Editing Tel Dor (section)

==History and archaeology==
[[File:תל דור.JPG|thumb|Antiquities at Tel Dor]]
According to [[Israel Antiquities Authority|IAA]] archaeologists, the importance of Dor is that it is the only natural harbour on the [[Levant|Levant coast]] south of the [[Ladder of Tyre]], and thus was occupied continuously from Phoenician times until the late 18th century.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Freeman-Greenville|first=G.S.P.|title=Reviewed Work: The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land by [[Ephraim Stern]] |journal=[[Journal of the Asiatic Society]]|volume=4|issue=3 |page=327|date=1994|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|jstor=25182937}}</ref> According to [[Josephus]], however, its harbour was inferior to that of [[Caesarea Maritima|Caesarea]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Josephus |author-link=Josephus |title=Josephus Complete Works |publisher=Kregel Publications |translator=[[William Whiston]] |date=1981|location=Grand Rapids, Michigan |page=331|isbn=0-8254-2951-X }}, s.v. ''[[Antiquities of the Jews|Antiquities]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0146%3Abook%3D15%3Asection%3D331 15.9.6.] (15.331)</ref>

Dor is mentioned in the 3rd-century [[Mosaic of Rehob]] as being a place exempt from tithes, seeing that it was not settled by Jews returning from the [[Babylonian captivity|Babylonian exile]] in the 4th century BCE.

=== Early Iron Age (Iron Age I) ===
After the [[Late Bronze Age collapse]], the town appears to have been settled by a migrant group called the [[Tjekker]].

'''Ramesses XI'''. In the Egyptian literary text known as the [[Story of Wenamun]], the main character visits Dor and is received by Tjekker prince named Beder. This layer of the settlement is known archaeologically as Dor XII, and dates from c. 1150–1050 BC.

===Persian period===
In ca. 460 BCE, the [[Classical Athens|Athenians]] formed an alliance with the Egyptian leader [[Inaros II|Inaros]] against the [[Achaemenid Empire|Persians]].<ref>{{cite book |title=History of the Peloponnesian War |last=Thucydides |author-link=Thucydides |others=[[Richard Crawley]] (trans.) |at=1.104 |url=http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/History_of_the_Peloponnesian_War/Book_1 |access-date=10 September 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Library of History |last=Diodorus Siculus |author-link=Diodorus Siculus |others=C. H. Oldfather (trans.) |volume=4 |year=1946 |publisher=Loeb Classical Library |isbn=978-0-674-99413-3 |at=[https://archive.org/details/diodorussiculus09diod/page/11 11.71.3-6] |url=https://archive.org/details/diodorussiculus09diod/page/11 |access-date=10 September 2010 }}</ref> In order to reach the [[Nile delta]] and support the Egyptians, the Athenian fleet had to sail south. Athens had secured landing sites for their [[trireme]]s as far south as [[Cyprus]], but they needed a way station between Cyprus and Egypt. They needed a naval base on the coast of [[Lebanon]] or [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], but the Phoenician cities of [[Sidon]] and [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]] held much of the mainland coast and those cities were loyal to Persia. Fifty miles south of those cities, however, the Athenians found an isolated and tempting target for establishing a way station.<ref>{{cite book |title=Lords of the Sea: The Epic Story of the Athenian Navy and the Birth of Democracy |last=Hale |first=John |year=2009 |publisher=Viking |location=New York |isbn=978-0-670-02080-5 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/lordsofseaep00hale/page/102 102–103] |url=https://archive.org/details/lordsofseaep00hale/page/102 |url-access=registration }}</ref>

The Athenians seized Dor from Sidon. Dor had many strategic advantages for the Athenians, starting with its distance from Sidon. The Athenians had a maritime empire built on oared ships. They did not need large tracts of land and instead needed strategically situated coastal sites that had fresh water, provisions and protection from bad weather and enemy attack. Dor had an unfailing freshwater spring near the edge of the sea and to its south a lagoon and sandy beach enclosed by a chain of islets. This was precisely what the Athenian fleet needed for landing their ships and resting their crews. Dor itself was strategically situated. It stood atop a rocky promontory and was protected on its landward side by a marshy swale that formed a natural moat. Beyond the coastal lowlands was [[Mount Carmel]]. The town had Persian-built fortifications. In addition to this, the town had straight streets and Phoenician dye pits for the purpling of cloth. For these reasons, Dor became the most remote outpost of the Athenian navy.

