Crusader Acre

The goal of this paper is to question the idea of authenticity in the tourist industry, using the Old City of Akko (north Israel) as a case study. It will question the ability of tourism to serve as a tool for preserving living-cultural-heritage. Is there "authenticity" in tourism? Is cultural-based-tourism a means of preserving intangible heritage? Does cultural-based-heritage recreate heritage, invent heritage or is it just a means of creating experiences?

Questa nuova storia del movimento crociato intende fornire ai suoi lettori tutti gli elementi di una storia 'plurale' delle vicende che portarono all’insediamento in Medioriente tra i secoli XII-XIII di una serie di entità politiche in seguito definite sotto il termine complessivo di Outremer gravitanti intorno a Gerusalemme, la Città Santa conquistata con la forza nel 1099 al termine di una spedizione bandita da papa Urbano II e che avrebbe incontrato un successo imprevisto e imprevedibile.
Slegando la storia del movimento crociato alla classica elencazione d’impianto manualistico – priva di qualsiasi consistenza come riconosciuto dalla storiografia più aggiornata - che individua sulla base di una vecchia tradizione storiografica una serie di spedizioni come “ufficiali” mentre relega al contempo altre (pur importanti) in secondo piano, abbiamo inteso trasmettere ai lettori di questo libro una visione più ampia e complessa di una storia che interessò i più importanti personaggi dei secoli centrali dell'età medievale: Federico Barbarossa, Filippo II Augusto, Riccardo Cuor di Leone, Federico II di Svevia, Luigi IX, solo per citare i più noti (e tacendo i tanti pellegrini accorsi per la difesa del Santo Sepolcro).
Ma questa è anche la storia del mondo musulmano circostante, nonché di quella serie di popoli provenienti dalle remote steppe asiatiche (Turchi e Mongoli su tutti) il cui impatto avrebbe segnato in maniera decisiva le sorti della Terrasanta latina; ecco dunque riscostruire le vicende di Zangī, Nūr ad-Dīn, Saladino, Hülegü, Baybars, Qalawun, personaggi le cui esistenze avrebbero segnato le vicende del Medioriente nei secoli che verremo narrando nel corso del libro.

This sigillographic (sphragistic) study will review the historic and archaeological two-knight seals of the Templars, and the investigation of a curious and probably unique seal die or matrix. Our accurately molded (though slightly altered) two-knight Templar design seal matrix was recently acquired from an old collection. The matrix consists of a silver die with a reverse-side iron spike, apparently for insertion into a wooden handle. We determined that the exact item that was molded to produce the silver die is a wax seal apparently used by German Templar Master Friedrich Wildgraf in 1289, and now held by the Munich State Archives. The original seal matrix used to make that seal is not believed to exist, and the present recreated matrix is likely to be the only one of its type, still able to impress wax seals as made by the Templars.

Highly Commended in the British Records Association Janette Harley Prize 2018.

The pontificate of Honorius III (1216–27) ranks among the most important papal reigns of the thirteenth century: the pope organised two large-scale crusades to recover the Holy Land, the second of which recovered Jerusalem for the first time since 1187; he presided over a ‘golden summer’ of papal-imperial relations with the medieval stupor mundi, Frederick II, emperor of the Romans and king of Sicily; he developed an original theological conception of his office; and he laid the foundations for a centralised papal financial machine. Yet, despite his significant impact on early thirteenth-century Christendom, Honorius has often languished in the shadow of his famous predecessor, Innocent III – a balance that the present book redresses.

Grounded in extensive original research into the manuscripts of Honorius’s letter registers, this study develops a revisionist interpretation of how the curia marshalled the crusading movement to recover the Holy Land. Questioning the utility of the historiographical construct of ‘papal policy’, this book provides new insights into crusade diplomacy, papal theology, the roles of legates, and the effectiveness of crusade taxation. It also includes a comprehensive and accessible introduction to the papal chancery and its documents, which will be of particular use to students and those approaching the medieval papacy for the first time.

