The ancient port of Jaffa changed hands many times in the course of history. Archaeological excavations from 1955 to 1974 unearthed towers and gates from the Middle Bronze Age. Subsequent excavations, from 1997 onwards, helped date earlier discoveries. They also exposed sections of a packed-sandstone glacis and a "massive brick wall", dating from the Late Bronze Age as well as a temple "attributed to the Sea Peoples" and dwellings from the Iron Age. Remnants of buildings from the Persian and Hellenistic periods were also discovered.
The city, Jaffa, is first mentioned in letters from 1470 BC that record its conquest by Egyptian Pharaoh Thutmose III. Jaffa is mentioned several times in the Bible, as the port from which Jonah set sail for Tarshish; as bordering on the territory of the Tribe of Dan; and as the Jaffa Port at which the wood for Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem arrived from Lebanon. Jaffa is also mentioed as the place where the Apostle Peter raised Tabitha and visited Simon the Tanner. According to some sources it has been a port for at least 4,000 years.
In 1099, the Christian armies of the First Crusade, led by Godfrey of Bouillon occupied Jaffa, which had been abandoned by the Muslims, fortified the town and improved its harbour. As the County of Jaffa, the town soon became important as the main sea supply route for the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Jaffa was captured by Saladin in 1192 but swiftly re-taken by Richard Coeur de Lion, who added to its defences. In 1223, Emperor Frederick II added further fortifications. Crusader domination ended in 1268, when the Mamluk SultanBaibars captured the town, destroyed its harbour and razed its fortifications. In 1336, when a new Crusade was being planned, Al-Nasir Muhammad had the harbour destroyed to prevent the Franks from landing there. For the same reason, both the town and the harbour were destroyed in 1345. In the 16th century, Jaffa was conquered by the Ottomans and was administered as a village in
