his younger brothers having launched repeated rebellions against their father. He died supporting Ali Bey al-Kabir's abortive campaign to restore power over Egypt in 1773.
Life
Salibi was the eldest son of Daher al-Umar, the paramount Arab sheikh of the Zayadina family, and strongman of northern Palestine from 1730 until his death in 1775. In Daher's gradual takeover of the region, the first place he captured was Tiberias, which he fortified and made his headquarters. From there, Daher expanded his realm across the Galilee throughout the 1730s and 1740s. He survived two sieges of Tiberias by the governor of Damascus, Sulayman Pasha al-Azm, in 1742 and 1743. Not long after, he relocated his headquarters to Deir Hanna and by 1750 moved his headquarters to Acre. At some point, Daher appointed Salibi as his deputy governor over Tiberias. As with his brothers and uncles who were appointed over different towns and villages, Salibi built up the fortifications of Tiberias, specifically its four-tower citadel.In 1765, Daher's second eldest son, Uthman, launched a rebellion against his father, attracting the support of Daher's other sons Ahmad and Sa'id. After the three brothers were driven out of the Shefa-Amr area, they took refuge with Salibi in Tiberias and requested that he intercede with their father. Daher refused to accommodate their demands, prompting Salibi to join the rebellion. The brothers gained the support of the Bedouin Banu Saqr tribe, but they were soon after paid off by Daher, leaving the brothers without support and suing for peace. In 1767, Salibi was persuaded by another of his brothers, Ali, to join a new rebellion against their father, but this too was suppressed by Daher.
When Daher's ally, Ali Bey al-Kabir, the deposed mamluk strongman of Egypt, raised an army to wrest back control of Egypt from his rival Abu al-Dhahab, Daher sent Salibi to join him at the head of some 500 horsemen. When the armies of Ali Bey and Abu al-Dhahab met at al-Salihiyah near the Nile Delta, Salibi was slain and Abu al-Dhahab defeated and captured Ali Bey. Daher was distressed by the death of his son and upon hearing the news, he collapsed to the ground and exclaimed "From this day I am undone". According to historian Amnon Cohen, Salibi "was no great shakes as a warrior", in contrast to the proven military prowess of his brother Ali. Salibi, Uthman and Ali, the three eldest of Daher's sons, had all viewed themselves as Daher's natural successor and vied to position themselves for this role as Daher entered old age in the 1760s. With Salibi's death, the rivalry intensified between Ali and Uthman into the early 1770s and after Daher's death in 1775. Salibi's brother Ahmad eventually succeeded him as the administrator of Tiberias.