This is a list of castles in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, founded or occupied during the Crusades. For crusader castles in Poland and the Baltic states, see Ordensburg.
There were two major phases of the deliberate destruction (slighting) of Crusader castles: in 1187 by Saladin and after 1260 by the Mamluks. The intention was often to prevent the castles from being reused by the Crusaders.
Of the architecture built by the Crusaders, castles have received more scholarly attention than other forms, such as ecclesiastical architecture.
Crusader states
Geographic location on today's map Kingdom of Cyprus: Island of Cyprus (north and south) County of Edessa: south-east Turkey Principality of Antioch: north-west Syria, southern Turkey County of Tripoli: northern Lebanon, north-west Syria Kingdom of Jerusalem Lordship of Sidon: central Lebanon Principality of Galilee: northern Israel, southern Lebanon, southwest Syria County of Jaffa and Ascalon: southern Israel, eastern Egypt Lordship of Oultrejordain: south-west Jordan
Crusader castles by modern states Cyprus
Buffavento Castle Othello Castle Kantara Castle Kolossi Castle Kyrenia Castle Larnaca Castle Limassol Castle Paphos Castle St. Hilarion Castle
Egypt Castle of Saladin, Pharaoh's Island
Greece
Amfissa Castle Corfu castles Halki Castle Kastellorizo Castle Kos Castle Leros island castle Platamon Castle Rhodes Island, Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes (Knights Hospitaller of St. John)
Israel, Palestine and the Golan Heights
West Bank and Golan Heights sites are marked as such. Acre (Akko) – fortified city Aqua Bella, now Ein Hemed – Crusader fortified farm; national park Arsuf, also known as Arsur or Apollonia – fortified city and citadel, stronghold of the Lordship of Arsuf; national park Ashkelon – fortified city Belinas or Caesarea Philippi (Banias) – fortified city, Golan Heights Belmont – ruins of Crusader castle in Kibbutz Tzova Belveer – Crusader castle of which no traces remain; national park Belvoir Castle; Kochav HaYarden National Park Bet Shean – castle ruins next to ancient town, stronghold of the Lordship of Bethsan. Second castle on the tell. Bethaatap, Arabic: Bayt 'Ittab (Beit Itab) – fortified manor () Beth Gibelin at Eleutheropolis – castle ruins next to ancient town, stronghold of the Lordship of Beth Gibelin; national park Blanchegarde at Tell es-Safi – castle, seat of a lordship at biblical tell Caco or Cacho Castle, Qaqun; rebuilt by Baybars; national park Caesarea (Maritima), stronghold of the Lordship of Caesarea – fortified port city; national park Cafarlet (Hebrew: HaBonim, Arabic: Kafr Lam) – ruins of Umayyad fort reused by the Crusaders Calansue, Hospitaller castle Casal Imbert – at Achziv (formerly Az-Zeeb until 1948) – Crusader "new town" with tower; nothing discernible at present Casel des Plains – Azor; ruins of Crusader tower; inside town Castellum Beleismum – tower on biblical Tel Dothan, West Bank Castellum Beroart – the Minat al-Qal'a Umayyad fort reused by the Crusaders; at Ashdod Castellum Regis; castle, now inside village of Mi'ilya Castellum Rogerii Langobardi – castle at Umm Khalid/Netaniya Caymont at Tel Yokneam, seat of lordship Chastel Hernaut or Arnoul, Latin: Castellum Arnaldi – castle at Yalu Chastel Neuf or Castellum Novum outside Margaliot, castle, rebuilt in Ottoman time (Qal'at Hunin) Chastelet (Vadum Iacob), castle ruin by Jacob's Ford: see Battle of Jacob's Ford; also known as Vadum Iacob, le Chastelez, Ateret, Qasr al-'Atra Château Pèlerin, also known as Atlit Castle and Castle Pilgrim; off-reach military base Cisterna Rubea