Jaffa

===Middle Ages===
====Early Islamic period====
[[File:ISR-2016-Jaffa-Old Saray house.jpg|thumb|Jaffa Museum in Old Saraya building, in the historical [[Old Jaffa]] region]]

In 636 Jaffa was conquered by Arabs. Under Islamic rule, it served as a port of [[Ramla]], then the provincial capital.

[[Al-Muqaddasi]] (c. 945/946 – 991) described ''Yafah'' as "lying on the sea, is but a small town, although the [[Emporium (antiquity)|emporium]] of Palestine and the port of [[Ramla|Ar-Ramlah]]. It is protected by a strong wall with iron gates, and the sea-gates also are of iron. The [[mosque]] is pleasant to the eye, and overlooks the sea. The harbour is excellent".<ref name=Strange550/>

====Crusader/Ayyubid period====
Jaffa was captured in June 1099 during the [[First Crusade]], and was the centre of the [[County of Jaffa and Ascalon]], one of the [[vassals of the Kingdom of Jerusalem]]. One of its counts, [[John of Ibelin (jurist)|John of Ibelin]], wrote the principal book of the [[Assizes of Jerusalem|Assizes]] of the [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2018}}

[[Saladin]] conquered Jaffa in 1187. The city surrendered to [[Richard I of England|King Richard the Lionheart]] on 10 September 1191, three days after the [[Battle of Arsuf]]. Despite efforts by Saladin to reoccupy the city in the July 1192 [[Battle of Jaffa (1192)|Battle of Jaffa]], the city remained in the hands of the Crusaders. On 2 September 1192, the [[Treaty of Jaffa (1192)|Treaty of Jaffa]] was formally signed, guaranteeing a three-year truce between the two armies.

In 1229, [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]] signed a ten-year truce in a new [[Treaty of Jaffa (1229)|Treaty of Jaffa]]. He fortified the castle of Jaffa and had two inscriptions carved into city wall, one Latin and the other Arabic. The inscription, deciphered in 2011, describes him as the "Holy Roman Emperor" and bears the date "1229 of the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus the Messiah."<ref>{{citation |url= http://news.discovery.com/history/inscription-crusader-king-frederick-111115.html |title= First Arabic Crusader Inscription Found |first= Rossella |last= Lorenzi |date= 15 November 2011 |publisher= Discovery News |access-date= 23 November 2011 |archive-date= 1 May 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120501200524/http://news.discovery.com/history/inscription-crusader-king-frederick-111115.html |url-status= dead }}</ref>

====Mamluk period====
In March 1268, [[Baibars]], the sultan of the [[Mamluk Sultanate|Egyptian Mamluks]], conquered Jaffa simultaneously with conquering [[Antioch]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Who Were the Mamluks? {{!}} History Today |url=https://www.historytoday.com/miscellanies/who-were-mamluks |access-date=2022-06-23 |website=www.historytoday.com}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Kohn |first=George Childs |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1TLjAQAAQBAJ&q=1268+jaffa |title=Dictionary of Wars |date=2013-10-31 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-95501-4 |language=en}}</ref> Baibars's goal was to conquer [[Crusader states|Christian crusader strongholds]].<ref name=":0" /> An inscription from the [[White Mosque, Ramla|White Mosque of Ramla]], today visible in the [[Great Mosque of Gaza]],<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last1=Wasserstein |first1=David J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6tIgyrjr7dMC&dq=In+1268,+Jaffa+was+conquered+by+Egyptian+Mamluks,+led+by+Baibars.&pg=PT50 |title=Mamluks and Ottomans: Studies in Honour of Michael Winter |last2=Ayalon |first2=Ami |date=2013-06-17 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-57924-0 |language=en}}</ref> commemorates the event:<blockquote>[[Basmala|In the name of God the Merciful, the Compassionate]],...gave power to his servant...who has trust in him...who fights for Him and defends the faith of His Prophet...Sultan of Islam and the Muslims, Baybars...who came out with his victorious army on the 10th of the month of [[Rajab]] from the land of Egypt, resolved to carry out ''[[jihad]]'' and combat the intransigent [[Kafir|infidels]]. He camped in the port city of Jaffa in the morning and conquered it, by God's will, in the third hour of that day. Then he ordered the erection of the dome over the blessed minaret, as well as the gate of this mosque...in the year 666 of the [[Hijri year|Hijra]] [1268 CE]. May God have mercy upon him and upon all Muslims.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{cite journal |title=The Mamluk Minarets of Ramla |url=https://journals.openedition.org/bcrfj/6409 |access-date=2022-06-23 |journal=Bulletin du Centre de Recherche Français À Jérusalem|date=15 December 2010 |issue=21 |last1=Cytryn-Silverman |first1=Katia }}</ref></blockquote>[[Abu'l-Fida]] (1273–1331), writing in 1321, described "Yafa, in Filastin" as "a small but very pleasant town lying on the sea-shore. It has a celebrated harbour. The town of Yafa is well fortified. Its markets are much frequented, and many merchants ply their trades here. There is a large harbour frequented by all the ships coming to Filastin, and from it they set sail to all lands. Between it and Ar Ramlah the distance is 6 miles, and it lies west of Ar Ramlah."<ref name=Strange550/>