Editing Isdud

{{Short description|Depopulated Palestinian village}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name                    = Isdud / Esdud
| native_name             = اسدود
| native_name_lang        = ar
| other_name              =
| settlement_type         = Former village
| image_skyline           = General view, Matson Collection (Before 1914).jpg
| image_alt               = Isdud, pre-1914
| image_caption           = Isdud, pre-1914
<!-- images, nickname, motto -->
| etymology               = 
<!-- maps and coordinates -->
| pushpin_map             = Mandatory Palestine | pushpin_map_caption     = Location within [[Mandatory Palestine]]
| pushpin_mapsize         = 200
| coordinates             = {{coord|31|45|13|N|34|39|42|E|type:city_region:PS|display=inline,title}}
| grid_name               = [[Palestine grid|Palestine&nbsp;grid]]
| grid_position           = 118/129
<!-- location -->
| subdivision_type        = [[Geopolitical entity]]
| subdivision_name        = [[Mandatory Palestine]]
| subdivision_type1       = [[Districts of Mandatory Palestine|Subdistrict]]
| subdivision_name1       = [[Gaza Subdistrict, Mandatory Palestine|Gaza]]
<!-- established -->
| established_title1      = Date of depopulation
| established_date1       = 28 October 1948<ref>Morris, 2004, village #281 p xvii, Also gives the cause for depopulation</ref>
| established_title2      = Repopulated dates
<!-- area -->
| area_footnotes          = {{citation needed|date=December 2022}}
| unit_pref               = dunam
| area_total_dunam        = 7,391
<!-- population -->
| population_as_of        = 1945
| population_total        = 4,910
<!-- blank fields (section 1) -->
| blank_name_sec1         = Cause(s) of depopulation
| blank_info_sec1         = Military assault by [[Yishuv]] forces
| blank1_name_sec1        = Secondary cause
| blank1_info_sec1        = Fear of being caught up in the fighting
| blank3_name_sec1        = Current Localities
| blank3_info_sec1        = [[Sde Uzziyyahu]], [[Shetulim]], [[Bene Darom]], and [[Gan ha-Darom]]
}}

'''Isdud''' ({{langx|ar|إسدود|ʾisdūd}}) was a [[Palestinian people|Palestinian]] village in the region of [[Tel Ashdod]] that was  [[List of towns and villages depopulated during the 1947–1949 Palestine war|depopulated]] in the [[1948 Arab-Israeli War]].  Khalidi says it may have had  historic links  to  Azdud,  a postal stop between [[al-Ramla]] and [[Gaza City|Gaza]],<ref name=Khalidi>Khalidi, 1992, p. 110</ref>  and the [[Ashdod (ancient city)|ancient city of Ashdod]]. The name appears in documents  from the time of [[Mamluk]]-rule  in the mid-15th century. In the [[History of Palestine#Ottoman period|Ottoman period]], there were 75 households. In 1922, it had a population of 2,566 (2,555 Muslims and 11 Christians) and in 1945, 4,620 Arabs and 290 Jews. During the 1948  war, the Arab inhabitants fled or were expelled. 

