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6As previous entries written in Israel explained, Apollonia (also Arsuf/Arsur) is an archaeological site located on the Mediterranean coast some 10 km north of Tel Aviv. While there is evidence of occupation as far back as the Chalcolithic Period (4500-3500 BCE), Apollonia reached its prominence during the Byzantine Period (313-636 CE).
Apollonia was subsequently occupied during the Early Arab Period (638-1099), and the Crusader Period (1099-1260 CE), during which time a castle, complete with a moat, was constructed. Interestingly, the Byzantine city had no fortified city wall, attesting to the peace of the times, unlike the Crusader fortress, which had layers and layers of fortification.
In March and April of 1265, a large Muslim Mamluk army laid siege to the city for forty days, razed it to the ground, and left it in ruins. A thousand Hospitallers, including 90 knights, died in the fighting; the rest were taken as slaves. Just like the movies.
During its long history, Apollonia was the setting for two major, well-chronicled battles, both taking place in September, separated by a mere 727 years. The first was the Battle of Arsuf (September 7th, 1191), pitting Richard 1 of England (the Lion-Heart) against Saladin (Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and leader of the Muslim resistance during the Third Crusade). The second was the Battle of Megiddo (September 19-21, 1918) featuring British Admiral Edmund Allenby's offensive against the Ottoman Turks toward the end of WWI. Both stories are the stuff of high budget, block-buster movies.
In the early '90s, we found around Apollonia WWI bullets and M1 shell casings mixed on the surface with green-glazed Crusader-age ceramics. On a class field trip, one of my 5th graders found a howitzer shell casing with the date 1917 stamped on the encrusted back surface. Amazing.
Over the years, as the internet has grown and its resources expanded, I've occasionally surfed around for images and articles regarding the Battle of Megiddo, hoping to identify images of Apollonia. A recent search revealed the images above. Of particular interest is Photo 2, taken in 1917, showing the Arab village of El-Haram, which may be the source of the human bones observed on our holiday. I have also just discovered that soldiers from the 52nd Division borrowed three Roman-Byzantine columns at the close of WWI to mark their three crossing points on the Auju River, located just north of Apollonia. Photographs taken recently reveal that these three columns are still standing.
Note the following links for further information regarding the Battle of Megiddo:
The Soldier's Burden (includes links to column photos)
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1 comment:
War is a fascinating subject. Despite the dubious morality of using violence to achieve personal or political aims. It remains that conflict has been used to do just that throughout recorded history.
Your article is very well done, a good read.
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