Palestine - Anthedon Harbour

Anthedon is the first known seaport of Gaza, mentioned in Islamic literature with the names of Tida, apparently an abbreviation of Anthedon, or Blakhiyeh. The city was inhabited from 800 BC to 1100 AD, and witnessed a series of different cultures: Neo-Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine and early Islamic rules (Umayyad, Abbasid, Tulunid and Fatimid). One km south of the seaport of Anthedon lies the ancient harbour of Maiumas, then identified with the harbour of Gaza, which was also continuously populated and became, during the Roman period, a flourishing and well-developed coastal town. Maiumas, which is mentioned only in late classical sources, dates back to an earlier period, at least when the trading with Greece began. “Maiumas” derives from an Egyptian word, which means “maritime place”. The archaeological site of ancient Anthedon has not been precisely identified: there are several heaps of ruins in the neighbourhoods of Gaza which have been considered to be the old harbour; however, the site of Anthedon may probably be identified with a tell located to the north of Gaza known to the natives as Tida. In the Middle Age, Anthedon was known for sure as Tida or Taida.