{ "metadata": { "title": "Crusader Atlas — Open Historical Dataset", "description": "Structured reference dataset of Crusader-period sites, fortifications, churches, settlements, battles, lordships and routes in the Kingdom of Jerusalem and neighbouring Latin states (1099-1291).", "version": "1.0", "generated": "2026-06-01", "source": "https://crusaderatlas.com", "license": "CC BY 4.0 (recommended)", "record_count": 205, "record_counts_by_type": { "site": 176, "lordship": 22, "route": 7 }, "fields": [ "id", "record_type", "primary_name", "alternative_names", "medieval_names", "modern_names", "site_type", "historical_category", "title_or_designation", "description", "historical_significance", "modern_location", "latitude", "longitude", "coordinate_accuracy", "modern_country", "modern_region", "crusader_state_or_polity", "lordship_or_fief", "accessibility", "wikipedia_url", "wikidata_id", "primary_sources", "secondary_sources", "source_notes", "uncertainty_notes", "fortified_status", "visible_remains", "has_harbor", "wikipedia_he_url", "image_filename", "crusaderatlas_url", "landing_page_url" ], "notes": [ "Coordinates are WGS84 decimal degrees and reproduce the markers shown on the live map; they are not altered here.", "medieval_names and modern_names are intentionally empty: the source does not classify name variants by era. All variants are consolidated in alternative_names.", "historical_significance and accessibility are intentionally empty: the source does not record them as separate fields. Significance is integrated into description.", "lordship_or_fief and crusader_state_or_polity for sites are DERIVED by point-in-polygon against the project's approximate lordship boundaries and are flagged as derived in source_notes; blank where no polygon matches.", "wikidata_id is resolved from each verified Wikipedia link via the MediaWiki API; blank where no linked Wikidata item exists.", "secondary_sources cites D. Pringle's archaeological gazetteer page reference(s) where the project's megalist records one; the specific Pringle volume is not recorded per row.", "primary_sources is intentionally empty: the project does not record per-site primary (medieval) sources.", "The 'Jerusalem' site links, in the source map, to the Wikipedia article 'Kingdom of Jerusalem' rather than the city; wikipedia_url and wikidata_id reproduce that source link faithfully." ] }, "records": [ { "id": "site/acre", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Acre", "alternative_names": [ "'Akka" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Capital city", "historical_category": "Settlement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Acre was the Crusaders' greatest port. Like Jerusalem, it fell to Saladin in 1187; but the Third Crusade recovered it in 1191, and from then until 1291 it served as the de facto capital of the Kingdom of Jerusalem — exactly a hundred years. The siege that restored it, begun by Guy of Lusignan in August 1189 and completed by Richard the Lionheart and Philip II of France in July 1191, was the longest of the Crusades. A quarrel over banners nearly broke the crusade in half at its end: Leopold V of Austria had raised his standard on the captured walls alongside Richard's and Philip's, and Richard, judging him too low in rank to share the spoils on equal footing, ordered the Austrian banner torn down and thrown into the city ditch. Eighteen months later, as Richard was making his way home overland through Austrian territory, Leopold had him arrested and delivered to the Holy Roman Emperor; the ransom was set at 150,000 marks, roughly three times the annual royal revenue of England. The city kept the kingdom alive until the Mamluks captured it in 1291, ending the Crusader presence on the Levantine mainland. Beneath the Ottoman old town, the vaulted halls of the Hospitaller quarter — knights' refectory, hospital, and underground vaults — still survive and can be visited.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Acre, Israel", "latitude": 32.9208, "longitude": 35.0694, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Acre", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acre,_Israel", "wikidata_id": "Q126084", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 14)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "yes", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A2%D7%9B%D7%95", "image_filename": "המצודה_בעכו_בפנים.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=acre", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/acre/" }, { "id": "site/jerusalem", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Jerusalem", "alternative_names": [ "al-Quds", "Hierusalem", "Yerushalayim", "Royal Domain of Jerusalem" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Capital city", "historical_category": "Settlement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Jerusalem was the spiritual and political heart of the Crusader Kingdom from its bloody capture by Godfrey of Bouillon's army on 15 July 1099 until its surrender to Saladin in early October 1187, three months after the Frankish defeat at the Horns of Hattin on 4 July. The garrison, swollen by refugees, held out for about twelve days before Balian of Ibelin negotiated the city's surrender. Godfrey refused the title of king, styling himself Advocatus Sancti Sepulchri — Defender of the Holy Sepulchre; his brother Baldwin I was crowned first King of Jerusalem on Christmas Day 1100, though at Bethlehem rather than in Jerusalem itself. Over the next nine decades the city was ruled by a succession of eight kings and three queens, who expanded its defences and endowed the Crusader rebuilding of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, reconsecrated on 15 July 1149 — exactly fifty years after the city's capture. After Hattin, Saladin allowed ransom and orderly evacuation for Christians who could pay; the High Court and chancery retreated to Tyre and then Acre. In February 1229, Emperor Frederick II negotiated the Treaty of Jaffa with the Ayyubid sultan al-Kamil — the diplomatic coup depicted in the illumination above — restoring Jerusalem to the Christians as an undefended, demilitarised city while Muslim control of the Haram al-Sharif was respected. Because Frederick had recently been excommunicated, the Patriarch of Jerusalem placed the Holy City under interdict and no clergy would officiate a coronation; on 18 March 1229 the emperor walked unescorted into the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, lifted the crown from the altar, and placed it on his own head, while Hermann of Salza, grand master of the Teutonic Order, read out the imperial declaration on his behalf. This second Latin tenure lasted only fifteen years: in the summer of 1244 a Khwarezmian army, hired by the Ayyubid sultan of Egypt as-Salih Ayyub, stormed the city and massacred or enslaved its Christian inhabitants, ending Frankish rule in Jerusalem forever. The kingdom's political life continued from Acre until 1291, but its capital was never again at the Holy Sepulchre.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Old City, Jerusalem", "latitude": 31.77833, "longitude": 35.23556, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Jerusalem", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Jerusalem", "wikidata_id": "Q55502", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%9E%D7%9C%D7%9B%D7%AA_%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%A9%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9D", "image_filename": "Friedrich_II._mit_Sultan_al-Kamil.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=jerusalem", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/jerusalem/" }, { "id": "site/ateret-fortress-chastelet-vadum-iacob", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Ateret Fortress (Chastelet / Vadum Iacob)", "alternative_names": [ "Chastelet", "le Chastelez", "Vadum Iacob", "Mezad Ateret", "Ateret Fortress" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "The Castle of Jacob's Ford — Chastelet or Vadum Iacob — was a brand-new castle that King Baldwin IV began in 1178 on a mound beside the Jordan, at the point where the river could be forded on the road from Galilee to Damascus. Saladin attacked it in August 1179 before it was finished, and destroyed it after a short siege; hundreds of Templars were killed or captured. Israeli excavations have uncovered the unfinished fortifications and the bodies of the defenders exactly where they fell. The site is now the Ateret archaeological reserve near Gadot.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Ateret Fortress, Israel", "latitude": 33.00431, "longitude": 35.62757, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Principality of Galilee", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob%27s_Ford", "wikidata_id": "Q2916595", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 84)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%A6%D7%93_%D7%A2%D7%AA%D7%A8%D7%AA", "image_filename": "Ateret_general_view.JPG", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=ateret-fortress-chastelet-vadum-iacob", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/ateret-fortress-chastelet-vadum-iacob/" }, { "id": "site/atlit-chateau-pelerin", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Atlit (Château Pèlerin)", "alternative_names": [ "Athlith", "Pilgrims' Castle", "Castrum Peregrinorum", "Chastiau Pelerin", "Castrum Filit Det" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Atlit — the Castle of the Pilgrims (Château Pèlerin) — was built by the Templars from 1217 on a narrow sea-girt promontory south of Haifa, and became one of the largest and most sophisticated Crusader castles ever constructed. Its double landward walls, sea-level rock-cut ditch and massive inner towers made it essentially impregnable: it was the last Frankish stronghold on the Levantine mainland, evacuated only in August 1291, three months after Acre had already fallen. The site is now a closed Israeli naval base, but the towers are visible from the surrounding coast.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Atlit, Israel", "latitude": 32.70528, "longitude": 34.93389, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Caesarea", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_P%C3%A8lerin", "wikidata_id": "Q597606", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 20)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "yes", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%91%D7%A6%D7%A8_%D7%A2%D7%AA%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%AA", "image_filename": "Atlit_fortress001.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=atlit-chateau-pelerin", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/atlit-chateau-pelerin/" }, { "id": "site/bait-jibrin-beit-guvrin", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Bait Jibrin (Beit Guvrin)", "alternative_names": [ "Bethgibelin", "Beit Gibelin", "Bersabea", "Gybelin", "Ybelin Hospitalariorum", "Bet Guvrin", "Eleutheropolis" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Known to the Crusaders as Bethgibelin, this was one of four castles built around Ascalon in the 1130s to strangle the Fatimid garrison there. Granted to the Knights Hospitaller in 1136, it was a concentric fortress with a 50-metre-square inner ward and projecting corner towers. The castle fell to Saladin after Hattin in 1187 and was permanently lost to the Franks. Its ruins are preserved in Beit Guvrin-Maresha National Park, alongside Byzantine churches and vast bell-shaped caves.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Beit Guvrin, Israel", "latitude": 31.6069, "longitude": 34.8983, "coordinate_accuracy": "approximate", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Jerusalem", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beit_Jibrin", "wikidata_id": "Q556637", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 26-29)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: uncertain; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Location is approximate. Coordinates flagged uncertain in source.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%91%D7%99%D7%AA_%D7%92%27%D7%99%D7%91%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%9F", "image_filename": "Beyt-Govrin-346.