Dubingiai ( Polish : Dubinki ) is a town in Molėtai district in Lithuania . It is situated near Lake Asveja , the longest lake in the country. The town has 208 inhabitants as of 2017.
117-621: The settlement was first mentioned in 1334, when Teutonic knights razed terra Dubingam during one of their raids. Other raids took place in 1373 and 1375. During the reign of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas the Great the town became an important place in that part of Lithuania. In 1415 Vytautas ordered the building of a new masonry castle. Later it was governed by the Radziwiłłs who built Dubingiai Castle from rock and town became one of
234-760: A bailiwick headed by a Landkomtur . All of the Teutonic Knights' possessions were subordinate to the Grand Master, whose seat was in Bad Mergentheim. There were twelve German bailiwicks: Outside of German areas were the bailiwicks of The Order gradually lost control of these holdings until, by 1809, only the seat of the Grand Master at Mergentheim remained. Following the abdication of Albert of Brandenburg, Walter von Cronberg became Deutschmeister in 1527, and later Administrator of Prussia and Grand Master in 1530. Emperor Charles V combined
351-738: A Greek colony in the town, which he named Antioch after himself. About 165 BC Judas Maccabeus defeated the Seleucids in several battles in Galilee , and drove them into Ptolemais. About 153 BC Alexander Balas , son of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, contesting the Seleucid crown with Demetrius , seized the city, which opened its gates to him. Demetrius offered many bribes to the Maccabees to obtain Jewish support against his rival, including
468-585: A Prussian Landmeister Heinrich von Plötzke , evicted the Brandenburgers from Gdańsk in September 1308 but then refused to yield the town to the Poles, and according to some sources massacred the town's inhabitants ; although the exact extent of the violence is unknown, and widely recognized by historians to be an unsolvable mystery. The estimates range from 60 rebellious leaders, reported by dignitaries of
585-713: A black cross. A cross pattée was sometimes used as their coat of arms ; this emblem was later used for military decoration and insignia by the Kingdom of Prussia and Germany as the Iron Cross . The motto of the Order was: "Helfen, Wehren, Heilen" ("Help, Defend, Heal"). In 1143 Pope Celestine II ordered the Knights Hospitaller to take over management of a German hospital in Jerusalem , which, according to
702-538: A few centuries but a large town was established during the Middle Bronze Age . Continuously inhabited since then, it is among the oldest continuously inhabited settlements on Earth . It has, however, been subject to conquest and destruction several times and survived as little more than a large village for centuries at a time. Acre was a hugely important city during the Crusades as a maritime foothold on
819-536: A few poor cottages. The khan was named Khan al-Ilfranj after its French founders. During Ottoman rule, Acre continued to play an important role in the region via smaller autonomous sheikhdoms. Towards the end of the 18th century Acre revived under the rule of Zahir al-Umar , the Arab ruler of the Galilee, who made the city capital of his autonomous sheikhdom . Zahir rebuilt Acre's fortifications, using materials from
936-613: A field hospital, which became the nucleus of the chivalric Teutonic Order . Upon the Sixth Crusade , the city was placed under the administration of the Knights Hospitaller military order. Acre continued to prosper as major commercial hub of the eastern Mediterranean, but also underwent turbulent times due to the bitter infighting among the Crusader factions that occasionally resulted in civil wars. The old part of
1053-404: A fixed tax-rate of 25% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, cotton, goats, and beehives, water buffaloes, in addition to occasional revenues and market toll, a total of 20,500 Akçe . Half of the revenue went to a Waqf . English academic Henry Maundrell in 1697 found it a ruin, save for a khan ( caravanserai ) built and occupied by French merchants for their use, a mosque and
1170-582: A great many other towns, they were variously distinguished. The Syrians called it "Antioch in Ptolemais" ( Ἀντιόχεια τῆς ἐν Πτολεμαΐδι , Antiókheia tês en Ptolemaΐdi ). Under Claudius, it was also briefly known as Germanicia in Ptolemais ( Γερμανίκεια τῆς ἐν Πτολεμαΐδι , Germaníkeia tês en Ptolemaΐdi ). As a Roman colony , it was notionally refounded and renamed Colonia Claudii Caesaris Ptolemais or Colonia Claudia Felix Ptolemais Garmanica Stabilis after its imperial sponsor Claudius ; it
1287-772: A military order. The Order was founded in Acre, and the Knights purchased Montfort Castle , northeast of Acre, in 1220. This castle, which defended the route between Jerusalem and the Mediterranean Sea , was made the seat of the Grand Masters in 1229, although they returned to Acre after losing Montfort to Muslim control in 1271. The Order received donations of land in the Holy Roman Empire (especially in present-day Germany and Italy ), Frankokratia , and
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#17327869923581404-592: A number of castles ( Ordensburgen ) from which it could defeat uprisings of Old Prussians , as well as continue its attacks on the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland, with which the Order was often at war during the 14th and 15th centuries. Major towns founded by the Order included Thorn (Toruń) , Kulm (Chełmno) , Allenstein (Olsztyn) , Elbing (Elbląg) , Memel (Klaipėda) , and Königsberg , founded in 1255 in honor of King Otakar II of Bohemia on
1521-531: A revival to the town of Acre, and it served as the main port of Palestine through the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates that followed, and through Crusader rule into the 13th century. The first Umayyad caliph, Muawiyah I (r. 661–680), regarded the coastal towns of the Levant as strategically important. Thus, he strengthened Acre's fortifications and settled Persians from other parts of Muslim Syria to inhabit
1638-514: A staging point for both Cestius 's and Vespasian 's campaigns to suppress the revolt in Judaea . The city was a center of Romanization in the region, but most of the population was made of local Phoenicians and Jews: as a consequence after the Hadrian times the descendants of the initial Roman colonists no longer spoke Latin and had become fully assimilated in less than two centuries (however