Today, the village's ruins form part of the [[Tel Ashdod]] archaeological site,<ref name="antiquities.org.il">{{cite web | title=Tel Ashdod, Esdûd (S); Isdud, Sdud (M)|website=antiquities.org.il | url=https://www.antiquities.org.il/survey/new/default_en.aspx?pid=1333 | access-date=2022-12-27}}</ref> which  lies within the jurisdiction of the [[Be'er Tuvia Regional Council]].<ref name=Rough>{{cite book | last1=Jacobs | first1=D. | last2=Eber | first2=S. | last3=Silvani | first3=F. | author4=Rough Guides (Firm) | title=Israel and the Palestinian Territories: The Rough Guide | publisher=Rough Guides | series=Music rough guide | year=1998 | isbn=978-1-85828-248-0 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TRc9ea_CKOUC&pg=PA113 | access-date=2022-12-22 | page=113|quote= Four kilometres out of town and just west of Route 4, Tel Ashdod was the centre of the village of Isdud - ancient Ashdod - and site of the Philistine port. Get off the bus if you like old mounds, derelict Palestinian homes...}}</ref><ref name=Carta>{{cite book | author=Karṭa (Firm) | title=Carta's Official Guide to Israel: And Complete Gazetteer to All Sites in the Holy Land | publisher=State of Israel, Ministry of Defence Publishing House | year=1983 | isbn=978-965-220-047-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jxtGwWDXo-AC | access-date=2022-12-22 | page=81|quote=Tel Ashdod... Ancient tel, 7 km S. of modern Ashdod within abandoned Arab village of Isdud ...}}</ref> The central village mosque stands at the top of the site, as does the khan and the tomb of Sheikh Abu Qubal.<ref>[https://visit.ashdod.muni.il/wp-content/uploads/travelers-guide/en/files/assets/common/downloads/Ashdod%20Travelers%20guide.pdf Ashdod Shichor Guide], "Around Ashdod: Tel Ashdod", p.170-171, "The archaeological site, which dominated the ancient sea route (Via Maris), rises to a height of about ten meters above sea level. Among other things, it includes the remains of the Arab village of Isdud and the remains of the entrance to the Philistine city, through which the Holy Ark was brought in. Some of the village buildings still show signs of bullet holes from the fierce battles that took place here during the War of Independence. At the top of the site stand the remains of the mosque that was located in the middle of the village, and was named after Salman Al Farsi, who was, according to legend, the personal barber of the Prophet Muhammad. To the west of the mosque there is a khan that was built during the Ottoman period and used as a resting place for pilgrims passing through. Next to the khan stands one of the only structures that was left mostly intact - the tomb of Sheikh Abu Al-Kabel."</ref>

==Names==
{{main|Ashdod (ancient city)#Names}}
The name "Isdud" is a variant on the name of [[Ashdod (ancient city)|ancient Ashdod]], which is first attested in the form of 11th century BCE Egyptian lists, where is it transcribed as "ísdd", which scholars have determined is derived from the [[Late Bronze Age]] Canaanite "'aṯdādu".<ref name=Cross64>{{cite journal |last1=Cross Jr. |first1=F. M. |last2=Freedman |first2=D. N. |date=1964 |title=The Name of Ashdod |journal=Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research |volume=175 |issue=1 |pages=48–50 |doi=10.2307/1355824 |jstor=1355824 |s2cid=163848559 |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.2307/1355824?journalCode=basor|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

In the Islamic period, the geographer [[Ibn Khordadbeh]] referred to the city as "Azdud", echoing the pre-Hellenistic name.<ref name=Khalidi/> By the 16th century, it had lost its initial vowel to become just "Sdud",<ref name=Petersen/> before regaining it by the 19th century as "Esdud,"<ref name=Robinson/> and then  "Isdud."<ref name=Barron/>

==History==

===Ancient and classical period===
{{main|Ashdod (ancient city)}}

The ancient city of Ashdod rose to prominence in the 12th century BCE, when the [[Philistines]] ruled the city as ''Asdadu'' and the city was a member of their [[pentapolis]], a group of five key cities.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Philistines |page=119|language=he|author=B.Frenkel|publisher=Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, Ashdod branch|location=Israel|year=1990|id=ULI Sysno. 005093624 }}</ref> alongside [[Ascalon]], [[Gaza City|Gaza]], [[Ekron]] and [[Gath (city)|Gath]].

''Asdûdu'' later led the revolt of [[Philistines]], [[Judeans]], [[Edomites]], and [[Moabites]] against [[Neo-Assyrian Empire |Assyria]],<ref name="Kaplan">{{cite book |author=J. Kaplan |author-link=Jacob Kaplan |title=Yamani stronghold in Ashdod-Yam |publisher=Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, Ashdod branch |year=1990 |location=Israel |page=125 |language=he |id=ULI Sysno. 005093624}}</ref> before one of [[Sargon II]]'s generals destroyed the city and exiled its residents, including some [[Israelites]] who were subsequently settled in [[Medes|Media]] and [[Elam]].<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Judah under Assyrian Hegemony: A Reexamination of Imperialism and Religion |pages=403–414|first=Mordechai |last=Cogan|journal=Journal of Biblical Literature|volume=112|issue=3|year=1993|doi=10.2307/3267741|jstor=3267741|publisher=The Society of Biblical Literature}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Massoume |last=Price |publisher=Iran Chamber Society |title=A brief history of Iranian Jews |year=2001 |url=http://www.iranchamber.com/religions/articles/history_of_iranian_jews1.php |access-date=October 11, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930181825/http://www.iranchamber.com/religions/articles/history_of_iranian_jews1.php |archive-date=30 September 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref> In 605 BCE, [[Neo-Babylonian Empire|Babylonian]] king [[Nebuchadnezzar]] conquered it,<ref name="EventsList">{{cite book |author=O. Kolani |title=Events calendar in Israel and Ashdod |author2=B. Raanan |author3=M. Brosh |author4=S. Pipano |publisher=Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, Ashdod branch |year=1990 |location=Israel |page=79 |language=he |id=ULI Sysno. 005093624}}</ref> and in 539 BCE it was rebuilt by the [[Achaemenid Empire |Persians]], before being conquered in 332 BCE by [[Alexander the Great]].

