Bible Encyclopedia: Acco

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International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ACCO

ak'-o (`akko; [`Akcho]; Ake Ptolemais; Modern Arabic `Akka, English Acre; the King James Version Accho): A town on the Syrian coast a few miles north of Carmel, on a small promontory on the north side of a broad bay that lies between it and the modern town of Haifa. This bay furnishes the best anchorage for ships of any on this coast except that of George, at Beirut, and Alexandretta at the extreme north. As the situation commanded the approach from the sea to the rich plateau of Esdraelon and also the coast route from the north, the city was regarded in ancient times of great importance and at various periods of history was the scene of severe struggles for its possession. It fell within the bounds assigned to the Israelites, particularly to the tribe of Asher, but they were never able to take it (Joshua 19:24-31 Judges 1:31).

It was, like Tyre and Sidon, too strong for them to attack and it became indeed a fortress of unusual strength, so that it many a siege, often baffling its assailants. In the period of the Crusades it was the most famous stronghold on the coast, and in very early times it was a place of importance and appears in the Tell el-Amarna Letters as a possession of the Egyptian kings. Its governor wrote to his suzerain professing loyalty when the northern towns were falling away (Am Tab 17 BM, 95 B). The Egyptian suzerainty over the coast, which was established by Thothmes III about 1480 B.C., was apparently lost in the 14th century, as is indicated in Tell el-Amarna Letters, but was regained under Seti I and his more famous son Rameses II in the 13th, to be again lost in the 12th when the Phoenician towns seem to have established their independence. Sidon however surpassed her sisters in power and exercised a sort of hegemony over the Phoenician towns, at least in the south, and Acco was included in it (Rawl. Phoenica, 407-8).

But when Assyria came upon the scene it had to submit to this power, although it revolted whenever Assyria became weak, as appears from the mention of its subjugation by Sennacherib (ib 449), and by Ashurbanipal (ib 458). The latter "quieted" it by a wholesale massacre and then carried into captivity the remaining inhabitants. Upon the downfall of Assyria it passed, together with other Phoenician towns, under the dominion of Babylon and then of Persia, but we have no records of its annals during that period; but it followed the fortunes of the more important cities, Tyre and Sidon. In the Seleucid period (BC 312-65) the town became of importance in the contests between the Seleucids and the Ptolemies. The latter occupied it during the struggles that succeeded the death of Alexander and made it their stronghold on the coast and changed the name to PTOLEMAIS, by which it was known in the Greek and Roman period as we see in the accounts of the Greek and Roman writers and in Josephus, as well as in New Testament (1 Maccabees 5:22; 10:39; 12:48; Acts 21:7).

The old name still continued locally and reasserted itself in later times. The Ptolemies held undisputed possession of the place for about 70 years but it was wrested from them by Antiochus III, of Syria, in 219 B.C. and went into the permanent possession of the Seleucids after the decisive victory of Antiochus over Scopas in that year, the result of which was the expulsion of the Ptolemies from Syria, Palestine and Phoenicia (Ant., XII, iii, 3). In the dynastic struggles of the Seleucids it fell into the hands of Alexander Bala, who there received the hand of Cleopatra, the daughter of Ptolemy Philometor, as a pledge of alliance between them (ib XIII, iv, 1). Tigranes, king of Armenia, besieged it on his invasion of Syria, but was obliged to relinquish it on the approach of the Romans toward his own dominions (BJ, I, v, 3).