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=bait-jibrin-beit-guvrin", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/bait-jibrin-beit-guvrin/" }, { "id": "site/belmont-castle-suba-tzova", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Belmont Castle (Suba / Tzova)", "alternative_names": [ "Belmont", "Zova" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Belmont Castle was a Hospitaller fortress built in the 1160s on a hill west of Jerusalem, dominating the approach roads from the coastal plain. It had a rectangular inner ward, a polygonal outer ward, stables, a wine-press, cisterns and a vaulted passage down to its spring. Lost to Saladin after Hattin and never recovered by the Franks, its extensive ruins are today in a forested area above Kibbutz Tzuba.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Tzova, Israel", "latitude": 31.7847, "longitude": 35.1239, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Jerusalem", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suba_(village)", "wikidata_id": "Q7630688", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 95)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A6%D7%95%D7%91%D7%94", "image_filename": "Belmont_Castle.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=belmont-castle-suba-tzova", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/belmont-castle-suba-tzova/" }, { "id": "site/belvoir-castle", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Belvoir Castle", "alternative_names": [ "Kaukab al-Hawa", "Belvoir, Coquet" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Belvoir — Kokhav HaYarden in Hebrew — is the best-preserved Crusader concentric castle in Israel. Perched 500 metres above the Jordan Valley, the Hospitaller fortress withstood an eighteen-month Ayyubid siege after the disaster at Hattin in 1187 and only surrendered on honourable terms in 1189, when the defenders were allowed to march out with their arms. Its massive walls, dry moat, inner and outer wards, and rounded corner towers are today the centrepiece of an Israeli national park.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Belvoir Fortress, Israel", "latitude": 32.59556, "longitude": 35.52139, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Principality of Galilee", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belvoir_Fortress", "wikidata_id": "Q1010980", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 32)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9B%D7%95%D7%9B%D7%91_%D7%94%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%93%D7%9F", "image_filename": "Bellvoir_Israel.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=belvoir-castle", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/belvoir-castle/" }, { "id": "site/givat-titora", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Givat Titora", "alternative_names": [ "Qalaat al-Tantura", "Qul'at al-Tantura", "Titora Hill" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "A small castle or road fortress above the Modi'in plain, known in Arabic as Qal'at al-Tantura and in Hebrew as Tel Titora. It likely guarded the road from the coastal plain up to Jerusalem. The masonry remains are modest but occupy a prominent hill now in the middle of modern Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Givat Titora, Modi'in, Israel", "latitude": 31.90175, "longitude": 35.02225, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Jaffa and Ascalon", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modi%27in", "wikidata_id": "Q165867", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; gazetteer page reference: not recovered from source OCR; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value. Fortified status not definitive (recorded as 'probable').", "fortified_status": "probable", "visible_remains": "partial", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%92%D7%91%D7%A2%D7%AA_%D7%94%D7%AA%D7%99%D7%AA%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%94", "image_filename": "Givat_Titora.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=givat-titora", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/givat-titora/" }, { "id": "site/ibillin", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Ibillin", "alternative_names": [ "Abelina", "Evlayim" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "The Frankish castle of Abelina stood on a hill above the modern Galilean town of Ibillin. It consisted of a central tower with a twin barrel-vaulted basement inside an enclosing wall; the rounded outer towers visible today are mostly later additions. The lordship of Abelina belonged to the influential Ibelin family for much of the twelfth century.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Ibillin, Israel", "latitude": 32.8225, "longitude": 35.19222, "coordinate_accuracy": "approximate", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Acre", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27billin", "wikidata_id": "Q2915647", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 50)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: uncertain; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Location is approximate. Coordinates flagged uncertain in source. Fortified status not definitive (recorded as 'probable').", "fortified_status": "probable", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%90%D7%A2%D7%91%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9F", "image_filename": "Ibillin.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=ibillin", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/ibillin/" }, { "id": "site/jezreel-tel-yizreel", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Jezreel (Tel Yizre'el)", "alternative_names": [ "Zir'in", "Gezrael", "Jezrael", "Parvum Gerinum", "Zaratn", "Tel Yizra'el" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Tel Yizre'el overlooks the Jezreel Valley from a strategic ridge and had a small Crusader castle that belonged to the Templars by the 1180s. The valley was one of the main east-west corridors of the kingdom and was the route Saladin's army took in the summer of 1187 toward the disaster at Hattin.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Tel Jezreel, Israel", "latitude": 32.557853, "longitude": 35.327953, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Principality of Galilee", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tel_Jezreel", "wikidata_id": "Q2914898", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 54)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%AA%D7%9C%20%D7%99%D7%96%D7%A8%D7%A2%D7%90%D7%9C", "image_filename": "Tel Jezreel, Israel crusader tower.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=jezreel-tel-yizreel", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/jezreel-tel-yizreel/" }, { "id": "site/latrun-toron-des-chevaliers", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Latrun — Toron des Chevaliers", "alternative_names": [ "Toron des Chevaliers/de los Caballeros", "Toronum Militum", "al-Natrun" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Built by the Templars in the mid-twelfth century as 'Toron des Chevaliers', Latrun guarded the main road from the coastal plain to Jerusalem. A large quadrangular castle with a talus, portcullised gate, outer ward and stables, it was lost to Saladin after Hattin in 1187 and only briefly reoccupied during the Third Crusade before passing permanently out of Frankish hands a few years later. The medieval ruins share the hill with a nineteenth-century Trappist monastery.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Latrun, Israel", "latitude": 31.831956, "longitude": 34.982357, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Jaffa and Ascalon", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latrun", "wikidata_id": "Q1670976", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 64)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9C%D7%98%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%9F", "image_filename": "Latrun-Castle-S-076.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=latrun-toron-des-chevaliers", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/latrun-toron-des-chevaliers/" }, { "id": "site/majdal-yaba-mirabel", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Majdal Yaba (Mirabel)", "alternative_names": [ "Majdal Sadiq", "Mirabel, Mirabellum" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Mirabel was the castle of the Ibelin family, one of the most influential dynasties of the Crusader kingdom. Built around an early twelfth-century square tower, it grew into a more complex fortification on the edge of the Samarian hills. A Turkish fortress and village later reused much of the medieval fabric; today the site is within Migdal Afek National Park east of Tel Aviv.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Migdal Afek, Israel", "latitude": 32.080806, "longitude": 34.957102, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Arsuf", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Migdal_Afek", "wikidata_id": "Q568521", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 66)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries (site falls within 2 overlapping polygons; smallest chosen); Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%92%D7%93%D7%9C_%D7%90%D7%A4%D7%A7", "image_filename": "Migdal-Afek-28-yard-e.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=majdal-yaba-mirabel", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/majdal-yaba-mirabel/" }, { "id": "site/miilya-castellum-novum-regis", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Mi'ilya (Castellum Novum Regis)", "alternative_names": [ "Mhalia", "Castrum Regis", "Chastiau dou Ret", "Castellium Novum", "Castellum Novum Regis", "Ma'alot" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "The royal castle of Castellum Novum Regis ('the King's New Castle') was built on a hill above the Galilean village of Mi'ilya around the middle of the twelfth century. It later passed to the Teutonic Knights. Remnants of the hilltop enceinte and corner towers are still visible among the houses of today's village, which has one of the largest Melkite Christian populations in Israel.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Mi'ilya, Israel", "latitude": 33.02528, "longitude": 35.25944, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Montfort", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mi%27ilya", "wikidata_id": "Q2917297", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 70)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Fortified status not definitive (recorded as 'probable').", "fortified_status": "probable", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%A2%D7%99%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%90", "image_filename": "Miiliya-castle-38.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=miilya-castellum-novum-regis", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/miilya-castellum-novum-regis/" }, { "id": "site/montfort-castle", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Montfort Castle", "alternative_names": [ "Qal'at al-Qurain", "Qal'at al-Qarn" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Montfort — 'the strong mountain' — was the headquarters of the Teutonic Order in the Holy Land from the 1220s. Perched on a narrow spur deep in Upper Galilee, with a D-shaped donjon, great hall, and multi-level vaulted ranges, it was built specifically to house the order's treasury and archives. The Mamluk sultan Baybars besieged and took it in 1271 after tunnelling under its walls. Today its dramatic ruins, reached on foot from Nahal Kziv, are one of the most picturesque Crusader sites in Israel.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Montfort Castle, Israel", "latitude": 33.044403, "longitude": 35.226556, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Montfort", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montfort_Castle", "wikidata_id": "Q14201945", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 72)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%95%D7%A0%D7%A4%D7%95%D7%A8_%28%D7%9E%D7%91%D7%A6%D7%A8%29", "image_filename": "מבצר_מונפורט_בזריחה.