During the [[Hellenistic period]], the city was known as ''Αzotus'' ({{langx|el|Άζωτος)}} and prospered until the [[Maccabean Revolt]], during which [[Judas Maccabeus]] took the city and "laid it waste".<ref name=Josephus>{{cite web |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2848/2848-h/2848-h.htm |title=The Antiquities of the Jews |author=Josephus Flavius |access-date=5 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150613020910/http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2848/2848-h/2848-h.htm |archive-date=13 June 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{primary source inline|date=June 2023}} It was then ruled by [[Alexander Jannaeus]] of the [[Hasmoneans]],<ref name=Josephus/>{{primary source inline|date=June 2023}} before being made independent again by the Roman general [[Pompey]].<ref name=Josephus/>{{primary source inline|date=June 2023}} In 55 BCE, the Roman general [[Aulus Gabinius|Gabinius]] also helped to rebuild Azotus.<ref name=Josephus/><ref name=Patai>{{cite book |author=Raphael Patai |year=1999 |title=The Children of Noah: Jewish Seafaring in Ancient Times |publisher=Princeton University Press |pages=144–145 |isbn=9780691009681 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kX7YXtI4POkC&q=ashdod+Vespasian&pg=PA145 |access-date=5 April 2015 |archive-date=29 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210529124810/https://books.google.com/books?id=kX7YXtI4POkC&q=ashdod+Vespasian&pg=PA145 |url-status=live }}</ref>

During the Byzantine period, Azotus was overshadowed by [[Azotus Paralios]], a nearby port and the inland city's maritime counterpart. The 6th-century [[Madaba Map]] shows both under their respective names.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/mad/sections/section7.html |title=Madaba Map, numbers 96 (Azotus) and 97 (Azotus-on-the-Sea) with discussions |access-date=2018-12-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150331092119/http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/mad/sections/section7.html |archive-date=2015-03-31 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Early Islamic period===

The geographer [[Ibn Khordadbeh]] (c. 820 – 912) referred to the inland city as "Azdud" and described it as a postal station between [[al-Ramla]] and [[Gaza City|Gaza]].<ref name=Khalidi>Khalidi, 1992, p. 110</ref>

=== Crusader period ===
[[12th century|12-century]] [[Kingdom of Jerusalem |Crusader]] [[Catholic Church|church]] endowments and land deeds mention settlement in Azotum/Azdūd. <ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Marom |first1=Roy |last2=Taxel |first2=Itamar |date=2023-10-01 |title=Ḥamāma: The historical geography of settlement continuity and change in Majdal 'Asqalan's hinterland, 1270–1750 CE |journal=Journal of Historical Geography |volume=82 |pages=49–65 |doi=10.1016/j.jhg.2023.08.003 |issn=0305-7488|doi-access=free }}</ref>

=== Mamluk period ===
Isdūd was very likely occupied without interruption starting in the 1200s CE.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Marom |first=Roy |author-link=Roy Marom |date=2025-03-15 |title=Vines Among the dunes: sand/dune agriculture in Rimāl Isdūd/Ashdod-Yam during the Late Ottoman and British Mandate periods |url=https://www.academia.edu/128219356/Vines_Among_the_dunes_sand_dune_agriculture_in_Rim%C4%81l_Isd%C5%ABd_Ashdod_Yam_during_the_Late_Ottoman_and_British_Mandate_periods |journal=Contemporary Levant |pages=6}}</ref> During the [[Mamluk period]], Isdud was a key village along the [[Cairo]]—[[Damascus]] road, which served as a center for rural religious and economic life.<ref name=":2" />