1755-522: A stake would be driven into their bodies or the knight would be flayed. Lithuanian pagan customs included ritualistic human sacrifice, the hanging of widows, and the burying of a warrior's horses and servants with him after his death. The knights would also, on occasion, take captives from defeated Lithuanians, whose condition (as that of other war captives in the Middle Ages) was extensively researched by Jacques Heers. The conflict had much influence in
1872-516: A strong economic base which enabled them to hire mercenaries from throughout Europe to augment their feudal levies, and they also became a naval power in the Baltic Sea . In 1410, a Polish-Lithuanian army decisively defeated the Order and broke its military power at the Battle of Grunwald . However, the Knights successfully defended their capital in the following Siege of Marienburg ( Malbork ) and
1989-743: Is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society c. 1190 in Acre , Kingdom of Jerusalem . The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to the Holy Land and to establish hospitals . Its members have commonly been known as the Teutonic Knights , having historically served as a crusading military order for supporting Catholic rule in
2106-600: Is a clear destruction layer in the ruins, probably dating to the 7th century BC. Acre served as a major port of the Persian Empire , with Strabo noting its importance in campaigns against the Egyptians. According to Strabo and Diodurus Siculus , Cambyses II attacked Egypt after massing a huge army on the plains near the city of Acre. The Persians expanded the town westward and probably improved its harbor and defenses. In December 2018, archaeologists digging at
2223-523: Is also mentioned in letters from Byblos (EA 085), Gath (EA 366), and Megiddo (EA 245). Acre continued as a Phoenician city and was referenced as a Phoenician city by the Assyrians . Josephus , however, claimed it as a province of the Kingdom of Israel under Solomon . Around 725 BC, Acre joined Sidon and Tyre in a revolt against the Neo-Assyrian emperor Shalmaneser V . There
2340-709: The Crusader states ), controlling the port tolls of Acre. After Christian forces were defeated in the Middle East, the Order moved to Burzenland (southeastern Transylvania ) in 1211 to help defend the south-eastern borders of the Kingdom of Hungary against the Cumans . The Knights were expelled by force of arms by King Andrew II of Hungary in 1225, after attempting to build their own state within Transylvania and Pope Honorius III's papal bull claiming authority over
2457-794: The Habsburg monarchy during the Ottoman wars in Europe . The military history of the Teutonic Knights was to end in 1805 by the Article XII of the Peace of Pressburg , which ordered the German territories of the Knights converted into a hereditary domain and gave the Austrian Emperor responsibility for placing a Habsburg prince on its throne. These terms had not been fulfilled by the time of
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#17327869923582574-733: The Holy Roman Empire and Livonia , although the Livonian branch retained considerable autonomy. Many of the Imperial possessions were ruined in the German Peasants' War from 1524 to 1525 and subsequently confiscated by Protestant territorial princes. The Livonian territory was then partitioned by neighboring powers during the Livonian War ; in 1561 the Livonian Master Gotthard Kettler secularized
2691-598: The Neman River , with as many as twenty forts and castles between Seredžius and Jurbarkas alone. A dispute over the succession to the Duchy of Pomerelia embroiled the Order in further conflict at the beginning of the 14th century. The Margraves of Brandenburg had claims to the duchy which they asserted after the death of King Wenceslaus of Poland in 1306. Duke Władysław I the Elbow-high of Poland also claimed
2808-589: The Nogat River , outside the reach of secular powers. The position of Prussian Landmeister was merged with that of the Grand Master. The Pope began investigating misconduct by the knights, but no charges were found to have substance. Along with the campaigns against the Lithuanians, the knights faced a vengeful Poland and legal threats from the Papacy. The Treaty of Kalisz of 1343 ended the open war between
2925-668: The Northern District of Israel . The city occupies a strategic location, sitting in a natural harbour at the extremity of Haifa Bay on the coast of the Mediterranean 's Levantine Sea . Aside from coastal trading, it was an important waypoint on the region's coastal road and the road cutting inland along the Jezreel Valley . The first settlement during the Early Bronze Age was abandoned after
3042-473: The Treaty of Schönbrunn in 1809, and therefore Napoleon Bonaparte ordered the Knights' remaining territory to be disbursed to his German allies, which was completed in 1810. Acre, Israel Acre ( / ˈ ɑː k ər , ˈ eɪ k ər / AH -kər, AY -kər ), known locally as Akko ( Hebrew : עַכּוֹ , ʻAkkō ) and Akka ( Arabic : عكّا , ʻAkkā ), is a city in the coastal plain region of
3159-1003: The Vistula River Valley and the Brandenburg Neumark were ravaged by the Hussites during the Hussite Wars . Some Teutonic Knights were sent to battle the invaders but were defeated by the Bohemian infantry. The Knights also sustained a defeat in the Polish-Teutonic War (1431–1435) . In 1440, the Prussian Confederation was founded by gentry and burghers of the State of the Teutonic Order. In 1454, it rose up against
3276-547: The first Mongol invasion of Poland . The combined Polish-German army was crushed by the Mongol army and their superior tactics, with few survivors. In 1337, Emperor Louis IV allegedly granted the Order the imperial privilege to conquer all Lithuania and Russia. During the reign of Grand Master Winrich von Kniprode (1351–1382), the Order reached the peak of its international prestige and hosted numerous European crusaders and nobility. King Albert of Sweden ceded Gotland to
3393-619: The "spacious" port was still in use and the city was full of artisans. Throughout the Mamluk era (1260–1517), Acre was succeeded by Safed as the principal city of its province. Incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1517, it appeared in the census of 1596, located in the Nahiya of Acca of the Liwa of Safad . The population was 81 households and 15 bachelors, all Muslim. They paid
