Acra (fortress)

The Acra was a fortified compound built by Antiochus Epiphanes, ruler of the Seleucid Empire, following his sack of the city in 168BCE. The capture of the Lower City played a significant role in the formation of the Hasmonean Kingdom. The exact location of the original fortress Acra had long been a matter of lengthy discussions. In 2015, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced the likely discovery of the Acra in a different location.

About Acra (fortress) in brief

The Acra was a fortified compound built by Antiochus Epiphanes, ruler of the Seleucid Empire, following his sack of the city in 168 BCE. The capture of the Lower City played a significant role in the formation of the Hasmonean Kingdom, and in the Maccabean Revolt when the city was captured by Judas Maccabeus and the fortress destroyed by Simon Thassi. The exact location of the original fortress Acra had long been a matter of lengthy discussions. In 2015, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced the likely discovery of the Acra in a different location, south-west of the Temple Mount and north- west of the City of David. The Ancient Greek term acra akropolis was used to describe other fortified structures during the Hellenistic period. The Acra is also known as the Upper Market, The Valley of the Cheesemakers, The Pool of Siloam and The Upper City. It is one of three suburbs in Jerusalem during the late Second Temple period from which it takes its name. This suburb corresponds today with Silwan and the City Of David, along with its sister suburbs of The Upper Market and the Upper City, as well as the newer suburb known as Bezetha. It was built on a hill and spread out in the “shape of a moon when she is horned”. According to Josephus, the suburb Acra was built in the shape of a sun, with a pool at the center. The suburb is often called the Seelucid Acra to distinguish it from references to the Ptolemaic Baris as an acra and from the later quarter in Jerusalem which inherited the name Acra.

The Jewish population of Jerusalem had aided Antiochus during his siege of the Baris, the fortified base of Jerusalem’s Egyptian garrison. Their support was rewarded with a charter affirming Jewish religious autonomy, including barring foreigners and impure animals from the Temple’s precincts, and an allocation of official funds for the maintenance of certain religious rituals in the Temple. Despite being allowed religious freedom, many Jews were enticed by and adopted elements of the prestigious and influential Greek lifestyle. Hellenization produced tensions between observant Jews and their brethren who had assimilated Greek culture. In the ensuing uncertainty, Antiochus launched two invasions of Egypt, which alarmed the rapidly expanding Roman state, which demanded that he withdraw his forces from Egypt, and again in 169BCE, routed the P tolemai armies and unify Jerusalem. His intent was to unify the city and unifying the Pleiades, but he was killed in the ensuing ensuing chaos. In 169 BCE, he was ousted by Ammon Ammon, who was forced to flee to Ammonium, where he was granted an ephemonium and a gymnasium and paid by the Roman state. In 170BCE he was petitioned by Jason for appointment to the position of High Priest of Israel. Jason, himself thoroughly Hellenized, promised to increase the tribute paid to the city.

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