===Ottoman period===
In the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] period, the location of the village of Isdud on the ancient "[[Via Maris]]" route preserved the village's importance. In the first Ottoman [[Defter|tax register]] of 1526/7, the village had a population of 40 [[Muslim]] households and four [[bachelor]]s, and it belonged to the ''[[nahiya]]'' of Gaza ([[Gaza Sanjak]]).<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Marom |first1=Roy |last2=Taxel |first2=Itamar |date=2023-10-01 |title=Ḥamāma: The historical geography of settlement continuity and change in Majdal 'Asqalan's hinterland, 1270–1750 CE |journal=Journal of Historical Geography |volume=82 |pages=49–65 |doi=10.1016/j.jhg.2023.08.003 |issn=0305-7488|doi-access=free }}</ref> Sixteenth-century Ottoman fiscal registers from Isdūd document a diversified subsistence economy that included the cultivation of staple field crops such as [[wheat]], [[barley]], and [[sesame]], alongside fruit tree planting, small [[Livestock|livestock herding]] (sheep and goats), and [[Beekeeping|apiculture]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Marom |first=Roy |author-link=Roy Marom |date=2025-01-01 |title=Vines Among the dunes: sand/dune agriculture in Rimāl Isdūd/Ashdod-Yam during the Late Ottoman and British Mandate periods |url=https://www.academia.edu/128219356/Vines_Among_the_dunes_sand_dune_agriculture_in_Rim%C4%81l_Isd%C5%ABd_Ashdod_Yam_during_the_Late_Ottoman_and_British_Mandate_periods |journal=Contemporary Levant}}</ref> By 1596 CE, the population of Ashdod (named ''Sdud'') reached 75 households, about 413 persons, all [[Muslim]]s. The villagers paid a  fixed tax rate of 33,3% on wheat, barley, sesame and fruit crops, as well as goats and beehives; a total of 14,000 [[Akçe]].<ref>Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 143. Quoted in Khalidi, 1992, p. 110</ref><ref name=Petersen>{{cite book|author=A. Petersen|title=The Towns of Palestine under Muslim Rule AD 600–1600 |publisher=BAR International Series 1381|year=2005|page=[https://archive.org/stream/TheTownsOfPalestineUnderUnderMuslimRule/AndrewPetersenTheTownsOfPalestineUnderMuslimRule-600-1600#page/n141/mode/1up 133]}}</ref>

[[Roy Marom|Marom]] and [[Itamar Taxel|Taxel]] have shown that during the seventeenth to eighteenth centuries, nomadic economic and security pressures led to settlement abandonment around Majdal 'Asqalān, and the southern coastal plain in general. The population of abandoned villages moved to surviving settlements, while the lands of abandoned settlements continued to be cultivated by neighboring villages. Thus, Isdud absorbed the lands of Kharijat Isdud, an unidentified subsidiary settlement near Isdud mentioned in the Ottoman tax registers.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Marom |first1=Roy |author-link=Roy Marom |last2=Taxel |first2=Itamar |date=2023-10-01 |title=Ḥamāma: The historical geography of settlement continuity and change in Majdal 'Asqalan's hinterland, 1270–1750 CE |journal=Journal of Historical Geography |volume=82 |pages=49–65 |doi=10.1016/j.jhg.2023.08.003 |issn=0305-7488 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

In 1838, ''Esdud'' was noted as a Muslim village in the Gaza district.<ref name=Robinson>Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd appendix, p. [https://archive.org/stream/biblicalresearch03robiuoft#page/118/mode/1up 118] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150408141531/https://archive.org/stream/biblicalresearch03robiuoft#page/118/mode/1up |date=2015-04-08 }}</ref><ref>Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 2, p. [https://archive.org/stream/biblicalresearc00smitgoog#page/n390/mode/1up 368] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020112341/https://archive.org/stream/biblicalresearc00smitgoog#page/n390/mode/1up |date=2017-10-20 }}</ref>
[[File:Isdud 08, ruins 1900.jpg|thumb|Ruins of medieval Isdud, in 1900]]

