Tel Ashkelon was the oldest and largest seaport in Canaan, and one of the five cities of the Philistines during the Bronze Age. Ashkelon has been inhabited since the Neolithic era, and it became a large, walled city of the Canaanites; its name, meaning "to weigh" in Semitic, references its prosperity as a merchant hub from 2000 to 1550 BC. The city's population peaked at 15,000 people, and the city fell under Egyptian control during the reign of Pharaoh Thutmose III (r. 1479-1425 BC). Ashkelon's independence was later restored, and the Ashkelonians battled both the Israelites and the Egyptians over the years. During the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II in the 13th century BC, the southern Levant became the frontier of New Kingdom Egypt as the Hittites, Canaanites, and Sea Peoples invaded Egypt. King Merneptah faced several uprisings from among the Canaanite cities. In 1150 BC, the Philistines - one of the Sea Peoples - conquered Ashkelon and were allowed to settle in the region by the Egyptians in exchange for peace. These Philistines constantly warred with both the United Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah, and Ashkelon was the last Philistine city to hold out against the Babylonian emperor Nebuchadnezzar II. Ashkelon fell in 604 BC, and the Babylonians destroyed the city and deported its population.
