It was a port on the Mediterranean coast between Gaza and Jamnia (Joseph. War, iv, 11, 5), 12 geogr. miles N. of the former, 10 S. by W. from Ashdod, and 37 W.S.W. from Jerusalem (comp. Reland, Palast. p. 443). Ashkelon was assigned to the tribe of Judah (Josh, xiii, 13 ; comp. Judg. i, 18) ; but it was never for any length of time in possession of the Israelites (comp. 1 Kings iv, 24). It is farther mentioned in the denunciations of the prophets (Jer. xxv, 20 ; xlvii, 5, 7 ; Amos i, 8 ; Zeph. ii, 4, 7 ; Zech. ix, 5). The part of the country in which it stood abounded in aromatic plants (Plin. xii, 51), and especially onions (shallots, ascalonke, Plin. xix, S2 ; Strabo, xvi, 759; Athen. ii, 68; Theophr. Plant, vii, 4; Dioscor. i, 124; Colum. xii, 10), and vines (Alex. Trail, viii, 3). The soil around the town was remarkable for its fertility ; the wine of Ashkelon was celebrated, and the *1 l-henna plant flourished better than in any other place except Canopus (Kenrick, p. 28). It was also celebrated for its cypresses, for figs, olives, and pomegranates, and for its bees, which gave their name to a valley in the neighborhood (Ibn Batuta in Eitter, Paldstina, 88). It was well fortified (Joseph. War, iii, 21 ; cemp. Mela, i, 11), and early became the seat of the worship of Derceto (Diod. Sic. ii, 4), the Syrian Venus, whose temple was plundered by the Scythians (Herod, i, 105). She represented the passive principle of nature, and was worshipped under the form of a fish with a wom- an's head (comp. Ovid, Fast, ii, 406).- See Ater- gatis. "The sacred doves of Venus still fill with their cooings the luxuriant gardens which grow in the sandy hollow within the ruined walls" (Stanley, p. 257). Alter the time of Alexander, Ashkelon shared the let of Phoenicia and Judasa, being tributary seme- times to Egypt (Joseph. Ant. xii, 4, 5), and at ether times to Syria (1 Mace, x, 86 ; xi, 60 ; xii, 33). Herod the Great wr.s born at Ashkelon, and although the city did not belong to his dominion, he adorned it with fountains, baths, and colonnades {War, i, 21, 11); and after his death Salome, his sister, resided in a palace at Ashkelon which Cassar bestowed upon her {Ant. xvii, 11, 5). It suffered much in the Jewish war with the Romans {War, ii, 18, 5; iii, 2, 1-3); for its in- habitants were noted for their dislike of the Jews, of whom thej' slew 2500 who dwelt there (ii, 18, 5; iii, 2, 1). After this Ashkelon again revived, and in the Middle Ages was noted not only as a stronghold, but as a wealth}- and important town (Will. Tyr. xvii, 21). In the fourth century it was the see of a bishop, but in the seventh century it fell into the hands of the Saracens. Abulfeda {Tab. Syr.) speaks of it as one of the famous strongholds of Mohammedanism ; and the Orientals call it the Bride of Syria (Schultens, In- dex Geogr. s. v. ; Edrisi, ed. Jaubert, i, 340). It shared with Gaza an infamous reputation for the steadfast- ness of its heathenism and for the cruelties there prac- tised on Christians by Julian (Reland, p. 588, 590). As a sea-port merely it never could have enjoyed much advantage, the coast being sandy and difficult of ac- cess. There is no bay or shelter for ships, but a email harbor toward the east advanced a little way into the town, and anciently bore, like that of Gr.za, the name of Majumas (Kenrick, p. 28). In the time of Origen some wells of remarkable shape were shown near the town which were believed to be those dug by Isaac, or, at any rate, to be of the time of the patriarchs. In connection with this tradition may be mentioned the fact that in the Samaritan version of Gen. xx, 1, 2, and xxvi, 1, Ashkelon CpbpO") is put for the " Gerar" of the Hebrew text. The town bears a prominent
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part in the history of the Crusades (see Ibn Ferath, in j Beinaud's Extracts, p. 525). After being several times dismantled and re-fortified in the times of Saladin and Richard, its fortifications were at length totally de- stroyed by the Sultan Bibars A.D. 1270, and the port filled up with stones, for fear of future attempts on the part of the Crusaders (Wilkin, Gesck. der Kreuz. vii, 586 ). This, no doubt, sealed the ruin of the place (see Cellar. Notit. ii, GOO sq. ; Rosenmuller, Alterth. II, ii, 377 sq.)- Sandys (Trarailes, p. 151, A.D. 1610) de- scribes it as "now a place of no note, more than that the Turke doth keepe there a garrison." Fifty years after (A.D. 1G60), Von Troilo found it still partially inhabited. But its desolation has long been complete, and little now remains of it but the walls, with numer- ous fragments of granite pillars (Arvieux, ii, 59 ; Jo- liffe, p. 270). The situation is described as strong; the thick walls, flanked with towers, were built on the top of a ridge of rock that encircles the town, and terminates at each end in the sea (Robinson's Re- searches, ii, 368 note). The ground within sinks in the manner of an amphitheatre (Richardson, ii, 202- 204 ; EH Smith, in Missionary Herald for 1827, p. 341). The place still bears the name of Askulan, and is in- habited by Arabs and Christians (Schwarz, Palest, p. 120). The modern village is a little north of the old site, and the houses are built of the fragments of the ancient city. It is situated in a cove formed by a lofty ridge rising abruptly near the shore, running up eastward, then bending to the south, next to the west, and finally to the north-west again. The position, now surrounded with desolate ruins of its former grandeur, is still beautiful, the whole interior being planted with orchards (Thomson, Land and Book, ii, 327 sq.). See Cuneiform Inscriptions.