Minat al-Qal'a (; ; ) is a medieval coastal fort protecting the port known as Ashdod-Yam (lit. "Ashdod-on-the-Sea"), which was historically separate from Ashdod proper but whose archaeological remains are today located on the southern beach of the sprawling modern city of Ashdod. The fort was built by the Umayyads and later restored by the Crusaders.Palmer, 1881, p. 372Pringle, 1997, p. 72
Etymology The medieval Arabic name was Mahuz Azdud, "harbour of Azdud", after centuries of being known as "Azotus paralios" (Greek for Ashdod-on-the-Sea)Tel Aviv University, History of Yavneh-Yam The modern Arabic name, Minat al-Qal'a, means "The harbour (mina) with the fortress (qal'a)", while the modern Hebrew name, "Hurbat Ashdod Yam" means the "ruins of Ashdod-on-the-Sea."
History Early Muslim period The fort was built by the Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (reign 685–705 CE) before the end of the 7th century on top of Byzantine-era remains. It was in use during the 10th-11th centuries, and was restored and used again by the Crusaders in the late 12th century after sustaining serious damage from the 1033 earthquake.Vunsh, Tal and Sivan, 2013, Hurbatat Ashdod-YamPetersen, 2005, pp. 90-91 The fort was meant to protect the port from raids by the Byzantine navy, while the port itself was used by the same navy to exchange Muslim prisoners for ransom.[Shams al-Din al-Muqaddasi, Ahsan al-taqasimfi ma'rifat al-aqalim, Edition M.J. De Goeje, E.J. Brill Leiden (1906).]Le Strange, 1890, pp. 23-24Petersen, 2001, pp. 159-160
Crusader period Archaeological excavations show that the fort was restored and reused during the Crusader period. They come to prove what was already known from documents from the era, which indicate that Nicolas de Beroard, a knight of lord Hugh of Ramla, was in charge of the stronghold in 1169. From this period it is known as Castellum Beroart.Röhricht, 1893, RRH, pp. 16- 124, No 472; cited in Pringle, 1997, p. 72
Ayyubid and Mamluk periods The port stops being mentioned during the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods, making it likely that it was destroyed by the Muslims along with the other port cities from the coast of Palestine, due to fears that they might again be used by Crusader invasions from the sea.
Ottoman era In 1863 Victor Guérin visited and described it,Guérin, 1869, pp. 72-73 while in 1873–4, it was described by Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau.Clermont-Ganneau, 1896, vol 2. p. 191 In 1882, the Palestine Exploration Fund's Survey of Western Palestine described it as being apparently from "the Middle Ages".Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, pp. 426-427
Archaeology The almost rectangular fortress (35×55 meters) was enclosed by a six to seven meters high curtain wall. It has four solid corner towers, and two semicircular ones flanking each of the two huge gates that gave access to the stronghold from the west and east.
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External links Survey of Western Palestine, Map 16: IAA, Wikimedia commons