Under the Romans Ptolemais became a colony and a metropolis, as is known from coins, and was of importance, as is attested by Strabo. But the events that followed the conquests of the Saracens, leading to the Crusades, brought it into great prominence. It was captured by the Crusaders in 1110 A.D., and remained in their hands until 1187, when it was taken from them by Saladin and its fortifications so strengthened as to render it almost impregnable. The importance of this fortress as a key to the Holy Land was considered so great by the Crusaders that they put forth every effort during two years to recapture it, but all in vain until the arrival of Richard Coeur de Lion and Philip Augustus with reinforcements, and it was only after the most strenuous efforts on their part that the place fell into their hands, but it cost them 100,000 men. The fortifications were repaired and it was afterward committed to the charge of the knights of John, by whom it was held for 100 years and received the name of Jean d'Acre. It was finally taken by the Saracens in 1291, being the last place held by the Crusaders in Palestine

It declined after this and fell into the hands of the Ottomans under Selim I in 1516, and remained mostly in ruins until the 18th century, when it came into the possession of Jezzar Pasha, who usurped the authority over it and the neighboring district and became practically independent of the Sultan and defied his authority. In 1799 it was attacked by Napoleon but was bravely and successfully defended by the Turks with the help of the English fleet, and Napoleon had to abandon the siege after he had spent two months before it and gained a victory over the Turkish army at Tabor. It enjoyed a considerable degree of prosperity after this until 1831 when it was besieged by Ibrahim Pasha, of Egypt, and taken, but only after a siege of more than five months in which it suffered the destruction of its walls and many of its buildings. It continued in the hands of the Egyptians until 1840 when it was restored to the Ottomans by the English whose fleet nearly reduced it to ruins in the bombardment. It has recovered somewhat since then and is now a town of some 10,000 inhabitants and the seat of a Mutasarrifiyet, or subdivision of the Vilayet of Beirut. It contains one of the state prisons of the Vilayet, where long-term prisoners are incarcerated. Its former commerce has been almost wholly lost to the town of Haifa, on the south side of the bay, since the latter has a fairly good roadstead, while Acre has none, and the former being the terminus of the railway which connects with the interior and the Damascus-Mecca line, it has naturally supplanted Acre as a center of trade.

H. Porter

Strong's Hebrew

5910. Akko -- a city in Asher
... 5909, 5910. Akko. 5911 . a city in Asher. Transliteration: Akko Phonetic
Spelling: (ak-ko') Short Definition: Acco. Word ... 1). Acco. ...
/hebrew/5910.htm - 5k

Library

The Annunciation of Jesus the Messiah, and the Birth of his ...
... The great caravan-route which led from Acco on the sea to Damascus divided at its
commencement into three roads: the most northern passing through Cæsarea ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter iv the annunciation of.htm

Jews and Gentiles in "The Land"
... Thus the environs of Ascalon, the wall of Caesarea, and that of Acco, were reckoned
within the boundaries of Palestine, though the cities themselves were not. ...
/.../edersheim/sketches of jewish social life/chapter 2 jews and gentiles.htm

By the Sea of Galilee - the Final Call of the First Disciples, and ...
... a dinner given to a great Rabbi, [2256] although the common proverb had it, to denote
what was abundant, that it was like bringing fish to Acco.' [2257] Besides ...
/.../edersheim/the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter xiii by the sea.htm

Appendix iii. Rabbinic views as to the Lawfulness of Images ...
... This more liberal tendency had, indeed, appeared at a much earlier period, in the
case of the Nasi Gamaliel II., who made use of a public bath at Acco in which ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/appendix iii rabbinic views as.htm

Index i. Of Subjects
... Academics, subjects of study in, i.232; classes of lectures in, and students, 247.
Acco or Ptolemais, fair at, i.117. Acher, See Elisha ben Abuyah. ...
/.../edersheim/the life and times of jesus the messiah/index i of subjects.htm

The Call of Matthew.
... lake, to collect duties on goods and people ferried across; or whether it was by
the roadside on the great highway leading from Damascus to Acco, to collect ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/xxxvi the call of matthew.htm

Commerce
... But the whole of that coast, with the harbours of Joppa, Jamneh, Ascalon, Gaza,
and Acco or Ptolemais, remained, with short intervals, in the possession of the ...
/.../edersheim/sketches of jewish social life/chapter 12 commerce.htm

