Old Jaffa: Past and Present

Jaffa is one of the oldest port cities in the Land of Israel and the Meditteranean. It has been closely related to historical events that occurred since it has been inhabited first, particularly in the Land of Israel and in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea in general.

Jaffa has been built upon a high cliff at the foot of which lies the port defended by the protruding rocks.

Historical sources as well as remnants unearthed by excavations in Jaffa and its environs (see history of the excavations in Jaffa) relate the history of Jaffa. Glacis that encircled the hill in the 18^th century B.C.E (the Middle Bronze II period) that were found in Jaffa (in the Hammam area and its environs) are the most ancient remnants.

The central excavation area (area A) is located inside the "Raamses Gate Garden" in which remnants of a settlement dated to as early as the end of the 17^th century and the first half of the 16^th century B.C.E

Remnants of brick dwellings built on stone basement are dated to the late Bronze period (the second half of the 16^th century and the first half of the 15^th century B.C.E).

Remains of three layers of dwellings were unearthed that are dated to the late Bronze period (the 13^th – 14^th centuries B.C.E): The lower layer is constructed of dwellings and a granary built of parchment bricks, the middle layer reveals the remnants of a gate of a magnificent palace dated to the Egyptian Pharaoh, Raamses the II (1237-1304 B.C.E), the artistry of the gate was built of carved hard sandstone on which the date and the name of Raamses the II was engraved written in hieroglyphics and the walls were built of bricks above which the remnants of a gate were unearthed  (a bronze axis of a wooden door was found) and an Egyptian fortress, both of which were destroyed by a great fire (the end of the 13^th century – the beginning of the 12 century B.C.E).

These remnants reveal Egyptian dominance over Jaffa, like in other Canaanite cities.

Several records of external inscriptions that refer to Jaffa have survived this period:

1. "Papyrus Harris", which describes the cunning conquest of Jaffa by the Pharaoh Thutmose the III (1504-1450 B.C.E) according to which he presented a gift of large baskets, in which his soldiers were hidden, to the Governor of Jaffa. This trick enabled the Egyptians to conquer the city from within.
2. Jaffa is mentioned in the list of cities conquered by Thutmose the III in the temple of Karnack in Egypt.
3. The remnants of administrative letters carved in hieroglyphics on clay tables that were found in the pharaoh's archive in Al – Amarna in Egypt reveal that Pharaoh's granaries were located in Jaffa. A similar letter mentioning Jaffa was also found in Tel – Afek (Rosh Haayin). 
4. The Anastasi papyrus, a document dated to the 13th century B.C.E., reveals a Canaanite courtier's description of a journey in which he portrays Jaffa, its gardens and inhabitants.

The Iron Age provides mainly meager remnants which include Philistines ceramics and the remnants of a sacred place, "The Temple of the Lion" - a 4.4 m. by 5.8 m. hall in which two wood columns from which only the stone bases are left, support the roof. A lion's skull with fierce teeth and a scarab were revealed on the floor of the temple.

A Greek legend dating probably from this time associates the city with Andromeda, a beauty whose parents were Cepheus, the King of Jaffa and his wife Cassiopeia. She was tied to a rock in the sea and Perseus saved and married her.

Jaffa first appears in the bible in the description of the borders of the Dan tribe: "And Me-jarkon, and Rakkon, with the border before Japho" (Joshua 19:46). Jaffa is again mentioned during Solomon's reign, relating to the construction of the First Temple in Jerusalem – "and we will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as thou shalt need; and we will bring it to thee in floats by see to Joppa; and thou shalt carry it up to Jerusalem." (II Chronicles 2:16)

Rampart of stone that surrounded Jaffa in the 8th century B.C.E can be found inside the Hammam and its evirons.

