Located on the Mediterranean shore some 15 km north of Tel Aviv and near the modern city of Herzliya is the 2500-year old site of Apollonia. Also known as Arsuf and Arsur, the city that was inhabited for eighteen successive centuries. Tel Arsuf was intensively excavated only from 1994. The prime attraction today is the 13th Century Crusader fortress and the spectacular views it offer. In 2002, Tel Arsuf became Apollonia National Park. In 2004, the site of Apollonia-Arsuf was recognized as one of the 100 most endangered world monuments by the World Monuments Fund.
Brief History
Apollonia was established as a harbour city by Phoenicians in 6th-5th Century BC, and was called Ashuf after the Canaanite-Phoenician God of war, fertility and underworld, Reshef. The city was famous for an expensive purple dye which was traded throughout the ancient world for colouring garments. The dye was extracted from a type murex snail which was abundant along the coast of Arsuf and the adjacent Phoenician city of Dor (not far from Arsuf, the ancient site of Dor has been identified today). This dye is also mentioned in the Bible as was used to dye the tent cloths of the tabernacle (Exodus 25:4; 26:1, 31 and 36). Even the name Phoenicia comes probably from the Greek word phoinix, meaning purple red.
During the Hellenistic period (332-37 BC), Greeks associated Phoenician God, Reshef with their God Apollo, and renamed the city to Apollonia. Jewish presence in Apollonia under the Hasmonean King Alexander Janneus is testified by 1st Cent historian Flavius Josephus. The city was later controlled by Romans (1st-4th Cent AD) and Byzantines (5th and 6th Century AD). During Byzantine period, Apollonia reached its greatest prosperity. The city area reached 70 acres and was the second largest city in Sharon valley, after Caesarea, populated by Christian and Samaritans, having an elaborate church and prosperous wine, olive and glassware industries. In 640 AD, it was the turn of Muslims to take the city and automatically the area decreased to about 22 acres! But they restored the city's original name, Arsuf.
In 1101, Crusader King Baldwin I conquered Apollonia from Muslims and strengthened the walls and dug a moat around the entire city and called it Arsur. In 1187, Muslims re-conquered the city. Just after 4 years, in 1191, Crusaders got it back in the Battle of Arsur. In 1241, Balian of Arsur (1239—1277) built a huge fortress and a new harbor in Apollonia, whose remains are visible even today. From 1261, the city was ruled by the Knights Hospitaller. The Crusader rule came to an end in 1265; the city was conquered by the Mameluk ruler Baibars after a forty-day siege. The destruction was so complete that Apollonia has never been resettled since. Apollonia is not mentioned in Bible, though there are records of Jewish presence in the city's history.
Brief History
Apollonia was established as a harbour city by Phoenicians in 6th-5th Century BC, and was called Ashuf after the Canaanite-Phoenician God of war, fertility and underworld, Reshef. The city was famous for an expensive purple dye which was traded throughout the ancient world for colouring garments. The dye was extracted from a type murex snail which was abundant along the coast of Arsuf and the adjacent Phoenician city of Dor (not far from Arsuf, the ancient site of Dor has been identified today). This dye is also mentioned in the Bible as was used to dye the tent cloths of the tabernacle (Exodus 25:4; 26:1, 31 and 36). Even the name Phoenicia comes probably from the Greek word phoinix, meaning purple red.
During the Hellenistic period (332-37 BC), Greeks associated Phoenician God, Reshef with their God Apollo, and renamed the city to Apollonia. Jewish presence in Apollonia under the Hasmonean King Alexander Janneus is testified by 1st Cent historian Flavius Josephus. The city was later controlled by Romans (1st-4th Cent AD) and Byzantines (5th and 6th Century AD). During Byzantine period, Apollonia reached its greatest prosperity. The city area reached 70 acres and was the second largest city in Sharon valley, after Caesarea, populated by Christian and Samaritans, having an elaborate church and prosperous wine, olive and glassware industries. In 640 AD, it was the turn of Muslims to take the city and automatically the area decreased to about 22 acres! But they restored the city's original name, Arsuf.
In 1101, Crusader King Baldwin I conquered Apollonia from Muslims and strengthened the walls and dug a moat around the entire city and called it Arsur. In 1187, Muslims re-conquered the city. Just after 4 years, in 1191, Crusaders got it back in the Battle of Arsur. In 1241, Balian of Arsur (1239—1277) built a huge fortress and a new harbor in Apollonia, whose remains are visible even today. From 1261, the city was ruled by the Knights Hospitaller. The Crusader rule came to an end in 1265; the city was conquered by the Mameluk ruler Baibars after a forty-day siege. The destruction was so complete that Apollonia has never been resettled since. Apollonia is not mentioned in Bible, though there are records of Jewish presence in the city's history.
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