In Palestine - Jews and Gentiles in the Land' - their Mutual ...
... Not only the immediate neighborhood (as in the case of Ascalon), but the very wall
of a city (as of Acco and of Cæsarea) might be Palestinian, and yet the ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter vii in palestine -.htm

The Jewish War and the Destruction of Jerusalem. AD 70
... general, Vespasian, with a large force to Palestine Vespasian opened the campaign
in the year 67 from the Syrian port-town, Ptolemais (Acco), and against a ...
/.../schaff/history of the christian church volume i/section 38 the jewish war.htm

Letter cviii. To Eustochium.
... Next passing over the sands of Tyre on which Paul had once knelt [2758] she came
to Acco or, as it is now called, Ptolemais, rode over the plains of Megiddo ...
/.../jerome/the principal works of st jerome/letter cviii to eustochium.htm

Thesaurus

Acco (2 Occurrences)
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia ACCO. ak'-o (`akko; [`Akcho ... of trade. H. Porter.
Multi-Version Concordance Acco (2 Occurrences). Judges 1 ...
/a/acco.htm - 13k

Achzib (4 Occurrences)
... It is mentioned in Joshua 19:29 as falling within the possessions of the tribe of
Asher, but they never occupied it, as they did not the neighboring Acre (Acco...
/a/achzib.htm - 10k

Ptolemais (2 Occurrences)
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. PTOLEMAIS. tol-e-ma'-is (Ptolemais): Same as
"Acco" in Judges 1:31. ... See ACCO; PHOENICIA. Multi-Version Concordance ...
/p/ptolemais.htm - 7k

Ummah (1 Occurrence)
... By a slight emendation of the text it would read Acco, the name of the
place subsequently known as Ptolemais, the modern `Akka. ...
/u/ummah.htm - 7k

Rehob (12 Occurrences)
... Judges 1:31 Asher didn't drive out the inhabitants of Acco, nor the inhabitants
of Sidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob ...
/r/rehob.htm - 13k

Ptolemy
... of the name of Arsinoe (his sister-wife), Philadelphia on the ruins of old Rabbah,
Philotera south of the Sea of Galilee, and Ptolemais on the site of Acco. ...
/p/ptolemy.htm - 17k

Beth-le-aph'rah (1 Occurrence)
... Multi-Version Concordance Beth-le-aph'rah (1 Occurrence). Micah 1:10 In Gath tell
ye not -- in Acco weep not, In Beth-Aphrah, in dust roll thyself. (See RSV). ...
/b/beth-le-aph'rah.htm - 6k

Beth-aphrah (1 Occurrence)
... Multi-Version Concordance Beth-aphrah (1 Occurrence). Micah 1:10 In Gath tell ye
not -- in Acco weep not, In Beth-Aphrah, in dust roll thyself. (YLT). ...
/b/beth-aphrah.htm - 6k

Capernaum (16 Occurrences)
... and crowded districts of Palestine. This city lay on the great highway from
Damascus to Acco and Tyre. It has been identified with ...
/c/capernaum.htm - 23k

Aczib (4 Occurrences)
... Judges 1:31 Asher didn't drive out the inhabitants of Acco, nor the inhabitants
of Sidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob ...
/a/aczib.htm - 7k

Bible Concordance

Acco (2 Occurrences)

Judges 1:31 Asher didn't drive out the inhabitants of Acco, nor the inhabitants of Sidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob;
(WEB JPS ASV BBE DBY NAS RSV NIV)

Micah 1:10 In Gath tell ye not -- in Acco weep not, In Beth-Aphrah, in dust roll thyself.
(YLT)

Subtopics

Acco

Related Terms

Achzib (4 Occurrences)

Ptolemais (2 Occurrences)

Ummah (1 Occurrence)

Rehob (12 Occurrences)

Ptolemy

Beth-le-aph'rah (1 Occurrence)

Beth-aphrah (1 Occurrence)

Capernaum (16 Occurrences)