A trial excavation was conducted in a two-story Ottoman-period building in the Old City of ‘Akko, prior to the construction of a wine cellar and the renovation of the building as a Boutique Hotel. The building is located in the northwestern part of the Old City, in the Crusader-period civilian residential Boverel quarter. The excavation was carried out in a ground-floor room (c. 5 × 9 m) in the northwestern part of the building. Upon removal of the modern tile floor, a flagstone floor set on a soil fill was discovered; this was probably the original floor of the late Ottoman building, dating to the later half of the eighteenth, or the early nineteenth, century CE (Stratum I). The archaeological remains found below the original floor of the Ottoman building included some evidence for an early Ottoman, seventeenth-century CE occupation (Stratum II), below which part of a Crusader, thirteenth-century CE building, which was destroyed by a fierce fire, was found (Stratum III). Two small probes dug below the Crusader building yielded sporadic sherds dating to the Crusader and earlier periods (Stratum IV).
Fragments of a unique Port St. Symeon glazed ceramic tile, almost completely restored, were found. It bears a sgraffito depiction of a cross-legged seated person wearing an oriental caftan and drinking from a conical beaker held in his left hand. It is covered with yellowish glaze, and the background has some additional yellow and green painted areas. This tile is extensively discussed here.

The aim of the research presented in this report was to precisely obtain information concerning the origin of pottery types common in Crusader Acre. Thus, laboratory analyses, both elemental and petrographic, were applied on a fairly extensive number of samples, focusing on two broad ceramic categories: wares typical of Levantine sites of the Crusader period and wares belonging to the Zeuxippus Family. This study enabled us to distinguish between a ‘prototype’ and ‘derived’ or related productions—an important step in the attempt to prevent confusion within the Zeuxippus Family.

Thadeus of Naples on the Fall of Acre, 1291
In: Acre and its Falls, 1104-1291, ed. John France, (Leiden, Brill, 2018)

http://www.brill.com/products/book/acre-and-its-falls


Thadeus' Ystoria de desolatione et conculcatione civitatis acconenis, a near-contemporary account of the fall of Acre, is hardly ever referred to in crusade literature,  although its narrative of the events in spring 1291 is vivid, dramatic and detailed. The Ystoria places the events both in their temporal frame and in an interpretative frame, concentrating on moral contemplations engendered by the catastrophe, on its place of these events in Christian history, and in Christian-Muslim relations. The paper presents an analysis based on a close reading of the text, and  looks at the text in a comparative context of contemporary sources on Christian-Muslim perceptions, and of recent studies on the earliest Christian responses to the fall of Acre.

The archaeological approach to the study of medieval pottery from northern Israel and its division into four distinct pottery assemblages enables us to gain a better understanding of chronology, typology, production and distribution of ceramics in medieval Levant. The sets presented here date from the late Fatimid, the Crusader and the Mamluk periods (late 11th to 15th centuries). In the first stage they were defined on the basis of solid data from well-stratified archaeological excavations. In the second stage they were studied as a group and as individual pottery types. These ceramic assemblages sometimes show continuity in pottery types and at other times they indicate a change.

