It gave the Europeans the chance they needed. Breaching the city’s gates, they poured through.
During the Third Crusade, the city of Acre (today in Israel) was surrounded. Occupying the city was a Muslim garrison, besieged by a Christian army, in turn, surrounded by a Muslim force. It was a stalemate. So what finally ended it? Bees.
Acre is one of the oldest, still inhabited cities in the world. It may have been founded as far back as 4,000 years ago. Its success lies in its location on the northern extremity of Haifa Bay along the Mediterranean Sea. It has a natural harbor, which is why just about everyone has fought over it – Persians, Greeks, Romans, etc.
The Byzantines held Acre until 638 when they lost it to the Rashidun Caliphate. The new rulers turned it into a naval base in 861, but they lost it to the Europeans during the First Crusade (1095–1099).
King Baldwin I of Edessa, Boulogne, and Jerusalem captured it in 1104. He turned it into Palestine’s chief port and the Crusader’s primary gateway to the rest of the Levant. Acre also gave the Europeans access to the Asiatic spice trade which helped finance their expansion and continued grip over the region.
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