Historical survey

The location of the city

Acre is situated in the northern part of the coastal valley, which is also known as Acre Valley. It borders on the north with Moshav Bustan Hagalil and, in the south it extends to Na’aman River.

Acre has a beautiful seashore, which is the northernmost point where the fine sand from the Nile estuary may be found.

Old Acre, which is situated on a peninsula, is one of the few cities along the shores of the Mediterranean whose surrounding walls remain intact, apart from two openings that now serve as entrances for motor vehicles. The openings in the wall were made by the British.

Old Acre has many faces and was built in layers that have been preserved virtually intact.

Four religions made their home there and made their mark: the synagogues of the Jews, the elegant churches in the Christian neighborhoods, the monumental mosques of the Moslems and the garden of the tomb of Baha Ola, the founder of the Bahai religion and Abud House.

Acre is characterized by pleasant weather throughout most of the year, and offers a beautiful seashore, a marina and a fishing port. It is a city brimming with history, where the voices of the past may be heard in every lane and it possesses an ambiance of freedom and romance.

About Acre

The name

The source of the name is unknown, but is apparently not Semitic. The Egyptians used it as long ago as the second millennium BCE, but since the hieroglyphics have just two consonants, the name was written as CK and one cannot know how it was pronounced (the last syllable in particular).

In the letters of El-Amrana, which were written in Acadian, the letter H is used to signify the guttural Hebrew letters alef-heh-chet-ayin, and therefore it was possible to write the name of the city as if it were Haca or Aca. Had the name not been preserved, we would not have been able to identify it with certainty with the name that appears in hieroglyphics.

In Assyrian the name has been preserved with the spelling AKK.

An ancient Hebrew legend tells that the sea flooded the world and when it reached the shore of Acre it stopped short, as is written in the Book of Job (38:11) “Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further.” In the legend, the Hebrew words “Ad po” [Hitherto] become “Ad ko,” and, hence, Akko [Acre]

Historical summary

In the 15^th century BCE Old Acre first appears in the cave writings – the curses of the kings of Egypt. The texts are written on clay tablets or vessels. When they were broken the curse came true.

Acre appears in the list of cities conquered by Tutankhamen the Third, king of Egypt.

The Israeli Period

Acre is incorporated in the Tribe of Asher, but it is doubtful whether he actually occupied it.

In 701 BCE Acre served as a station on the northward journey of Sennacharib king of Assyria.

333 BCE – the city was occupied by Alexander the Great and the Greeks began to settle it.

261 BCE – the ancient name of Acre was changed to Ptolomeus after Ptolemy the Second, ruler of Egypt.

The Hasmonean Period

The foreign and hostile city of Acre became a Jewish settlement.

The Roman Period

An important city with residents of several religions but still hostile at the time of the Great Rebellion.

66 – 68 AD – two thousand of the Jews of the city were murdered. The city constituted the Romans’ point of contact with the West, where the legions were located in preparation for quelling the rebellion.

The Byzantine Period

An city with residents of several religions and a Christian population and its own bishop. Considered a holy city because Saint Paul visited the first Christian communities there 

The Ancient Moslem Period

640 AD – the city was occupied by the Moslems

In the 9^th century Ibn Tilio renovated the port of Acre. The city also contains a developed Jewish community.

The Crusader Period

1104 AD – the city was occupied by the Crusaders and became an important city and a thriving trading center

1187 AD – Salach- A-Din captures Acre from the Crusaders

1191 AD – Richard the Lionhearted conquers the city back from the Moslems

1165 AD – Maimonedes immigrates to the Holy Land via Acre

The late Moslem Period

1291 AD – Acre is conquered by the Mamelukes and returns to Moslem rule. The city was a wasteland, a small and unimportant village for 400 years.

The Ottoman Period

1743 AD – Rabbi Moshe Luzatto, the Ramhal, settles in Acre

1750 AD – Dahar El-Omar settles in Acre. A Bedouin ruler who rebelled against the Turkish regime and conquered the entire Galilee. El-Omar erects the walls and renovates the port.

1775 AD – A Turkish officer named Achmed El-Jazer overcomes Dahar El-Omar, has him executed and is appointed governor of the region instead of him. El-Jazer fortifies the walls and builds up Acre as a strong city. He constructs Acre’s water conduit.

1799 AD – The siege of napoleon

1804 AD - El-Jazer dies. His successor, Suleiman Basha, continues to build Acre and renovates the water conduit. Basha dies in 1819.

1819 – 1831 – Abdalla Ben Ali Basha has Haim Parchi executed.

1831 – Ibrahim Ben Muhammad Ali Basha conquers the Land of Israel at the head of an Egyptian force, establishes himself in Acre and continues to spread eastward.

1840 – 1918 – A united British, Turkish and Austrian navy shells Acre.

Until 1918 Acre was the Turkish Empire’s capital of the northern region of the Land of Israel

The British Period

1918 – The Land of Israel is conquered by the British, who settle in Haifa. Acre loses in importance as a port city.

1948 – The conquest of Acre by Israel

Old Acre
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