Ashdod, also known as Azotus, is the sixth-largest city and the largest port in Israel. It was founded by the Canaanites in the 17th century BC, and it became a center of the fabric and garments trade. At the end of the 13th century BC, the Sea Peoples conquered and destroyed Ashdod, and the Philistines (former members of the Sea Peoples) settled the area. During the 10th century BC, Ashdod and Philistia were brought under the control of King David of Israel. In 950 BC, it was destroyed during Pharaoh Siamun's conquest of the region, and it was not rebuilt until 815 BC; shortly after, King Uzziah of Judah captured the city. In 711 BC, the Assyrians conquered the city and deported its population to Media and Elam, and it was later conquered by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II in 605 BC. In 539 BC, the city was rebuilt by the Persians, and it was conquered by Alexander the Great in 332 BC. The city was Hellenized and renamed to "Azotus", prospering until the Maccabean Revolt, during which Judas Maccabeus took the city and laid it waste. It later passed under Roman rule, and, during the 7th century AD, the Umayyad Caliphate built the port down of Mahuz Azdud. It was captured by the Christians during the Crusades, but it fell under Turkish rule, remaining under Turkish rule until the end of World War I and the United Kingdom's creation of Mandatory Palestine. The modern city was built in 1956 on the virgin sands outside of the settlement site, and, in 2017, Ashdod had a population of 222,883 people.
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