The prophett Jonah escaped to Tarshish via the port of Jaffa – "But Jonah rose up to flee untoTarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish;" (Jonah, 1:3)

Jaffa can be also found in the list of cities conquered by Sennacherib, king of Assyria in the year 701 B.C.E – "In the continuation of my campaign I besieged Beth-Dagon, Joppa, Banai-Barqa, Azuru, cities belonging to Sidqia [King of Ashqelon] who did not bow to my feet quickly [enough]; I conquered [them] and carried their spoils away."

In the period of the Return to Zion and the construction of the Second Temple, the cedars of Lebanon were delivered via Jaffa – "to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa, according to the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia." (Ezra 3:7).

At the end of the 5^th century Sidon dominated Jaffa as is described by an inscription located on the sarcophagus of Eshmun'azar, King of Sidon "Futhermore, the Lord of Kings [King of Persia)] gave us Dor and Joppa, the mighty lands of Dagon, which are in the Plain of Sharon,…"

During the Jaffa excavations, remnants of dwellings and finds from the Persian period were unearthed – the 6^th – 4^th centuries B.C.E.

In the year 332 B.C.E, Jaffa was conquered by Alexander Macedon; it was than ruled by some of his successors until it was again conquered by Ptolemy I (Ruler of Egypt) in the year 301 B.C.E. An inscription dedicated to Ptolemy IV (Philopator) dated to the end of the 3^rd century B.C.E was unearthed in the Jaffa excavations (in Kedumim Square). At the beginning of the 2^nd century B.C.E, Jaffa was conquered by Antiochus III the Ruler of Syria and its environs. The Hasmonean fought in order to conquer Jaffa, which was the port town to Jerusalem and Judea. During the battles with local inhabitants the Jewish inhabitant were forced to flee by boats to the sea, where they drowned. Judea the Maccabee burned the city and its port. The city was than conquered by his brother Jonathan and Shimon affiliated it to Judea after deporting all the foreign inhabitants. 

Following the Romans' conquest of Judea, Pompeius affiliated it to the region of "Phoenicia" and only in the year 47 B.C.E, Julius Caesar returned it to Judea. In the second half of the 1^st century B.C.E Jaffa was transferred from hand to hand: Herod conquered it from Antigonus II, but Antonius handed it over to Cleopatra, the Queen of Egypt, and in the year 30 B.C.E. the emperor Augustus returned it to Herod. During the days of the Jewish War, it was destroyed by Cestius Gallus and the Jewish navy drowned at sea, the survivors slaughtered by the Romans. Testimony to the slaughter can be found in the excavations of the Jewish house in Kedumim Square (today serves as a visitors' center). Vespasianus built a fortress in Jaffa in which he posted a guard corps.  He turned it into an autonomic city and changed its name to Flavia Ioppe.

In the 1^st century C.E. Jaffa served as one of the most important places to the development of Christianity. Saint Peter, one of Jesus apostle arrived at the city and revived one of its inhabitants, Tabitha. He dwelled at the house of Shimon the Tanner and on his roof he dreamt one of his visions which he interpreted as a confirmation to accept people who are not Jewish into Christianity. Thus, the way was open to the spreading of Christianity.

The Jewish settlement in Jaffa recovered quickly as is testified by the inscription of Judah the son of Tozomanus, the Agoronomos (the commissioner of markets and weights) dated to the 2^nd century C.E that was unearthed in the Kedumim Square excavations and later burial tombstones that were unearthed in the Jewish graveyard of Abu-Kabir enlisting a variety of professions and public functionaries among Jaffa's Jewish inhabitants and also their origin of birth.

The remnants of the following periods can be observed in the visitors' center in Kedumim Square:

Remnants of a Jewish dwelling dated to the 1^st century B.C.E and the 1^st Century C.E. This house was burnt during the Jewish War  but was rehabilitated and continued to serve a Jewish family in the 2^nd century C.E.

Several elders are mentioned during the Mishna period such as, Rabbi Acha, Rabbi Tanchum Daman Yaffo, and Rabbi Yudan Ben Tarfon.

