The Outer Walls of Frankish Acre1

A long-standing historical debate on the location of Frankish Acre's outer walls has been addressed through a critical examination of 150 years of scholarly maps. The study reveals that while earlier scholars like Rey, Makhouly and Johns, and Müller-Wiener proposed the northernmost tip of the wall was significantly farther north than the current Turkish-built wall (750 m away), others like Alderson and Jacoby suggested it was much closer (500–550 m). Kesten's 1962 correspondence map, though not explicitly marking Montmusard’s outer wall, implied its inner wall aligned with Alderson’s. Benvenisti’s later mapping suggested the outer wall extended to Rey et al.’s proposed point on the seashore. This analysis synthesizes conflicting hypotheses, offering a refined understanding of Frankish Acre's urban layout and its northern suburb, Montmusard.

Kedar, B. Z. (2024). The Outer Walls of Frankish Acre1. Franks, Muslims and Oriental Christians in the Latin Levant, XVII–X157. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003553953-17