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=montfort-castle", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/montfort-castle/" }, { "id": "site/qalat-hunin-chastel-neuf", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Qal'at Hunin (Chastel Neuf)", "alternative_names": [ "Castellum Novum", "Chastel Neuf", "Mezudat Hunin", "Horvat Mezudat Hunin" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Chastel Neuf ('New Castle') overlooked the upper Jordan from a ridge on the modern Israel-Lebanon border. Repeatedly fought over during the twelfth century, it was destroyed and rebuilt several times before finally being lost in 1266. The conspicuous standing masonry that dominates the Margaliot lookout today is largely Ottoman, but the Crusader moat and earlier walls can still be traced beneath it.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Margaliot, Israel", "latitude": 33.220819, "longitude": 35.54435, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Maron", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunin", "wikidata_id": "Q12406488", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 78)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "partial", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%A6%D7%95%D7%93%D7%AA_%D7%94%D7%95%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%9F", "image_filename": "Chateau_Neuf_Fortress_in_Upper_Galilee,_Israel.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=qalat-hunin-chastel-neuf", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/qalat-hunin-chastel-neuf/" }, { "id": "site/qalat-jiddin-yehiam-fortress", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Qal'at Jiddin (Yehi'am Fortress)", "alternative_names": [ "at Jiddin" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Yehi'am Fortress in western Galilee grew from a small Crusader castle into a larger Ottoman stronghold, and was reused again by the defenders of Kibbutz Yehi'am during the 1948 war. The surviving twelfth-century inner ward walls are now the centrepiece of an Israeli national park.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Yehiam, Israel", "latitude": 32.99444, "longitude": 35.22194, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Montfort", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yehiam", "wikidata_id": "Q2889861", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 73)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%91%D7%A6%D7%A8_%D7%99%D7%97%D7%99%D7%A2%D7%9D", "image_filename": "yechiam fortress.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=qalat-jiddin-yehiam-fortress", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/qalat-jiddin-yehiam-fortress/" }, { "id": "site/qaqun-caco", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Qaqun (Caco)", "alternative_names": [ "Caco", "Cacho" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Qaqun was a Templar castle on a low mound commanding the Via Maris between Caesarea and Megiddo. Its two-storey tower, some 17 metres across with walls almost 3 metres thick, survived much of the later medieval period; the Mamluks defeated a Mongol raid here in 1271. The tower still stands to about 8 metres in height on a hill east of the modern village of Qaqun.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Qaqun, Israel", "latitude": 32.359409, "longitude": 34.995209, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Caesarea", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qaqun", "wikidata_id": "Q2919625", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 82)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A7%D7%90%D7%A7%D7%95%D7%9F", "image_filename": "Kakun fortress.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=qaqun-caco", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/qaqun-caco/" }, { "id": "site/safed-castle", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Safed Castle", "alternative_names": [ "Saphet" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "The Templar castle of Safed, on a steep hill above the old upper-Galilee town of the same name, was one of the largest and most ambitious Crusader fortifications ever built. Reconstructed on a grand scale between 1240 and 1260 by the Templars, it had an oval concentric plan measuring roughly 120 by 280 metres. Baybars captured it in 1266 after a long siege and the surrender terms were infamously broken: the defenders who had been promised safe passage were executed en masse. Only fragments of its walls remain.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Safed, Israel", "latitude": 32.96778, "longitude": 35.49528, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Principality of Galilee", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safed", "wikidata_id": "Q188336", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 88)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%A6%D7%95%D7%93%D7%AA_%D7%A6%D7%A4%D7%AA", "image_filename": "Safedcitadel.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=safed-castle", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/safed-castle/" }, { "id": "site/st-margarets-castle-mount-carmel", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "St Margaret's Castle (Mount Carmel)", "alternative_names": [ "S. Margareta cast(ellum)", "Cava Templi (castrum)", "Mount Carmel" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "A Templar castle on the headland of Mount Carmel above modern Haifa, dedicated to Saint Margaret. Destroyed in 1821, its foundations now support the Stella Maris lighthouse. The site had been a Frankish outpost as early as the twelfth century, watching the northern approach to the port of Acre.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel", "latitude": 32.828338, "longitude": 34.969093, "coordinate_accuracy": "approximate", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Haifa", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stella_Maris_Monastery", "wikidata_id": "Q1606585", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 88)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: uncertain; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Location is approximate. Coordinates flagged uncertain in source.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%A0%D7%96%D7%A8%20%D7%A1%D7%98%D7%9C%D7%94%20%D7%9E%D7%90%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%A1", "image_filename": "97599_stella_maris_monastery_PikiWiki_Israel.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=st-margarets-castle-mount-carmel", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/st-margarets-castle-mount-carmel/" }, { "id": "site/tantura-merle", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Tantura (Merle)", "alternative_names": [ "al-BURJ", "Qal'at Tantura, al-Habis", "Gith, Git, Tarenta (-), Tharenta (2)", "TANTURA", "Merle", "Dor" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "The castle of Merle occupied a sea-girt promontory at the southern end of Dor Bay. Defended by the sea on three sides and a deep ditch on the fourth, it was a classic coastal Frankish strongpoint. A corner tower survived until the 1890s, when it finally collapsed. Today the site is within the Dor-HaBonim Beach Nature Reserve.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Tantura, Israel", "latitude": 32.61821, "longitude": 34.91742, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Caesarea", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dor,_Israel", "wikidata_id": "Q2777560", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 34; 98)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%93%D7%95%D7%A8%20%28%D7%9E%D7%95%D7%A9%D7%91%29", "image_filename": "Tantura_Merle.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=tantura-merle", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/tantura-merle/" }, { "id": "site/tel-yokneam-caymont", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Tel Yokneam (Caymont)", "alternative_names": [ "Caimun", "Caun Mons", "Caymont", "Mons Cain", "al-Qaymun", "Tel Yoqne'am" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Tel Yokne'am guards the entrance to the Jezreel Valley through a narrow pass in the Carmel range. A Crusader castle known as Caymont, with houses, a tower, a donjon, and a church inside a defensive wall, occupied the mound in the twelfth century. It was at Caymont that the rump of the Crusader army regrouped after the disaster at Hattin.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Tel Yokneam, Israel", "latitude": 32.6641, "longitude": 35.10827, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Caymont", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yokneam", "wikidata_id": "Q28839092", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 73)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%AA%D7%9C_%D7%99%D7%A7%D7%A0%D7%A2%D7%9D", "image_filename": "Tel_Yokneam.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=tel-yokneam-caymont", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/tel-yokneam-caymont/" }, { "id": "site/tell-es-safi-blanchegarde", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Tell es-Safi (Blanchegarde)", "alternative_names": [ "Blanchegarde", "Blanca Guarda", "Tall as-Safiya", "Tell es-Safi", "Tel Tzafit" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Blanchegarde — 'the white watchtower' — was one of the ring of castles built around Ascalon in the 1140s, this one founded by King Fulk in 1142 on the chalky hilltop that gave it its name. A square quadriburgium with four corner towers, it fell to Saladin after Hattin in 1187. Today Tel Tzafit is best known for large excavations of Bronze and Iron Age Philistine layers, but the Crusader fort is still visible on top of the mound.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Tel Tzafit, Israel", "latitude": 31.69984, "longitude": 34.84744, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Jaffa and Ascalon", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tell_es-Safi", "wikidata_id": "Q2402271", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 92-93)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%AA%D7%9C_%D7%A6%D7%A4%D7%99%D7%AA", "image_filename": "Tell_es_Safi.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=tell-es-safi-blanchegarde", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/tell-es-safi-blanchegarde/" }, { "id": "site/yavne-ibelin", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Yavne (Ibelin)", "alternative_names": [ "Ibelin", "Ybelin", "Gibelim", "Yavne" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Yavne — known to the Crusaders as Ibelin — was one of the four castles thrown up around Ascalon in the 1140s and became the seat of the powerful Ibelin family. William of Tyre called the twelfth-century castle 'very strongly built with deep foundations and four towers'. The original quadriburgium is mostly gone, but its hilltop in the centre of modern Yavne still preserves traces of the medieval fortification.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Yavne, Israel", "latitude": 31.86611, "longitude": 34.74639, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Jaffa and Ascalon", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibelin_(castle)", "wikidata_id": "Q3877418", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 108)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%99%D7%91%D7%A0%D7%94", "image_filename": "Yavne_Ibelin.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=yavne-ibelin", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/yavne-ibelin/" }, { "id": "site/yazur-azor", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Yazur (Azor)", "alternative_names": [ "Casellum de Planis", "Case! des Plains", "Casale/Casellum Balneorum", "Casellum de Templo" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "The Crusader manor of Casellum de Planis stood at the modern town of Azor, just south-east of Tel Aviv and Jaffa. Its square central tower, with barrel-vaulted basement and a stair rising through the vault, formed the core of a small lordship of the Jaffa county.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Azor, Israel", "latitude": 32.025561, "longitude": 34.804139, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Jaffa and Ascalon", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azor", "wikidata_id": "Q952186", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 107)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%A6%D7%95%D7%93%D7%AA_%D7%94%D7%9E%D7%99%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%A8", "image_filename": "Azor_fortress.