The Siege of Acre, Part 1

The Siege of Acre was two years long and a major event in the history of the Crusades. Although started independently by Guy of Lusignan in his role as King of Jerusalem against Saladin, it became a part of the Third Crusade (once that venture overcame some difficulties in getting started).

Let's start with a discussion about Acre itself. Sitting at a natural harbor on the coast in the Northern District of Israel, the first settlement there was established in the Early Bronze Age (c.3000BCE). It is considered one of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements on Earth.

It has been called many things over the centuries. The earliest mention of it in writing is in Egyptian hieroglyphs with the name 'ky around 1800 BCE. Mid-14th century BCE sees it being called Akka. The Hebrew Bible calls it 'Akkō. It has also been called Ptolemaïs and Antioch, but those names were also used for other cities and caused some confusion.

The Crusades called it Saint Jean d'Acre. The Apostle Paul stayed there with a local Christian community on his way back from Macedonia. A bishop from Acre attended the First Council of Nicaea in 325.

Over time, Acre was held by Phoenicians, Persians, Greeks, Alexander the Great, the Romans, the Byzantines, and came under the Rashidun Caliphate in 638CE. It was the main port of Palestine during the following Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates.

During the Fist Crusade, Acre was captured by the Christians led by King Baldwin I of Jerusalem (father of Baldwin II and grandfather of Melisende, the first Queen of Jerusalem). By the time of the Siege of Acre, the population was about 25,000 Christians, Jews, and Muslims. The size of the population matched Jerusalem.

Then Saladin decided it was a prize he had to have, and his reputation for war was so impressive that in 1187 the city gave in to him without a fight.

This is where Guy comes in. He brought a force to Acre that was too small, and wound up starting a long siege in front of Acre that was itself besieged by Saladin's forces behind Guy's. See you next time.