Maarrat al-Nu'man
During the early Ottoman era (1517-1917), members of the Zaydani clan lived in the vicinity of Maarrat al-Nu'man, a city on the main road between Damascus and Aleppo. They were a semi-nomadic and relatively small clan of roughly fifty people and as such were under the protection of the larger Banu Asad tribe, according to Sabbagh. However, Joudah notes there was no tribe in Syria at the time known as the Banu Asad. Sabbagh maintains that from their base near Maarrat al-Nu'man, the Zayadina cultivated lucrative relationships with merchants from Aleppo and Damascus and the "sheikh" (chief) of the clan grew wealthy enough to become a target of their Banu Asad protectors. The Zayadina were attacked by the latter and moved southward, eventually settling in Tiberias in the eastern Galilee.