Jaffa

Cities of the Crusades

Jaffa (Yafo, Japho, Joppa) is a historic port city that has been absorbed by the modern city of Tel Aviv in Israel. Jaffa has traditionally been an important Hebrew port and, according to the Old Testament, it was from here that the prophet Jonah sailed to Nineveh.

Crusaders who captured Jaffa made it the capital of the County of Jaffa, a part of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Muslims attempted to recapture it in 1102 but failed; in 1187 Saladin killed the entire population because they refused to surrender to him. Crusaders under Richar I the Lionheart took the city back in 1192 and they were able to hold it until 1268 when Baibers, Mamluk Sultan of Egypt, captured it.

Jaffa today is populated by Jews, Arabs, and Christian. The United Nations had intended Jaffa to be an Arab city for the partition of 1947, but in the fighting that broke out after Israel declared itself a nation Israeli troops were able to enter and take over the city, making it a part of modern Israel.

Cities of the Crusades: Jaffa
Jaffa	Jaffa (1873 Drawing)
Richard Lionheart Fighting Near Jaffa