During the latter half of the nineteenth century CE, Isdud was organized into four distinct quarters, each led by a [[Mukhtar|headperson]] from one of the village's major [[Clan|clans]]: the Da‘ālisa, Zaqqūt/Zaqāqita, Manā‘ima, and Jūda, which were further divided into smaller family groups. This division into quarters was a common feature of larger settlements in the region, also observed in neighboring [[Hamama|Hamāma]] and [[Ashkelon|al-Majdal]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Marom |first=Roy |author-link=Roy Marom |date=2025-01-01 |title=Vines Among the dunes: sand/dune agriculture in Rimāl Isdūd/Ashdod-Yam during the Late Ottoman and British Mandate periods |url=https://www.academia.edu/128219356/Vines_Among_the_dunes_sand_dune_agriculture_in_Rim%C4%81l_Isd%C5%ABd_Ashdod_Yam_during_the_Late_Ottoman_and_British_Mandate_periods |journal=Contemporary Levant |pages=7}}</ref>

In the late nineteenth century, Isdud was described as a village spread across the eastern slope of a low hill, covered with gardens. A ruined [[caravanserai|khan]] stood southwest of the village. Its houses were one-storey high with walls and enclosures built of [[adobe]] brick. There were two main sources of water: a pond and a masonry well. Both were surrounded by groves of date-palm and fig-trees.<ref>Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp02conduoft#page/409/mode/1up 409] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161028114307/https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp02conduoft#page/409/mode/1up |date=2016-10-28 }}. Quoted in Khalidi, 1992, pp. 110-111</ref>

[[Rimal Isdud]], the coastal [[Dune|sand dunes]] of Isdud were cultivated using traditional Palestinian agricultural techniques adapted to sandy and shifting soils. Local farmers developed systems such as mawāsī (plot-and-berm cultivation), kurūm ([[Vineyard|vineyards]]), and basātīn ([[Agroforestry|orchard gardens]]), which enabled sustainable [[Agriculture|farming]] in ecologically marginal [[Landscape|landscapes]]. These methods combined indigenous knowledge with environmental adaptation strategies, including the stabilization of dunes and the strategic planting of [[Xerophyte|drought-resistant crops]]. Contrary to [[Colonialism|colonial-era]] perceptions of the dunes as barren wastelands, recent studies have highlighted the productivity and ecological sophistication of these traditional [[Land use|land-use practices]], contributing to a broader reevaluation of Palestinian agrarian history in the [[southern Levant]].<ref name=":1" />

== Excavation ==
[[File:Isdud, circa 1914-18.jpg|thumb|Isdud, c. 1914–1918]]

=== British Mandate ===
[[File:Isdud 1930.jpg|thumb|left|Isdud 1930 1:20,000]]
[[File:Isdud 1945.jpg|thumb|left|Isdud 1945 1:250,000]]

In the [[1922 census of Palestine]], conducted by the [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate]] authorities, Isdud had a population of 2,566 inhabitants; 2,555 Muslims and 11 Christians,<ref name=Barron>Barron, 1923, Table V, Sub-district of Gaza, p. [http://cs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/PalestineCensus1922/p08.pdf 8] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150404044554/http://cs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/PalestineCensus1922/p08.pdf |date=2015-04-04 }}</ref> where the Christians were all [[Catholic Church|Catholics]].<ref>Barron, 1923, Table XIII, p. [https://archive.org/stream/PalestineCensus1922/Palestine%20Census%20%281922%29#page/n46/mode/1up  44] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020103207/https://archive.org/stream/PalestineCensus1922/Palestine%20Census%20%281922%29#page/n46/mode/1up |date=2017-10-20 }}</ref>

The population increased in the [[1931 census of Palestine|1931 census]] to 3,240; 3,238 Muslims and 2 Christians, in a total of 764 houses.<ref name="Census1931">Mills, 1932, p. [https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas 4] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610051350/https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas |date=2016-06-10 }}.</ref>

During the Mandatory period, Isdud had two elementary schools; one for boys which was opened in 1922, and one for girls which started in 1942. By the mid-1940s the boy-school had 371 students, while the girl-school had 74.<ref>Khalidi, 1992, p.111.</ref>

