Ascalon
Ancient Levantine city and Crusade-era fortress / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Ascalon?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Ascalon (Philistine: 𐤀𐤔𐤒𐤋𐤍, romanized: *ʾAšqalōn;[1] Hebrew: אַשְׁקְלוֹן, romanized: ʾAšqəlōn; Koinē Greek: Ἀσκάλων, romanized: Askálōn; Latin: Ascalon; Arabic: عَسْقَلَان, romanized: ʿAsqalān) was an ancient Near East port city on the Mediterranean coast of the southern Levant that played a major role in several historical periods up until the destruction of its strategically significant fortifications and port in the 13th century by the Mamluks, diminishing its importance.[2]
𐤀𐤔𐤒𐤋𐤍 אַשְׁקְלוֹן Ἀσκάλων عَسْقَلَان | |
Location | Southern District, Israel |
---|---|
Region | Southern Levant, Middle East |
Coordinates | 31°39′43″N 34°32′46″E |
Type | Settlement |
History | |
Founded | c. 2000 BC |
Abandoned | 1270 AD |
Periods | Bronze Age to Crusades |
Cultures | Philistine(?), Crusaders |
Site notes | |
Excavation dates | 1815, 1920-1922, 1985-2016 |
Archaeologists | Lady Hester Stanhope, John Garstang, W. J. Phythian-Adams, Lawrence Stager, Daniel Master |
Ashkelon reveals traces of settlement from the 3rd millennium BC, with evidence suggesting the emergence of a major fortified city during the Middle Bronze Age. Early references to Ashkelon appear in Egyptian "execration texts." Subsequently, during the Late Bronze Age, Ashkelon was integrated into the Egyptian Empire and is mentioned in various texts, including the Amarna letters. Following the migration of the Sea Peoples, Ashkelon became one of the five cities of the Philistine pentapolis, alongside Ashdod, Ekron, Gath, and Gaza. The city was later destroyed by the Babylonians but was subsequently rebuilt.[2]
Ascalon remained a major metropolis throughout antiquity and the early Middle Ages, before becoming a highly contested fortified foothold on the coast during the Crusades, when it became the site of two significant Crusader battles: the Battle of Ascalon in 1099, and the Siege of Ascalon in 1153. The Mamluk sultan Baybars ordered the destruction of the city fortifications and the harbour in 1270 to prevent any further military use, though structures such as the Shrine of Husayn's Head survived. The nearby town of al-Majdal was established in the same period.
Ottoman tax records attest the existence of the village of Al-Jura adjacent to citadel walls from at least 1596.[3] That residual settlement survived until its depopulation in 1948. The modern Israeli city of Ashkelon takes its name from the ancient city.