The travelers arriving at Jaffa during the Byzantine Period (4^th – 7^th centuries C.E.) describe a flourishing port town which is used as an exit port to the Mediterranean Sea's ports and an important commercial center.

At the 5^th – 6^th centuries C.E, a Christian Bishop resided in Jaffa.

As Jaffa was conquered by the Arabs in the year 636, the city deteriorated and the number of its inhabitants decreased as opposed to the increase in the importance of Ramla which was built by Muslims. The Arab geographer Muqadasi described Jaffa in the 10^th century C.E. as a large village and as the port of Ramla.

The Phatimic authorities destroyed Jaffa with the approach of the crusades in the 11^th century. The Crusaders conquered Jaffa and fortified it yet once again. It became part of the Ashkelon-Jaffa county and served as a port to Jerusalem. In the year 1187 it fell to the hands of Saladin only to be retaken by Richard the Lion-Hearted in the year 1191.

In the 13^th century, John of Ibelin completed the fortification of the lower town and the fortress assisted by the knights of King Louis IX of France in May 1252 – June 1253.

Jaffa once again fell into Muslim hands when it was conquered by Sultan Baybars in 1268. He destroyed the town, but it continued to serve as a port to Ramla.

At the beginning of the 14^th century (1321), the Arab geographer, Abu-l Fida described the town: "Yaffa, in Filastin is a small but very pleasant town lying on the sea-shore. It has a celebrated harbour. The town of Yaffa is well fortified. Its markets are nuch frequented, and many merchants ply their trades here. There is a large harbour frequented by all the ships coming to Filastin, and from it they set sail to all lands."

However, in the year 1330, the authorities destroyed it completely because they were afraid of another crusade and they posted guards in the towers of the ruined fortress. When ships arrived at the port carrying merchandise and pilgrims, they were forced to wait until clerks from Ramla or Gaza came. Only then were they allowed to unload the merchandise and continue on their way – after paying the taxes.

The Ottoman occupation did not change the city's situation. Only in the year 1654 the "Latin Hostel" was built in Jaffa by the Franciscan Order who was responsible over the Christian affairs in the holy land (several years earlier in 1642, there was an attempt to build a similar hostel in the entrance of the "caves" that were used to accommodate the pilgrims until the arrival of the clerks from Gaza or Ramla, however this building was quickly destroyed by the governor's order). Soon enough, the Armenian and the Greek-Orthodox convents were established and were used as hostels as well. The construction of these buildings served as a leverage of the reestablishment of a permanent settlement in Jaffa.

The permanent settlement in Jaffa and the friendly relationships between the Ottoman Kingdom and France mark the increase of the traffic of merchandize in the port. Thus, a versatile settlement of Muslims, Christians, Europeans and a few Jews existed in Jaffa in the 18^th century. In 1746 a Jewish Khan was added to the city and in the middle of the century the city was already walled. The seventies of the century can be defined by power struggles between the local governors. Abu-Dhaher conquered Jaffa in 1776 and slaughtered its residents.

General Bonaparte (Napoleon) who arrived at Jaffa on March 3^rd 1799 found a well fortified city defended by a large garrison. Napoleon succeeded to conquer the city on March 7^th 1799 and than he proceeded to Acre.  He left his pestilence infested soldiers in a hospital that was established in the Armenian convent.  He returned to Jaffa at the end of May 1799 as he retreated from Acre and the city was once again under Ottoman rule.

After its conquest Jaffa has undergone a process of refortification aided by the British Army led by General Sydney Smith. The city was rebuilt and the sea walls were strengthened. The Jewish Chan which was established in 1820 by Rabbi Yeshayahu Adjiman of Constantinople mark the renewal of the Jewish settlement in Jaffa.

