Ashdod Travelers guide

Following the sun 113 some 3,000 years ago, when Ashdod was one of the five Philistine cities, and even the most important one. The Ashdod-Yam fortress was built by Sargon the second, king of Assyria, in order to prevent invasion of the city. At that time, Ashdod-Yam was a flourishing commercial city, with luxurious buildings, a large platform, a wide pier and many churches, among other things. Toward the end of the seventh century, the ancient citadel was rebuilt by the Umayyads, the first dynasty to rule the Muslim Empire. Following the Arab conquest, the Mediterranean basin, which until then was entirely controlled by the Byzantine Empire, was filled with fortified port cities in order to prevent a renewed occupation of the region. The Ashdod-Yam fortress, which was part of a system of strongholds built along the Israeli shores during the ancient Islamic period in an attempt to aid in protection against raids by Byzantine ships, is a perfect example of such fortification. Along the coastal plain, several similar fortifications were discovered, but the Ashdod-Yam fortress is the only one which is well preserved. The fortress was surrounded by a wall made from chiseled limestone blocks and a deep moat that encircled it on three sides. It was originally about seven meters high and about two meters wide. In the tenth century, during the time of the Fatimid dynasty, the citadel was expanded and fortified, and was named "Qal'ath Al- Mina" (Fortress of the Port). Six towers were erected, in the western corners of the fortress and on both sides of its gates (the western