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Krak des Chevaliers
172 ASIA

One of the greatest castles in the world, Krak des
TURKEY Chevaliers was built in the middle of the 12th century by
the Crusaders. Having captured J erusa I em and the Holy
Land from the Muslims, they required strong bases from
which to defend their newly won territories. The largest of
O KRAK DES CHEVALIERS
a string of such fortresses, Krak des Chevaliers withstood
countless attacks and sieges, but the Crusaders abandoned
IR,,Q
it after their defeat at the hands of the Arabs in 12 71. Ruins of a 12th-<entury
Gothi< <hur<h within
Villagers settled within the walls and remained there until Krak des Chevaliers
the 1930s, when the castle was cleared and restored.

INSIDE THE CASTLE
Krak des Chevaliers (Castle of the Knights) Warden's Tower
RECONSTRUCTION OF
crowns a 2, 133-ft (650-m) high hill at Homs Containing 1h e guard
KRAK DES CHEVALIERS
Gap, commanding the route from Antioch This shows how the castle would master's quarters, this was
the castle's innermost keep.
to Beirut The crusading Knights Hospitallers have looked over 800 years ago. In
undertook a massive expansion program in the its heyday, the castle would have
mid-12th century, adding a 100-ft (30-m) thick housed a garrison of 4,000 men. Inner wall
outer wall, seven guard towers, and stables for
500 horses. An inner reservoir, filled with water
from an aqueduct, supplied the 4,000-strong
garrison. Storerooms were stocked with food
produced by local villagers, and the castle had
its own olive presses and a bakery. The later
Muslim occupants converted the Crusaders'
chapel into a mosque and also added
refinements such as baths and pools. Aquedu<t
Rainwater from the
hills traveled along
THE FINAL CONQUEST the aqueduct into the
The Crusaders continued their campaigns in castle's reservoirs.
the Middle East throughout the 12th and into
the 13th centuries, but Krak remained secure.
In 1163, the Knights successfully fought off
Nuradin, the sultan of Damascus. In 1188, the
Muslim leader Saladin attempted to lay siege to
the castle, but finding it impenetrable, withdrew
his forces. Finally, in 12 71, the Mam eluk sultan
Baibars I, devised a scheme. He forged a letter,
purportedly from the Crusader commander in
Tripoli, instructing the army at Krak to surrender.
Bai bars' forces succeeded in taking the
Crusaders' bastion without so much as a fight

TANCRED, PRINCE OF ANTIOCH Stables
In 1 096, Tancred of Hauteville ( 10 78-1112)
set out with his uncle, Bohemund, and other
Norman lords on the First Crusade to the Holy Glads
Land. Their objective was to halt the advance This enormous sloping wall
of the Seljuk Turks, who were threatening the was designed to prevent
attackers from undermining
Byzantine Empire, and to claim Jerusalem for
the inner wall.
the Christians. Tancred made a name for himself
Baths
when he captured Tarsus from the Turks. He
pi ayed a major role in the siege of Antioch
and led the march on Jerusalem (1 099) and its
occupation. A year later, when Bohemund was KEY DATES
taken prisoner by the Turks, Tancred took 1031 1110 1142 1271 2006
control of the Principality of Antioch. He ruled The emir of Aleppo CrusadeiS under The Knights Baibars I, the The castle is added
supreme in northern Syria, mounting attacks builds the original Tancred, Prince of Hospitaii21S occupy Mameluk sultan, to UNESCO's World
fortress on the site. Antioch, take the the cast12 and captures the castle Heritage S~e list.
on both the Turks and Byzantines. In 111 0, he
bastion. construct the and adds further
occupied the hilltop fortress that the Crusaders outer wall. fortifi::atbns.
were to transform into Krak des Chevaliers.