Ascalon
Ascalon or Ashkelon was an ancient Near East port city on the Mediterranean coast of the southern Levant of high historical and archaeological significance. Its remains are located in the archaeological site of Tel Ashkelon, within the city limits of the modern Israeli city of Ashkelon. Traces of settlement exist from the 3rd millennium BCE, with evidence of city fortifications emerging in the Middle Bronze Age. During the Late Bronze Age, it was integrated into the Egyptian Empire, before becoming one of the five cities of the Philistine pentapolis following the migration of the Sea Peoples. The city was later destroyed by the Babylonians but was subsequently rebuilt.
Ascalon remained a major metropolis throughout the classical period, as a Hellenistic city persisting into the Roman period. Christianity began to spread in the city as early as the 4th century CE. During the Middle Ages it came under Islamic rule, before becoming a highly contested fortified foothold on the coast during the Crusades. Two significant Crusader battles took place in the city: 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. The village of Al-Jura existed adjacent to the deserted city until 1948.
Names
Ascalon has been known by many variations of the same basic name over the millennia. It is speculated that the name comes from the Northwest Semitic and possibly Canaanite root Ṯ-Q-L, meaning "to weigh", which is also the root of "shekel".The settlement is first mentioned in the Egyptian Execration Texts from the 18th-19th centuries BCE as Asqalānu. In the Amarna letters, there are seven letters to and from King Yidya of Ašqaluna and the Egyptian pharaoh. The Merneptah Stele of the 19th dynasty recounts the Pharaoh putting down a rebellion at Asqaluna. The settlement is then mentioned eleven times in the Hebrew Bible as ʾAšqəlōn.
In the Hellenistic period, Askálōn emerged as the Ancient Greek name for the city, persisting through the Roman period and later Byzantine period.
In the Early Islamic period, the Arabic form became ʿAsqalān. The medieval Crusaders called it Ascalon.
In modern Hebrew it is known as Ashkelon. Today, Ascalon is a designated archaeological area known as Tel Ashkelon and administered as Ashkelon National Park.
Geographical setting
Ascalon lies on the Mediterranean coast, 16 km. north of Gaza City and 14 km. south of Ashdod and Ashdod-Yam. Around 15 million years ago, a river flowed from inland to the sea here. It was later covered by fossilized sandstone ridges, formed by sand that was washed to the shores from the Nile Delta. The river became an underground water source, which was later exploited by Ascalon's residents for the constructions of wells. The oldest well found at Ascalon dates around 1000 BCE.Prehistory
The remains of prehistoric activity and settlement at Ashkelon were revealed in salvage excavations prior to urban development in the Afridar and Marina neighborhoods of modern Ashkelon, some north of Tel Ashkelon. The fieldwork was conducted in the 1950s under the supervision of Jean Perrot and in 1997–1998 under the supervision of Yosef Garfinkel.The earliest traces of human activity include some 460 microlithic tools dated to the Epipalaeolithic period. These come along wide evidence for hunter-gatherer exploitation in the southern coastal plain in that time. This activity came to hiatus during the early periods of sedentation in the Levant, and resumed only during the pre-pottery C phase of the Neolithic. Jean Perrot's excavation revealed eight dwelling pits, along with silos and installations, while Garfinkel's excavations revealed numerous pits, hearths and animal bones.
Early Bronze Age
During the Early Bronze Age I period, human settlement thrived in Ashkelon. The central site was in Afridar, situated between two long and wide kurkar ridges. This area had unique ecological conditions, offering an abundance of goundwater, fertile soils and varied flora and fauna. Two other settlements existed at Tel Ashkelon itself, and in the Barnea neighborhood of modern Ashkelon. The site of Afridar is one of the most extensive and most excavated settlements of the EB I period, with over two dozen dig sites, excavated by the Israel Antiquities Authority. The flourishment of EB I Ashkelon has also been linked to trade relations with Prehistoric Egypt. The site of Afridar was abandoned at the start of the EB II period. It was suggested that the cause for the abandonment was a climate change causing increased precipitation, which destroyed the ecological conditions which had served the locals for centuries.In the EB II–III, the site of Tel Ashkelon served as an important seaport for the trade route between the Old Kingdom of Egypt and Byblos. Excavations at the northern side of the mound revealed a mudbrick structure and numerous olive-oil jars. This port was abandoned with the deurbanization of Canaan during the second half of the 3rd millennium BCE. At that time, the center of settlement moved to the unwalled rural settlement at Barne'a.