A power struggle between the Nasi Hodayah and immigrant French rabbis whom the Nagid Abraham Maimonides (AM) had appointed as judges in Alexandria is discussed in a detailed legal query and AM's lengthy responsum (nos. 4–8), dated 1234. The "Nasi"—a nobleman of Davidic descent in contemporary usage—cursed the immigrant rabbis and declared a ban of excommunication on their supporters.  He disparaged the pietism of the Nagid (Head of Egyptian Jewry) and his pietistic movement. The affair was a challenge to AM's authority and threatened his leadership.
The paper is devoted to an analysis and elucidation of the affair with the assistance of Geniza documents. The first of two clusters opens with (1) a summary and analysis of the responsum and then considers the Nesiim (sing. Nasi) in general, the Nasi Hodayah in particular, and AM's attitude towards them. (2) The Nasi in Maimonides' and AM's writings. (3) The community's reverence of the Nesiim and AM's diplomatic approach. (4) The Nagid's letters of recommendation for itinerant Nesiim. An edition of AM's autograph letter of recommendation for a Nasi Abraham. A passage from the Nagid's letter of recommendation for Hodayah. (5) Accusations that the Nasi took bribes when he acted as judge and the question of compensation for a judge's lost time. (6) The ban of excommunication declared by Hodayah in light of the community's opposition to immigrant leaders. (7) The Nasi's criticism of the Nagid's pietism and pietistic followers.
The second cluster concentrates on the immigrant rabbis in Egypt and Akko and the relationship between them and Abraham Maimonides. (8) The judge R. Joseph b. Gershom, who penned the query to AM, and his French (צרפת) or Ashkenazy (אשכנז) origin. (9) AM's support of the French rabbis; his autograph letter of recommendation for R. Yeiel (b. Isaac), who took up residence in Jerusalem. (10) The rabbi from Marseille and Alexandrian judge Samuel b. Jacob, his letters and Hodayah's ban. (11) The rivalry between R. Joseph and R. Samuel. (12) The ban of excommunication which Abraham Maimonides allegedly issued against the supporters of R. Samuel. (13) AM's enactment concerning procedures for issuing a ban of excommunication, its confirmation by the immigrant rabbis in Akko and a Geniza copy of the authorization by Egyptian cosigners. (14) The position assumed by the rabbis of Akko in their genuflection and its relationship to AM's teachings. (15) Contacts between the rabbis of Akko and the French rabbis in Egypt and suspicions of collaboration with the Muslim or Crusader enemy forces. (16) The last years of R. Joseph and R. Samuel and further tension with the Nasi. (17) Concluding remarks; ruminations on the speculative and provisional nature of historical Geniza research, consequent upon a putative sighting of Shabbetai Zvi in one of R. Samuel's letters from the early thirteenth century and other unsubstantiated findings.

A hitherto unpublished Czech penny was unearthed during salvage excavations in ʽAkko’s Crusader-period Montmusard quarter. A detailed analysis of the coin’s inscriptions, iconography and weight suggests that it was minted by the Bohemian king Přemysl-Otokar II in 1248 or later. The coin exhibits the earliest use of the title of rex Boemorum and a previously unobserved contemporaneous veneration of Saint Christopher in Bohemia. It is an important historical document both of Otokar II’s intentions to create a unified Bohemian state and of the multiple contacts between Bohemia and the Latin East in the thirteenth century.

Alanya (Alaiyye) - Mısır arasındaki ticari ilişkiler XIV. yüzyılın ilk yarısında, Marino Sanudo ve İbn Battutdnın ifadelerinden anlaşıldığına göre çok gelişmişti. Bu dönemde Alanya, önemli ticari ürünlerle dolu, ekonomik açıdan zengin bir kent görünümü sunmaktadır. Kentteki ticarette etkin olan tacirler ise ekseriyetle Mısır ve Suriyeli'ydi. Alanya - Mısır ticari ilişkisinin önemli ekonomik getirileri olmakla birlikte, siyasi olarak
bir takım zararlı sonuçları da bulunmaktaydı. Özellikle Batılılar tarafından Memlüklere zarar vermek ya da şehirdeki ticari ürünleri yağmalamak için şehre ve tüccarlarına deniz tarafından saldırılar yapılmaktaydı. 1289'da Trablusşam'ın Memlükler tarafından fethini müteakip Alanya'ya gitmekte olan bir ticaret gemisi yağmalandı. 1293'de ise, Akka'nın fethini müteakip, esasında Papa IV. Nicholas (1288 - 1292) tarafından oluşturulan ve Kıbrıs Kralı II. Henry tarafından desteklenen otuz beş gemilik bir Haçlı donanması ile önce Alanya Kalesi kuşatıldı, akabinde de aynı donanma tarafından İskenderiye'ye başarısız bir saldırı düzenlendi. 1293 Alanya ve İskenderiye saldırısı şimdiye kadar yapılan çalışmalarda, Kıbrıs Kralı II. Henry'nin 1292 yılında (1285-1324) on beş gemilik bir kuvvet ile yaptığı müstakil bir hareket olarak ele alınmıştır. Bu çalışmada
ise, saldırının arka planı ele alınacak ve Akka'nın fethiyle ilgisi açıklanacaktır. Anadolu'nun güney sahillerinin tarihi için önemli olan bu saldırı sonucunda, kuşatmayı kaldırmak için şehre yardıma gelen Karamanoğulları'nın Alanya'da ve çevresinde hakimiyetlerinin başladığı görülmektedir.