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=yazur-azor", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/yazur-azor/" }, { "id": "site/at-taiyiba-castle-of-st-elias", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "at-Taiyiba — Castle of St Elias", "alternative_names": [ "at-Taiyiba", "'Afra", "Castle of St Elias", "Saint Elyes", "Effraon", "castrum S. Helyae" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "A small Frankish castle perched above the modern village of Tuba Zangariyya / Taibe in eastern Galilee, known in the sources as the Castle of St Elias. It guarded the upland road between the Sea of Galilee and the Jezreel Valley. Part of its concentric walls, a barrel-vaulted gate passage, and remains of a square inner tower still stand among the village houses.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Taibe, Galilee, Israel", "latitude": 32.60444, "longitude": 35.44444, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Principality of Galilee", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taibe,_Galilee", "wikidata_id": "Q2916840", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 98)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%98%D7%99%D7%99%D7%91%D7%94%20(%D7%91%D7%92%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9C)", "image_filename": "at_Taiyiba.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=at-taiyiba-castle-of-st-elias", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/at-taiyiba-castle-of-st-elias/" }, { "id": "site/achziv-casal-imbert", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Achziv (Casal Imbert)", "alternative_names": [ "Akhziv", "Casel Imbert", "Casale Huberti de Paci", "Casale Lamberti", "Castellum Ziph", "Qasale Imbert/Siph" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Walled town / citadel", "historical_category": "Settlement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Achziv, on the Mediterranean coast north of Acre, was the Crusader 'new town' of Casal Imbert, belonging to the royal domain of Acre. It was the site of a sharp Frankish defeat by Saladin's troops in 1187 and later briefly held by the Teutonic Knights. A tower once stood in the village; traces of Crusader occupation are mixed with much earlier Phoenician and later Ottoman remains, today inside Achziv National Park.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Achziv, Israel", "latitude": 33.04778, "longitude": 35.10222, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Acre", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achziv", "wikidata_id": "Q340747", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 110)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Fortified status not definitive (recorded as 'uncertain').", "fortified_status": "uncertain", "visible_remains": "fragmentary", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%90%D7%9B%D7%96%D7%99%D7%91", "image_filename": "133080_achziv_park_PikiWiki_Israel.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=achziv-casal-imbert", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/achziv-casal-imbert/" }, { "id": "site/arsuf-apollonia", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Arsuf (Apollonia)", "alternative_names": [ "Arsur", "Tel Arshaf" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Walled town / citadel", "historical_category": "Settlement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Arsuf — ancient Apollonia — was a small but strategically placed port on the sandstone cliffs north of modern Tel Aviv. The Crusaders took it in 1101, and in 1191 its coastal plain hosted the Battle of Arsuf, one of Richard the Lionheart's most famous victories, when the Crusader army broke Saladin's harassing cavalry in a disciplined charge. The town remained in Frankish hands until 1265, when the Mamluk sultan Baybars besieged and destroyed it. The concentric castle with its rounded towers, harbour, and town walls is now an Israeli national park.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Arsuf, Israel", "latitude": 32.195465, "longitude": 34.80756, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Arsuf", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsuf", "wikidata_id": "Q1024886", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 19)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "yes", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%90%D7%A8%D7%A1%D7%95%D7%A3", "image_filename": "Arsuf.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=arsuf-apollonia", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/arsuf-apollonia/" }, { "id": "site/ascalon", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Ascalon", "alternative_names": [ "Asqalan", "Ascalon", "Ashkelon" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Walled town / citadel", "historical_category": "Settlement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Ascalon was the last Fatimid foothold on the Palestinian coast and for fifty years after the First Crusade it remained a thorn in the kingdom's side — raiding parties from Ascalon reached the gates of Jerusalem. King Baldwin III finally captured it in 1153 after a long siege. Saladin retook it in 1187; Richard the Lionheart refortified it in 1192 with at least fourteen towers. Today a great horseshoe of Crusader and earlier walls survives in Tel Ashkelon National Park.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Ashkelon, Israel", "latitude": 31.66194, "longitude": 34.54611, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Jaffa and Ascalon", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashkelon", "wikidata_id": "Q60956", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 20)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "yes", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%90%D7%A9%D7%A7%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%9F", "image_filename": "71-7100-100_-_תל_אשקלון_-_שרידי_כנסיית_סנטה_מריה_וירידיס_-_לריסה_סקלאר_גילר_(3).jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=ascalon", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/ascalon/" }, { "id": "site/caesarea-maritima", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Caesarea Maritima", "alternative_names": [ "Qaisariya", "Caesarea, Cesaire" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Walled town / citadel", "historical_category": "Settlement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Caesarea Maritima, the great Roman and Byzantine port, became one of the most heavily fortified Crusader cities after Baldwin I took it in 1101. The walls visible today — a near-complete circuit of curtain, towers and a dry moat — were built by King Louis IX of France in 1251-2 during his stay in the Holy Land. The city, its harbour, and its Frankish cathedral survived until the Mamluks systematically demolished the coastal defences in 1265. Caesarea is now one of Israel's most visited archaeological parks.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Caesarea, Israel", "latitude": 32.5001, "longitude": 34.8914, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Caesarea", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesarea_Maritima", "wikidata_id": "Q319242", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 42)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "yes", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A7%D7%99%D7%A1%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%94", "image_filename": "96364_caesarea_national_park_PikiWiki_Israel.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=caesarea-maritima", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/caesarea-maritima/" }, { "id": "site/jaffa", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Jaffa", "alternative_names": [ "Joppa, Yafa", "Jaffa, Japhe, Joppe", "Yafo" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Walled town / citadel", "historical_category": "Settlement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Jaffa was the main port of entry for pilgrims and Crusaders throughout the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. It changed hands repeatedly: Richard the Lionheart defended it personally against Saladin in 1192, famously wading ashore at the head of a small force. Frederick II rebuilt its walls in 1228, and Louis IX strengthened them again in 1252. Little of the medieval city survives above ground, but its walled citadel hill and the faubourg below it shaped the topography of modern Old Jaffa.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Jaffa, Israel", "latitude": 32.05478, "longitude": 34.75208, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Jaffa and Ascalon", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaffa", "wikidata_id": "Q180294", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 51)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "yes", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%99%D7%A4%D7%95", "image_filename": "jaffa crusader wall.png", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=jaffa", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/jaffa/" }, { "id": "site/jerusalem-citadel-tower-of-david", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Jerusalem — Citadel (Tower of David)", "alternative_names": [ "Jerusalem", "Ierosolima", "Yerushalayim", "David's Tower", "Tower of David", "al-Quds ash-Sharif" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Walled town / citadel", "historical_category": "Settlement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "The Citadel next to the Jaffa Gate was the residence of the Crusader kings of Jerusalem from 1099 until 1187 and again briefly from 1229 to 1244. Built around a gigantic Herodian-period tower known today as the Tower of David, the Crusader castle straddled the city wall and commanded the western approach to Jerusalem. Much of its medieval masonry, gatehouses and moats is still visible inside the Tower of David Museum.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Tower of David, Jerusalem", "latitude": 31.77611, "longitude": 35.22778, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Jerusalem", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_David", "wikidata_id": "Q1177765", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 51-55)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%92%D7%93%D7%9C_%D7%93%D7%95%D7%93", "image_filename": "Jerusalem_Citadel_manuscript.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=jerusalem-citadel-tower-of-david", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/jerusalem-citadel-tower-of-david/" }, { "id": "site/tancreds-tower", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Tancred's Tower", "alternative_names": [ "Qasr Jalud", "Tower of Goliath" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Walled town / citadel", "historical_category": "Settlement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "A massive polygonal tower at the northwest corner of Jerusalem's walls, built originally on Fatimid foundations and stormed by Tancred of Antioch in the 1099 siege — the episode from which the Crusaders took the tower's new name. Under Frankish rule it served as the principal anchor of the northern defences of the royal city, linked to the Citadel and the Tower of David. The Ayyubids partly dismantled it after 1219; Mamluks and Ottomans rebuilt over the ruins. Today only foundations survive, visible outside the Ottoman wall near the New Gate (locally 'Qasr Jalud'), with further remains beneath the adjacent Collège des Frères.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Old City, Jerusalem (NW corner of city wall)", "latitude": 31.7786, "longitude": 35.2261, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Jerusalem", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tancred%27s_Tower", "wikidata_id": "Q12408818", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "fragmentary", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%92%D7%93%D7%9C_%D7%98%D7%A0%D7%A7%D7%A8%D7%93", "image_filename": "Tancreds_Tower.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=tancreds-tower", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/tancreds-tower/" }, { "id": "site/tiberias", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Tiberias", "alternative_names": [ "Tabariya", "Tabarie, Tyberias", "Teverya" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Walled town / citadel", "historical_category": "Settlement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Tiberias was the capital of the Principality of Galilee and one of the great feudal seats of the Crusader kingdom. Count Raymond III of Tripoli held the city through his wife Eschiva, and it was the siege of Tiberias by Saladin in July 1187 that drew the Frankish army out to its destruction at the Horns of Hattin a few days later. Fragmentary remains of the medieval castle, city walls and a lakeside tower survive along the modern waterfront.