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| == Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary <ref name="term_80137" /> ==
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| <p> afterward called Ptolemais, and now Akka by the Arabs, and [[Acre]] by the Turks. It was given to the tribe of Asher, Judges 1:31 . [[Christianity]] was planted here at an early period, and here St. Paul visited the saints in his way to Jerusalem, Acts 21:7 . It is a seaport of Palestine, thirty miles south of Tyre, and, in the first partition of the holy land, belonged to the tribe of Asher; but this was one of the places out of which the [[Israelites]] could not drive the primitive inhabitants. In succeeding times it was enlarged by the first Ptolemy, to whose lot it fell, and who named it after himself, Ptolemais. </p> <p> This city, now called Acre, which, from the convenience of its port, is one of the most considerable on the [[Syrian]] coast, was, during almost two centuries, the principal theatre of the holy wars, and the frequent scene of the perfidies and treacheries of the crusaders. </p> <p> Among its antiquities, Dr. E. D. Clarke describes the remains of a very considerable edifice, exhibiting a conspicuous appearance among the buildings on the north side of the city. "In this structure the style of the architecture is of the kind we call Gothic. Perhaps it has on that account borne among our countrymen the appellation of ‘King Richard's Palace,' although, in the period to which the tradition refers, the English were hardly capable of erecting palaces, or any other buildings of equal magnificence. Two lofty arches, and part of the cornice, are all that now remain to attest the former greatness of the superstructure. The cornice, ornamented with enormous stone busts, exhibiting a series of hideous distorted countenances, whose features are in no instances alike, may either have served as allusions to the decapitation of St. John, or were intended for a representation of the heads of [[Saracens]] suspended as trophies upon the walls." Maundrell and Pococke consider this building to have been the church of St. Andrew; but Dr. E. D. Clarke thinks it was that of St. John, erected by the Knights of Jerusalem, whence the city changed its name of [[Ptolemais]] for that of St. John d'Acre. He also considers the style of architecture to be in some degree the original of our ornamented Gothic, before its translation from the holy land to Italy, France, and England. </p> <p> Mr. Buckingham, who visited Acre in 1816, says, "Of the [[Canaanitish]] [[Accho]] it would be thought idle perhaps to seek for remains; yet some presented themselves to my observation so peculiar in form and materials, and of such high antiquity, as to leave no doubt in my own mind of their being the fragments of buildings constructed in the earliest ages. </p> <p> "Of the splendour of Ptolemais, no perfect monument remains; but throughout the town are seen shafts of red and grey granite, and marble pillars. The Saracenic remains are only to be partially traced in the inner walls of the town; which have themselves been so broken down and repaired, as to leave little visible of the original work; and all the mosques, fountains, bazaars, and other public buildings, are in a style rather Turkish than Arabic, excepting only an old, but regular and well-built khan or caravanserai, which might perhaps be attributed to the Saracen age. The [[Christian]] ruins are </p> <p> altogether gone, scarcely leaving a trace of the spot on which they stood." </p> <p> Acre has been rendered famous in our own times by the successful resistance made by our countryman Sir [[Sydney]] Smith, aided by the celebrated [[Djezzar]] Pasha, to the progress of the French under Buonaparte. Since this period, the fortifications have been considerably increased; and although to the eye of an engineer they may still be very defective, Acre may be considered as the strongest place in Palestine. </p> <p> Mr. Conner says, on the authority of the English consul, that there are about ten thousand inhabitants in Acre, of whom three thousand are Turks, and the remainder Christians, chiefly Catholics. </p>
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| == Morrish Bible Dictionary <ref name="term_64815" /> ==
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| <p> A seaport in the Mediterranean, about 30 miles south of Tyre. It was assigned to Asher, but it was one of the places they failed to possess. It is mentioned in the O.T. only in Judges 1:31 . After the dismemberment of the [[Macedonian]] empire Accho could not fail to excite attention in the numerous contests that took place during the [[Era]] of the Ptolemies: by one of whom it was gained and was called PTOLEMAIS. By this latter name it is frequently referred to in the books of [[Maccabees]] and by Josephus. In Acts 21:7 also we read that Paul sailed to Ptolemais. It was made a [[Roman]] colony by the emperor [[Claudius]] and named <i> Colonia Claudii Caesaris </i> . It was besieged and taken by the Crusaders, who called it ACRE and ST. JEAN D'ACRE on account of the knights of St. John of Jerusalem. In 1799 it was held by the English against Napoleon, who was defeated. [[Notwithstanding]] all these changes it retains its ancient name, and is still called <i> [[Acco]] </i> . An ancient coin gives the name in Greek letters AKE. It lies in the north of the bay of Acre, 32 55' N, 35 4' E. The population is 40,000 of which two-thirds are [[Jews]] [AD2000], this compares with about 5,000 in AD1800, of which 2,250 males were Muslims and Druzes, and about 800 [[Christians]] and Jews. </p>