In one of his most recent articles, the Crusader researcher and archeologist Adrian Boas surveyed the street structure of Acre during the medieval period, portraying it as a labyrinth of streets and alleys, quarters and buildings close to each other, forming a complicated, dense urban structure. 1 This study joined another article written by the same researcher regarding the structure of the Crusader cities, particularly the cities of Jerusalem and Acre. 2 These joined the collection of studies written by the leading Crusader archaeologist Denys Pringle on the religious structures and urban design of the city of Acre during the Crusader period. 3 The history of Acre in the Middle Ages, with its dense urban structure, seems to have intrigued many scholars. It was the main port city of the Crusader Kingdom, a trade center, a focal point for pilgrim transit and a site for battles against its Muslim enemies. 4 These issues have been touched upon by archaeological discoveries, which have enriched the information available to us in recent decades about the urban structure of the city, its streets and environs, and the surrounding area. 5 The Crusader city survived until 1291, the year of the occupation of Acre by the Mamluks. At that time most of its buildings were destroyed, its large wall damaged and the town left mostly empty, except for a few inhabitants who had settled among its ruins

On May 18, 1291, after a disastrous siege, Acre, the capital of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, fell under to the attacks of a young yet ambitious Mamluk sultan. After almost two centuries, so ended the Crusaders’ presence in the Holy Land. The news created a great stir among contemporaries, who nonetheless felt that the situation was not irreversible. The West assimilated the event with clamour and recriminations, but did little to recover what had been lost. This account of the final stages of the Crusader States highlights the more general context of the upheavals affecting Syrian-Palestinian lands during the 13th century and the struggles involving Mongols, Mamluks, Genoese, Pisans, Venetians, popes, emperors, Knights Templar and Hospitaller, kings, queens and regents. Those lands were defended by a host of often unruly crusaders and populated by a motley assortment of humanity.

, a salvage excavation was conducted in the northeastern part of 'Akko's Old City (Permit No. A-5154; map ref. 20703-10/75870-6), prior to the construction of a youth hostel. The excavation, on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, was directed by D. Syon, with the assistance of Y. Ya'aqobi (administration), A. Abu-Hamid (Area A supervision), I. Mitler (Area B supervision), V. Essman, M. Kunin, M. Kipnis, D. Porotzki and V. Pirsky (surveying), 'Sky View' Company (aerial photography), E.J. Stern (Medieval ceramics), Y. Gorin-Rosen (glass) and laborers from villages in Nahal 'Iron and Tiberias. A team of conservators headed by A. Elzam stabilized the walls exposed in the excavation. D. Raz, the construction project manager, provided plans of the future construction and marked its boundaries in the field. The focus of the excavation (375 sq m; Fig. 1) was on areas that were designated to be open courtyards in the future building, assuming that if any ancient structures were discovered, they would undergo complete conservation and remain visible. It was also intended to examine some of the areas, scheduled to be under the buildings, where the surface is higher than the maximum elevation required in the engineering plans. However, the discovery of nine Muslim graves in the areas designated to be courtyards forced their abandonment and other areas were chosen for excavation. The actual extent of the excavated area was c. 20% of the construction area. The excavation was conducted in three large areas (A-C; Fig. 2), rather than in squares. Previous excavations nearby (ESI 20:11*-16*) revealed a residential neighborhood that dated to the Second Crusader kingdom, in the thirteenth century CE, when 'Akko functioned as the capital of the kingdom instead of Jerusalem. The discovery of groups