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Tiberias, Israel", "latitude": 32.7903, "longitude": 35.5315, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Principality of Galilee", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiberias", "wikidata_id": "Q151920", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 101?)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%98%D7%91%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%94", "image_filename": "Gate_of_the_Crusader_Fortress_of_Tiberias_0838_(508238553).jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=tiberias", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/tiberias/" }, { "id": "site/aqua-bella", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Aqua Bella", "alternative_names": [ "Kh. 'Iqbala", "Ein Hemed", "'En Hemed" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "A beautifully preserved Crusader courtyard building in a spring-fed glade west of Jerusalem, now the heart of Ein Hemed National Park. It was most likely built as a Hospitaller estate and infirmary in the twelfth century, and its thick walls, arrow-slits, and vaulted halls made it easy to defend even though its primary function was agricultural. It is one of the best-surviving examples of a Crusader 'maison forte' (fortified manor) in the region.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Ein Hemed, Israel", "latitude": 31.79615, "longitude": 35.125973, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Jerusalem", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ein_Hemed", "wikidata_id": "Q2914966", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 12; 14)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Fortified status not definitive (recorded as 'probable').", "fortified_status": "probable", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A2%D7%99%D7%9F_%D7%97%D7%9E%D7%93", "image_filename": "Ein-Chemed-143- Aqua Bella.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=aqua-bella", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/aqua-bella/" }, { "id": "site/bait-itab", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Bait 'Itab", "alternative_names": [ "Bethaatap", "Beitatap", "Bethahatap", "Bayt 'Ittab", "Beit 'Attab" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "A striking fortified hall-house on a ridge in the Judean hills west of Jerusalem, built in the twelfth century as a small Frankish manor. A slit machicolation and a draw-bar protected the ground-floor entrance while vaulted rooms and a central courtyard served the lord's household. The ruins still crown the hilltop beside the modern village of Nes Harim.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Bayt 'Ittab, Israel", "latitude": 31.735, "longitude": 35.05306, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Jerusalem", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayt_Itab", "wikidata_id": "Q2904482", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 26)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%91%D7%99%D7%AA_%D7%A2%D7%99%D7%98%D7%90%D7%91", "image_filename": "Bait Itab Crusader fortress.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=bait-itab", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/bait-itab/" }, { "id": "site/bait-safafa", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Bait Safafa", "alternative_names": [ "Bethafava", "Bethsaphace" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "A massive twelfth-century tower once stood beside the old Jerusalem road at Beit Safafa, today a neighbourhood in southern Jerusalem. Its barrel-vaulted basement, cistern, internal stair, and upper floors housed a small Frankish garrison whose job was to keep the road to the capital safe. Only fragmentary remains survive.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Beit Safafa, Jerusalem", "latitude": 31.7484, "longitude": 35.2087, "coordinate_accuracy": "approximate", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Jerusalem", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beit_Safafa", "wikidata_id": "Q814904", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 29)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: uncertain; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Location is approximate. Coordinates flagged uncertain in source.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%91%D7%99%D7%AA%20%D7%A6%D7%A4%D7%90%D7%A4%D7%90", "image_filename": "BeitSafafaMay232023_04.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=bait-safafa", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/bait-safafa/" }, { "id": "site/baysan-beit-shean", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Baysan (Beit She'an)", "alternative_names": [ "Se Cr. Bethsan, Bessan, Betsan", "Bet She'an" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Beit She'an, one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the region, was a Frankish administrative centre in the twelfth century. A massive square tower some 17 metres across, built partly of reused Roman ashlar blocks, stood a few hundred metres from the great Roman theatre. It was incorporated into the later Ottoman 'Old Serail' and its Crusader core can still be traced in the old town.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Beit She'an, Israel", "latitude": 32.5, "longitude": 35.5, "coordinate_accuracy": "approximate", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Bethsan", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beit_She%27an", "wikidata_id": "Q152368", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 24)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: uncertain; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Location is approximate. Coordinates flagged uncertain in source.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%91%D7%99%D7%AA_%D7%A9%D7%90%D7%9F", "image_filename": "Beyt-Shean-old-city-Crusader tower.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=baysan-beit-shean", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/baysan-beit-shean/" }, { "id": "site/burj-misr", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Burj Misr", "alternative_names": [ "Horvat Mezad Abbirim" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "A very large square tower at Horvat Mezad Abbirim in Upper Galilee. Its exact date is debated — parts of it may actually be pre-Crusader — but it stood at the edge of the Frankish zone and was probably reused during the twelfth century as a watchtower.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Horvat Mezad Abbirim, Israel", "latitude": 33.045377, "longitude": 35.284999, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Montfort", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "", "wikidata_id": "", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 43)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Fortified status not definitive (recorded as 'uncertain').", "fortified_status": "uncertain", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "Burj_Misr.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=burj-misr", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/burj-misr/" }, { "id": "site/burj-al-ahmar-the-red-tower", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Burj al-Ahmar (The Red Tower)", "alternative_names": [ "Khirbat al-Burj al-'Atut", "The Red Tower", "Turris Latinae", "Turriclee", "Tourre-Rouge", "Turris Rubea", "H. Burgata" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "The 'Red Tower' was a Frankish hall-tower controlling a stretch of the coastal plain near modern Burgata. Rebuilt in stone in the twelfth century, it was held by the Templars, the Hospitallers, and at various times by secular lords. A tall standing wall and the foundations of a barrel-vaulted base still mark the site.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Burgata, Israel", "latitude": 32.32667, "longitude": 34.96222, "coordinate_accuracy": "approximate", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Caesarea", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burgata", "wikidata_id": "Q2916645", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 38)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: uncertain; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Location is approximate. Coordinates flagged uncertain in source.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%91%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%92%D7%AA%D7%90", "image_filename": "Hurvat-Burgata-07.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=burj-al-ahmar-the-red-tower", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/burj-al-ahmar-the-red-tower/" }, { "id": "site/burj-al-malih-tel-tanninim", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Burj al-Malih / Tel Tanninim", "alternative_names": [ "Tall al-Malat", "al-Malaha", "al-Mallitha", "Turris Salinarum", "Tel Tanninim" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Tel Tanninim — 'the mound of the crocodiles' — lies just north of Caesarea at the mouth of the Nahal Taninim stream. A small shore tower and an oval defensive enclosure with gates, cisterns, and vaults were maintained here, linked in the sources to the Hospitallers. Much of what survives is older Byzantine and Roman harbour fabric reused by the Franks.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Nahal Taninim, Israel", "latitude": 32.53861, "longitude": 34.90167, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Caesarea", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tel_Taninim", "wikidata_id": "Q6624788", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 38; 40)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%AA%D7%9C_%D7%AA%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%9D", "image_filename": "Burj_el_Maleh_general_view_at_the_top.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=burj-al-malih-tel-tanninim", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/burj-al-malih-tel-tanninim/" }, { "id": "site/dabburiya", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Dabburiya", "alternative_names": [ "Buria", "Burie", "Bures", "Dabereth" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "At the foot of Mount Tabor, Dabburiya was a small fortified village on the Tiberias road. A medieval tower, still visible incorporated into the modern mosque, probably preserves part of a Crusader strongpoint undermined during Saladin's campaign of 1182.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Daburiyya, Israel", "latitude": 32.69194, "longitude": 35.37167, "coordinate_accuracy": "approximate", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Principality of Galilee", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daburiyya", "wikidata_id": "Q2915531", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 45)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: uncertain; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Location is approximate. Coordinates flagged uncertain in source. Fortified status not definitive (recorded as 'probable').", "fortified_status": "probable", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%93%D7%91%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%99%D7%94", "image_filename": "Daburiyya_Mount_Tabor_200704.JPG", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=dabburiya", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/dabburiya/" }, { "id": "site/kafr-lam-habonim", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Kafr Lam (Habonim)", "alternative_names": [ "e-em Kafr Lab", "Cafarlet, Capharleth, Kafarletum, Hebr" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "An early Islamic fort of trapezoidal plan on the Mediterranean coast, reused by the Crusaders as a small fortified estate. Its four solid cylindrical corner turrets and external buttresses are strikingly well-preserved and date mostly to the Abbasid period, but the building remained in use right through the Frankish twelfth century.