3510-520: The 12th century in the Kingdom of Jerusalem . After the loss of Jerusalem in 1187, some merchants from Lübeck and Bremen took up the idea and founded a field hospital for the duration of the Siege of Acre in 1190, which became the nucleus of the order; Pope Celestine III recognized it in 1192 by granting the monks Augustinian Rule . However, based on the model of the Knights Templar , it
3627-527: The 18th century. In 1947, Acre formed part of Mandatory Palestine and had a population of 13,560, of whom 10,930 were Muslim and 2,490 were Christian. As a result of the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine and subsequent 1948 Arab–Israeli war , the population of the town dramatically changed as its Palestinian-Arab population was expelled or forced to flee; it was then resettled by Jewish immigrants. In present-day Israel,
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3744-695: The Achaemenids out of the Levant. After Alexander 's death, his main generals divided his empire among themselves. At first, the Egyptian Ptolemies held the land around Acre. Ptolemy II renamed the city Ptolemais in his own and his father's honour in the 260s BC. Antiochus III conquered the town for the Syrian Seleucids in 200 BC. In the late 170s or early 160s BC, Antiochus IV founded
3861-857: The German Lords"), Deutschritterorden ("Order of the German Knights"), Marienritter ("Knights of Mary "), Die Herren im weißen Mantel ("The lords in white capes"), etc. . The Teutonic Knights have been known as Zakon Krzyżacki in Polish ("Order of the Cross") and as Kryžiuočių Ordinas in Lithuanian, Vācu Ordenis in Latvian, Saksa Ordu or, simply, Ordu ("The Order") in Estonian. The fraternity which preceded
3978-424: The German landowners and were gradually assimilated. Peasants in frontier regions, such as Samland , had more privileges than those in more populated lands, such as Pomesania . The crusading knights often accepted baptism as a form of submission by the natives. Christianity along western lines slowly spread through Prussian culture. Bishops were reluctant to have pagan Prussian religious practices integrated into
4095-459: The Holy Land and the Northern Crusades during the Middle Ages , as well as supplying military protection for Catholics in Eastern Europe . Purely religious since 1810, the Teutonic Order still confers limited honorary knighthoods . The Bailiwick of Utrecht of the Teutonic Order , a Protestant chivalric order , is descended from the same medieval military order and also continues to award knighthoods and perform charitable work. The name of
4212-400: The Kingdom of Jerusalem. Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor , elevated his close friend Hermann von Salza to the status of Reichsfürst , or "Prince of the Empire", enabling the Grand Master to negotiate with other senior princes as an equal. During Frederick's coronation as King of Jerusalem in 1225, Teutonic Knights served as his escort in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre ; von Salza read
4329-550: The Knights Hospitallers in Rhodes and later in Malta . To make up for losses from the plague and to replace the partially exterminated native population, the Order encouraged immigration from the Holy Roman Empire (mostly Germans , Flemish , and Dutch ) and from Masovia ( Poles ), the later Masurians . These included nobles, burghers, and peasants, and the surviving Old Prussians were gradually assimilated through Germanization . The settlers founded numerous towns and cities on former Prussian settlements. The Order itself built
4446-405: The Mediterranean coast of the southern Levant and was the site of several battles, including the 1189–1191 Siege of Acre and 1291 Siege of Acre . It was the last stronghold of the Crusaders in the Holy Land prior to that final battle in 1291. At the end of Crusader rule, the city was destroyed by the Mamluks , thereafter existing as a modest fishing village until the rule of Zahir al-Umar in
4563-441: The Order and asked Polish King Casimir IV Jagiellon to incorporate the region into the Kingdom of Poland , to which the King agreed and signed an act of incorporation in Kraków . Mayors, burghers and representatives from the region pledged allegiance to the Polish King during the incorporation in March 1454 in Kraków . This marked the beginning of the Thirteen Years' War between the Teutonic Order and Poland. The main cities of
4680-460: The Order as a pledge (similar to a fiefdom ), with the understanding that they would eliminate the pirating Victual Brothers from this strategic island base in the Baltic Sea . An invasion force under Grand Master Konrad von Jungingen conquered the island in 1398 and drove the Victual Brothers out of Gotland and the Baltic Sea. In 1386, Grand Duke Jogaila of Lithuania was baptised into Christianity and married Queen Jadwiga of Poland , taking
4797-562: The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem is in German : Orden der Brüder vom Deutschen Haus der Heiligen Maria in Jerusalem and in Latin Ordo domus Sanctae Mariae Theutonicorum Hierosolymitanorum . Thus the term "Teutonic" echoes the German origins of the order ( Theutonicorum ) in its Latin name. German-speakers commonly refer to the Deutscher Orden (official short name, literally "German Order"), historically also as Deutscher Ritterorden ("German Order of Knights"), Deutschherrenorden ("Order of
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4914-475: The Order state the Prussians would "roast captured brethren alive in their armour, like chestnuts, before the shrine of a local god". The native nobility who submitted to the crusaders had many of their privileges confirmed by the Treaty of Christburg . After the Prussian uprisings of 1260–83, however, much of the Prussian nobility emigrated or were resettled, and many free Prussians lost their rights. The Prussian nobles who remained were more closely allied with
5031-403: The Order was saved from collapse. In 1515, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I made a marriage alliance with Sigismund I of Poland-Lithuania. Thereafter, the empire did not support the Order against Poland. In 1525, Grand Master Albert of Brandenburg resigned and converted to Lutheranism , becoming Duke of Prussia as a vassal of Poland. Soon after, the Order lost Livonia and its holdings in
