powered by FreeFind	Apollonia 117 pictures     4 minutes HQ video The first settlement on this site was founded by the Phoenicians at the end of the sixth century BCE (The Persian period). The Phoenicians called the place Arsuf after one of their deities, Reshef, god of war and storms. The Phoenicians took advantage of the sea, fishing for snails from which they produced purple dye. They also used the natural cove as an anchorage for the ships that lonked them to the world of the Greeks. The Forterss During the Hellenistic period, between the fourth to the fifth centuries BCE, the residents of arsuf identified Reshef with the god Apollo, and therefore renamed their city Apollonia. Later, the Coastal Plain, including Apollonia, was captured by the HAsmoneans. The historian Josephus Flavius mentions Apollonia as one of the coastal cities ruled by Hasmonean King Alexander Janneus (Antiquities of the Jews 13:4:395). During the Roman period, from the first to the third centuries CE, Apollonia flourished and became a real city. A Samaritan community, and perhaps a Jewish community as well, lived in Apollonia during the Roman and Byzantine periods. During the fifth ans sixth centuries of the Byzantine period, the city - at that time known as Suzussa - reached the hight of its development, and became the main port city for the southern Sharon Plain. Its area covered 70 acres and it possessed wine and oil pressed and a well-developed glass industry. A magnificent church stood in the southwestern part of the city at this time. The town was unfortified, and boasted a sophisticated water system based on collection of surface runoff in cisterns. During the Early Islamic period, from the seventh to the eleventh centuries CE, the city was ruled by the Muslims, who renamed it Arsuf and surrounded it with a wall in order to protect it from attack by the Byzantine fleet. At this time, the city was densely populated, but it shrank to 22 acres in size. In 1099 CE, after the fall of Jerusalem to the Crusaders, they turned their attention to Arsuf but failed to conquer it. In the spring of 1101 CE, Crusader King Baldwin I conquered the city with the aid of te Genoan fleet. The Crusaders renamed the city Arsour. In the mid-twelfth century CE, the entire area of the southern Sharon Plain was awarded to a noble Crusader family and Arsour became the regional capital. The Crusaders strengthened the walls of the former Muslim city, digging a dry moat around them for additional protection. In the wake of the Crusader defeat at the Battle of Hittin in 1187 CE, the city came under control of the Muslims for four years. The Crusader victory at the Battle of Arsour in 1191 CE was to determine control of the Land of Israel for an additional one hundred years. In 1241 CE, the Crusaders, led by Jean d'Ibelin d'Arsour, began construction of a fortress in the northern part of the town. With his death in 1258 CE, control of the city passed to his son, Belian the 1st. Belian was unable to withstand the continuous pressure of Mameluke Muslim attacks. He therefore transferred control of his Southern Sharon fiefdom, including Arsour, to the Hospitaller Knights, and a few hundred soldiers of this order took up residence in the fortress. In the spring of 1265 CE, Arsour was attacked by the Mameluke Sultan Bibars, at the head of a large and powerful army. The ensuing battle lasted for forty days until the city fell. When the Crusader soldiers holding out within the fortress saw that there was no hope, they agreed to surrender on condition that they be allowed to leave the city. Bibars agreed, however after entering the fortress, he forced its defenders to destroy and burn it, and took them prisoners. Thus the end came to the city of Arsour and its fortress, which had only stood for 24 years! The Mamelukes established a military outpost here that was eventually abandoned. The fortress was never again inhabited. The Roman villa Water Reservoirs A system of plastered water reservoirs dating from the Byzantine period. Lime klim The lime klin was used at the end of the Ottoman period to burn limestone for the production of lime used in construction. The klin was dug into the ground and had a circumference of four meters. It was lined with stones and topped by a dome. The stones intended for burning were placed on top of the roof, while the fire burned inside the klin. Lime production tool between three to six days. The Crusader's Fortress The fortress was constructed, beginning in 1241 CE, at the highest point of the Tel. It is surrounded by a moat and three systems of fortifications: The outer fortification system included a retaining wall, semi-circular towers and a gate. The inner fortifications systems consisted of a 18 feet-high perimeter wall paralleling the outer fortifications systems and standing higher than them. This wall actually functioned as the outer wall of a row of rooms that surrounded the fortress courtyard. The third fortification system consisted of a ten-meter-high stronghold tower, or keep. Observation Point of the Crusader Fortress The dry fortress moat, 30 meters wide and 14 meters deep, defended the fortress. Entrance to the fortress was by means of a bridge above the moat (the observation point is located above the bridgehead). From the end of the bridge, entrance to the fortress was indirect. The Inner Gate of the Fortress This gate rises to a height of two stories and was protected by semi-circular towers. The gate included an iron porticuills, behind which were two wooden doors. It was roofed and there were benches on each side. The gate, as excavated, verifies the description of the inner gate that appeared on the seal of Seigneur Belian 1st, whose residence was at Arsour. The Inner Gate of the Fortress This gate rises to a height of two stories and was protected by semi-circular towers. The gate included an iron porticuills, behind which were two wooden doors. It was roofed and there were benches on each side. The gate, as excavated, verifies the description of the inner gate that appeared on the seal of Seigneur Belian 1st, whose residence was at Arsour. the Fortress' Courtyard The courtyard is located on the lower floor of the fortress, and is 28 meters long and 10 meters wide. The courtyard floor was composed of rough plaster. An ascent led from here to the second floor of the fortress, and a descent to two subterranean halls. The courtyard was surrounded by rooms, and the keep was located on its western side. The Northern Hall This hall contained a semi-circular tower. The area of the hall is 5 x 12 meters. Its walls were covered with white-stucco and have been preserved to a height of 4 meters. There is no evidence here of a second floor, and the use of the hall remains unclear. Observation Point of the Keep The keep was an octagonal, 30 feet-high tower constructed over a gradated arch. This was the third system of fortifications of the fortress, and was also the highest. The keep affords a view of the Crusader port, at the entrance of which were two towers, one on each side. The remains of the two towers can be seen jutting out of the water. With good visibility, from this point Jaffa appears to the south and Caesarea to the north. Both of these cities were also Crusader port towns. The keep also affords a view of the remains of the fortress and the inner entrance gate. Observation Point of the Outer Fortifications of the Fortress. The moat can be seen from this point. Ballista stones Back to Israel Index