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Kafr Lam, Israel", "latitude": 32.637431, "longitude": 34.934653, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Caesarea", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kafr_Lam", "wikidata_id": "Q6346183", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 58)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9B%D7%A4%D7%A8%20%D7%9C%D7%90%D7%9D", "image_filename": "Cafarlet_panorama.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=kafr-lam-habonim", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/kafr-lam-habonim/" }, { "id": "site/khirbat-madd-ad-dair-maabarot", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Khirbat Madd ad-Dair (Ma'abarot)", "alternative_names": [ "Casale Latinae", "casale quod fuit Eustachii", "Montdidier", "Mondisder", "Mons Dederi", "Kibbutz Ma'barot", "Hafita" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "A Frankish village estate linked to the abbey of St Mary Latin in Jerusalem and later to the Hospitallers and Templars. A tower with a twin barrel-vaulted basement once stood at the site, which today lies within the fields of Kibbutz Ma'abarot in the Sharon plain.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Ma'abarot, Israel", "latitude": 32.36208, "longitude": 34.90512, "coordinate_accuracy": "approximate", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Caesarea", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma%27abarot", "wikidata_id": "Q2288374", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 66)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: uncertain; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Location is approximate. Coordinates flagged uncertain in source.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%A2%D7%91%D7%A8%D7%94", "image_filename": "", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=khirbat-madd-ad-dair-maabarot", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/khirbat-madd-ad-dair-maabarot/" }, { "id": "site/khirbat-manawat-horbat-manot", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Khirbat Manawat (Horbat Manot)", "alternative_names": [ "Kh. Baubriya", "Manueth", "H. Manot", "Horbat Manot" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "A Crusader-period sugar-production complex with an attached courtyard building and tower, acquired by the Hospitallers in the thirteenth century. Sugar was one of the kingdom's most profitable industries, and sites like Manawat were essentially fortified agricultural factories run by the military orders. The ruins are now in Horbat Manot in western Galilee.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Horbat Manot, Israel", "latitude": 33.03958, "longitude": 35.15024, "coordinate_accuracy": "approximate", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Acre", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manot", "wikidata_id": "Q6751457", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 68)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: uncertain; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Location is approximate. Coordinates flagged uncertain in source.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%97%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%91%D7%AA_%D7%9E%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%AA", "image_filename": "Hurvat-Manot-17.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=khirbat-manawat-horbat-manot", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/khirbat-manawat-horbat-manot/" }, { "id": "site/khirbat-rushmiya-francheville", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Khirbat Rushmiya (Francheville)", "alternative_names": [ "Francheville (2)", "Riishmiya", "H. Roshi Maya", "Rosh Maya", "Haifa-Romena" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "A rectangular Frankish tower, probably a small manor, on the western slope of Mount Carmel above Haifa. Known in the sources as 'Francheville', a name that hints at a privileged Frankish settler community. Substantial basement and wall remains survive today in the Romema neighbourhood of Haifa.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Rosh Maya, Haifa, Israel", "latitude": 32.7894, "longitude": 34.9991, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Haifa", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khirbat_Rushmiya", "wikidata_id": "Q2899850", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 88)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%91%D7%A6%D7%A8_%D7%A8%D7%90%D7%A9_%D7%9E%D7%99%D7%94", "image_filename": "Rosh_Mia_castle.JPG", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=khirbat-rushmiya-francheville", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/khirbat-rushmiya-francheville/" }, { "id": "site/kurdani-ein-afek-mills", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Kurdani (Ein Afek Mills)", "alternative_names": [ "Doc", "Recordane", "Ein Afek", "Kurdane" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Kurdani — known as Doc or Recordane in the Crusader sources — was an important milling and sugar-production complex on the Na'aman River a few kilometres east of Acre. Water-powered mills ground flour and processed sugar cane for the kingdom's economy. The site was also the scene of a sharp engagement during Saladin's campaign around Acre in 1189. Substantial remains of dams, water channels, and vaulted mill buildings survive today in the Ein Afek Nature Reserve.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Na'aman River, near Acre, Israel", "latitude": 32.846072, "longitude": 35.111969, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Acre", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recordane", "wikidata_id": "Q2910426", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A9%D7%9E%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%AA_%D7%A2%D7%99%D7%9F_%D7%90%D7%A4%D7%A7", "image_filename": "Kurdani_Ein_Afek.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=kurdani-ein-afek-mills", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/kurdani-ein-afek-mills/" }, { "id": "site/le-destroit", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Le Destroit", "alternative_names": [ "Casel Destretz", "le Destrott", "Destrictium", "Petra Inctsa", "Le Destroit", "H. Qarta" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Le Destroit — 'the narrow place' — was a small Templar road-station castle just south of Atlit, guarding the coast road where it squeezes between the sea and a sandstone ridge. Built in the twelfth century, it included rock-cut stables, reservoirs and a tower on a battered base. It was deliberately slighted in 1220 when the Templars moved their operations to the much larger castle at Atlit.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Le Destroit, Israel", "latitude": 32.707778, "longitude": 34.946111, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Caesarea", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Destroit", "wikidata_id": "Q1809843", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 46)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%91%D7%A6%D7%A8%20%D7%93%D7%98%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%90", "image_filename": "Atlit-57-Le-Destroit-ne.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=le-destroit", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/le-destroit/" }, { "id": "site/minat-al-qala-castel-brouar", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Minat al-Qal'a (Castel Brouar)", "alternative_names": [ "Castellum Beroart", "Castel Brouar", "Mahiz Azdiid", "H. Ashdod Yam", "Ashdod-Yam" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Ashdod-Yam ('Ashdod-on-the-Sea') began life as an Abbasid coastal fort with solid rounded corner turrets, and was reoccupied and modestly rebuilt by the Crusaders as a small defended anchorage. The well-preserved walls and turrets are now a public heritage site on the Ashdod beach.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Ashdod-Yam, Israel", "latitude": 31.78028, "longitude": 34.62222, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Jaffa and Ascalon", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashdod-Yam", "wikidata_id": "Q1068119", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 71)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value. Fortified status not definitive (recorded as 'probable').", "fortified_status": "probable", "visible_remains": "partial", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%90%D7%A9%D7%93%D7%95%D7%93_%D7%99%D7%9D", "image_filename": "ashdod yam fortress.JPG", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=minat-al-qala-castel-brouar", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/minat-al-qala-castel-brouar/" }, { "id": "site/mount-berenice", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Mount Berenice", "alternative_names": [ "Berniki Hill", "Mount Berniki", "Har Berenice" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Mount Berenice — the steep hill immediately above the hot springs at the south end of Tiberias — has been fortified since antiquity. In the Crusader period a small fortification occupied the summit, commanding views over the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan Valley approaches. The hill is named after the Herodian princess Berenice, and archaeological work has uncovered Roman, Byzantine, and Crusader-period remains including a church and ancillary structures. The site is now a partially excavated archaeological park.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Tiberias, Israel", "latitude": 32.77556, "longitude": 35.53944, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Principality of Galilee", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiberias", "wikidata_id": "Q151920", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%94%D7%A8_%D7%91%D7%A8%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%A7%D7%99", "image_filename": "Har_Berenice_(2).jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=mount-berenice", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/mount-berenice/" }, { "id": "site/qula", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "QULA", "alternative_names": [], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "A Hospitaller estate in the coastal plain acquired in 1181 and devoted mainly to sugar production. The main surviving building is the barrel-vaulted base of a tower some 17 metres across, with an attached long vaulted structure that probably formed part of the sugar factory.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Qula, Israel", "latitude": 32.0375, "longitude": 34.95556, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Jaffa and Ascalon", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qula", "wikidata_id": "Q1107567", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 86)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A7%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%94%20%28%D7%99%D7%99%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%91%29", "image_filename": "Qula-ruins-776.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=qula", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/qula/" }, { "id": "site/qalansuwa", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Qalansuwa", "alternative_names": [ "Calanson", "Calansue", "Calanzon", "Kalensue" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "A Hospitaller estate centre in the coastal plain. The medieval complex in the village centre included a tower, a substantial first-floor hall over a vaulted basement, and additional vaulted ranges around a cistern. The Hospitallers held the village until it was lost to the Mamluks around 1265.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Qalansawe, Israel", "latitude": 32.285, "longitude": 34.981111, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Caesarea", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qalansawe", "wikidata_id": "Q168152", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 73)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A7%D7%9C%D7%A0%D7%A1%D7%95%D7%95%D7%94", "image_filename": "Qalansuwa-502.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=qalansuwa", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/qalansuwa/" }, { "id": "site/rantiya", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Rantiya", "alternative_names": [ "Rentie", "Rantia", "Rentia", "Nofekh" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "A Hospitaller village estate producing revenue for the order from 1166 onwards, with a vaulted building inside an outer wall. The site is today partly overlain by modern Rantiya in central Israel.