5148-492: The Order won a great victory over the Lithuanians in the Battle of Strėva , severely weakening them. In 1370 it won a decisive victory over Lithuania in the Battle of Rudau . Warfare between the Order and the Lithuanians was particularly brutal. It was common practice for Lithuanians to torture captured enemies and civilians. It is recorded by a Teutonic chronicler that they had the habit of tying captured knights to their horses and having both of them burned alive, while sometimes
5265-416: The Order's higher dignitaries fell on the battlefield. The Polish–Lithuanian army then began the Siege of Marienburg ( Malbork ), the capital of the Order, but was unable to take Marienburg owing to the resistance of Heinrich von Plauen . When the First Peace of Thorn was signed in 1411, the Order managed to retain essentially all of its territories, although the Knights' reputation as invincible warriors
5382-431: The Order's remaining Prussian territories and assumed from his uncle Sigismund I the Old , King of Poland, the hereditary rights to the Duchy of Prussia as a personal vassal of the Polish Crown, the Prussian Homage . Ducal Prussia retained its currency, laws and faith. The aristocracy was not present in the Sejm. Although it had lost control of all of its Prussian lands, the Teutonic Order retained its territories within
5499-429: The Order's territory in Transylvania and its tax exemption toward the king. In 1230, following the Golden Bull of Rimini , Grand Master Hermann von Salza and Duke Konrad I of Masovia launched the Prussian Crusade , a joint invasion of Prussia intended to Christianize the Baltic Old Prussians . The Knights had quickly taken steps against their Polish hosts and with the Holy Roman Emperor 's support, had changed
5616-428: The Polish lands of Pomerelia (also Pomorze Gdańskie or Pomerania), Kuyavia , and Dobrzyń Land . The Order theoretically lost its main purpose in Europe with the Christianization of Lithuania . However, it initiated numerous campaigns against its Christian neighbours, the Kingdom of Poland , the Grand Duchy of Lithuania , and the Novgorod Republic (after assimilating the Livonian Order ). The Teutonic Knights had
5733-432: The Prince inherited the Kingdom, petitioned Pope Honorius III to be placed directly under the authority of the Papal See , rather than that of the King of Hungary. This was a grave mistake, as King Andrew, angered and alarmed at their growing power, responded in 1225 by expelling the Teutonic Knights, although he allowed the ethnically German commoners and peasants settled here by the Order to remain and these became part of
5850-476: The Protestant areas of Germany. The Order did keep its considerable holdings in Catholic areas of Germany until 1809, when Napoleon Bonaparte ordered its dissolution and the Order lost its last secular holdings. However, the Order continued to exist as a charitable and ceremonial body. It was outlawed by Nazi Germany in 1938, but re-established in 1945. Today it operates primarily with charitable aims in Central Europe . The Knights wore white surcoats with
5967-411: The Semigallians in 1290. The Order suppressed a major Estonian rebellion in 1343–1345, and in 1346 purchased the Duchy of Estonia from Denmark . The Teutonic Knights began to direct their campaigns against pagan Lithuania (see Lithuanian mythology ), due to the long existing conflicts in the region (including constant incursions into the Holy Roman Empire's territory by pagan raiding parties) and
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#17327869923586084-424: The Teutonic Knights and Poland. The Knights relinquished Kuyavia and Dobrzyń Land to Poland, but retained Chełmno Land and Pomerelia with Gdańsk (Germanized as Danzig ). In 1236, the Knights of Saint Thomas , an English order, adopted the rules of the Teutonic Order. A contingent of Teutonic Knights of indeterminate number is traditionally believed to have participated at the Battle of Legnica in 1241 during
6201-403: The Teutonic Knights assimilated the smaller Order of Dobrzyń , which had been established earlier by Christian , the first Bishop of Prussia. The conquest of Prussia was accomplished with much bloodshed over more than fifty years, during which native Prussians who remained unbaptised were subjugated, killed, or exiled. Fighting between the Knights and the Prussians was ferocious; chronicles of
6318-491: The Teutonic Knights use of Chełmno Land as a base for their campaign. This being a time of widespread crusading fervor throughout Western Europe, Hermann von Salza considered Prussia a good training ground for his knights for the wars against the Muslims in Outremer . With the Golden Bull of Rimini , Emperor Frederick II bestowed on the Order a special imperial privilege for the conquest and possession of Prussia, including Chełmno Land, with nominal papal sovereignty. In 1235
6435-405: The Teutonic Order was obliged to swear an oath of allegiance to the reigning Polish king within six months of taking office. The Grand Master became a prince and counselor of the Polish king and the Kingdom of Poland. After the Polish–Teutonic War (1519–1521) , the Order was completely ousted from Prussia when Grand Master Albert of Brandenburg converted to Lutheranism in 1525. He secularized
6552-494: The Teutons were expanding into their territory. By 1220, the Teutonics Knights had built five castles, some of them made of stone. Their rapid expansion made the Hungarian nobility and clergy, who were previously uninterested in those regions, jealous and suspicious. Some nobles claimed these lands, but the Order refused to share them, ignoring the demands of the local bishop. After the Fifth Crusade , King Andrew returned to Hungary and found his kingdom full of resentment because of
6669-401: The army's advance to Jerusalem. This demonstrates that even from the beginning, Acre was an important link between the Crusaders and their advance into the Levant. Its function was to provide Crusaders with a foothold in the region and access to vibrant trade that made them prosperous, especially giving them access to the Asiatic spice trade. By the 1130s it had a population of around 25,000 and
6786-399: The brethren, and abode with them one day". During the rule of the emperor Claudius there was a building drive in Ptolemais and veterans of the legions settled here. The city was one of four colonies (with Berytus , Aelia Capitolina and Caesarea Maritima ) created in the ancient Levant by Roman emperors for Roman veterans. During the Great Jewish Revolt (66–73 CE), Acre functioned as