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| == American Tract Society Bible Dictionary <ref name="term_15434" /> ==
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| <p> A city of the tribe of Asher, Judges 1:31 . In the New Testament, Accho is called Ptolemais, Acts 21:7; from one of the Ptolemais, who enlarged and beautified it. The crusaders gave it the name of Acre, of St. John of Acre. It is still called Akka by the Turks. It sustained several sieges during the crusades, and was the last fortified place wrested from the Christians by the Turks. </p> <p> The town is situated on the coast of the [[Mediterranean]] sea, thirty miles south of Tyre, on the north angle of a bay to which it gives its name, and which extends in a semicircle of three leagues, as far as the point of Mount Carmel, south-west of Acre. After its memorable siege by Bonaparte, when he was repulsed by Sir [[Sidney]] Smith, in 1799, Accho was much improved and strengthened, and its population was estimated at from 18,000 to 20,000. It has since then suffered greatly, having been besieged six months by Ibrahim Pacha, in 1832, and bombarded by an English fleet in 1840. [[Present]] population, (1859), 10,000 or 12,000. </p> <p> Accho and all the seacoast beyond it northwards, was considered as the heathen land of the Jews. </p>
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| == People's Dictionary of the Bible <ref name="term_69570" /> ==
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| <p> Accho ( ăk'ko), heated sand, now Acca or Acre, Judges 1:31, or Ptolemais (so called after the first Ptolemy, king of Egypt, into whose hands it fell about 100 years before Christ), was a seaport town on the bay of Acre, over against Carmel, about 30 miles south of Tyre. It was in the territory assigned to the tribe of Asher, and one of the cities from which they were unable to expel the Canaanites; and it is even now considered the strongest place in Palestine. It is mentioned in Acts 21:7. It now has about 6000 inhabitants. The place has been noted in modern times for the successful resistance it made, under Sir Sydney Smith, to the French army in 1799. It has an old cathedral, and a bishop of the Greek Church. The Romish monks have an inn, whih serves them instead of a convent. </p>
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| == Fausset's Bible Dictionary <ref name="term_34383" /> ==
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| <p> Ptolemais in the New Testament, Jean d'Acre (named from the knights of John of Jerusalem); called "the key of Palestine." Its sands were employed by the [[Sidonians]] in making glass. The name is akin to the [[Arab]] Akeh, a sandy shore heated by the sun. The chief seaport in Syria, 30 miles S. of Tyre; on the N. of the only inlet on the [[Palestine]] coast, with [[Carmel]] on the S. side. The distance across is eight miles. The river [[Belus]] flows into the sea close under the town walls. Accho was Asher's portion, but never was wrested from the original dwellers ( Judges 1:31). Paul landed here from Tyre, and stayed one day with Christian brethren, before sailing on to [[Caesarea]] ( Acts 21:7). </p>
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| == Smith's Bible Dictionary <ref name="term_70986" /> ==
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| <p> Ac'cho. (The Ptolemais of the Maccabees and New Testament), now called Acca, or more usually by Europeans, St. Jean d'Arc, the most important seaport town on the Syrian coast, about 30 miles south of Tyre. It was situated on a slightly projecting headland, at the northern extremity of that spacious bay which is formed by the bold promontory of Carmel on the opposite side. Later, it was named Ptolemais, after one of the Ptolemies, probably Soter. The only notice of it in the New [[Testament]] is in Acts 21:7 where it is called Ptolemais. </p>
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| == Easton's Bible Dictionary <ref name="term_30462" /> ==
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| Judges 1:31 Acts 21:7
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| == Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature <ref name="term_17639" /> ==
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| | Accho <ref name="term_17650" /> |
| == Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature <ref name="term_14977" /> ==