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Rantiya, Israel", "latitude": 32.044444, "longitude": 34.921389, "coordinate_accuracy": "approximate", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Jaffa and Ascalon", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rantiya", "wikidata_id": "Q7293549", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 88)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: uncertain; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Location is approximate. Coordinates flagged uncertain in source.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A8%D7%A0%D7%AA%D7%99%D7%94", "image_filename": "Historical_map_series_for_the_area_of_Rantiya_(1870s).jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=rantiya", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/rantiya/" }, { "id": "site/saffuriya-sepphoris", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Saffuriya (Sepphoris)", "alternative_names": [ "Sepphoris", "le Saforie, Sephoris" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Saffuriya — ancient Sepphoris — had a heavy square Crusader tower built of reused Roman masonry, including sarcophagus blocks. The site is famous for a different reason: it is where the Crusader army mustered under Guy of Lusignan in July 1187 before marching east to catastrophic defeat at the Horns of Hattin. The tower, much modified in the Ottoman period, still stands within Tzipori National Park. A Crusader-period church dedicated to St Anne, believed to mark the home of Mary's parents Joachim and Anne, also stood at Sepphoris and is partially visible in the archaeological park.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Sepphoris, Israel", "latitude": 32.75322, "longitude": 35.27919, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Principality of Galilee", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sepphoris", "wikidata_id": "Q1132798", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 88)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A6%D7%99%D7%A4%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%99", "image_filename": "CrusaderFortressTzippori.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=saffuriya-sepphoris", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/saffuriya-sepphoris/" }, { "id": "site/summail-khirbet-sumail", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Summail (Khirbet Sumail)", "alternative_names": [ "Summil", "Summayl", "Khirbet Sumail", "סומייל אל-ח'ליל", "Bir Summail" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "A Crusader castle built by the Hospitallers in 1168 to protect the fortress at Bayt Jibrin. Pringle records remains of a medieval castle in the village, consisting of a central tower enclosed by a roughly square enceinte (over 30 m east–west) with talus and square corner towers. The principal surviving element is the north enclosure wall, which stands to a height of over 8 m and is over 30 m long and 1.5 m thick. A medieval masonry well (Bir Summail) lies to the south. The village was depopulated in 1948; the castle ruins remain standing in the landscape.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Summil (depopulated), near Be'er Tuvia, Israel", "latitude": 31.66556, "longitude": 34.79528, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Jaffa and Ascalon", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summil", "wikidata_id": "Q4118731", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 97)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A1%D7%95%D7%9E%D7%99%D7%99%D7%9C%20%D7%90%D7%9C-%D7%97%27%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9C", "image_filename": "Khirbet_Sumail.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=summail-khirbet-sumail", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/summail-khirbet-sumail/" }, { "id": "site/tel-hannaton", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Tel Hannaton", "alternative_names": [ "Tal Badawiye", "Hanaton", "Hinnatuna" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Only the basement of a small Crusader tower survives on Tel Hannaton, a mound in the Lower Galilee. Modest in scale, the tower was part of the network of rural Frankish strongpoints that dotted the Galilean countryside in the twelfth century.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Tel Hanaton, Israel", "latitude": 32.78556, "longitude": 35.25694, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Acre", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tel_Hanaton", "wikidata_id": "Q2900275", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 24 (online citation to Pringle))", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Fortified status not definitive (recorded as 'probable').", "fortified_status": "probable", "visible_remains": "partial", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%AA%D7%9C_%D7%97%D7%A0%D7%AA%D7%95%D7%9F", "image_filename": "Tel_Hannaton.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=tel-hannaton", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/tel-hannaton/" }, { "id": "site/tower-of-flies-acre", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Tower of Flies (Acre)", "alternative_names": [ "Turris Muscarum", "Migdal Zvuvim" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Medieval tower on a rocky islet at the end of the southern breakwater of the port of Acre, forming the seaward anchor of the harbour chain that closed off the Crusader harbour. First documented in the 12th century and named for a pre-Crusader shrine (Baal-zebub, 'lord of flies'). Destroyed and rebuilt repeatedly; submerged foundations survive and are visible above the waterline at low tide.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Port of Acre (offshore breakwater)", "latitude": 32.91861, "longitude": 35.07222, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Acre", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "", "wikidata_id": "", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "fragmentary", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "Island_of_the_flies,_Akko,_Israel_02.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=tower-of-flies-acre", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/tower-of-flies-acre/" }, { "id": "site/umm-khalid-netanya", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Umm Khalid (Netanya)", "alternative_names": [ "Mukhalid", "Castellare Rogerii Longobardi", "Castellum Rogerii Langobardi", "Nathanya", "Netanya" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "A Frankish courtyard building at the site of modern Netanya's old core. Documented in 1135, it was a small manor with barrel-vaulted ranges and a projecting turret at one corner. Most of the structure was destroyed in 1948 and only fragmentary walls survive in the Umm Khalid neighbourhood.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Umm Khalid, Netanya, Israel", "latitude": 32.32917, "longitude": 34.86528, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Caesarea", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umm_Khalid", "wikidata_id": "Q2911505", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 104)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Fortified status not definitive (recorded as 'probable').", "fortified_status": "probable", "visible_remains": "fragmentary", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%90%D7%95%D7%9D_%D7%97%27%D7%90%D7%9C%D7%93", "image_filename": "Umm_Khalid.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=umm-khalid-netanya", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/umm-khalid-netanya/" }, { "id": "site/al-affula-afula", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "al-'Affula (Afula)", "alternative_names": [ "Afula" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "A fortified tower roughly 19 metres square once stood on the low rise at the centre of modern Afula, guarding the fertile Jezreel Valley between the hills of Galilee and Samaria. The tower belonged to the network of small Frankish strongpoints that policed the valley roads rather than any single great lordship.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Afula, Israel", "latitude": 32.6057, "longitude": 35.29, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Principality of Galilee", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afula", "wikidata_id": "Q152462", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 16)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A2%D7%A4%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%94", "image_filename": "מבצר_עפולה.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=al-affula-afula", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/al-affula-afula/" }, { "id": "site/basilica-of-the-annunciation-nazareth", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Basilica of the Annunciation, Nazareth", "alternative_names": [ "Basilica of the Annunciation", "Nazareth Cathedral" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Church or religious site", "historical_category": "Religious site", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Nazareth fell to Tancred in 1102 and was elevated to an archbishopric, and a first Crusader church was built over the Byzantine ruins above the traditional grotto of the Annunciation. Under Archbishop Letard II in the 1170s the Franks began an ambitious second basilica that aimed to rival anything being built in contemporary France. Work stopped abruptly when the kingdom collapsed at Hattin in 1187. Excavations in 1909 uncovered five carved Romanesque capitals — never installed — depicting scenes from the lives of the apostles with a quality that places them among the masterpieces of twelfth-century European sculpture; they are today on display at the modern basilica. Mamluk sultan Baybars razed the surviving Crusader structure in 1263; the site was rebuilt by the Franciscans in the eighteenth century and again as the present basilica in 1969.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Old City of Nazareth, Israel", "latitude": 32.70222, "longitude": 35.29778, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Principality of Galilee", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_the_Annunciation", "wikidata_id": "Q130815", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%91%D7%96%D7%99%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%A7%D7%AA_%D7%94%D7%91%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%94", "image_filename": "Nazareth_Verkündigungbasilika_Church_of_Annunciation_(34257296024).jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=basilica-of-the-annunciation-nazareth", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/basilica-of-the-annunciation-nazareth/" }, { "id": "site/cathedral-of-st-john-ramla", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Cathedral of St. John, Ramla", "alternative_names": [ "Cathedral of St. John the Baptist", "Great Mosque of Ramla", "al-Jami' al-Kabir" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Church or religious site", "historical_category": "Religious site", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "The Crusader Cathedral of St. John the Baptist was the principal Latin church of Ramla, built in the mid-twelfth century as a three-aisled basilica with pointed arches and cross-vaults in the mature Crusader Romanesque style. After the Muslim reconquest the building was converted into the Great Mosque of Ramla, a function it still serves today. Substantial elements of the Crusader structure — the nave arcades, the vaults, and carved capitals — remain visible inside the mosque.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Ramla, Israel", "latitude": 31.92502, "longitude": 34.87506, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Jaffa and Ascalon", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Mosque,_Ramla", "wikidata_id": "Q2786561", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%94%D7%9E%D7%A1%D7%92%D7%93_%D7%94%D7%9C%D7%91%D7%9F_%28%D7%A8%D7%9E%D7%9C%D7%94%29", "image_filename": "Ramla-704.