6903-406: The centres of the Reformation in Lithuania. Many famous members of Radziwiłł family were burned and are buried in the churchyard of Dubingiai castle. In the 17th century weave and paper manufactures were established in the town. In the 17th century - 18th century the town was slowly re-converted to Catholicism . Within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania , Dubingiai belonged to Vilnius Voivodeship . It
7020-454: The chronicler Jean d'Ypres, accommodated the countless German pilgrims and crusaders who could neither speak the local language nor Latin ( patriæ linguam ignorantibus atque Latinam ). Although formally an institution of the Hospitallers, the pope commanded that the prior and the brothers of the domus Theutonicorum (house of the Germans) should always be Germans themselves, so a tradition of a German-led religious institution could develop during
7137-452: The city, where the port and fortified city were located, protrudes from the coastline, exposing both sides of the narrow piece of land to the sea. This could maximize its efficiency as a port, and the narrow entrance to this protrusion served as a natural and easy defense to the city. Both the archaeological record and Crusader texts emphasize Acre's strategic importance—a city in which it was crucial to pass through, control, and, as evidenced by
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#17327869923587254-408: The city. From Acre, which became one of the region's most important dockyards along with Tyre , Mu'awiyah launched an attack against Byzantine-held Cyprus . The Byzantines assaulted the coastal cities in 669, prompting Mu'awiyah to assemble and send shipbuilders and carpenters to Acre. The city would continue to serve as the principal naval base of Jund al-Urdunn ("Military District of Jordan") until
7371-472: The defeat of the Byzantine army of Heraclius by the Rashidun army of Khalid ibn al-Walid in the Battle of Yarmouk , and the capitulation of the Christian city of Jerusalem to the Caliph Umar , Acre came under the rule of the Rashidun Caliphate beginning in 638. According to the early Muslim chronicler al-Baladhuri , the actual conquest of Acre was led by Shurahbil ibn Hasana , and it likely surrendered without resistance. The Arab conquest brought
7488-489: The defeated Order renounced any claims to the territories of Gdańsk/Eastern Pomerania and Chełmno Land , which were reintegrated with Poland, and the region of Elbląg and Malbork, and the Prince-Bishopric of Warmia , which were also recognized as part of Poland, while retaining the eastern territories in historic Prussia, but as a fief and protectorate of Poland, also considered an integral part of "one and indivisible" Kingdom of Poland. From now on, every Grand Master of
7605-429: The duchy, based on inheritance from Przemysław II , but he was opposed by some Pomeranians nobles. They requested help from Brandenburg, which subsequently occupied all of Pomerelia except for the citadel of Gdańsk in 1308. Because Władysław was unable to come to the defense of Gdańsk, the Teutonic Knights, then led by Grand Master Siegfried von Feuchtwangen , were called to expel the Brandenburgers. The Order, under
7722-413: The early Fatimid Caliphate in 985, describing it as a fortified coastal city with a large mosque possessing a substantial olive grove. Fortifications had been previously built by the autonomous Emir Ibn Tulun of Egypt, who annexed the city in the 870s, and provided relative safety for merchant ships arriving at the city's port. When Persian traveller Nasir Khusraw visited Acre in 1047, he noted that
7839-502: The emperor's proclamation in both French and German . However, the Teutonic Knights were never as influential in Outremer as the older Knights Templar and Knights Hospitaller . Teutonic Order domains in the Levant: In 1211, Andrew II of Hungary accepted the services of the Teutonic Knights and granted them the district of Burzenland in Transylvania , where they would be exempt from fees and duties and could administer their own justice. Andrew had been involved in negotiations for
7956-403: The expenses and losses of the failed military campaign. When the nobles demanded that he cancel the concessions made to the Knights, he concluded that they had exceeded their task and that the agreement should be revised, but did not revert the concessions. However, Prince Béla, heir to the throne, was allied with the nobility. In 1224, the Teutonic Knights, seeing that they would have problems when
8073-414: The fleets of kingdoms and empires contesting the area, serving as the main port for the entire southern Levant up to the modern era. The ancient town was located atop Tel ʿAkkō (Hebrew) or Tell al-Fuḫḫār (Arabic), 1.5 km (0.93 mi) east of the present city and 800 m (2,600 ft) north of the Na'aman River . In antiquity, however, it formed an easily protected peninsula directly beside
8190-423: The formation of the Order was formed in the year 1191 in Acre by German merchants from Bremen and Lübeck . After the capture of Acre they took over a hospital in the city in order to take care of the sick and began to describe themselves as the Hospital of St. Mary of the German House in Jerusalem. Pope Clement III approved it and the Order started to play an important role in Outremer (the general name for
8307-533: The former mouth of the Na'aman or Belus. The earliest discovered settlement dates to around 3000 BC during the Early Bronze Age, but appears to have been abandoned after a few centuries, possibly because of inundation of its surrounding farmland by the Mediterranean . Acre was resettled as an urban centre during the Middle Bronze Age ( c. 2000 –1550 BC) and has been continuously inhabited since then. Egyptian execration texts record one 18th-century ruler as Tūra-ʿAmmu (Tꜣʿmw). Further to
8424-540: The incorporated territory were authorized by Casimir IV to mint Polish coins. Much of Prussia was devastated in the war, during the course of which the Order returned Neumark to Brandenburg in 1455 to raise funds for war. Because Marienburg Castle was handed over to mercenaries in lieu of their pay, and eventually passed to Poland, the Order moved its base to Königsberg in Sambia . In the Second Peace of Thorn (1466) ,
8541-544: The king of Acre, whom he accuses of treason for releasing the captured Hapiru king Labaya of Shechem instead of delivering him to Egypt. Excavations of Tel ʿAkkō have shown that this period of Acre involved industrial production of pottery, metal, and other trade goods. In Amarna Letter EA 232 , Surata ( su₂-ra-ta) is the Man of Akka (LU₂ ak-ka). The letter is sent to the King of Egypt, and it contains Canaanite glosses. Surata
