The Seleucid fortress in Jerusalem was called the Acra, also transliterated as Akra. Antiochus IV Epiphanes established it in the City of David around 167 BCE, during the tensions that led to the Maccabean Revolt.
The fortress housed Seleucid troops and Jewish supporters of the Hellenizing regime. Its position allowed the garrison to watch and pressure the Temple area, helping the Seleucids control Jerusalem after Antiochus’s religious and political interventions. The stronghold became a symbol of foreign occupation in the accounts of 1 Maccabees and Josephus.
The Acra is not the same as the later Antonia Fortress, and its exact location was debated for generations. Archaeological discoveries in the City of David have been proposed as remains of the Seleucid citadel, though interpretation and precise identification remain subjects of scholarly discussion. That uncertainty concerns its physical site, not the fortress’s traditional name.