The treaty of 1283 between Sultan Qalāwūn and the Frankish authorities of Acre: A new topographical discussion

This study deals with the documents mentioned in the 1283 treaty conducted between Sultan Qalāwūn and the Frankish authorities at Acre and extends our knowledge regarding the Frankish kingdom in its last decade. It identifies all 73 places mentioned by al-Qalqashandī (d. 1418) as belonging to Acre, thus enabling us to draw very accurate boundaries of the Acre region. We discuss the term 'mazra'a' mistakenly translated by the late Dan Barag as 'land', and show that it should be translated as 'farm' in these specific documents and as such, refers here to industrial farms such as mills and sugar factories. This enables us to delineate the inner boundaries of an industrial area within the Acre region. We show here that the mills and sugar factories were located only in the plain of the western Upper Galilee and near the springs of the Bellus River.