8658-405: The lack of a proper area of operation for the Knights, after the fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem at Acre in 1291 and their later expulsion from Hungary. At first the knights moved their headquarters to Venice , from which they planned the recovery of Outremer; this plan was, however, soon abandoned, and the Order later moved its headquarters to Marienburg, so it could better focus its efforts on
8775-541: The lands of Prussia , Pomerelia , Samogitia , Courland , Livonia , Estonia , Gotland , Dagö , Ösel , and the Neumark , pawned by Brandenburg in 1402. In 1410, at the Battle of Grunwald a combined Polish–Lithuanian army, led by Władysław II Jagiełło and Vytautas , decisively defeated the Order in the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War . Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen and most (50 out of 60) of
8892-713: The language being used: Saint John of Acre (in English), San Juan de Acre (in Spanish ), Sant Joan d'Acre (in Catalan ), San Giovanni d'Acri (in Italian ), etc. Acre lies at the northern end of a wide bay with Mount Carmel at the south. It is the best natural roadstead on the southern Phoenician coast and has easy access to the Valley of Jezreel . It was settled early and has always been important for
9009-472: The large Jama Masjid was built of marble , located in the centre of the city and just south of it lay the "tomb of the Prophet Salih ." Khusraw provided a description of the city's size, which roughly translated as having a length of 1.24 kilometres (0.77 miles) and a width of 300 metres (984 feet). This figure indicates that Acre at that time was larger than its current Old City area, most of which
9126-560: The larger group of the Transylvanian Saxons. Lacking the military organization and experience of the Teutonic Knights, the Hungarians failed to replace them with adequate defence against the attacking Cumans. Soon, the steppe warriors would be a threat again. In 1226, Konrad I , Duke of Masovia in north-eastern Poland , appealed to the Knights to defend his borders and subdue the pagan Baltic Old Prussians , allowing
9243-667: The local society's customs were Roman). The Christian Acts of the Apostles describes Luke the Evangelist , Paul the Apostle and their companions spending a day in Ptolemais with their Christian brethren. An important Roman colony ( colonia ) was established at the city that greatly increased the control of the region by the Romans over the next century with Roman colonists translated there from Italy . The Romans enlarged
9360-559: The majority of brothers remained Catholic. The Teutonic Knights became tri-denominational, with Catholic, Lutheran and Reformed bailiwicks. The Grand Masters, often members of the great German families (and, after 1761, members of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine ), continued to preside over the Order's considerable holdings in Germany. Teutonic Knights from Germany, Austria, and Bohemia were used as battlefield commanders leading mercenaries for
9477-540: The margraves for 10,000 marks on 13 September 1309. Control of Pomerelia allowed the Order to connect their monastic state with the borders of the Holy Roman Empire. Crusading reinforcements and supplies could travel from the Imperial territory of Hither Pomerania through Pomerelia to Prussia, while Poland's access to the Baltic Sea was blocked. While Poland had mostly been an ally of the knights against
9594-488: The marriage of his daughter with the son of Hermann, Landgrave of Thuringia , whose vassals included the family of Hermann von Salza. Led by a brother called Theoderich or Dietrich, the Order defended the south-eastern borders of the Kingdom of Hungary against the neighbouring Cumans . Many forts of wood and mud were built for defence. They settled new German peasants among the existing Transylvanian Saxon inhabitants. The Cumans had no fixed settlements for resistance, and soon
9711-531: The massive walls, protect. Acre was the final major stronghold of the Crusader states when much of the Levantine coastline was conquered by Mamluk forces. Acre itself fell to Sultan Al-Ashraf Khalil in 1291 . Acre, having been isolated and largely abandoned by Europe, was conquered by Mamluk sultan al-Ashraf Khalil in a bloody siege in 1291 . In line with Mamluk policy regarding the coastal cities (to prevent their future utilization by Crusader forces), Acre
9828-599: The mid-14th century BC. On its native currency, Acre's name was written ʿK ( Phoenician : 𐤏𐤊 ). It appears in Assyrian and once in Biblical Hebrew . Acre was known to the Greeks as Ákē ( ‹See Tfd› Greek : Ἄκη ), a homonym for a Greek word meaning "cure". Greek legend then offered a folk etymology that Hercules had found curative herbs at the site after one of his many fights. This name
9945-488: The name Władysław II Jagiełło and becoming King of Poland. This created a personal union between the two countries and a potentially formidable opponent for the Teutonic Knights. The Order initially managed to play Władysław II Jagiełło and his cousin Vytautas against each other, but this strategy failed when Vytautas began to suspect that the Order was planning to annex parts of his territory. The baptism of Jogaila began
10062-592: The name is unknown. A folk etymology in Hebrew is that, when the ocean was created, it expanded until it reached Acre and then stopped, giving the city its name (in Hebrew, ad koh means "up to here" and no further). Acre seems to be recorded in Egyptian hieroglyphs , probably being the ʿKY in the execration texts from around 1800 BC. The Akkadian cuneiform Amarna letters also mention an "Akka" in
10179-531: The new Grand Master was unable to revive the Order's fortunes. After the Gollub War the Knights lost some small border regions and renounced all claims to Samogitia in the 1422 Treaty of Melno . Austrian and Bavarian knights feuded with those from the Rhineland , who likewise bickered with Low German -speaking Saxons , from whose ranks the Grand Master was usually chosen. The western Prussian lands of
10296-587: The new faith, while the ruling knights found it easier to govern the natives when they were semi-pagan and lawless. After fifty years of warfare and brutal conquest, the end result was that most of the Prussian natives were either killed or deported. The Order ruled Prussia under charters issued by the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor as a sovereign monastic state , comparable to the arrangement of
