In Crusader sources in 1123 as a village belonging to Hubert of Pacy. In 1146, the Crusaders established a settlement there protected by a castle and named “Casale Huberti” and sometimes still as “Casal Humberti”. Under Baldwin III, European farmers settled there sometime before 1153.
In 1232 it was the site of the Battle of Casal Imbert between German and French Crusaders as part of the War of the Lombards. In 1253 King Henry gave the whole estate of Casal Imbert to John of Ibelin. Shortly after, in 1256, John of Ibelin leased Az-Zeeb and all its dependant villages to the Teutonic Order for 10 years. In 1261, the whole estate was sold to the Teutonic Order, in return for an annual sum for as long as Acrewas in Christian hands. In 1283 the village was mentioned as part of the domain of the Crusaders, according to the hudna (truce) between the Crusaders in Acre and the Mamluk sultan QalawunThe Arab village of Az-Zeeb was established during the later Mamluk period with the houses erected using the stones of the destroyed Crusader castle; and thrived throughout the Ottoman rule. There are descriptions of the castle and village by Arab chroniclers in the 12th and 13th centuries, just prior to and during the rule of the Mamluks in the region.
