Arsuf

Apollonia (Ancient Greek: Ἀπολλωνία; Hebrew: אפולוניה), known in the Early Islamic period as Arsuf (Arabic: أرْسُوف, romanized: Arsūf) and in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem as Arsur, was an ancient city on the Mediterranean coast of today's Israel. In Israeli archaeology it is known as Tel Arshaf (תֵּל אַרְשָׁף). Founded by the Phoenicians during the Persian period in the late sixth century BCE, it was inhabited continuously until the Crusader period, through the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine periods, during the latter being renamed to Sozusa (Ancient Greek: Σώζουσα, or Sozusa in Palaestina to differentiate it from Sozusa in Libya).

It was situated on a sandy area ending towards the sea with a cliff, about 34 kilometres (21 mi) south of Caesarea.

It fell to the Muslims in 640, was fortified against Byzantine attacks and became known as Arsuf. In 1101 it was conquered by the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, and was a strategically important stronghold in the Third Crusade, during which the Battle of Arsuf (1191) was fought nearby. The fortified city and the castle fell to the Mamluks in 1265, when both were completely destroyed.

The site of Arsuf (also Apollonia–Arsuf אַפּוֹלוֹנְיָה-אַרְסוּף) is now in Herzliya municipality, Israel (just north of Tel Aviv). The site was intensively excavated from 1994. In 2002 Apollonia National Park was opened to the public.

Text adapted from “Apollonia–Arsuf” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Arsuf ranks #853 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #6 of the 25 mapped in Israel. Founded 1995 — one of 177 atlas entries founded in the 20th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 4,017 times in the last 60 days, more than 81% of the atlas. Wikidata records about 40,000 visitors in 2006. 3 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Tel Aviv, 13 km away. It is one of the 109 landmarks on the atlas's regional map of the Levant. See how Israel compares in the castle statistics.

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