The Krak des Chevaliers, a great Crusader fortress that was conquered by deception

@ElentirENG ES 5·02·2024 · 23:47 0

During the First Crusade (1096-1099), called by Pope Urban II, the so-called Latin States of the Holy Land were established.

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The main of these states was the Kingdom of Jerusalem, founded in 1099 and disappeared in 1291, and of whose title the King of Spain is the legitimate heir. In that same year the Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem was founded in the current capital of the State of Israel, being one of the first military orders created in the Crusader States.

The crusade era of the Krak des Chevaliers

That Order, currently known as the Order of Malta, had its main headquarters in the Hospital of Saint John the Baptist in Jerusalem, which served pilgrims who came to that holy city for Christians, Jews and Muslims. However, the main strength of the Hospitaller Order was in the County of Tripoli, another of the Latin States located north of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and occupying, to a large extent, the territory of present-day Lebanon.

That great hospital fortress was the Krak des Chevaliers. It was created in 1031 by the Mirdasid emirate of Syria on a promontory. It then became a fort whose garrison was made up of Kurdish troops, which is why the place was known as Hisn al-Akrad (Castle of the Kurds), from which it derived the name by which it was known in the times of the Crusades: Crac de l'Ospital. The name of Krak des Chevalierss began to spread in the 19th century.

This castle was given in 1142 by Raymond II, count of Tripoli, to the Hospitaller Order. It was then in poor condition and the Knights of Saint John carried out an important reconstruction that lasted almost three decades, being completed in 1170. Already during the 13th century, an outer wall was built concentric with the original castle, becoming one of the main strengths of the Latin States.

The castle functioned as an important military post on the eastern border of Tripoli County, with a garrison of about 2,000 people including knights, soldiers and other personnel, and also as an administrative center who controlled the surrounding lands, including the collection of tribute. In addition, it served as a refuge for the inhabitants of that region in case of attack.

If an enemy force managed to overcome the outer wall of the castle, very well defended, it had to face the great inner wall, whose base was inclined making any assault on it almost impossible. that part of the fortress. In fact, the Krak des Chevaliers was never completely taken over by arms. Such was the reputation of this fortress as impregnable that the famous Sultan Saladin (1137-1193) did not even dare to attack it during his campaigns against the Crusader States.

The conquest of the castle by Sultan Baibars through deception

The last battle fought by the Christian garrison of this castle during the Crusades took place in 1271, at a time when the finances of the Hospitaller Order were in decline, as was the population of the area. and the castle garrison. The Mamluk sultan of Egypt, Baibars, laid siege to the Krak des Chevaliers on March 3 of that year, after having conquered other Christian castles in the area. The siege weapons of Baibars were of no use against this great fortress. For several weeks, Muslim troops tried to assault the castle without success.

Finally, Baibars' troops dug a mine under the southeast corner of the fortress, managing to knock it down and open a breach. Upon reaching the interior of the castle, they found some dead defenders and found that the surviving crusaders had taken refuge inside the inner enclosure, whose high walls were much more difficult to overcome than the outer wall.

Baibars realized that he would never conquer that fortress by force. In fact, he never got it. It was cunning, and not brute force, that finally put that great Christian fortress in his hands. On April 8, 1271, Baibars' troops sent a letter to the crusaders, in which supposedly the Grand Master of the Hospitaller Order in Tripoli gave them permission to capitulate.

The letter delivered was false, but believing it to be authentic, the Christian knights surrendered and handed over the fortress. Surely in recognition of the courage with which they had fought, Baibars spared their lives and allowed them to leave. After taking over the castle, Baibars converted the chapel of the Knights Hospitaller into a mosque and undertook a reconstruction of the fortress. During this Mamluk stage of the Krak des Chevaliers, the aqueduct that is still preserved today was also built.

The Muslim era of the Krak des Chevaliers

The Krak des Chevaliers was in the hands of the Mamluks until the 16th century. In 1516 it passed into the hands of the Ottoman Empire, which had it in its power for four centuries. During this long period of Muslim rule, the castle practically lost its military function, since its position no longer had the strategic importance of the times of the Crusades. In the mid-19th century it had become the residence of an Ottoman governor.

French rule over the castle and its restoration

After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the World War I, in 1920, France took control of the Knights Crash, taking over the French Mandate for Syria and Lebanon on behalf of the League of Nations . At that time the last major restoration process of the castle was carried out, not only of its original Christian rooms, but also of some constructions added by the Muslims. After World War II, the castle came into the hands of Syria.

Syrian rule and the Syrian Civil War

During all this time, Syria has barely shown interest in preserving this architectural gem, despite it being one of the best preserved medieval castles in the world and having been an important tourist destination for decades. In 2006 UNESCO declared the Krak des Chevaliers as a World Heritage Site. Unfortunately, this declaration has not freed that site from being immersed in the Syrian Civil War, which began in 2011.

In 2012, several hundred Islamists (largely Lebanese) barricaded themselves in the castle, harassing the nearby civilian population, which is majority Christian. This situation forced form Christian militias to defend the population from these Islamist attacks. In 2013 Bashar al-Assad's army bombed the Krak des Chevaliers, causing damage to its citadel. The Syrian regime regained control of the castle in 2014. In 2022, Amazing Places on Our Planet published this video of the castle, with images recorded in April of that year:

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Main photo: Joe Planas.