The official [[Village Statistics, 1945]] for "Isdûd" gave a population of 4,620 Arabs and 290 Jews in a total land area of 47,871 [[dunam]]s [{{convert|4787.1|ha|acre}}].<ref name=1945p31>Department of Statistics, 1945, p. [http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/VSpages/VS1945_p31.jpg 31] No. 33 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005024340/http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/VSpages/VS1945_p31.jpg |date=2016-10-05 }}</ref><ref name=Hadawi45>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20I/Gaza/Page-045.jpg 45] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924150132/http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20I/Gaza/Page-045.jpg |date=2015-09-24 }}</ref> Of this, 3,277 dunams were used citrus and bananas, 8,327 for plantations and irrigable land, 23,762 for cereals,<ref>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20II/Gaza/Page-087.jpg 87] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180906133609/http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20II/Gaza/Page-087.jpg |date=2018-09-06 }}</ref> while 131 dunams were built-on land.<ref>Government of Palestine, Department of Statistics. ''Village Statistics, April, 1945.'' Quoted in Hadawi, 1970, p. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20III/Gaza/Page-137.jpg 137] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180906133508/http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20III/Gaza/Page-137.jpg |date=2018-09-06 }}</ref>

In addition to agriculture, residents practiced [[animal husbandry]] which formed was an important source of income for the town. In 1943, they owned 480 heads of [[cattle]], 117 [[sheep]] over a year old, 50 [[Goat|goats]] over a year old, 169 [[Camel|camels]], 18 [[Horse|horses]], 21 [[Mule|mules]], 328 [[Donkey|donkeys]], 5790 [[Fowl|fowls]], and 3079 [[Domestic pigeon|pigeons]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Marom |first=Roy |author-link=Roy Marom |last2=Taxel |first2=Itamar |date=2024-10-10 |title=Hamama: The Palestinian Countryside in Bloom (1750–1948) |url=https://journal.equinoxpub.com/JIA/article/view/26586 |journal=Journal of Islamic Archaeology |language=en |volume=11 |issue=1 |page=93 |doi=10.1558/jia.26586 |issn=2051-9729|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

===1948 Arab–Israeli War===
[[File:The area around Isdud and Majdal in the UN Palestine Partition Versions 1947 (cropped).jpg|thumb|The area around Isdud and [[al-Majdal, Askalan|Majdal]] had been allocated to the Arab state in the [[United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine]]]]

The village of Isdud was occupied by the [[Egyptian army]] on May 29, 1948, and became the Egyptians' northernmost position during the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War|1948 Arab-Israeli War]]. While the Israelis failed to capture territory, and suffered heavy casualties, Egypt changed its strategy from offensive to defensive, thus halting their advance northwards.<ref>[http://www.hsje.org/pstnwsclps/4806-Egypt/480608-EGYPT%27S%20NAVY%20LANDS%20ISDUD%20RELIEF%20FORCE.pdf New York Times]{{Dead link|date=December 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} June 8, 1948</ref> Egyptian and Israeli forces clashed in the surrounding area, with the Egyptians being unable to hold the [[Ad Halom]] bridge over the [[Lakhish River|Lachish River]]. Israeli forces surrounded the town during [[Operation Pleshet]], and shelled and bombed it from the air.<ref>{{cite book|title=Battle Sites in the Land of Israel|page=24|language=he|publisher=[[Carta (publisher)|Carta]]|location=Israel|year=2003|isbn=965-220-494-3|author=Yehudah Ṿalakh ...}}</ref> For three nights from 18 October the [[Israeli Air Force]] bombed Isdud and several other locations.<ref>Khalidi, 1992, p. 112</ref> Fearing encirclement, Egyptian forces retreated on October 28, 1948, and the majority of the residents fled.<ref>{{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>{{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>Morris (2004), p. 471.</ref> The village was part of territory that was granted to Israel in the [[1949 Armistice Agreements]] following the end of the war.

===Israel===
In 1950, two [[moshav]]im, [[Sde Uziyahu]] and [[Shtulim]], were established to the east of Isdud, on village land. [[Bnei Darom]] (in 1949) and [[Gan HaDarom]] (in 1953) were established  north of Isdud, on village land.<ref>Khalidi, 1992, pp. 112-13</ref> The city of [[Ashdod]] was founded in 1956 {{convert|4|km|mi|sp=us}} north of Isdud.