‫מראש‬ ‫בהרשמה‬ ‫תשלום‬ ‫ללא‬ ‫הכניסה‬ act.ybz.org.il | 02-5398855 ‫ברכות‬ / 9:30 ,‫ויישובה‬ ‫ישראל‬ ‫ארץ‬ ‫לחקר‬ ‫המכון‬ ‫ראש‬ ,‫רובין‬)‫(בוני‬ ‫ריכב‬ '‫פרופ‬ ‫צבי‬-‫בן‬ ‫יצחק‬ ‫יד‬ ‫העתיקות‬ ‫רשת‬ ,‫והתמחויות‬ ‫מחקר‬ ‫תחום‬ ‫ראש‬ ,‫ברזילי‬ ‫עומרי‬ ‫ד"ר‬ ‫פתיחה‬ ‫הרצאת‬ / 10:00 ‫הפתוחה‬ ‫האוניברסיטה‬ ,‫שגריר‬ ‫איריס‬ '‫פרופ‬ ‫העכשווי‬ ‫ובשיח‬ ‫במחקר‬ ‫מגמות‬ :‫ירושלים‬ ‫וממלכת‬ ‫הצלב‬ ‫מסעי‬ ‫ומבצר‬ ‫עיר‬ :‫ראשון‬ ‫מושב‬ / 10:30 ,‫ויישובה‬ ‫ישראל‬ ‫ארץ‬ ‫לחקר‬ ‫המכון‬ ,‫רובין‬)‫(בוני‬ ‫ריכב‬ '‫פרופ‬ :‫יו"ר‬ ‫צבי‬-‫בן‬ ‫יצחק‬ ‫יד‬ ‫העתיקות‬ ‫רשות‬ ,‫שטרן‬ ‫אליעזר‬ ‫ד"ר‬ ‫גנואה‬ ‫אוניברסיטת‬ ,‫בננטה‬ ‫פבריציו‬ ‫ד"ר‬ ‫העתיקות‬ ‫רשות‬ ,‫שטרן‬ ‫עדנה‬ ‫ד"ר‬ ‫הגנואזי‬ ‫ברובע‬ ‫חדשה‬ ‫תגלית‬ :‫מקורה‬ ‫ורחוב‬ ‫מגדל‬ ,‫חומה‬-‫עכו‬ ‫חיפה‬ ‫אוניברסיטת‬ ,‫בועז‬ ‫אדריאן‬ '‫פרופ‬ ‫המונפור‬ ‫מחפירות‬ ‫חדשות‬ ‫תגליות‬ ‫העתיקות‬ ‫רשות‬ ,‫שוטן-הלל‬ ‫ורדית‬ ‫ד"ר‬ ‫ללונדון‬ ‫עתלית‬ ‫ממבצר‬ ‫מזבח‬ ‫של‬ ‫מסעו‬ :‫מטיילות‬ ‫אבנים‬ ‫קפה‬ ‫הפסקת‬ / 11:30 ‫הצלבנית‬ ‫ירושלים‬ :‫שני‬ ‫מושב‬ / 11:45 ‫העברית‬ ‫האוניברסיטה‬ ,‫אלנבלום‬ ‫רוני‬ '‫פרופ‬ :‫יו"ר‬ ‫העתיקות‬ ‫רשות‬ ,‫ראם‬ ‫עמית‬ ‫הצלבנית‬ ‫ירושלים‬ ‫חוקר‬ ‫של‬ ‫מאמתחתו‬ ‫חדשים‬ ‫וממצאים‬ ‫תגליות‬ ‫חיפה‬ ‫אוניברסיטת‬ ,‫גוטגרץ‬ ‫אנה‬ ‫ד"ר‬ ‫בחקר‬ ‫חדשים‬ ‫כיוונים‬ :‫ארכיאולוגי‬ ‫וממצא‬ ‫מפה‬ ,‫טקסט‬ ‫הפרנקית‬ ‫ירושלים‬ ‫של‬ ‫העירונית‬ ‫ההתפתחות‬ ‫העברית‬ ‫האוניברסיטה‬ ,‫אמיר‬ ‫נטע‬ ‫בהתפתחותה‬ ‫מוקדמים‬ ‫שלבים‬-?‫מאימתי‬-‫דולורוזה‬ ‫הוויה‬ ‫הייסורים‬ ‫דרך‬ ‫של‬ ‫הפסקה‬ / 13:00 :‫שלישי‬ ‫מושב‬ / 14:00 ‫יום-יום‬ ‫וחיי‬ ‫כלכלה‬ ,‫חברה‬ ‫העתיקות‬ ‫רשות‬ ,‫ארבל‬ ‫יואב‬ ‫ד"ר‬ :‫יו"ר‬ ‫ברונשטיין‬ ‫יהודית‬ ‫ד"ר‬ ,‫שטרן‬ ‫עדנה‬ ‫ד"ר‬ ‫חיפה‬ ‫ואוניברסיטת‬ ‫העתיקות‬ ‫רשות‬ ,‫יהודה‬ ‫ליסה‬ ‫וד"ר‬ ‫בישול‬ ‫והרגלי‬ ‫מזון‬ ‫ייצור‬ :‫טעימות‬ ‫תפריט‬ ‫ירושלים‬ ‫בממלכת‬ ‫ואכילה‬ ‫אביב‬ ‫תל‬ ‫אוניברסיטת‬ ,‫פינס‬ ‫מירי‬ ‫במאות‬ ‫ושלום‬ ‫מלחמה‬ ‫תות‬ ִ‫בע‬ ‫הצלבנים‬ ‫תזונת‬ ‫מאתרים‬ ‫החיים‬ ‫בעלי‬ ‫של‬ ‫שרידים‬ ‫בחינת‬ :13-‫וה‬ 12-‫ה‬ ‫נבחרים‬ ‫ארכיאולוגיים‬ ‫העתיקות‬ ‫רשות‬ ,‫קול‬ ‫רוברט‬ ‫ד"ר‬ '‫האמיתית‬ ‫'צרפת‬ ?‫המטבעות‬ ‫מלמדים‬ ‫מה‬ ‫ירושלים‬ ‫בממלכת‬)la France Profonde(‫המוניטרית‬ ‫העדות‬-13-‫וה‬ 12-‫ה‬ ‫במאות‬ ‫העברית‬ ‫האוניברסיטה‬ ,‫ג'קסון-טל‬ ‫רות‬ ‫ד"ר‬ ,‫מאפולוניה-ארסוף‬ ‫צלבנית‬ ‫זכוכית‬ ‫ממצאי‬ ‫העיר‬ ‫לאנשי‬ ‫המבצר‬ ‫אבירי‬ ‫בין‬ ‫קפה‬ ‫הפסקת‬ / 15:30 :‫רביעי‬ ‫מושב‬ / 15:45 ‫הצלבנים‬ ‫בממלכת‬ ‫תרבויות‬ ‫ומפגש‬ ‫הרוח‬ ‫חיי‬ ‫של‬ ‫החדש‬ ‫ספרו‬ ‫לכבוד‬ ‫מיוחד‬ ‫מושב‬ '‫קיימברידג‬ ‫אוניברסיטת‬ ‫בהוצאת‬ ,‫רובין‬ ‫יונתן‬ ‫ד"ר‬