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| <p> Ac´cho, a town and haven within the nominal territory of the tribe of Asher, which however never acquired possession of it ( Judges 1:31). The Greek and Roman writers call it Ace, but it was eventually better known as Ptolemais, which name it received from the first Ptolemy, king of Egypt, by whom it was much improved. By this name it is mentioned in the New Testament ( Acts 21:7). It was also called Colonia Claudii Caesaris, in consequence of its receiving the privileges of a Roman city from the emperor Claudius. But the names thus imposed or altered by foreigners never took with the natives, and the place is still known in the country by the name of Akka. During the [[Crusades]] the place was usually known to Europeans by the name of Acon: afterwards, from the occupation of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, as St. Jean d'Acre, or simply Acre. </p> <p> This famous city and haven is situated in N. lat. 32° 55´, and E. long. 35° 5´, and occupies the north-western point of a commodious bay, called the Bay of Acre, the opposite or southwestern point of which is formed by the promontory of Mount Carmel. The city lies on the plain to which it gives its name. Its western side is washed by the waves of the Mediterranean, and on the south lies the bay, beyond which may be seen the town of Caipha, on the site of the ancient Calamos, and, rising high above both, the shrubby heights of Carmel. The mountains belonging to the chain of [[Anti-Libanus]] are seen at the distance of about four leagues to the north, while to the east the view is bounded by the fruitful hills of the Lower Galilee. The bay, from the town of Acre to the promontory of Mount Carmel, is three leagues wide and two in depth. The port, on account of its shallowness, can only be entered by vessels of small burden; but there is excellent anchorage on the other side of the bay, before Caipha, which is, in fact, the roadstead of Acre. In the time of [[Strabo]] Accho was a great city, and it has continued to be a place of importance down to the present time. But after the Turks gained possession of it, Acre so rapidly declined, that the travelers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries concur in describing it as much fallen from its former glory. Traces of its ancient magnificence, however, still remained in the fragments of spacious buildings, sacred and secular, and in portions of old walls of extraordinary height and thickness. An impulse was given to the prosperity of the place by the measures of [[Sheikh]] Daher, and afterwards of Djezzar Pasha, and the town greatly increased in actual importance. The population in 1819 was computed at 10,000, of whom 3000 were Turks, the rest Christians of various denominations. Approached from [[Tyre]] the city presented a beautiful appearance, from the trees in the inside, which rise above the wall, and from the ground immediately around it on the outside being planted with orange, lemon, and palm trees. Inside, the streets had the usual narrowness and filth of Turkish towns; the houses solidly built with stone, with flat roofs; the bazaars mean, but tolerably well supplied. The principal objects were the mosque built by Djezzar Pasha, the pasha's seraglio, the granary, and the arsenal. The trade was not considerable; the exports consisted chiefly of grain and cotton, the produce of the neighboring plain; and the imports chiefly of rice, coffee, and sugar from Damietta. As thus described, the city was all but demolished in 1832 by the hands of Ibrahim Pasha; and although considerable pains were taken to restore it, yet, as lately as 1837, it still exhibited a most wretched appearance, with ruined houses and broken arches in every direction. </p> <p> As the fame of Acre is rather modern than biblical, its history must in this place be briefly told. It belonged to the Phoenicians, until they, in common with the Jews, were subjugated by the Babylonians. By the latter it was doubtless maintained as a military station against Egypt, as it was afterwards by the Persians. In the distribution of Alexander's dominions Accho fell to the lot of [[Ptolemy]] Soter, who valued the acquisition, and gave it his own name. [[Afterwards]] it fell into the hands of the kings of Syria; and is repeatedly mentioned in the wars of the Maccabees. It was at one time the headquarters of their heathen enemies. In the endeavor of [[Demetrius]] [[Soter]] and [[Alexander]] Balas to bid highest for the support of Jonathan, the latter gave Ptolemais and the lands around to the temple at Jerusalem. [[Jonathan]] was afterwards invited to meet Alexander and the king of [[Egypt]] at that place, and was treated with great distinction by them, but there he at length (B.C. 144) met his death through the treachery of Tryphon. Alexander Jannaeus took advantage of the civil war between [[Antiochus]] [[Philometor]] and Antiochus Cyzicenus to besiege Ptolemais, as the only maritime city in those parts, except Gaza, which he had not subdued; but the siege was raised by Ptolemy Lathyrus (then king of Cyprus), who got possession of the city, of which he was soon deprived by his mother Cleopatra. She probably gave it, along with her daughter Selene, to Antiochus Grypus, king of Syria. At least, after his death, [[Selene]] held possession of that and some other Phoenician towns, after Tigranes, king of Armenia, had acquired the rest of the kingdom. But an injudicious attempt to extend her dominions drew upon her the vengeance of that conqueror, who, in B.C. 70, reduced Ptolemais, and, while thus employed, received