Editing Ashdod (section)

==History==
===Stone Age===
Three stone tools dating from the [[Neolithic era]] were discovered, but no other evidence of a [[Stone Age]] settlement in Ashdod was found, suggesting that the tools were deposited there in a later period.<ref name="Ashdod VI">Moshe Dothan, Ashdod VI: The Excavations of Areas H and K (1968–1969) (Iaa Reports) (v. 6), Israel Antiquities Authority, 2005, {{ISBN|978-965-406-178-0}}</ref>

===Historical Ashdod and Ashdod-Yam===
{{main|Ashdod (ancient city)|Ashdod-Yam}}
[[File:Madaba map Mediterranean hinterland 1355 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|The [[Madaba Map]], showing the two cities of ΑϹΔⲰ... / ASDŌ... / Asdod ([[Isdud|Tel Ashdod]]) and ΑΖⲰΤΟϹΠΑΡΑΛ[ΙΟϹ] / AZŌTOSPARAL[IOS] / Azotus-by-the-Sea ([[Ashdod-Yam]])]]
The historical town of Ashdod (today referred to as Tel Ashdod / [[Isdud]]), was c. 6 km southeast of the center of the modern town. It dates to the 17th century BCE, and was a prominent [[Philistines|Philistine]] city, one of the [[Philistia|five Philistine city-states]]. The coastal site of [[Ashdod-Yam]], today southwest of the modern city, was a separate city for most of its history.

The first documented urban settlement at Tel Ashdod / Isdud dates to the 17th century BCE, when it was a fortified [[Canaan|Canaanite]] city.<ref name="Excavation">{{cite book |author=Moshe Dothan |title=Ashdod – Seven levels of excavations |publisher=Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, Ashdod branch |year=1990 |location=Israel |page=91 |language=he |id=ULI Sysno. 005093624}}</ref> It was destroyed at the [[Bronze Age Collapse|end of the Late Bronze Age]].

During the [[Iron Age]], it was a prominent [[Philistines|Philistine]] city, one of the [[Philistia|five Philistine city-states]]. It is mentioned 13 times in the [[Hebrew Bible]]. After being captured by [[Uzziah]], it was briefly ruled by the [[Kingdom of Judah]] before it was taken by the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire|Assyrians]]. During the [[Yehud (Persian province)|Persian period]], [[Nehemiah]] condemned the returning Jews for intermarrying Ashdod's residents. Under [[Hellenistic period|Hellenistic rule]], the city was known as ''Azotus''. It was later incorporated into the [[Hasmonean dynasty|Hasmonean kingdom]]. During&nbsp;the 1st century BCE, [[Pompey]] removed the city from Judean rule and annexed it to the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] [[Roman Syria|province of Syria]]. Ashdod was a [[Diocese|bishopric]] under [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine rule]], but its importance gradually slipped and by the [[Middle Ages]] it was a village.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ashdod {{!}} Israel {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Ashdod |access-date=2022-06-25 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> 

Ashdod-Yam, later known as Azotos Paralios, appears to have been first settled in the Bronze Age, gradually gaining in importance through the Iron Age.<ref name=home>{{cite web|url=http://www.ashdod-yam-archaeological-excavations.com/#!copy-of-introducing-ashdod-yam/c1qx3 |title=Introducing Ashdod-Yam: History and Excavations |work=Ashdod-Yam Archaeological Project, website of |publisher=The Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University, Institut für Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft Universität Leipzig |date=2014 |accessdate=24 May 2015 }}</ref> In the Byzantine period the port town overshadowed in importance the city further inland: the bishops of Azotos present at the council of 325 and the [[Council of Jerusalem (536)|council of Jerusalem in 536]] seem to have resided in Azotos Paralios rather than in Azotos Mesogeios.<ref name=home/><ref name=Madaba97>{{cite web |url=http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/mad/discussion/097discuss.html |title=Azotus Paralus - (Ashdod, al-Minah) |work=A virtual travel through the Madaba Map |publisher=Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, Jerusalem |date=2000 |accessdate=24 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307195904/http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/mad/discussion/097discuss.html |archive-date=7 March 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The prominence of Hellenised, then Christian Azotus continued until the 7th century, when it came under [[Muslim]] rule. The city was represented at the [[Council of Chalcedon]] by Heraclius of Azotus. A [[Coastal defence and fortification|coastal fort]] "[[Kal'at Al Mina|Minat al-Qal'a]]" (lit. "the port with the castle" in [[Arabic]]) was erected by the [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad Caliph]] [[Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan|Abd al-Malik]], the builder of the [[Dome of the Rock]], at or near the former Azotus Paralios,<ref name=hadashot125>{{cite web |url=http://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/report_detail_eng.aspx?id=2294 |title=Horbat Ashdod-Yam |author=Reuven Vunsh, Oren Tal and Dorit Sivan |publisher=Hadashot Arkheologiyot |volume=125 |date=8 August 2013 |access-date=5 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150412193618/http://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/report_detail_eng.aspx?id=2294 |archive-date=12 April 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> which was later reconstructed by the Fatimids and Crusaders.<ref name=Petersen>{{Cite book
| last = Petersen | first = Andrew
| title= The Towns of Palestine under Muslim Rule AD 600–1600
| url = https://archive.org/details/TheTownsOfPalestineUnderUnderMuslimRule/mode/1up
| pages = 85–86
| series = BAR International Series 1381 | year = 2005
| isbn = 978-1-84171-821-7
| place = Oxford
| publisher= British Archaeological Reports Publishing
}}</ref> The port city stops being mentioned during the [[Ayyubid dynasty|Ayyubid]] and [[Mamluk Sultanate|Mamluk]] periods, making it likely that it was destroyed due to fears that they might again be used by Crusader invasions from the sea.<ref name=Petersen/>

