Haifa’s harbor location has made it attractive to settlers for the past 1700 years. Haifa got its start as a tiny fishing outpost called Sycaminum, but in the 500s A.D. it was occupied by the Persians, who developed and expanded the village. The Persians lay the groundwork that has allowed Haifa to become the trading port that it is today. European crusaders, who arrived in 1099, dubbed the city Caiphas before raiding it and laying waste to its docks and other harbor developments. The Crusaders did renovate the city partially, building a castle in nearby Atlit, but that was later sacked by a combined army from Egypt and Syria.