ARSUF: An anchorage town on the shores of the Mediterranean coast.

MY ISRAEL:

Located 20 km north of Tel-Aviv, Arsuf sits on a cliff that overlooks a beach on the Mediterranean coast.

Known as Rashap or Arshap during the Canaanite period (2000 B.C.E. – 1025 B.C.E.), Apolonia during the Hellinistic period (332 B.C.E. – 167 B.C.E.), Ursaf during the Early Arab period (638 C.E. – 1099 C.E.), & Arsur during the Crusader period (1099 C.E. – 1291 C.E.).

Inhabited as early as the Chalcolithic period (4000 B.C.E. – 3300 B.C.E.), Arsuf rose to prominence due to Phoenician commercial & maritime prowess. The Phoenicians occupied a narrow tract of land along the coast of modern Lebanon, Syria, and northern Israel. Between 1100 B.C.E. – 200 B.C.E., they were masters of the Mediterranean trade routes & established trading posts, settlements & harbors throughout the Mediterranean basin. Arsuf thus became an important anchorage town along the Mediterranean coast.

Built during the Persian period (538 B.C.E. – 332 B.C.E.), the location provided for a natural harbor and housed a fresh water spring. Being a harbor, it had all the amenities required for the building & repairing of ships.

Additionally, Arsuf was the habitat of a species of snail used to create dyes. In particular, purple dye’s, whose value is believed to have exceeded that of gold, & a blue-violet dye called Tekhelet, mentioned dozens of times in the Hebrew Bible. Tekhelet was used in the clothing of the High Priest, tapestries in the Tabernacle and fringes known as tzitzit that are affixed to the corners of Tallit, a fringed garment worn as a prayer shawl by observant Jews.

During the Hasmonian period (167 B.C.E. – 63 B.C.E.), the then leader Alexander Yannai, captured the city in 80 B.C.E. The resident population at the time comprising of both Jews & pagans.

The city was inhabited during the Roman Period (63 B.C.E. – 324 C.E.), and was a large city during the Byzantine Period (324 C.E. – 638 C.E.).

During the Early Arab Period (638 C.E. – 1099 C.E.) Abdel Malik, the self-same ruler that built the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, built the outer perimeter wall around the city.

The Crusaders arrived on the scene in 1099 & occupied the Holy land until 1291. Two attempts to capture the city in 1099 failed, but in 1101, under the leadership of Baldwin 1, the Crusaders conquered the city.

The city remained under Crusader control until 1187 when Saladin, a Muslim of Kurdish descent decimated the Crusader forces at the battle of Hittin which took place near Tiberius. The outcome of the battle resulted in the Muslims again becoming the dominant military power in the Holy Land and Arsuf returned to Muslim control.

At the Battle of Arsuf in 1191, the Crusader forces under the leadership of Richard the Lion Hearted defeated the Muslim forces under Saladin. A treaty between the two adversaries signed in 1192 returned Arsuf to Crusader control. The Ibelin family, a prominent Crusader family was given control of Arsuf & ruled until 1261 when they decided to lease the city to the Hospitallers, a medieval Catholic military order.

The Hospitalers renovated the resident castle. This done in anticipation of the new threat posed by the Mamluks. The Mamlukes were slave-warriors of medieval Islam who overthrew their Arab masters and established a dynasty that lasted 300 years.

In 1265, the Mamlukes under the command of Baybars captured Arsuf. After forcing the Crusaders to destroy their own castle, Baybars took them into captivity. The Mamlukes adopted a policy of destroying all ports of call to prevent the Crusaders from returning, and ruled the Holy Land from 1291 to 1516.

The most prominent of the archaeological remains is undoubtedly the castle. Initially built by the Phoenicians and upgraded by both the Muslims & the Crusaders, Mother Nature, fire & the dismantling of the structure to provide building material for the Jaffa Port have taken their toll.

However much remains & comprises of the following elements. A donjon, the inner tower and stronghold of the castle. The donjon is surrounded by a courtyard, storage facilities, a mill installation, kitchen, dining hall, laundry room, a possible church & garbage area. Remains within the garbage area included expensive plates, Sicilian pottery and many other artifacts bearing testimony to the wealth of the occupants. Surrounding the complex is a fortification wall & a dry moat, the latter of which sits 18 meters above sea level. Recesses on either side of the entrance gate housed a metal grate & hinge holes at the entrance threshold is evidence of a former drawbridge.

Interestingly, there is a pile of limestone ballista stones within the confines of the fortification walls. However, the surrounding area is devoid of limestone; hence, archaeologists concluded that these were incoming ballista stones launched by the attackers. The Mamlukes were also responsible for the breach in the outer perimeter wall built by the Muslims when under the command of Abdel Malik. Remnants of primitive clay hand grenades were found in the area. Shaped like an acorn & filled with a flammable liquid, the clay hand grenade had a fuse hole & wick.

Other archaeological remains include a Roman villa & buildings from the Byzantine era.

Ron Traub (Tour Guide & Architect). Website: rontraub-tours.com Photos: From the Internet.