Although a time machine does not yet exist, each of us has a ready answer in case he will meet one. The Stone Age, the Middle Ages, or the New Age, no matter what your answer is, at any point in the history you return to, you can reach Acre (Hebrew pronouns as AKO) and see it as a thriving city with a developed port and culture.
Acre’s history goes far back in time.
An explanation of the name of the city appears in some ancient traditions. It is explained in the Jewish tradition that when God brought down a flood on earth in the days of Noah, He stopped the flood when the water reached the shores of Acre. And this is the explanation for the city’s name - a two-word ‘AD-KO’ essay whose meaning is 'up to here’.
Another tradition in Greek mythology says that Hercules found in the area some medicinal plants and the meaning for ‘AKA’ in ancient Greek is medicine.
Written evidence of life in the city appears in the writings of the Egyptian Mares around the 20th century BC. The city’s beginnings is at a hill located east of today’s modern city. As time went on, the city developed westward toward the sea and built into it large fortresses and a port which was in extensive trade relations with the inhabitants of the nearby island - Cyprus.
At the beginning of the Iron Age, settlers settled in Tel Bnei Chardana, and then Acre was ruled by the Phoenicians. Sennacherib king of Assyria, destroyed Acre in 701 BC, but the settlement resumed during the Persian period in the middle of the 4th century BC).
During the Hellenistic period (2nd century BC), Acre became the most important port city in the country, and one of the largest cities in the Hellenistic world.
Acre’s location on the coastal road between Lebanon and Egypt has given it an important status as a station for travelers and leaders such as Jonathan Hasmonean Jewish leader, Apostle Paul, Vespasian and more.
In 638 the city was conquered by the Arabs as part of a series of conquests in the region, during that time the port was renewed by the Egyptian governor who was also in charge of this area.
The city did not rest and was occupied by a series of nations who came to the area from east and west. Byzantines in the 10th century and then by Fatim, Seljuk and again by Fatim.
In 1104 the Crusaders, led by Baldwin I, conquered the city, making it their main port in the Holy Land. They brought it to its peak until that moment.
80 years later, the city returned to Muslim control as part of the Saladin conquests but not for a long time, a decade later, the city returned to Crusader control. At that time, the harmony reigned- Muslims, Catholic Christians of their different order, Orthodox Christians and Jews lived together at the city.
The end of the Crusader city came when it was conquered by the Mamluks in the early 13th century and their end also came with the arrival of the Ottomans in the 16th century.
In 1799, Napoleon fought Acre during his campaign in Palestine, with the aim of using it as a basis for rebelling against Turkish rule in Syria as a whole, but eventually gave up its conquest.
During the First World War, the city was occupied by the British army. At that time, Haifa became the main port city in Palestine, and Acre’s importance diminished. Acre Fort served the British as a prison and gallows.
From the end of the British Mandate on Palestine in 1948 to this day, the city is part of the State of Israel and lives jointly with Arabs and Jews.
After a long and tiring journey in the history of Acre, you are invited to sit back in your chairs and enjoy the stunning sights that have left us all the nations which have passed through it.
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**All pictures captured by @uavalentine **
#TeamChallenge, #TeamIsrael
**@uavalentine ,@Napplbaum, @Natureexplorer, @Smad @Avsha @theStarman **
