Ashkelon

ASHKELON – CITY BY THE SEA
Official Medal 2009/5770
9th Medal in the Series, "Cities of Israel".

Ashkelon is among the most ancient and earliest known cities in the Land of Israel, boasting a rich history going back some 5,000 years. The name, Ashkelon, derives from the equally ancient word "shekel", then as now local currency, and likely due to the fact that as a port city, trade and commerce were significant factors.
At the end of the 13th century BCE, Ashkelon was conquered by the Philistines, followed by the Assyrians. During the Hellenistic period, Ashkelon was a prominent cultural and economic center, reaching its height during the Roman period which followed. After the Romans, during the Byzantine period, Ashkelon's economic prosperity continued to flourish. In 1153 the Crusaders arrived and conquered the city, subsequently to be defeated themselves in 1187 by Saladin and the Islamic Ottoman Empire.
On the ruins of the city, in the 19th century, a number of Arab villages sprang up, notably among them Madg'dal. In Israel's War of Independence in 1948, the Egyptian army captured Madg'dal, which was later freed, on Nov. 4, 1948, by the fledgling Israeli army, in what came to be known as "Yoav's Campaign".
Today, Ashkelon is a city combining the old with the new—modern, boasting lovely green parks and white beaches on the blue Mediterranean Sea, with a brand new yacht marina as well—and at the same time basking in its ancient glory, set amidst the beauty of its ancient historic sites.

Obverse: Corinthian capital of pillar made of marble from the Marmura Sea in Turkey. The capital rests on a marble pillar base and the original pillar is thought to have reached 5 meters in height and 0.6 m in diameter. These archaeological remains date from the flourishing Roman architectural period in the Land of Israel, at the beginning of the third century CE.
City Emblem – The Marble pillar represents the archaeological remains in the city, the wheel with teeth, the city's industry, the five stars signify the five neighborhoods, the waves, Ashkelon's beautiful coastline.
Hebrew inscriptions: "Ashkelon – 5,000 years", "City by the Sea Shore"

Reverse: On the common reverse of all the medals in the series an urban landscape, the emblem of the State of Israel, and the emblem of the Union of Local Authorities in Israel.

Edge: Smooth.

Designer: Meir Eshel.

Engraving: USA.

Mint:
Silver and Bronze medals: USA.
Gold medal: ICMC Mint.