Canaanite Ashkelon (1800–1170 BCE)
Middle Bronze Age
Ashkelon was resettled in the Middle Bronze Age on the background of country-wide urban renaissance, linked to the immigration of Amorites people from the north, as well as the revival of trade relations between Middle Kingdom of Egypt and Byblos. It soon become the fortified center of a city-kingdom, as evidenced by both historical records and archaeology. Ashkelon first mention in historical records is in the Egyptian Execration Texts from the time of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt. These texts were written on red pots, which were broken as part of a cursing ritual against Egypt's enemies. Ashkelon appears three times under the name Asqanu, along with three of its rulers ḫꜥykm, ḫkṯnw and Isinw''. These names of Northwest Semitic origin, are identified as Amorites. Scholars have suggested Ashkelon was one of many Levantine city-states established by Amorites in the early second millennium BCE.The most distinctive feature of the site of Ashkelon is its fortifications, consisting of free-standing earthen ramparts which were erected as early as around 1800 BCE. In the excavations of the northern slope of the ramparts, archaeologists detected five phases of construction including city gates, moats, guard towers and in a later phase, a sanctuary right after the entrance to the city. The material culture and especially Egyptian-style pottery showed that Middle Bronze Ashkelon lasted until around 1560 BCE.
Late Bronze Age (Egyptian rule)
Early decades of Egyptian rule (15th century BCE)
Ashkelon came under the control of the New Kingdom of Egypt in the time of Thutmose III, following the Battle of Megiddo. During the Late Bronze Age, its territory stretched across the coastal plain, bordering Gaza to the south, Lachish and Gezer to the east and Gezer to the north.The ties between Ashkelon and Egypt in the late 15h century are documented in Papyrus Hermitage 1116A, which is dated to the time of Amenhotep II. It includes list compiled by an Egyptian official detailing rations of bread and beer, that were provided to envoys of noble chariot warriors from 12 Canaanite cities, including Ashkelon. It is believed that these envoys were securing the caravans that carried tribute to the Egyptian king, and that they served as his loyal ambassadors.
Amarna period (14th century BCE)
During the Amarna Period, Ashkelon maintained its ties to Egypt. Over a dozen letters inscribed in clay that were found in the Amarna letters are linked to Ashkelon. A petrographic analysis of the clay used in five letters sent by a ruler named Shubandu have supported the hypothesis that he ruled Ashkelon.After Shubandu, Ashkelon was ruled by Yidya. Seven of his letters were identified. In these he expressed his loyalty to the king and assured he will provision the Egyptian troops with bread, beer, oil, grain and cattle. In another letter sent to the king Abdi-Heba, the ruler of Jerusalem, accuses Yidya, as well as the rulers of Lachish and Gezer of provisioning the ʿApiru, who were adversaries of the Egyptian empire. In another letter, Yidya is asked to send glass ingots to Egypt.
Final years of Egyptian rule (late 13th century – 1170 BCE)
At the end of the 19th Dynasty, the Merneptah Stele from 1208 BCE commemorates the victory of Merneptah against the rebellious Ashkelon, Gezer, Yenoam and the Israelites".The Transitional LBA IIB/IA IA in the early part of the 20th Dynasty of Egypt, saw the Egyptian Empire fall and lose control over parts of the Southern Levant. At Medinet Habu, Ramesses III in his Year 8 had to fight a massive invasion by the "Sea Peoples", including the Peleset.
Iron Age
Iron Age I
In Iron IA, the late 20th Dynasty were mere nominal rulers. In Iron IB, the 21st Dynasty centered at Tanis gained some influence again.Philistine Ashkelon (1170–604 BCE)
The founding of Philistine Ashkelon, on top of the Egyptian-ruled Canaanite city, was dated by the site's excavators to 1170 BCE. Their earliest pottery, types of structures and inscriptions are similar to the early Greek urbanised centre at Mycenae in mainland Greece, adding evidence to the conclusion that they were one of the "Sea Peoples" that upset cultures throughout the Eastern Mediterranean at that time. There was also the first appearance of locally produced Mycenaean IIIC wares.In this period, the Hebrew Bible presents Ashkelon as one of the five Philistine cities that are constantly warring with the Israelites.
The Onomasticon of Amenope, dated to the early 11th century BCE, mentioned Ashkelon along with Gaza and Ashdod as cities of the Philistines.