Ashdod

As the most important of the five cities of the Philistines - Ekron, Gaza, Ashkelon and Gath - Ashdod housed the Temple of the Philistines dedicated to the idol, Dagan. It was to Ashdod that the Philistines transported the Ark of the Covenant in the Era of the Judges and it brought them nothing but trouble: "After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. Then they carried the ark into Dagon's temple and set it beside Dagon. When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained . . . The Lord's hand was heavy upon the people of Ashdod and its vicinity; he brought devastation upon them and afflicted them with tumors" [1 Samuel 5:1-6].

Strategically placed on the international Via Maris thoroughfare, Ashdod and its surroundings were the scene of repeated battles. Even in the modern era, its geography brought it into the war of 1948, when the mighty Egyptian army was halted in Ashdod on its way north to the Tel Aviv metropolis.

In 1965, hoping to create a modern infrastructure, the Israeli government decided to construct a new deep-sea port south of Tel Aviv. The new port and its adjacent city were named after the ancient city of the Philistines, Ashdod. Today the port of Ashdod plays a key role in the export one of Israel's most important exports, phosphates.