The Battle of Acre took place in 1258 off the port of

Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

, between the fleets of the

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( ; ; ) was a medieval and early modern Maritime republics, maritime republic from the years 1099 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italy, Italian coast. During the Late Middle Ages, it was a major commercial power in ...

and the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

. Mounting tensions between the traders of the two cities had resulted in the outbreak of open warfare between the two ("

War of Saint Sabas The War of Saint Sabas (1256–1270) was a conflict between the rival Italian maritime republics of Genoa (aided by Philip of Montfort, Lord of Tyre, John of Arsuf, and the Knights Hospitaller) and Venice (aided by the Count of Jaffa and Asca ...

"), with the Venetians blockading the Genoese in their quarter. Genoa sent an armada under the aged ''

capitano del popolo Captain of the people () was an administrative title used in Italy during the Middle Ages, established essentially to balance the power and authority of the noble families of the Italian city-states.Najemy, John M. 2006. ''A History of Florence 1 ...

'', Rosso della Turca, to relieve the blockade, and asked the assistance of Philip of Montfort and the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there ...

for a combined attack from the land side. However, even though the Genoese fleet's arrival took the Venetians by surprise, and their fleet was divided in two by weather as they exited the harbour, della Turca delayed his own attack long enough for the Venetians to get into battle formation. The superior experience and seamanship of the latter resulted in a crushing Venetian victory, with half the Genoese fleet lost. The Genoese abandoned Acre soon after.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Acre, Battle of Conflicts in 1258 1258 in Asia Naval battles of the Venetian–Genoese wars War of Saint Sabas Acre 1258