===Isdud before 1948===
Isdud was to be part of the Arab Palestinian state according to the [[United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine]], but Egyptians defending Isdud withdrew in late 1948, causing most of Isdud's roughly 5,000 residents to flee.<ref name=zochrot>{{Cite web |url=https://www.zochrot.org/en/village/48983 |title=Zochrot - Isdud |access-date=2018-07-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180428035410/http://zochrot.org/en/village/48983 |archive-date=2018-04-28 |url-status=live }}</ref> The 300 townspeople who remained were driven southwards by the [[Israel Defense Forces]].<ref name=imemc>{{cite web |publisher=International Middle East media Center|title=From Isdud to Ashdod: One man's immigrant dream; another's refugee nightmare|date=April 13, 2006 |url=http://www.imemc.org/article/18022|access-date=September 21, 2007 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070926220630/http://www.imemc.org/article/18022| archive-date= 26 September 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref name=morris>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C |first=B. |last=Morris |author-link=Benny Morris |year=2004 |title=The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited |isbn=978-0-521-00967-6 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=471 }}</ref>

Excavations at Tel Mor ([[Arab Suqrir]]) revealed traces of Late Ottoman [[infant]] [[Jar burial|jar-burials]], commonly associated with [[Nomad|nomads]] or [[Itinerant groups in Europe|itinerant workers]] of [[Egyptians|Egyptian]] origins.<ref name=":02">Taxel, Y., [[Roy Marom|Marom, R]]., & Nagar, Y. (2025). [https://www.academia.edu/129069336/An_Infant_Jar_Burial_from_Zarn%C5%ABqa_Muslim_Funerary_Practices_and_An_Infant_Jar_Burial_from_Zarn_qa_Muslim_Funerary_Practices_and_Migrant_Communities_in_Late_Ottoman_Palestine_Migrant_Communities_in_Late_Ottoman_Palestine An Infant Jar Burial from Zarnūqa: Muslim Funerary Practices and Migrant Communities in Late Ottoman Palestine]. ''<nowiki/>'Atiqot'', 117, 269–293.</ref>

===Foundation of modern Ashdod===
{{multiple image
| image1            = 11-13-Ashdod-1960.jpg
| image2            = Modern Ashdod versus historical Isdud (Esdud) and Minet el Kulah.png
| caption1          = Ashdod in 1960. Historical [[Isdud]] is south of the mapped area, shown [[:File:1011-12-Nizanim-1958.jpg|on the adjacent map here]]
| caption2          = Isdud (Esdud) in 1870 overlaid with the outline of modern Ashdod
| align             = right
| footer            = Maps comparing the location of historical [[Isdud]] (Esdud) and [[Minat al-Qal'a|Minet el Kuleh]], with modern Ashdod, founded in 1956 c.6km northwest of the ruins of Isdud,
}}

