Akka

Akka, formerly known as Ptolemais and later as Acre, is a large town on the northwestern coast of Israel. Located on a small promontory at the northern side of the Bay of Akka, the port is about 10 mi. northeast of Haifa on the southern side of the bay. Akka is situated on a narrow coastal plain, beyond which a low hilly area cuts off the town from the northern end of the Sea of Galilee, about 32 mi. due east. Because of its strategic military and economic position, Akka is a natural outlet for Galilee, Damascus and Hauran (a region spanning parts of southern Syria and northern Jordan).

History

Akka has played a prominent role in Middle Eastern history. Founded around 1500 BC most likely by the Canaanites; conquered by Thutmose III and later fortified by Seti I against the Hittites, the city became the seat of a province within the Egyptian empire. Later is was subject to the Assyrians, the Persians and the Greeks. The Egyptian Ptolemies controlled the port after the death of Alexander (calling it "Ptolemais"), but it fell to Antiochus the Great in 219 BC. In the 1st century BC it was variously controlled by the Hasmoneans, Tigranes of Armenia, Cleopatra and Herod I. Thereafter it became a part of Rome for seven centuries.

Called Acre Colonia Ptolemais, the port figures prominently in many military campaigns and political controversies, notably those described by Josephus and in the book of Maccabees. St. Paul found Christian in the community when he arrived, and Acre (as it was now called) became the seat of a bishop. In 638 AD, the town was taken by the Arabs — and in 1104, restored to Christian control during the 2nd Crusade when it was captured by Baldwin I. Saladin recaptured the city in 1187, but then it was taken once again four years later, in 1191, during the 3rd Crusade by Richard the Lion-Hearted and Philip of France. It was the last outpost of the Crusader states when it fell to the Mamluk Sultanate in 1291. It would change hands one last time in 1517, when the Ottoman Turks under Selim I captured it and made Akka a provincial seat.

Trade

Sea routes connect Akka with ports around the eastern Mediterranean, particularly with Alexandria, Gazimagusa in Cyprus and Aslan Liman in Greece. The port deals in goods that travel along the numerous Silk Roads leading from China and northern India. It's a very important market^4R.

Goods produced in and around Akka include turquoise gems, seed oil, coppersmithing, cereals, sesame seed, oranges, pears and fish. Population (c.1650), 3,544.