Reading Level: KS3 (Ages 11-14)
"Imagine a hidden strongpoint inside your city—a high tower with walls and tunnels where foreigners controlled the Temple. This real place, called Acra, existed in Jerusalem over two thousand years ago and became a symbol of resistance to foreign rule!"
After Antiochus IV destroyed the Temple and banned Jewish religious practices, he installed a Greek garrison in a high place withinJerusalem to strengthen his control. The word 'acra' comes from Greek for 'citadel,' meaning it was a strong, well-fortified stronghold used to monitor and suppress resistance.
Imagine a castle built by an enemy ruler right above your city’s holiest site. The soldiers in that castle watch you constantly and make sure you don’t do anything the ruler forbids—like praying or celebrating holidays.
Judas Maccabeus capturedJerusalem and freed the Temple, but the Acra remained under Seleucid control. Later, his brother Simon finally captured it after years of fighting, symbolizing a turning point in Jewish independence from foreign rule.
It’s like when a country frees itself from an occupying force by taking back their last holdout building and removing all signs of them—showing they’re no longer under control.
While Josephus describes it as a hill south of the Temple Mount, archaeological finds in areas like the Givati parking lot suggest it was near Silwan. These findings include walls, tunnels, and coins from Antiochus IV’s rule, helping researchers narrow down possible sites.
It’s like trying to find an old treasure map with clues from both the storybook description and real-world digs—archaeologists use both to figure out where it really was.
For centuries after its destruction, the Acra represented the loss of religious freedom. Its fall marked a victory over Hellenistic rule and helped shape future Jewish identity, especially in texts like the Talmud and Josephus’ writings.
Think of it as removing a foreign flag from your country’s capital—once gone, it means your people are free to govern themselves.
Some scholars believe it was just one citadel in the City of David south of the Temple Mount. Others think it became a full Hellenistic neighborhood with walls, barracks, and watchtowers. Evidence like cisterns and coins helps support both ideas, but no single answer is definitive yet.
It’s like figuring out whether an old fort was just one building or a whole town block—archaeology gives clues, but you need to piece them together carefully.
1. What did Antiochus IV do after he sacked Jerusalem in 168 BCE?
2. How did Simon Maccabeus treat the Acra after capturing it in 141 BCE?
3. Which piece of evidence supports the idea that the Acra was south of the Temple Mount?
4. Why do historians debate the location of the Acra?
Close your eyes and imagine you’re a historian in 141 BCE trying to prove Simon Maccabeus captured the Acra. You have Josephus’ words saying it was destroyed and leveled, but also archaeological clues showing walls south of the Temple Mount. What other evidence would you gather to convince people that Simon truly took it? Discuss what you’d need—from ancient texts to modern digs—and how both kinds of proof might help.