The modern city of Ashdod was founded in 1956. On May 1, 1956, then [[Finance Minister of Israel|finance minister]] [[Levi Eshkol]] approved the establishment of the city of Ashdod. "Ashdod Company Ltd.", a daughter company of City-Builders Company Ltd., was created for that purpose by [[Oved Ben-Ami]] and [[Philip Klutznick]].
The first settlers, 22 families from [[Morocco]], arrived in November 1956, followed by a small influx of immigrants from [[Egypt]].<ref name="ashdod on offer">{{cite web |last=Davis |first=Barry |url=http://www.jpost.com/Travel/Around-Israel/Ashdod-on-offer |title=Ashdod on offer &#124; JPost &#124; Israel News |date=7 November 2012 |publisher=JPost |access-date=2013-08-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020071043/http://www.jpost.com/Travel/Around-Israel/Ashdod-on-offer |archive-date=2013-10-20 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="ModernT">{{cite book|title=Ashdod. From repatriants settlement to the City|page=163|language=he|author=R.Yaniv|publisher=Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, Ashdod branch|location=Israel|year=1990|id=ULI Sysno. 005093624 }}</ref>
[[File:Ma'abara of Ashdod-Yam, 1957.jpg|thumb|Ashdod in 1957]]
In July 1957, the government granted a {{convert|24|km2|0|abbr=off}}, approximately {{convert|32|km|mi}} from Tel Aviv, to the Ashdod Company Ltd., for building the modern city of Ashdod.<ref name="ModernT"/> The building of the [[Eshkol Power Station|Eshkol A]] power station in Ashdod was completed in 1958 and included 3 units: 2 units of 50&nbsp;megawatt, and one unit of 45&nbsp;megawatt (with [[Seawater|sea water]] [[desalination]] capabilities).

The city's development was made possible by the large investment of industrialist Israel Rogosin who opened his main Israeli factory in the city of Ashdod on August 9, 1960.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jta.org/1960/08/08/archive/rogosin-plant-in-israel-to-start-production-of-nylon-yarn-today|title=Rogosin Plant in Israel to Start Production of Nylon Yarn Today|date=August 8, 1960|access-date=March 2, 2020|archive-date=March 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200302002013/https://www.jta.org/1960/08/08/archive/rogosin-plant-in-israel-to-start-production-of-nylon-yarn-today|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/04/29/archives/israel-rogosin-is-dead-ag-85-texgile-man-and-philanthropist.html|title=Israel Rogosin Is Dead at 85; Textile Man and Philanthropist|newspaper=The New York Times|date=April 29, 1971|access-date=March 2, 2020|archive-date=March 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200302002908/https://www.nytimes.com/1971/04/29/archives/israel-rogosin-is-dead-ag-85-texgile-man-and-philanthropist.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Three of the high schools he funded were also built in Ashdod.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jta.org/1968/02/15/archive/israel-rogosin-dedicates-three-new-schools-in-ashdod|title=Israel Rogosin Dedicates Three New Schools in Ashdod|date=February 15, 1968|access-date=March 2, 2020|archive-date=March 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200302002906/https://www.jta.org/1968/02/15/archive/israel-rogosin-dedicates-three-new-schools-in-ashdod|url-status=live}}</ref> The Main boulevard in Ashdod is named in his honour as a founder of the city.

The first [[local council (Israel)|local council]] was appointed in October 1959. Dov Gur was appointed the first local council head on behalf of the [[Ministry of Interior (Israel)|Israeli Ministry of Interior]].<ref name="Majors">{{cite book|title=Head of the local council and the city|page=179|language=he|author=R.Yaniv|publisher=Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, Ashdod branch|location=Israel|year=1990|id=ULI Sysno. 005093624 }}</ref> In 1961, Ashdod was a town of 4,600. The [[Israeli judicial system#Magistrate courts|Magistrates' Court]] in the city was inaugurated in 1963. The building of the [[port of Ashdod]] began in April 1961. The port was inaugurated in November 1963, and was first utilized in November 1965, with the coming of the [[Sweden|Swedish]] ship "Wiengelgad".<ref name="ModernT"/> The city expanded gradually, with the construction of two quarters in the 1960s, followed by four more in the 1970s and two more in the 1980s. In 1972, the population was 40,300, and this grew to 65,700 by 1983.

Large-scale growth of the city began in 1991, with the massive arrival of [[Aliyah|immigrants]] from the [[Soviet Union]] and [[Ethiopia]] and infrastructure development. From 1990 to 2001 the city accepted more than 100,000 new inhabitants, a 150% growth.<ref name="Landver Data">{{cite web|publisher=The Center for Research and Information, [[Knesset]]|title=Data of population in the city of Ashdod|date=April 17, 2001|url=https://www.knesset.gov.il/mmm/data/docs/m00121.rtf|format=Word|access-date=September 21, 2007|language=he|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927215208/https://www.knesset.gov.il/mmm/data/docs/m00121.rtf|archive-date=27 September 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> Five more quarters of the city were completed,  and a business district was built. In the 2000s, three more quarters and the marina districts were completed.

Ashdod was one of six cities that won the 2012 Education Prize awarded by the Israel Ministry of Education.<ref name="jpost1">{{cite web |last=Ziri |first=Danielle |url=http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=305715 |title=Six cities across the country win 2012 education prize |date=17 February 2013 |publisher=Jpost.com |access-date=2013-08-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507164922/http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=305715 |archive-date=2013-05-07 |url-status=live }}</ref>