![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Crac_des_chevaliers_syria.jpeg/220px-Crac_des_chevaliers_syria.jpeg)
This is a list of castles in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East, founded or occupied during the Crusades. For crusader castles in Poland and the Baltic states, see Ordensburg.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/SaidaCastle.jpeg/250px-SaidaCastle.jpeg)
Crusader states
[edit]Geographic location on today's map
[edit]- 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
[edit]Cyprus
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Kyrenia_01-2017_img02_Castle_exterior.jpg/220px-Kyrenia_01-2017_img02_Castle_exterior.jpg)
- Buffavento Castle
- Othello Castle
- Kantara Castle
- Kolossi Castle
- Kyrenia Castle
- Larnaca Castle
- Limassol Castle
- Paphos Castle
- St. Hilarion Castle
Egypt
[edit]Greece
[edit] The Grandmasters Palace of the Knights Hospitaller of St. John on RhodesThe Grandmasters Palace of the Knights on Rhodes island - Platamon Castle
- Kastellorizo Castle
- Halki Castle
- Kos Castle
- Amfissa Castle
- Leros island castle
- Corfu castles
Israel and Palestine
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/08/Monfort_Castle%2C_Upper_Galilee.jpg/220px-Monfort_Castle%2C_Upper_Galilee.jpg)
- 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 – Banias; fortified town
- 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.
- Beth Gibelin at Eleutheropolis – castle ruins next to ancient town, stronghold of the Lordship of Beth Gibelin; national park
- Beit Itab
- Bethaatap, Arabic: Bayt 'Itab – fortified manor (maison forte)
- 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
- Castellum Beroart – the Minat al-Qal'a Umayyad fort reused by the Crusaders; at Ashdod
- Castellum Regis; castle, now inside village of Mi'ilya
- Caymont at Tel Yokneam, seat of lordship
- Chastel Hernaut or Arnoul, Latin: Castellum Arnaldi – castle at Yalu[2][3]
- Chastel Neuf or Castellum Novum outside Margaliot, castle, rebuilt in Ottoman time (Qal'at Hunin)
- Chastelet, castle ruin by Jacob's Ford: see Battle of Jacob's Ford; also known as Vadum Iacob, le Chastelez, Ateret, Qasr al-'Atra
- Castellum Rogerii Langobardi – castle at Umm Khalid/Netaniya[2]
- Château Pèlerin, also known as Atlit Castle and Castle Pilgrim; off-reach military base
- Citadel of Safed, fortress from the Second Temple/Roman period, major administrative center.
- Destroit, Le, near Atlit
- Forbelet Castle at Taibe, Galilee; battle site near the Hospitaller castle
- Givat Titora, castle ruins
- 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, castle ruins
- 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,[2] at Dor/Tantura
- Mirabel, in Hebrew: Migdal Tsedek, stronghold of the Lordship of Mirabel
- Montfort; inside national park
- Qula, Crusader tower and a vaulted structure
- Ramla, stronghold of the Lordship of Ramla
- Saforie, le or Sepphoris (Latin), Saffuriya (Arabic): tower; national park
- Tel Hanaton – fortified farm
- Tiberias – fortified Crusader city immediately north of abandoned city established in Roman times; on the shore of the Sea of Galilee
- Toron des Chevaliers, at Latrun
- Tour Rouge or Turris Rubea at Burgata – Arabic: Burj al-Ahmar, Hebrew: Hurvat Burgata
- Tower of David – the citadel of Jerusalem
- Turris Salinarum at Tel Taninim – Crusader tower, the only remains of the castle
Jordan
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/Montreal_Castle_02.jpg/220px-Montreal_Castle_02.jpg)
- Ajloun Castle
- Kerak Castle[4]
- Montreal
- Tafilah[5]
- Vaux Moise (Wu'ayra in Arabic) near Petra[6]
Doubtful proposals
[edit]- Aqaba – doubtful, no traces found; castle on Ile de Graye might have been meant instead
- Diban Castle 31°30′7″N 35°46′36″E / 31.50194°N 35.77667°E[dubious – discuss]
- Hisban Crusader Castle[dubious – discuss]
Discarded proposals
[edit]- 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.[7]
Lebanon
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2f/Tebnine11.jpg/220px-Tebnine11.jpg)
- Arqa
- Batroun
- Beaufort Castle
- Beirut Castle, demolished in the late 19th century
- Belhacem,[8] 33°34′24″N 35°28′36″E / 33.57333°N 35.47667°E
- 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
Israel - Palestinian autonomy
[edit]- Castrum Sancti Helie (Castle of St. Elias) - castle ruins at Taybeh
- Cisterna Rubea or Maldoim, Templar castle
Syria
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a1/Marqab-crusader-castle-donjon.jpg/220px-Marqab-crusader-castle-donjon.jpg)
- Areimeh Castle,[9] 34°44′40″N 36°02′33″E / 34.74444°N 36.04250°E
- Baniyas
- Bourzey castle
- Burj al-Sabi,[10] near Adimeh, 35°09′14″N 35°55′39″E / 35.15389°N 35.92750°E
- Chastel Blanc
- Chastel Rouge
- 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
- Citadel of Tartus and Cathedral of Our Lady of Tortosa
Discarded proposals
[edit]- Qasr Bardawil, wrongly identified for a while as the Castle of al-Al
Turkey
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/07/Baghras2.jpg/220px-Baghras2.jpg)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/HemiteKalesi1.jpg/220px-HemiteKalesi1.jpg)
- Anavarza Castle
- Antioch
- Amouda
- Ayasuluk Castle, Selçuk
- Bagras
- Cursat,[11] 36°5′46″N 36°11′59″E / 36.09611°N 36.19972°E
- Geben
- Haruniye
- Kızkalesi
- Namrun Kalesi (Lampron)
- Rumkale
- Ravendel,[12] 36°52′22″N 37°3′10″E / 36.87278°N 37.05278°E
- Servantikar
- Silifke Castle
- Tece
- Tokmar Castle
- T‛il Hamtun
- Trapessac,[13] 36°31′53″N 36°21′52″E / 36.53139°N 36.36444°E
- Dumlu Kalesi,[14] 37°9′1″N 35°42′5″E / 37.15028°N 35.70139°E
- Yaka Castle
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Crac des Chevaliers and Qal'at Salah El-Din, UNESCO, retrieved 2010-11-08
- ^ a b c Ellenblum, Ronnie (2007). Crusader Castles and Modern Histories. Cambridge University Press. p. 173. ISBN 9781139462556. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
- ^ Pringle 1997, p. 107.
- ^ Husseini, Rana (December 18, 2016). "Death toll in Karak attacks rises to 14, including four terrorists". Jordan Times. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
- ^ Pringle 1997, p. 98.
- ^ Pringle 1997, p. 105.
- ^ Pringle 1997, p. 2.
- ^ Belhacem
- ^ "Qalaat Areimeh | Monuments of Syria أوابد سورية". monumentsofsyria.com.
- ^ "Burj al-Sabi".
- ^ "Castles.nl - Cursat Castle". www.castles.nl.
- ^ Ravanda Castle
- ^ Trapesac castle
- ^ Tumlu
Bibliography
[edit]- Pringle, Denys (1997). Secular Buildings in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem: An Archaeological Gazetteer. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521460101.