Home > Krak des Chevaliers

The castle is located east of Tripoli in the " Homs Gap," atop a 650-meter high cliff along the only route from Antioch to Beirut and the Mediterranean Sea. The original fortress had been built in 1031 for the emir of AleppoAleppo is also the name of two townships in the U. state of Pennsylvania. See: Aleppo Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania and Aleppo Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania. Aleppo Arabic alab Tiberian Hebrew l (modern or Ivrit Hebrew Xalav : both mean. It was captured by Raymond IV of ToulouseRaymond IV of Toulouse (c. 1052- 1105, sometimes called Raymond of St Gilles after a town to the south of Nimes), was Count of Toulouse, Margrave of Provence, and one of the leaders of the First Crusade. He succeeded his brother William IV as Count of Tou early in 1099Events Siege of Jerusalem during the First Crusade: July 8 15,000 starving Christian soldiers march around Jerusalem as its Muslim defenders mocked them. July 15 Christian soldiers under Godfrey of Bouillon, Robert II of Flanders, Raymond IV of Toulouse a, during the First CrusadeThe First Crusade was launched in 1095 by Pope Urban II at Clermont, France with the objective of regaining control of Jerusalem and the Holy Land from the Muslims, and also of giving military assistance to the Byzantine Empire against the Seljuk Turks., but was abandoned when the Crusaders continued their march to JerusalemCapitals in Asia For alternate uses see Jerusalem (disambiguation Jerusalem ( Modern Hebrew: Yerushalayim Biblical Hebrew: Arabic: al-Quds see also Names of Jerusalem) is an ancient Middle Eastern city of key importance to the religions of Judaism, Christ. It was reoccupied again by Tancred, Prince of GalileeTancred ( 1072 1112) was a leader of the First Crusade, and later became regent of the Principality of Antioch and Prince of Galilee. Tancred was a grandson of Robert Guiscard and nephew of Bohemund of Taranto. In 1096 he joined his uncle on the First Cru in 1110Events December 4 First Crusade: The Crusaders conquer Sidon. Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor invades Italy The Russian Primary Chronicle ends Beginning of the construction of Fontevraud Abbey in France Beirut and Sidon are captured by the Crusaders Mawdud o. Raymond IIRaymond II of Tripoli (c. 1115- 1152) was count of Tripoli from 1137 to 1152. He was the son of Pons of Tripoli and Cecile of France. In 1137 he married Hodierna of Rethel, daughter of Baldwin II, king of Jerusalem. He succeeded his father later that year, count of Tripoli, gave it to the Hospitallers in 1142.

The Hospitallers rebuilt it and expanded it into the largest Crusader fortress in the Holy Land, adding an outer wall 30 meters thick with seven guard towers 8-10 meters thick, to create a concentric castle. One of these towers was occupied by the Grand Master of the Hospitallers. In the 12th century there was a moat covered by a drawbridge leading to postern gate s. Between the inner and outer gates was a courtyard, leading to the inner buildings, which were rebuilt by the Hospitallers in a Gothic style. These buildings included a meeting hall, a chapel, and a 120-meter long storage facility. Other storage facilities were dug into the cliff below the fortress, and it is estimated that the Hospitallers could have withstood a siege for five years. By 1170, the Hospitallers' modifications were complete, but parts of the fortress were rebuilt after numerous earthquakes in the late 12th century and early 13th century. It may have held about 50-60 Hospitallers and up to 2000 other foot soldiers. Aside from the control of the road to the Mediterranean, the Hospitallers also exerted some influence over Lake Homs to the east, where they could control the fishing industry and watch for Muslim armies gathering in Syria.

In 1163, the fortress was unsuccessfully besieged by Nur ad-Din. After their victory the Hospitallers became an essentially independent force on the Tripolitanian frontier. It was also besieged, again unsuccessfully, by Saladin in 1188, during which time the Castellan was captured. He was taken by Saladin's men to the castle gates where he was told to order the gates opened. He first told them in Arabic to surrender the castle, then in French told them to hold the castle to the last man.

It was recaptured by Baibars on April 8, 1271, after deceiving the Hospitallers into believing the count of Tripoli had instructed them to surrender. Baibars refortified it and used it as a base against Tripoli. He also converted the Hospitaller chapel into a mosque. The Mameluks later used it to attack Acre in 1291.

The fortress is one of the few sites where Crusader art (in the form of frescoes) has been preserved. Edward I of England, while on the Ninth Crusade in 1272, saw the fortress and used it as an example for his own castles in England and Wales. T.E. Lawrence believed Krak des Chevaliers was the greatest of the Crusader castles and "the most wholly admirable castle in the world." Today it is owned by the Syrian government, who operate it as a tourist attraction.