It's often quoted that more people died of disease than of wounds in pre-modern conflicts. The crusader siege of Acre, in the Third Crusade (1189–91), brought to a conclusion by Richard the Lionheart, saw monumentally high levels of illness and disease in the crusader camp. How can we understand the experience of these victims through the records of the time, and what can we learn about 'Robert of Pontefract' who died at the siege?

In recent decades, theories of multiplicity and hybridity have been proposed and applied towards the reimagining and reconstituting of a number of historical narratives that had been carefully constructed among (and because of) imperial, colonial or acculturative contexts. Sociology and anthropology, art and architectural history, and a host of other disciplines, have used these theories to reappraise issues of ethnic, linguistic and visual heritage, of cultural conflict and of understanding. This essay will attempt a similar study and discussion while engaging the scale of a complete city.

Focusing on comprehending the urban development and physical disposition of the city of Famagusta, the largest port of Cyprus between the early fourteenth and late sixteenth centuries, questions of multiplicity and hybridity will be posed against a unique urban context of multiple identities and constructed narratives. The stories and streetscapes of Famagusta become a significant chapter of a larger urban history book, as they are studied and interpreted as inseparable pieces in a line of other late medieval fabrics in the Eastern Mediterranean such as those of Jerusalem, Tyre, Acre, Tripoli and Nicosia.

How can issues of multiplicity and hybridity be transposed, via urban terms, into the constructed landscape of Famagusta? How can this landscape be simultaneously understood in late medieval geographic, topographic, cultural, artistic, religious and economic terms? Does this understanding place the Cypriot port apart from other cities, and if so, in which ways, physical, constructed or other, does this occur? Can Famagusta be defined as a further development of a mainstream regional urban model lineage, an exception to that lineage, or even the swan song of that lineage?