or Maldoim, Templar castle, West Bank Destroit, Le, near Atlit Forbelet Castle at Taibe, Galilee; battle site near the Hospitaller castle Ibelin, near Yavne Jaffa, fortified port town Judin Castle at Khirbat Jiddin or Yehiam Fortress – Crusader castle, rebuilt in the 18th century; national park Latrun, ruins of Toron des Chevaliers castle Kastel, on a hilltop next to Mevasseret, by the main Jerusalem-Tel Aviv road Merle - fortified enclosure, Arabic name: Burj al-Habis and Qal'at al-Tantura, at Dor/Tantura Mirabel, in Hebrew: Migdal Tsedek, stronghold of the Lordship of Mirabel Montfort; inside national park Qula, Hospitaller tower and vaulted structure Ramla, stronghold of the Lordship of Ramla Safed citadel, Crusader and Mamluk castle St Elias, Castle of (Castrum Sancti Helie), ruins at Taybeh, West Bank Saforie, le or Sepphoris (Latin), Saffuriya (Arabic): tower; national park Tel Hanaton – fortified farm, tower Tiberias – fortified Crusader city immediately north of abandoned city established in Roman times; on the shore of the Sea of Galilee Titura/Tittora at Modi'in, castle ruins Tour Rouge or Turris Rubea at Burgata, Sharon plain – Arabic: Burj al-Ahmar, Hebrew: Hurvat Burgata. The site of a later Muslim village built around the ruined keep. Turris Salinarum at Tel Taninim – Crusader tower, the only remains of the castle
Site not identified Gaza, a castle built by King Baldwin III in 1149–1150 "on a hill" was handed over to and held by the Templars
Jordan
Kerak Castle Montreal Tafilah Vaux Moise (Wu'ayra in Arabic) near Petra
Doubtful proposals Aqaba – doubtful, no traces found; castle on Ile de Graye might have been meant instead Diban Castle Hisban Crusader Castle
Discarded proposals Jarash: the Temple of Artemis was reused as a castle by the Damascenes and destroyed by Baldwin II of Jerusalem, was therefore not used by the Crusaders.
Lebanon
Arqa Batroun Beaufort Castle Beirut Castle, demolished in the late 19th century Belhacem,Belhacem Byblos Castle Citadel of Raymond de Saint-Gilles Doubiye Castle Gibelacar Coliath Deir Kifa Castle Hasbaya Castle Moinetre Mseilha Fort Nephin Saint Louis Castle – Sidon Land Castle Scandelion Castle Sidon Sea Castle, stronghold of the Lordship of Toron Toron, stronghold of the Lordship of Toron
Syria
Areimeh Castle, Baniyas Belinas – Banias; fortified town Bourzey castle Burj al-Sabi, near Adimeh, Chastel Blanc Chastel Rouge Citadel of Tartus and Cathedral of Our Lady of Tortosa Krak des Chevaliers Maraclea Margat, also known as Marqab Masyaf Castle Montferrand Nimrod Fortress, Arabic names Qal'at Nimrud and Qal'at as-Subayba; Ayyubid castle expanded by Baibars, built to protect the road to Damascus from Crusaders and Muslim rivals; however, a Crusader phase now seems again as proven, based on masonry and construction style of inner parts. Qadmous Rouad Saladdin Castle, Crusader name: Saône Sarmada Qalaat al-Shaghur
Discarded proposals Qasr Bardawil, wrongly identified for a while as the Castle of al-Al
Turkey
Crusader castles from modern-day Turkey were mainly built by the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (1198–1375) and two Crusader states, the Principality of Antioch (1198–1268) and the County of Edessa (1198–1144).
Anavarza Castle Antioch Amouda Ayasuluk Castle on Ayasuluk Hill, Selçuk (ancient Ephesus) Bagras Cursat, Geben Haruniye Kızkalesi Namrun Kalesi (Lampron) Rumkale ,Ravanda Castle Servantikar Silifke Castle Tece Tokmar Castle T‛il Hamtun Trapessac,Trapesac castle Dumlu Kalesi,Tumlu Yaka Castle
See also
List of castles List of castles in Jordan Ordensburg
References
Bibliography
External links