In 1831, Jaffa was conquered, as all the rest of the Land of Israel, by the army of Muhamad Alli. In his 10 year reign, suburbs of Egyptians settlers were established outside the city. In 1840, Jaffa was once again reined by Ottoman rule and the city and port continued to develop and grow. Suburbs of Christians were established outside Jaffa, first Americans of the "Messiah's Church" (1866-1868), the American colony that was sold to the German Templers who continued to use the houses of the American colony as well as houses that they themselves have built.

In the seventies of the 19^th century the wall of the city was destroyed and Jaffa continued to extamd in all directions. The port was transformed into a marketing center for oranges which were named after the city, "Jaffa Oranges", new Jewish neighborhoods were established such as, Neve Zedek (1887) and Neve Shalom (1890) and the railway to Jerusalem was paved and inaugurated in 1892.

In 1900 the cornerstone of the clock tower was laid down to mark 25 years accession to the throne of the Sultan Abdul Hamid II. In 1909 the neighborhood Achuzat Bait was established north of Jaffa, only to later become the city Tel Aviv.

The British conquered Jaffa on November 16^th 1917, in which they built a new custom house and at the early thirties of the century they expended the port northwards and built a new breakwater.

On June 18^th 1936, in their effort to control the riots of the residents of Jaffa, the British demolished part of the old city ("Operation Anchor").

Jaffa surrendered to the forces of Hagana and Etzel on May 1948 after most of its residents flew.

In 1950 Jaffa was unified with Tel Aviv to one city: Tel Aviv – Jaffa.

"Old Jaffa Development Co." was established in 1960 by the Government of Israel and the Tel Aviv – Jaffa municipality aiming to build and rehabilitate the area of Tel – Jaffa (which was named also "the big territory"), an area that was infested by crime.

The Company proposes to develop old Jaffa as an art, tourism and entertainment center and to transform it to one of the main tourism attractions in Israel.

The Jaffa Museum which opened to visitors in 1961 (today The Antiquities Museum of Tel Aviv – Jaffa) is located in the ancient "Saraya" (Government House), which is also known as the soap factory of the Damiani family.

A visitor's center in Kedumim Square was opened to the public on November 4^th 1993 which exhibits remnants unearthed by excavations conducted in 1961 and 1992. An historical exhibition of Jaffa and archeological finds are also exhibited.

(The paper was written by Mr. Tzvi Shacham – the Director of the Antiquities Museum of Tel Aviv – Jaffa).

The Excavations' Annals

Selected Bibliography

Fabian, Roy. 1999. Jaffa -  A Narrative of Politics and Architecture / Urbanism. M.A.                       Thesis, Harvard University.

Holmes, Reed. 1981. The Forerunners. The History of the American Colony in Jaffa.

Kanaan, Ruba.1998. Jaffa and the Waqf of Muhammad Aga Abu Nabbut        (1799-1831). A paper submitted on order to receive a "Doctor in Philosophy"                         degree. Oxford University.

Kaplan, Yaacov. 1964. Two Groups of  Pottery of the First Century A.D. from Jaffa  and its Vicinity. Publications of the Antiquities Museum of Tel Aviv- Jaffa 2, Haaretz Museum, Tel Aviv-Jaffa.

Kark, Ruth. 1985. Jaffa. A City in Evolution, 1799-1917. Jerusalem.

Or  (Ordentlich), Even and others. n.d. Archeological Sites in Tel Aviv – Jaffa and its Vicinity, Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv.                                

Or (Ordentlich), Even, Shimshon Feder and Zvi Shacham 1988, Jaffa Guide. A

                         Visitor's Guide to Old Jaffa. Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv.

Said, Hasan Ibrahim. 1995. Jaffa: Administration, Society, and Economy 1799-1831.

According to the city Sijil of the Mahkama. A paper submitted in order to receive a "Doctor in Philosophy" degree. Bar Ilan University.

Scholten, F. 192?. Jaffa

Tolkowsky, S. 1924. The Gateway of Palestine. A history of Jaffa. London

For Hebrew bibliography refer to Hebrew section.