10413-472: The next decades the Order focused on the subjugation of the Curonians and Semigallians . In 1260 it suffered a disastrous defeat in the Battle of Durbe against Samogitians , and this inspired rebellions throughout Prussia and Livonia. After the Knights won a crucial victory in the Siege of Königsberg from 1262 to 1265, the war had reached a turning point. The Curonians were finally subjugated in 1267 and
10530-641: The north was the important MBA site of Tel Kabri dominating the Akko plain. Acre was listed as "Aak" among the conquests of the Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose III . In the Amarna Period ( c. 1350 BC), there was turmoil in Egypt's Levantine provinces. The Amarna Archive contains letters concerning the ruler(s) of Acco. In one, King Biridiya of Megiddo complains to Amenhotep III or Akhenaten of
10647-480: The official conversion of Lithuania to Christianity. Although the crusading rationale for the Order's state ended when Prussia and Lithuania had become officially Christian, the Order's feuds and wars with Lithuania and Poland continued. The Lizard Union was created in 1397 by Prussian nobles in Chełmno Land to oppose the Order's policy. In 1407, the Teutonic Order reached its greatest territorial extent and included
10764-430: The pagan Prussians and Lithuanians, the capture of Pomerelia turned the kingdom into a determined enemy of the Order. The capture of Gdańsk marked a new phase in the history of the Teutonic Knights. The persecution and abolition of the powerful Knights Templar, which began in 1307, worried the Teutonic Knights, but control of Pomerelia allowed them to move their headquarters in 1309 from Venice to Marienburg (Malbork) on
10881-438: The political situation of the region and was the source of many rivalries between Lithuanians or Poles and Germans; the degree to which it impacted the mentalities of the time can be seen in the lyrical works of men such as the contemporary Austrian poet Peter Suchenwirt . Overall, the conflict lasted over 200 years (although with varying degrees of active hostility during that time), its front line extending along both banks of
10998-517: The population was 51,420 in 2022, made up of Jews , Muslims , Christians , Druze , and Baháʼís . In particular, Acre is the holiest city of the Baháʼí Faith in Israel and receives many pilgrims of that faith every year. Acre is one of Israel's mixed cities ; 32% of the city's population is Arab . The mayor is Shimon Lankri, who was re-elected in 2018 with 85% of the vote. The etymology of
11115-573: The port and the city grew to more than 20,000 inhabitants in the second century under emperor Hadrian . Ptolemais greatly flourished for two more centuries. After the permanent division of the Roman Empire in 395 AD, Ptolemais was administered by the successor state, the Byzantine Empire . The city started to lose importance and in the seventh century was reduced to a small settlement of less than one thousand inhabitants. Following
11232-441: The region and Knight chroniclers, to 10,000 civilians, a number cited in a papal bull (of dubious provenance) that was used in a legal process installed to punish the Order for the event; the legal dispute went on for a time, but the Order was eventually absolved of the charges. In the Treaty of Soldin , the Teutonic Order purchased Brandenburg's supposed claim to the castles of Gdańsk, Świecie , and Tczew and their hinterlands from
11349-406: The region of Prussia. Because " Lithuania Propria " remained non-Christian until the end of the 14th century, much later than the rest of eastern Europe, the conflicts were dragged out over a longer time, and many Knights from western European countries, such as England and France , journeyed to Prussia to participate in the seasonal campaigns ( reyse ) against the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1348,
11466-462: The reign of Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik (723–743), who moved the bulk of the shipyards north to Tyre. Nonetheless, Acre remained militarily significant through the early Abbasid period, with Caliph al-Mutawakkil issuing an order to make Acre into a major naval base in 861, equipping the city with battleships and combat troops. During the 10th century, Acre was still part of Jund al-Urdunn. Local Arab geographer al-Muqaddasi visited Acre during
11583-652: The revenues of Ptolemais for the benefit of the Temple in Jerusalem , but in vain. Jonathan Apphus threw in his lot with Alexander; Alexander and Demetrius met in battle and the latter was killed. In 150 BC Alexander received Jonathan with great honour in Ptolemais. Some years later, however, Tryphon, an officer of the Seleucid Empire , who had grown suspicious of the Maccabees, enticed Jonathan into Ptolemais and there treacherously took him prisoner. The city
11700-417: The site of Tell Keisan in Acre unearthed the remains of a Persian military outpost that might have played a role in the successful 525 BC Achaemenid invasion of Egypt. The city's industrial production continued into the late Persian era, with particularly expanded iron works. The Persian-period fortifications at Tell Keisan were later heavily damaged during Alexander's fourth-century BC campaign to drive
11817-670: The site of a destroyed Prussian settlement. After suffering a devastating defeat in the Battle of Saule , the Livonian Brothers of the Sword were absorbed by the Teutonic Knights in 1237. The Livonian branch subsequently became known as the Livonian Order . Attempts to expand into Rus' failed when the Knights suffered a major defeat in 1242 in the Battle of the Ice at the hands of Prince Alexander Nevsky of Novgorod . Over
11934-507: The southern Livonian possessions of the Order to create the Duchy of Courland , also a vassal of Poland. After the loss of Prussia in 1525, the Teutonic Knights concentrated on their possessions in the Holy Roman Empire. Since they held no contiguous territory, they developed a three-tiered administrative system: holdings were combined into commanderies that were administered by a commander ( Komtur ). Several commanderies were combined to form
12051-502: The status of Chełmno Land (also Ziemia Chełmińska or Kulmerland), to which they had been invited by the Polish Duke, into their own property. Starting from there, the Order created the independent State of the Teutonic Order , adding continuously the conquered Prussians' territory, and subsequently conquered Livonia . Over time, the kings of Poland denounced the Order for expropriating their lands, specifically Chełmno Land and later