===Hellenistic period===
During the [[Hellenistic period]], Dor became a strategic site frequently contested by the [[Ptolemaic Kingdom]] and the [[Seleucid Empire]], both vying for control of the region. In 219 BCE, the city, then under Ptolemaic rule, withstood an attack by Seleucid king [[Antiochus III the Great|Antiochus III]].<ref name=":0" /> At the turn of the century, Dor, along with the regions of [[Judea]] and [[Phoenicia]], was incorporated into Seleucid rule.<ref name=":1" /> In 138 BCE, Seleucid king [[Antiochus VII Sidetes]] and Jewish leader [[Simon Thassi]] besieged Dor, which was occupied by the usurper [[Diodotus Tryphon]]. This siege led to Tryphon's flight and eventual death.<ref name="Josephus1"/><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> The battle is corroborated by the discovery of lead sling bullets and other projectiles found near the site.<ref name=":0" />

At the beginning of the reign of the [[Hasmonean dynasty|Hasmonean]] king [[Alexander Jannaeus]], Dor was under the control of the tyrant Zoilus, who also ruled [[Caesarea Maritima|Straton's Tower]] and [[Gaza City|Gaza]]. Alexander Jannaeus eventually took control of the city and incorporated it into the Jewish kingdom.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">Stewart, A., & Martin, S. R. (2003). Hellenistic Discoveries at Tel Dor, Israel. ''Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens'', ''72''(2), p. 131</ref> In 63 BCE, the Roman general [[Pompey]] conquered Judaea and subsequently annexed Dor to the [[Roman Syria|province of Syria]].<ref name=":0" />

=== Roman period ===
In the early 40s CE, young men in Dor placed a statue of Emperor [[Claudius]] inside a Jewish synagogue, provoking a challenge to Jewish ownership of the space. [[Herod Agrippa|Agrippa]] responded by appealing to [[Publius Petronius|Petronius]], the [[Legatus|legate]] of [[Roman Syria|Syria]], who ordered the statue's removal and reaffirmed Jewish rights to practice their customs freely under imperial decree.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Rogers |first=Guy MacLean |title=For the Freedom of Zion: the Great Revolt of Jews against Romans, 66-74 CE |date=2021 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-24813-5 |location=New Haven |pages=93, 536}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Citation |title=Introduction: Dor and the boundary between Judaea and Syria-Phoenice |date=2011-09-15 |work=Caesarea and the Middle Coast: 1121-2160 |pages=831–836 |editor-last=Ameling |editor-first=Walter |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110222180.831/html |access-date=2024-07-24 |publisher=De Gruyter |doi=10.1515/9783110222180.831 |isbn=978-3-11-022218-0 |editor2-last=Cotton |editor2-first=Hannah M. |editor3-last=Eck |editor3-first=Werner |editor4-last=Isaac |editor4-first=Benjamin|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In the early phases of the [[First Jewish–Roman War|Great Jewish Revolt]] against Rome (66–73 CE), [[Gaius Cestius Gallus (governor of Syria)|Cestius Gallus]] held Jewish hostages in Dora, which was described as a city of [[Phoenice (Roman province)|Phoenice]].<ref name=":0" />

Dor's decline seems to have started in the first century, despite evidence suggesting otherwise.<ref name=":0" /> Excavations have revealed numerous Roman-period structures, including a theater, public building, baths, and temples. Underwater surveys show artifacts spanning from the [[Herodian kingdom|Herodian period]] to the mid-seventh century. Epigraphical evidence indicates a thriving urban life during the Roman era, with dedications to emperors and local officials.<ref name=":0" /> The town appears on the [[Tabula Peutingeriana]], indicating its significance as a coastal station during the Roman period. A second-century papyrus also mentions it.<ref name=":0" /> Coins minted in Dora used a calendar beginning from its separation from the Jewish kingdom by Pompey in 63 BCE, with minting activities continuing into 212 CE.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Oliveira |first=Gabriela R. Marques de |date=2021-07-15 |title=Coin and Identity: The Provincial Roman Coinage, a Brief Case Study of Tel Dor's Coins |url=https://socialscienceresearch.org/index.php/GJHSS/article/view/102391 |journal=Global Journal of Human-Social Science |language=en-US |volume=21 |issue=D3 |pages=42 |issn=2249-460X}}</ref> By [[Jerome]]'s time (340s–420 CE), the town was reportedly deserted.<ref name=":0" />

=== Byzantine period ===
During the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] period, Dor remained an active settlement. Archaeological findings indicate a vibrant community with evidence of economic, religious, and administrative activities. The town served as a [[Diocese|bishopric]], with bishops documented in 449 (just a few decades after Jerome described it as deserted), and again in 518 and 553. The place is mentioned in two lists from the 6th century. Additionally, a Byzantine church discovered from this period was found to remain in use into the Islamic period.<ref name=":0" />

===State of Israel===
A [[moshav]] south of Tel Dor is named "[[Dor (moshav)|Dor]]" after the ancient city.

The Palestinian victims of the 1948 [[Tantura massacre]] are buried in a [[mass grave]] under a car park for the nearby Tel Dor beach.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Raz |first=Adam |date=2022-01-20 |title=There's a mass Palestinian grave at a popular Israeli beach, veterans confess |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2022-01-20/ty-article-magazine/theres-a-mass-palestinian-grave-at-a-popular-israeli-beach-veterans-confess/0000017f-f230-d223-a97f-fffdbd5b0000 |access-date=2024-04-14 |work=Haaretz |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=McKernan |first1=Bethan |last2=correspondent |first2=Bethan McKernan Jerusalem |date=2023-05-25 |title=UK study of 1948 Israeli massacre of Palestinian village reveals mass grave sites |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/25/study-1948-israeli-massacre-tantura-palestinian-village-mass-graves-car-park |access-date=2024-04-14 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>