Joppe 3

JOPPE

The twilight town. 3.

Phoenician period.

Phoenician masonry and building techniques in the 10^th century BC appear in all the important buildings. We see vertical lines of blocks alternate with rubble (frame walls).

Seshonq I of Egypt in the 10^th century BC comes in his campaign close to Joppe but does not enter the harbour.

In the 8^th century BC the nearby town Tel Qasile comes again into the picture with the finding of a potsherd with the inscription: “gold of Ophir to Beth-Horon 30 shekels”. Could this be a hint, that Joppe is used as the harbour before the route was taken through the Sinaï desert to Ezeon-Geber by the Phoenicians?

In this period Joppe seems to be dependable from Sidqa, the king of Ashkalon.

Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian period.

In 701 BC Sanherib takes possession of the harbour of Joppe during his campaign against Hizkia of Judaea. An Egyptian army comes to the help of Hizkia, but is severely beaten at Elteke close to Joppe.

Nebukadnezar in the 6^th century BC comes in the vicinity of Joppe, but does not enter the town.

Ezra 3:7: The return of the Jews from Babylonian captivity:

“They gave money to the masons and carpenters, and meat and drink and oil to the Sidonians and the Tyrians to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa, according to the permission of Cyrus king of Persia to them.”

Again the harbour of Joppe is used as entrance to Jerusalem.

Persian period.

The Persian king (Cambyses or Xerxes) gave Dor, Joppe and the plain of Sharon to Sidon:

KAI 14.18/19 (ph): w ‘ d  y t n  ’ d n  m l k m  ’ y t  d ’ r   w y p y.

« Furthermore, the lord of the kings ceded to us Dor and Joppa.” Note that in the larger inscription it is stated that Dor and Joppe are added to the territory of Sidon “for ever”. Does that signifies, that those places were in earlier times already Phoenician?

A free-stone wall, large building (temple?), metallurgical installations and a water-reservoir emerges. Under Persian rule there was also trade with Greece (Ritter-Kaplan). Especially Rhodian amphores are found on the harbour-side.

Hellenistic period.

A defence line was built by Alexander Yannai “from the mountain-side above Antiparis to the coast at the Jaffa-sea.” (Flav.Jos.Jew.War I 4,7 par.99).

In 144 BC Simon Maccabaeus (1M 12,33+13,11+14,5.34) managed to conquer Joppe. For the first time it is certain, that Joppe is a part of a Jewish state!

Roman period.

Plinius mentions the town several times. One of his remarks: Joppe is a “toparchie”:

That is an administrative area around a town. He claims that Joppe is a Phoenician town: “ioppe phoenicum antiquior terrarium inundatione ut ferunt”.

Solinus says: “the chains of Andromeda are still there.”

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