12168-719: The two positions in 1531, creating the title Hoch- und Deutschmeister , which also had the rank of Prince of the Empire . A new Grand Magistery was established in Mergentheim in Württemberg , which was attacked during the German Peasants' War. The Order also helped Charles V against the Schmalkaldic League . After the Peace of Augsburg in 1555, membership in the Order was open to Protestants, although
12285-793: Was Latinized as Ace . Josephus 's histories also transcribed the city into Greek as Akre . The city appears in the Babylonian Talmud with the Jewish Babylonian Aramaic name תלבוש Talbush of uncertain etymology. Under the Diadochi , the Ptolemaic Kingdom renamed the city Ptolemaïs ( Koinē Greek : Πτολεμαΐς , Ptolemaΐs ) and the Seleucid Empire Antioch ( Ἀντιόχεια , Antiókheia ). As both names were shared by
12402-744: Was an important port city. It minted its own coins, and its harbor was one of the main gates to the land. Through this port the Roman Legions came by ship to crush the Jewish revolt in 67AD. It also served was used as connections to the other ports (for example, Caesarea and Jaffa)....The port of Acre (Ptolemais) was a station on Paul's naval travel, as described in Acts of the Gospels (21, 6-7): "And when we had taken our leave one of another, we took ship; and they returned home again. And when we had finished our course from Tyre, we came to Ptolemais, and saluted
12519-730: Was annexed by the Russian Empire after the Third Partition of Poland in 1795 and became a part of Vilna Governorate . A massacre of over 20 Lithuanian inhabitants by a local Home Army unit occurred on 23 June 1944, during World War II . The crime was a retaliation by the Polish commander for an earlier massacre of Polish villagers in Glitiškės by collaborationist Lithuanian police. 55°04′N 25°27′E / 55.067°N 25.450°E / 55.067; 25.450 Teutonic Order The Teutonic Order
12636-564: Was built between the 18th and 19th centuries. After four years, the siege of Acre was successfully completed in 1104, with the city capitulating to the forces of King Baldwin I of Jerusalem following the First Crusade . The Crusaders made the town their chief port in the Kingdom of Jerusalem . On the first Crusade, Fulcher relates his travels with the Crusading armies of King Baldwin, including initially staying over in Acre before
12753-565: Was captured by Alexander Jannaeus (ruled c. 103 –76 BC), Tigranes the Great (r. 95–55 BC), and Cleopatra (r. 51–30 BC). Here Herod the Great (r. 37–4 BC) built a gymnasium . Around 37 BC, the Romans conquered the Hellenized Phoenician port-city called Akko. It became a colony in southern Roman Phoenicia , called Colonia Claudia Felix Ptolemais Garmanica Stabilis . Ptolemais stayed Roman for nearly seven centuries until 636 AD, when it
12870-596: Was conquered by the Muslim Arabs. Under Augustus , a gymnasium was built in the city. In 4 BC, the Roman proconsul Publius Quinctilius Varus assembled his army there in order to suppress the revolts that broke out in the region following the death of Herod the Great . The Romans built a breakwater and expanded the harbor at the present location of the harbor....In the Roman/Byzantine period, Acre-Ptolemais
12987-690: Was entirely destroyed, with the exception of a few religious edifices considered sacred by the Muslims, namely the Nabi Salih tomb and the Ayn Bakar spring. The destruction of the city led to popular Arabic sayings in the region enshrining its past glory. In 1321 the Syrian geographer Abu'l-Fida wrote that Acre was "a beautiful city" but still in ruins following its capture by the Mamluks. Nonetheless,
13104-450: Was irreparably damaged. While Poland and Lithuania were growing in power, that of the Teutonic Knights dwindled through infighting. They were forced to impose high taxes to pay a substantial indemnity but did not give the cities sufficient requested representation in the administration of their state. The authoritarian and reforming Grand Master Heinrich von Plauen was forced from power and replaced by Michael Küchmeister von Sternberg , but
13221-595: Was known as Colonia Ptolemais for short. During the Crusades, it was officially known as Sainct-Jehan-d'Acre or more simply Acre (Modern French : Saint-Jean-d'Acre [sɛ̃ ʒɑ̃ dakʁ] ), after the Knights Hospitaller who had their headquarters there and whose patron saint was Saint John the Baptist . This name remained quite popular in the Christian world until modern times, often translated into
13338-439: Was only matched for size in the Crusader kingdom by the city of Jerusalem. Around 1170 it became the main port of the eastern Mediterranean, and the kingdom of Jerusalem was regarded in the west as enormously wealthy above all because of Acre. According to an English contemporary, it provided more for the Crusader crown than the total revenues of the king of England. The Andalusian geographer Ibn Jubayr wrote that in 1185 there
13455-604: Was still a Muslim community in the city who worshipped in a small mosque. Acre, along with Beirut and Sidon , capitulated without a fight to the Ayyubid sultan Saladin in 1187, after his decisive victory at Hattin and the subsequent Muslim capture of Jerusalem. Acre remained in Muslim hands until it was unexpectedly besieged by King Guy of Lusignan —reinforced by Pisan naval and ground forces—in August 1189. The siege
13572-594: Was transformed into a military order in 1198 and the head of the order became known as the Grand Master ( magister hospitalis ). It received papal orders for crusades to take and hold Jerusalem for Christianity and defend the Holy Land against the Muslim Saracens . During the rule of Grand Master Hermann von Salza (1209–1239) the Order changed from being a hospice brotherhood for pilgrims to primarily
13689-564: Was unique in the history of the Crusades since the Frankish besiegers were themselves besieged, by Saladin's troops. It was not captured until July 1191 when the forces of the Third Crusade , led by King Richard I of England and King Philip II of France , came to King Guy's aid. Acre then served as the de facto capital of the remnant Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1192. During the siege, German merchants from Lübeck and Bremen had founded
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