Acre

Acre, or Akko (called Ptolemais in the New Testament), ancient seaport city on the coast of Israel, built on a small promontory which, with Mount Carmel to the south, forms a semi-circular bay.

The city has a long history; it was taken by the Crusaders, 1104; by Saladin, 1187; re-taken by Crusaders under Richard I, 1191, and given to the Knights of St John; fell to the Egyptians, 1291; to the Turks, 1517; besieged by Napoleon for 61 days, 1799, but saved from capture by Jazzar Pasha and Sir Sidney Smith; taken by Ibrahim Pasha, 1832; and by the British, Austrians, and Turks, 1840.

Although awarded to the Arabs by the UN, it was captured by the new Jewish nation in May 1948 and became part of Israel.

© JM Dent/Historybookshop.com

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