with favor the [[Jewish]] embassy which was sent by [[Queen]] Alexandra, with valuable presents, to seek his friendship. A few years after, Ptolemais was absorbed, with all the country, into the Roman Empire; and the rest of its ancient history is obscure and of little note. It is only mentioned in the New Testament from St. Paul having spent a day there on his voyage to Caesarea ( Acts 21:7). It continued a place of importance, and was the seat of a bishopric in the first ages of the Christian Church. The see was filled sometimes by orthodox and sometimes by Arian bishops; and it has the equivocal distinction of having been the birth-place of the Sabellian heresy. Accho, as we may now again call it, was an imperial garrison town when the Saracens invaded Syria, and was one of those that held out until Caesarea was taken by Amru in A.D. 638. </p> <p> The [[Franks]] first became masters of it in A.D. 1110, when it was taken by Baldwin, king of Jerusalem. But in A.D. 1187it was recovered by Salahed-din, who retained it till A.D. 1191, when it was retaken by the Christians. This was the famous siege in which [[Richard]] Caeur-de-Lion made so distinguished a figure. The Christians kept it exactly one hundred years, or till A.D. 1291; and it was the very last place of which they were dispossessed. It had been assigned to the Knights [[Hospitallers]] of Jerusalem, who fortified it strongly, and defended it valiantly, till it was at length wrested from them by Khalil ben Kelaoun, or Melek Seruf, [[Sultan]] of Egypt. Under this dominion it remained till A.D. 1517, when the Mamluke dynasty was overthrown by Selim I, and all its territories passed to the Turks. After this Acre remained in quiet obscurity till the middle of the last century, when the Arab Sheikh Daher took it by surprise. Under him the place recovered some of its trade and importance. He was succeeded by the barbarous but able tyrant Djezzar Pasha, who strengthened the fortifications and improved the town. Under him it rose once more into fame, through the gallant and successful resistance which, under the direction of Sir Sidney Smith, it offered to the arms of Buonaparte. After that famous siege the fortifications were further strengthened, till it became the strongest place in all Syria. In 1832 the town was besieged for nearly six months by Ibrahim Pasha, during which 35,000 shells were thrown into it, and the buildings were literally beaten to pieces. It had by no means recovered from this calamity, when it was subjected to the operations of the English fleet under [[Admiral]] Stopford, in pursuance of the plan for restoring [[Syria]] to the Porte. On the 3rd of November, 1840, it was bombarded for several hours, when the explosion of the powder-magazine destroyed the garrison and laid the town in ruins. </p>
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| | == References == |
| ==References == | |
| <references> | | <references> |
| | | <ref name="term_17650"> [https://bibleportal.com/encyclopedia/cyclopedia-of-biblical-theological-and-ecclesiastical-literature/accho+(2) Accho from Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature]</ref> |
| <ref name="term_80137"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/watson-s-biblical-theological-dictionary/accho Accho from Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary]</ref> | |
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| <ref name="term_64815"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/morrish-bible-dictionary/accho Accho from Morrish Bible Dictionary]</ref>
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| <ref name="term_15434"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/american-tract-society-bible-dictionary/accho Accho from American Tract Society Bible Dictionary]</ref>
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| <ref name="term_69570"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/people-s-dictionary-of-the-bible/accho Accho from People's Dictionary of the Bible]</ref>
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| <ref name="term_34383"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/fausset-s-bible-dictionary/accho Accho from Fausset's Bible Dictionary]</ref>
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| <ref name="term_70986"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/smith-s-bible-dictionary/accho Accho from Smith's Bible Dictionary]</ref>
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| <ref name="term_30462"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/easton-s-bible-dictionary/accho Accho from Easton's Bible Dictionary]</ref>
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| <ref name="term_17639"> [https://bibleportal.com/encyclopedia/cyclopedia-of-biblical-theological-and-ecclesiastical-literature/accho Accho from Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature]</ref>
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| <ref name="term_14977"> [https://bibleportal.com/encyclopedia/kitto-s-popular-cyclopedia-of-biblial-literature/accho Accho from Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature]</ref>
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| </references> | | </references> |