In 1992, Isdud was reported as destroyed, with only a few ruined buildings including the village mosque remaining.<ref>Khalidi (1992), p113.</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Isdud 1946 BOA.jpg|Detailed village map, 1946
File:שרידי העיירה הערבית איסדוד, 2008.jpg|Ruins of the Isdud mosque
File:Air views of Palestine. Air route over Cana of Galilee, Nazareth, Plain of Sharon, etc. Ashdod. Home of Dagon. Encroaching sand waves in distance LOC matpc.15882.jpg|Aerial view of Isdud, 1932
File:Court Yard Of A Village House In 1945.jpg|Courtyard of house in Isdud, about 1945
File:Isdud 1948.jpg|Isdud 1948
File:Isdud After the 1948 Arab-Israeli War (D281-049).jpg|Isdud in 1948
File:Modern Ashdod versus historical Isdud (Esdud) and Minet el Kulah.png|Isdud (Esdud) in 1870, at the bottom of the map, compared against the location of modern Ashdod
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[List of Arab towns and villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{Commons category}}
{{Refbegin}}
*{{cite book|last1=Conder|first1=C.R.|author-link1=Claude Reignier Conder|last2=Kitchener|first2=H.H.|author-link2=Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|year=1882|url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp02conduoft|title=The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology|location=London|publisher=[[Palestine Exploration Fund|Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund]]|volume=2}}
*{{cite book|title=Village Statistics of 1945: A Classification of Land and Area ownership in Palestine|url=http://www.palestineremembered.com/Articles/General-2/Story3150.html|first1=S.|last1=Hadawi|authorlink=Sami Hadawi|year=1970|publisher=Palestine Liberation Organization Research Center}}
*{{cite book| title = Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century
 | last1 = Hütteroth 
 | first1=W.-D.
 | author-link1=Wolf-Dieter Hütteroth
 | first2=K. 
 | last2=Abdulfattah 
 | author-link2=Kamal Abdulfattah
 | year = 1977
 | publisher = Erlanger Geographische Arbeiten, Sonderband 5. Erlangen, Germany: Vorstand der Fränkischen Geographischen Gesellschaft
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=wqULAAAAIAAJ
 | isbn = 3-920405-41-2
}}
*{{cite book|title=All That Remains|first1=W.|last1=Khalidi|authorlink=Walid Khalidi|year=1992|location=[[Washington D.C.]]|publisher=[[Institute for Palestine Studies]]|isbn=0887282245}}
*{{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 }}
*[[Gamal Abdul Nasser|Nasser, Gamal Abdul]] (1955/1973): [http://www.palestine-studies.org/enakba/Memoirs/  "Memoirs"] in ''[[Journal of Palestine Studies]]''
**[http://www.palestine-studies.org/enakba/Memoirs/Nasser,%20Memoirs%20of%20the%20First%20Palestine%20War.pdf" “Memoirs of the First Palestine War” in 2, no. 2 (Win. 73): 3-32], pdf-file, downloadable     <!--  cited in Khalidi, 1992, p. 111 (G 13-17)  -->
*Petersen, Andrew (2002): ''[http://www.amazon.com/dp/0197270115 A Gazetteer of Buildings in Muslim Palestine: Volume I (British Academy Monographs in Archaeology)]'' (Isdud, p.&nbsp;155-158)
*{{cite book|title=Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarum Palaestinae, Vol. I, A |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j1rSzWgHMjoC|first1=M.|last1=Sharon|author-link=Moshe Sharon|year=1997|publisher=BRILL|isbn=9004108335}} (Isdud: [https://books.google.com/books?id=j1rSzWgHMjoC&pg=RA1-PA124 p.124])
{{Refend}}

==External links==
*[http://www.palestineremembered.com/Gaza/Isdud/index.html Welcome To Isdud]
* {{cite EB9 |wstitle= Azotus |volume= III |page=172 |short=1}}
*[http://alnakba.org/villages/gaza/isdud.htm Isdud] from the [[Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center]]
*[http://www.nakbainhebrew.org/index.php?id=351 Tour and signposting in Isdud], by Eitan Bronstein, 15.8.03, [[Zochrot]]
*[http://imeu.net/news/article008536.shtml Untold stories: Ahmad Joudah] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101201073432/http://imeu.net/news/article008536.shtml |date=2010-12-01 }} IMEU, Apr 24, 2008

{{Palestinian Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Palestine War}}

[[Category:District of Gaza]]
[[Category:Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War]]
[[Category:Ashdod]]