In this paper the production and consumption of some ceramic wares commonly found at excavations in the Levant will be examined, utilizing petrographic and chemical analyses. The ceramic evidence will be used as another source of information for detecting the cultural continuity and discontinuity due to population changes that took place in this region between the eleventh to thirteenth centuries. This period covers the Fatimid rule of the region (with its capital in Egypt) that ended with the establishment of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem and the arrival of new population from Europe. The ceramic consumption during the Crusader period by the different populations (Franks and indigenous population) will also be examined. Unglazed wares for dining and storage produced at Acre and other regional production centers, cooking ware and glazed bowls for dining produced at Beirut and other regional production center/s are the ceramic types that were analyzed. These were found at various sites including the rural sites of el-Kabri, Horbat'Uza, Horbat Manot, Horbat Bet Zeneta, and the towns Apollonia, Tiberias as well as the coastal harbour cities Acre and Jaffa.

When I accepted the invitation to write on the iconography of the Mediterranean in the Middle Ages, I was aware of the difficulty in covering such a subject, so this paper will be confined to two specific themes. The first part will review the role played by the Mediterranean in the visual arts from Antiquity to the Middle Ages, while the second part will concentrate on the Kingdom of Aragon-specifically the way in which its overseas expansion during the 13 th and 14 th centuries transformed the image of the Mediterranean. With regard to this process, it is worth drawing attention to the relationship between the political and commercial interests of an expanding kingdom and the promotion of certain Mediterranean devotions and cult centres. In the last few decades the Mediterranean has been the focus of a number of comprehensive historical studies, such as those by Krijnie N. Ciggar and David Abulafia. 1 Most of them consider the sea to be a privileged space for political, cultural, artistic and commercial exchange, especially during the High and Late Middle Ages. Princes, crusaders, pilgrims and traders seem to have built varied networks that stimulated human exchange and created new intercultural identities. In many chronicles, pilgrim accounts and hagiographical stories, the Mediterranean is not only seen as a means of transport and travel, but as a protagonist that either ensures success or, conversely, causes failure. There are very few art-historical studies which focus on the image of the Mediterranean in the Middle Ages, except a few outreach publications for the general public, such as that of Juan Cortés Vidal. 2 It is most unlikely that an iconography of the Mediterranean ever developed where the sea was seen as 1 This article is the result of research conducted for the project, Movilidad y transferencia artística en el Mediterráneo medieval, 1187-1388: artistas, objetos y modelos.-Magistri Mediterranei (MICINN-HAR2015-63883-P) (see www.magistrimediterranei.org). Krijnie N. CIG-GAR, Western Travellers to Constantinople. The West and Byzantium, 962-1204. Cultural and Political Relations (The Medieval Mediterranean 10), Leiden [et al.] 1996; David ABU-LAFIA, The Great Sea. A Human History of the Mediterranean, 2nd ed., London 2014; The recent publication of a collection of David Jacoby's articles is also helpful in outlining the complexity of the topic: David JACOBY, Travellers, Merchants and Settlers in the Eastern Mediterranean, 11 th-15 th Centuries (Variorum Collected Studies Series 1045), Farnham [et al.] 2014. 7 ABULAFIA, The Great Sea (as n. 1), pp. 85-87.

Rabbi Moshe ben Nahman (Nahmanides; 1194–1270) arrived in Eretz Israel in 1267. In a letter he sent to Spain he describes a sheqel-coin that he found and used to determine the weight of the biblical sheqel. Nahmanides states that the Samaritans of Acre were able to read the ancient Hebrew script on the coin. According to his description, the coin can be identified as dating from the period of the Great Revolt (66–70 C.E.). While the Samaritans deciphered one inscription on the coin successfully, they misinterpreted the second, reading Sheqel ha-Sheqalim (literally: the sheqel of sheqels) instead of Sheqel Yisrael (sheqel of Israel). This brief article proposes an explanation for the mistake: the Samaritans misread two letters and then interpreted what they saw on the basis of their spoken Arabic.