Templar Castles in Outremer

Templar Castles in Outremer

The Templar fortress of Toron fell to Baybars 1267, after only token resistance.

The Templar fortress of Toron fell to Baybars 1267 with only token resistance, after the fall of Safed.

after the Battle of Hattin, the city of Tyre and then the strong castle of Toron were unsuccessfully besieged by the army of Taqi al Din

Yet there were already problems. Taqi al Din had tried and failed to seize Tyre
(Sur). Reginald of Sidon, having escaped from Hattin, got there first and took
command as hordes of Latin refugees flocked in from all over the northern part of
the Kingdom. He learned that his great castle of Belfort (AI Shaqif Arnun) still held
out. Even so Reginald seems to have opened negotiations for a peaceful hand-over
while Taqi al Din .went inland to besiege the exceptionally strong castle of Toron (Tibnin). ------ From Osprey Campaign #019 - Hattin 1187 Saladin's greatest victory


Toron des Chevaliers
A Templar castle built on a low hill in the Judaean foothills
adjacent to ‘Amwas (in mod. West Bank) at the point where
the road from Jaffa (mod. Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel) to Jerusalem
was met by one from Ascalon (mod. Tel Ashqelon, Israel).
The foundation of Toron des Chevaliers between 1137 and
1141 is attributed by the Chronica Aldephonsi imperatoris to
Rodrigo González, count of Toledo, who was apparently
serving with the Templars at the time. Like the castles of
Ibelin, Blanchegarde, and Bethegibelin, its purpose was to
protect the southern parts of the kingdom of Jerusalem
from Muslim raiding from Ascalon, and to serve as a nucleus
for Frankish settlement. In 1169–1171, the Jewish traveler
Benjamin of Tudela refers to it in Spanish as Toron de los
Caballeros (Tower of the Knights).
Archaeological remains confirm that this name, from
which the Arabic name Latrun was subsequently derived,
referred to a large tower, or donjon, that stood at the center
of the castle, within a rectangular enclosure filled with vaulted
buildings, including a chapel. Enclosing this was a larger
polygonal enceinte, containing stables and other buildings. It seems likely that the Templars held an extensive estate
in the area, including ‘Amwas (Lat. Emmaus) and Chastel
Hernaut (Lat. Castellum Arnaldi), though information about
it is sparse. They surrendered Toron and Gaza to the
Ayy‰bid prince al-‘§dil in September 1187 in return for the
release of their master, Gerard of Ridefort, and in December
1191 Saladin ordered its destruction. Although it was returned
to the Christians between 1229 and 1244, there is no
evidence that the order ever rebuilt it.
–Denys Pringle - The Crusades; An Encyclopaedia