Isdud / Esdud
اسدود | |
|---|---|
Former village | |
.jpg) Isdud, pre-1914 | |
  Isdud / Esdud Location within Mandatory Palestine | |
| Coordinates: 31°45′13″N 34°39′42″E / 31.75361°N 34.66167°E | |
| Palestine grid | 118/129 |
| Geopolitical entity | Mandatory Palestine |
| Subdistrict | Gaza |
| Date of depopulation | 28 October 1948[1] |
| Area | |
• Total | 7,391 dunams (7.391 km2 or 2.854 sq mi) |
| Population (1945) | |
• Total | 4,910 |
| Cause(s) of depopulation | Military assault by Yishuv forces |
| Secondary cause | Fear of being caught up in the fighting |
| Current Localities | Sde Uzziyyahu, Shetulim, Bene Darom, and Gan ha-Darom |
Isdud (Arabic: إسدود, romanized: ʾisdūd) was a Palestinian village, on the site today known as Tel Ashdod. In the 1940s the village had thousands of Arab and Jewish inhabitants, but was largely depopulated in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. By 1992, only ruins remained.
Isdud may or may not form part of a continuity with the town of "Azdud", described up until the 10th century as a postal stop between al-Ramla and Gaza,[2] and equally as a continuation of the ancient city of Ashdod. The village is documented as being well established from at least the time of Mamluk-rule in Palestine in the mid-15th century. During the Ottoman period, the village consisted of 75 households. By 1922, Isdud had a population of 2,566 inhabitants, 2,555 Muslims and 11 Christians; and by 1945, a population of 4,620 Arabs and 290 Jews. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the Palestinian Arab inhabitants fled or were expelled. By 1992, only ruins were described as remaining.
Today, the village's ruins form part of the Tel Ashdod archaeological site,[3] which lies within the jurisdiction of the Be'er Tuvia Regional Council.[4][5] The central village mosque stands at the top of the site, as does the khan and the tomb of Sheikh Abu Qubal.[6]
- ^ Morris, 2004, village #281 p xvii, Also gives the cause for depopulation
- ^ Khalidi, 1992, p. 110
- ^ "Tel Ashdod, Esdûd (S); Isdud, Sdud (M)". antiquities.org.il. Retrieved 2022-12-27.
- ^ Jacobs, D.; Eber, S.; Silvani, F.; Rough Guides (Firm) (1998). Israel and the Palestinian Territories: The Rough Guide. Music rough guide. Rough Guides. p. 113. ISBN 978-1-85828-248-0. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
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...
- ^ Karṭa (Firm) (1983). Carta's Official Guide to Israel: And Complete Gazetteer to All Sites in the Holy Land. State of Israel, Ministry of Defence Publishing House. p. 81. ISBN 978-965-220-047-1. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
Tel Ashdod... Ancient tel, 7 km S. of modern Ashdod within abandoned Arab village of Isdud ...
- ^ 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."