Principal Templar Strongholds in Outremer

Principal Templar Strongholds in Outremer

Elsewhere the Military Orders had become substantial Iandholders and the territory under their control was the best defended in the Crusader States.

'The highly detailed Rule of the Military Order of the Templars does not distinguish between a proper castle and an unfortified ‘house’ where brethren lived and administered the Order’s estates. Both were under a commander in charge of all supplies and of the sergeants who guarded their gates. In fact the Rule of the Templars makes few references to castle or their role in warfare. By the second half of the 12^th century most Templar castles were concentrated in the northern part of the Principality of Antioch and in the south of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, In the north these templar castles formed a frontier march based upon Gaston (Baghras), Roche Guillaume, Roche de Roissel and Darbsak. In the south, some were close to Ascalon, which was held by the Fatimids until 1153. However, most templar castles in the Kingdom of Jerusalem guarded pilgrim routes. They ensured that pilgrims had food, tents, animal transport and protection.'  From Crusader Castles in the Holy Land 1097 - 1192

List of Principal Templar Strongholds in Syria and Palestine

Fortified Towns

Port Bonnel

Ascalon

Tortosa   or   Tartus

Tripoli

Beirut

Sidon

Tyre

Siege of tyre 1189

After the defeat of the army of Jerusalem by Saladin at
Hattin (3–4 July 1187), Tyre became the most important
base of military operations for the Franks of Outremer and
crusaders from the West. - The Crusades; An Encyclopaedia
Meanwhile the defenders of Tyre recovered their confidence and sat tight behind the
walls of a city built on a rocky peninsula that could only be approached across a
narrow, sandy isthmus. They were also supported by numerous ships. Saladin was
determined to renew the siege of Tyre and returned to the area with a small force on
12 November, the rest of his army coming up to assault the city 13 days later. It was
a hard fight, the attackers being supported by as many siege engines as could be
trained on the enemy. The isthmus was narrow and Christian ships filled with
archers, crossbowmen and stone-throwing engines were moored on each side to
shoot at the Muslims' flanks. The attacks failed and the siege dragged on with
occasional attacks by the Muslims and frequent sorties by the defenders, among
whom a Spanish knight, dressed in green and with a pair of stag's horns in his
helmet, earned praise even from Saladin himself.
It was now clear that only by winning command of the sea could Tyre be taken,
so a squadron of ten galleys and an unknown number of support vessels came up
from Acre under the command of Abd al Salam al Maghribi, an experienced North
African sailor. This was highly risky in the squalls of winter - the Mediterranean
sailing season normally running from early April to late October - but the Muslim fleet did force the Christian galleys into harbour. Meanwhile winter arrived, the
besiegers' camp becoming a sea of mud and slushy snow as sickness broke out.
Then came disaster at sea. A Muslim squadron of five galleys, having kept watch
through the night of 29/30 December, lowered their guard with the coming of dawn,
but as they slept they were surprised by a fleet of 17 Christian galleys with ten smaller
boats which darted out of Tyre and captured them. The five remaining Muslim galleys
and other ships were then ordered to retire to Beirut because they were now too few
to be effective. As they left they were pursued by galleys from Tyre which soon
overhauled the exhausted Muslim crews. Most were beached, their crews escaping
ashore and the vessels being destroyed on Saladin's orders, though one large sailing
ship, described as being 'like a small mountain' and manned by experienced sailors,
was able to escape. Following this setback the troops made a final unsuccessful attack
on the defences of Tyre after which Saladin summoned a conference of his amirs. Some
wanted to fight on but most said that the army was exhausted and their men wanted
to go home. So next day, New Year's Day 1188, Saladin dismissed his army except for
his own personal regiments whom he led back to Acre.   -   From Osprey Campaign #019 - Hattin 1187 Saladin's greatest victory


The events of 1187 shook Western Europe, the loss of Jerusalem being seen as casting
shame on all Christians. On 20 October Pope Urban III died, of grief it was said. Nine
days later his successor, Pope Gregory VIII, sent out letters urging Christendom to
save what was left of the Crusader Kingdom, letters which eventually led to the Third
Crusade. On 19 December Pope Gregory also died. Meanwhile the survival of Tyre
was a military disaster for Saladin, providing a perfect base from which the Third
Crusade would start reconquering a rump Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1191. Yet
this revived Crusader Kingdom was never what it had been. Hattin had demolished
its feudal structure and undermined the basis of royal power. Western European
interference in its government also increased rapidly.
On the Muslim side the liberation of Jerusalem had an enormous impact on
Saladin's prestige. Barely noticed amid the excitement, a merchant caravan had set
out from Damascus on 23 September, even before Jerusalem fell, heading for Cairo
by the coastal route. It was the first for more than 87 years to travel this route
without paying tolls.  -   From Osprey Campaign #019 - Hattin 1187 Saladin's greatest victory
 

Acre

Haifa

Caesarea

Nablus

Jaffa

Jerusalem

Ascalon

Gaza

The castle, with stone walls and towers, was built by King Baldwin III of Jerusalem in the winter of 1149–1150 as one of several fortifications encircling the Fatimid enclave of Ascalon. There were insufficient men or resources to fortify the entire site, and the chronicler William of Tyre records that the castle occupied only part of it. It was granted with its surrounding lands to the Templars and soon afterward withstood a Muslim attack. - The Crusades; An Encyclopaedia

When Saladin laid siege to Darum in
December 1170, King Amalric withdrew Gaza’s Templar garrison
to assist in its defence. Saladin therefore fell on Gaza,
destroying the faubourg and slaughtering its inhabitants,
who had been denied access to the castle by the temporary
castellan, Miles of Plancy. In November 1177, the Templars
again prepared to defend Gaza when Saladin raided Ascalon.
In September 1187, they finally surrendered Gaza in return
for the release of their master, Gerard of Ridefort. - The Crusades; An Encyclopaedia

Saladin ordered Gaza’s destruction in September 1191.
Although it was refortified and returned to the Templars by
King Richard I of England in 1192, Gaza’s fortifications
were again demolished under the terms of the Treaty of Jaffa
later that year. Thereafter Gaza developed as an Ayyubid
town, with the emir ‘Alam al-Din Qaysar as its first governor.
A failed attempt to retake it was made by Count Henry
of Bar and other nobles during the Crusade of 1239–1241;
and a further attempt in 1244 ended in disaster at La Forbie. - The Crusades; An Encyclopaedia

Castles

La Roche de Roussel   (Hajar Shuglan)

La Roche Guillaume

Amoude

Haruniya

Darbsak  or Trapesac

Gaston (Baghras)  

La Collee

Castel-Blanc (Safita or  Burj Safitha)

al-Arimah   or Arima   (al-Araymah

Beaufort  or Belfort    (Sharif Arnum)

Chastellet

Safed  /  Saphet

Saffran

Le Destroit   (Qal’at Dustray)

Castle Pilgrim (Atlit)

Caco   (al-Qaqun)

La Feve

Le Petit Gerin

Castel Arnand

Quarantene

The Templars occupied a castle, with a priory, on the summit of Mount Quarantene  - where Jesus was said to have fasted for forty-days and where he was also supposed to have been tempted by Satan.

Casal des Plains

Toron of the Knights

Ahamant (Amman)

Maldoim

Citerne Rouge

Vadum Jacob

Ru'ad