Acre, Israel
Acre (/ˈɑːkər, ˈeɪkər/ AH-kər, AY-kər), known locally as Akko (Hebrew: עַכּוֹ, ʻAkkō) and Akka (Arabic: عكّا, ʻAkkā), is a city in the coastal plain region of the Northern District of Israel.
"Akko" redirects here. For other uses, see Akko (disambiguation).
Acre
- עַכּוֹ
- عكّا
- עַכּוֹ
- عكّا
ʕAkko
156/258 PAL
3000 BC (Bronze Age settlement)
1550 BC (Canaanite settlement)
1104 (Crusader rule)
1291 (Mamluk rule)
1948 (Israeli city)
Amihai Ben Shlush (since 2024)[1]
13,533 dunams (13.533 km2 or 5.225 sq mi)
51,420
3,800/km2 (9,800/sq mi)
Old City of Acre
Cultural: ii, iii, v
2001 (25th Session)
63.3 ha
22.99 ha
The city occupies a strategic location, sitting in a natural harbour at the extremity of Haifa Bay on the coast of the Mediterranean's Levantine Sea.[3] Aside from coastal trading, it was an important waypoint on the region's coastal road and the road cutting inland along the Jezreel Valley. The first settlement during the Early Bronze Age was abandoned after a few centuries but a large town was established during the Middle Bronze Age.[4] Continuously inhabited since then, it is among the oldest continuously inhabited settlements on Earth.[5] It has, however, been subject to conquest and destruction several times and survived as little more than a large village for centuries at a time.
Acre was a hugely important city during the Crusades as a maritime foothold on the Mediterranean coast of the southern Levant and was the site of several battles, including the 1189–1191 Siege of Acre and 1291 Siege of Acre. It was the last stronghold of the Crusaders in the Holy Land prior to that final battle in 1291. At the end of Crusader rule, the city was destroyed by the Mamluks, thereafter existing as a modest fishing village until the rule of Zahir al-Umar in the 18th century.[6]
In 1947, Acre formed part of Mandatory Palestine and had a population of 13,560, of whom 10,930 were Muslim and 2,490 were Christian. As a result of the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine and subsequent 1948 Arab-Israeli war, the population of the town dramatically changed as its Palestinian-Arab population was expelled or forced to flee; it was then resettled by Jewish immigrants.[7] In present-day Israel, the population was 51,420 in 2022,[2] made up of Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze, and Baháʼís.[8] In particular, Acre is the holiest city of the Baháʼí Faith in Israel and receives many pilgrims of that faith every year. Acre is one of Israel's mixed cities; 32% of the city's population is Arab. The mayor is Shimon Lankri, who was re-elected in 2018 with 85% of the vote.
Names
The etymology of the name is unknown.[9] A folk etymology in Hebrew is that, when the ocean was created, it expanded until it reached Acre and then stopped, giving the city its name (in Hebrew, ad koh means "up to here" and no further).[9]
Acre seems to be recorded in Egyptian hieroglyphs, probably being the ʿKY in the execration texts from around 1800 BC[10] and the "Aak" in the tribute lists of Thutmose III (1479–1425 BC).
The Akkadian cuneiform Amarna letters also mention an "Akka" in the mid-14th century BC.[11][12] On its native currency, Acre's name was written ʿK (Phoenician: 𐤏𐤊).[13] It appears in Assyrian[9] and once in Biblical Hebrew.[14]
Acre was known to the Greeks as Ákē (Greek: Ἄκη), a homonym for a Greek word meaning "cure". Greek legend then offered a folk etymology that Hercules had found curative herbs at the site after one of his many fights.[15] This name was Latinized as Ace. Josephus's histories also transcribed the city into Greek as Akre.
The city appears in the Babylonian Talmud with the Jewish Babylonian Aramaic name תלבוש Talbush of uncertain etymology.[16]
Under the Diadochi, the Ptolemaic Kingdom renamed the city Ptolemaïs (Koinē Greek: Πτολεμαΐς, Ptolemaΐs) and the Seleucid Empire Antioch (Ἀντιόχεια, Antiókheia).[13] As both names were shared by a great many other towns, they were variously distinguished. The Syrians called it "Antioch in Ptolemais" (Ἀντιόχεια τῆς ἐν Πτολεμαΐδι, Antiókheia tês en Ptolemaΐdi).[13]
Under Claudius, it was also briefly known as Germanicia in Ptolemais (Γερμανίκεια τῆς ἐν Πτολεμαΐδι, Germaníkeia tês en Ptolemaΐdi).[13] As a Roman colony, it was notionally refounded and renamed Colonia Claudii Caesaris Ptolemais[17] or Colonia Claudia Felix Ptolemais Garmanica Stabilis[18] after its imperial sponsor Claudius; it was known as Colonia Ptolemais for short.[17]
During the Crusades, it was officially known as Sainct-Jehan-d'Acre or more simply Acre (Modern French: Saint-Jean-d'Acre [sɛ̃ ʒɑ̃ dakʁ]), after the Knights Hospitaller who had their headquarters there and whose patron saint was Saint John the Baptist. This name remained quite popular in the Christian world until modern times, often translated into the language being used: Saint John of Acre (in English), San Juan de Acre (in Spanish), Sant Joan d'Acre (in Catalan), San Giovanni d'Acri (in Italian), etc.
History
Early Bronze Age
Acre lies at the northern end of a wide bay with Mount Carmel at the south.[10] It is the best natural roadstead on the southern Phoenician coast and has easy access to the Valley of Jezreel.[10] It was settled early and has always been important for the fleets of kingdoms and empires contesting the area,[10] serving as the main port for the entire southern Levant up to the modern era.[19]
The ancient town was located atop Tel ʿAkkō (Hebrew) or Tell al-Fuḫḫār (Arabic), 1.5 km (0.93 mi) east of the present city[3] and 800 m (2,600 ft) north of the Na'aman River. In antiquity, however, it formed an easily protected peninsula[19] directly beside the former mouth of the Na'aman or Belus.[10] The earliest discovered settlement dates to around 3000 BC[3] during the Early Bronze Age, but appears to have been abandoned after a few centuries, possibly because of inundation of its surrounding farmland by the Mediterranean.[4]
Middle Bronze Age
Acre was resettled as an urban centre during the Middle Bronze Age (c. 2000–1550 BC) and has been continuously inhabited since then.[4] Egyptian execration texts record one 18th-century ruler as Tūra-ʿAmmu (Tꜣʿmw).[10]
Demography
Today there are roughly 48,000 people who live in Acre. Among Israeli cities, Acre has a relatively high proportion of non-Jewish residents, with 32% of the population being Arab.[65] In 2000, 95% of the residents in the Old City were Arab.[66] Only about 15% of the current Arab population in the city descends from families who lived there before 1948.[67]
Acre is home to Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze, and Baháʼís.[68] In particular, Acre is the holiest city of the Baháʼí Faith and receives many pilgrims of that faith every year.[69]
In 1999, there were 22 schools in Acre with an enrollment of 15,000 children.[70]