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=cathedral-of-st-john-ramla", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/cathedral-of-st-john-ramla/" }, { "id": "site/cathedral-of-the-holy-cross-acre", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Acre", "alternative_names": [ "Cathedral of Acre", "Sainte-Croix d'Acre" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Church or religious site", "historical_category": "Religious site", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "After Saladin took Jerusalem in 1187 the Latin Patriarchate moved north to Acre, and the Cathedral of the Holy Cross — rebuilt around the recovered city after 1191 — became the principal cathedral of what historians call the 'Second Kingdom of Jerusalem'. The cathedral stood next to the great Hospitaller commandery of Saint-Jean-d'Acre and was the seat of the Latin Patriarch from 1191 until the city's fall. When Sultan al-Ashraf Khalil's Mamluks took Acre in 1291 the cathedral was systematically demolished along with the rest of the city's ecclesiastical infrastructure. The site was eventually built over by the Ottoman governor al-Jazzar in 1781 with the great mosque that today bears his name; fragments of the Crusader cathedral are still visible incorporated into the foundations.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Old City of Acre, near El-Jazzar Mosque", "latitude": 32.9234, "longitude": 35.0707, "coordinate_accuracy": "approximate", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Acre", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_the_Holy_Cross,_Acre", "wikidata_id": "Q136433661", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: uncertain; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Location is approximate. Coordinates flagged uncertain in source.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "fragmentary", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=cathedral-of-the-holy-cross-acre", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/cathedral-of-the-holy-cross-acre/" }, { "id": "site/chapel-of-the-ascension-jerusalem", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Chapel of the Ascension (Jerusalem)", "alternative_names": [], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Church or religious site", "historical_category": "Religious site", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Rebuilt by the Crusaders around 1150 on the summit of the Mount of Olives at the traditional site of Christ's ascension. Saladin's armies took the hill in 1187 and converted the complex into a mosque, but the Crusader-built octagonal shrine (the edicule) survives intact — it still houses the 'Ascension Rock' and today serves as an Islamic shrine shared for Christian pilgrimage.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Chapel of the Ascension (Jerusalem)", "latitude": 31.7789, "longitude": 35.24505, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Jerusalem", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapel_of_the_Ascension,_Jerusalem", "wikidata_id": "Q773726", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9B%D7%A0%D7%A1%D7%99%D7%99%D7%AA_%D7%94%D7%A2%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%99%D7%94", "image_filename": "Chapel_of_the_Ascension_Jerusalem.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=chapel-of-the-ascension-jerusalem", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/chapel-of-the-ascension-jerusalem/" }, { "id": "site/church-of-saint-george-lod-lydda", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Church of Saint George (Lod / Lydda)", "alternative_names": [], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Church or religious site", "historical_category": "Religious site", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Grand 12th-century Crusader church over the symbolic tomb of Saint George at Lydda, a major pilgrimage site and the seat of the Bishop of Lydda. Razed by Saladin's armies in 1191; a Mamluk mosque was raised over the ruins in 1268, and a Greek Orthodox church was rebuilt on the eastern end of the Crusader nave and northern aisle in the 19th century, sharing the site with the mosque.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Church of Saint George (Lod / Lydda)", "latitude": 31.953, "longitude": 34.89949, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Jaffa and Ascalon", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Saint_George,_Lod", "wikidata_id": "Q2318440", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9B%D7%A0%D7%A1%D7%99%D7%99%D7%AA_%D7%92%D7%90%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%92%D7%99%D7%95%D7%A1_%D7%94%D7%A7%D7%93%D7%95%D7%A9_%D7%A7%D7%95%D7%98%D7%9C_%D7%94%D7%93%D7%A8%D7%A7%D7%95%D7%9F", "image_filename": "Church_of_Saint_George_Lod.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=church-of-saint-george-lod-lydda", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/church-of-saint-george-lod-lydda/" }, { "id": "site/church-of-saint-john-the-baptist-ein-karem", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Church of Saint John the Baptist, Ein Karem", "alternative_names": [ "Ein Karem Church of St John", "Birthplace of John the Baptist" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Church or religious site", "historical_category": "Religious site", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Tradition identified the village of Ein Karem in the Judean hills west of Jerusalem as the birthplace of John the Baptist. Russian abbot Daniel, who visited the Holy Land in 1106, described a 'small cavern' there where John was born. The Crusaders built a vaulted three-apse Romanesque church directly over the grotto in the twelfth century. After 1187 the building was abandoned by the Christian community and used as a stable; in the seventeenth century the Franciscans regained the site and rebuilt the upper church around the surviving Crusader vaults and the grotto, which is still the focus of worship today.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Ein Karem, west Jerusalem", "latitude": 31.76806, "longitude": 35.16306, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Jerusalem", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Saint_John_the_Baptist,_Ein_Karem", "wikidata_id": "Q966308", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9B%D7%A0%D7%A1%D7%99%D7%99%D7%AA_%D7%99%D7%95%D7%97%D7%A0%D7%9F_%D7%91%D7%94%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%9D", "image_filename": "Church_of_John_the_Baptist,_Ein_Kerem.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=church-of-saint-john-the-baptist-ein-karem", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/church-of-saint-john-the-baptist-ein-karem/" }, { "id": "site/church-of-saint-mary-of-the-germans-jerusalem", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Church of Saint Mary of the Germans (Jerusalem)", "alternative_names": [], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Church or religious site", "historical_category": "Religious site", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Romanesque church built in 1128 in the Jewish Quarter of Crusader Jerusalem as part of a larger German pilgrimage complex that included a hospital and hostel for German-speaking pilgrims. Partly destroyed in the 13th century during the Ayyubid recapture of Jerusalem; its ruins were rediscovered in 1968 during post-1967 archaeological work and are now preserved as an open-air monument.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Church of Saint Mary of the Germans (Jerusalem)", "latitude": 31.7756, "longitude": 35.233, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Jerusalem", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Saint_Mary_of_the_Germans", "wikidata_id": "Q1445362", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9B%D7%A0%D7%A1%D7%99%D7%99%D7%AA_%D7%9E%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%9D_%D7%A9%D7%9C_%D7%94%D7%92%D7%A8%D7%9E%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%9D", "image_filename": "St_Mary_of_the_Germans_Jerusalem.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=church-of-saint-mary-of-the-germans-jerusalem", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/church-of-saint-mary-of-the-germans-jerusalem/" }, { "id": "site/church-of-the-holy-sepulchre", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Church of the Holy Sepulchre", "alternative_names": [ "Church of the Resurrection", "Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre", "Ecclesia Sancti Sepulchri" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Church or religious site", "historical_category": "Religious site", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "The Church of the Holy Sepulchre — the holiest site in Christianity — was the spiritual heart of the Crusader kingdom. The church standing today is largely the Crusader building consecrated on 15 July 1149, the fiftieth anniversary of the capture of Jerusalem. The Crusaders unified the separate Byzantine chapels into a single Romanesque cathedral with a grand entrance facade, a bell tower, a dome over the rotunda, and a choir above the crypt of St Helena. It was here that the kings of Jerusalem were crowned and buried. The building remains in continuous use and is shared by six Christian denominations.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Christian Quarter, Old City of Jerusalem", "latitude": 31.77833, "longitude": 35.22972, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Jerusalem", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Holy_Sepulchre", "wikidata_id": "Q187702", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9B%D7%A0%D7%A1%D7%99%D7%99%D7%AA_%D7%94%D7%A7%D7%91%D7%A8", "image_filename": "Jerusalem_Holy_Sepulchre_BW_19.JPG", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=church-of-the-holy-sepulchre", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/church-of-the-holy-sepulchre/" }, { "id": "site/crusader-church-of-caesarea-maritima", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Crusader Church of Caesarea Maritima", "alternative_names": [], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Church or religious site", "historical_category": "Religious site", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Three-apsed Romanesque church built in twelfth-century Crusader Caesarea. Louis IX of France, who spent four years in the Holy Land after his defeat in Egypt, heavily refortified the town's walls in 1251–1252. In 1265 the town and church fell to the Mamluk sultan Baibars, who razed the city so thoroughly — tearing down its harbour, walls and churches — that no Frankish re-occupation would ever be possible. The church's apsidal foundations, partly excavated, still stand within the Israeli national park.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Crusader Church of Caesarea Maritima", "latitude": 32.5015, "longitude": 34.8928, "coordinate_accuracy": "approximate", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Caesarea", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesarea_Maritima", "wikidata_id": "Q319242", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: uncertain; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Location is approximate. Coordinates flagged uncertain in source.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A7%D7%99%D7%A1%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%94", "image_filename": "Crusader_Church_Caesarea_Maritima.JPG", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=crusader-church-of-caesarea-maritima", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/crusader-church-of-caesarea-maritima/" }, { "id": "site/crusader-church-abu-ghosh", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Crusader Church, Abu Ghosh", "alternative_names": [ "Church of the Resurrection", "Hospitaller Church of Abu Ghosh", "Kiryat Ye'arim Church" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Church or religious site", "historical_category": "Religious site", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "The Crusader church at Abu Ghosh was built around 1141 by the Knights Hospitaller over a natural spring, which feeds a cistern in the crypt. The village was identified in the twelfth century with the biblical Emmaus, the place where the risen Christ appeared to two disciples. The church preserves remarkable twelfth-century frescoes in the apse and crypt, making it one of the most important surviving examples of Crusader religious art. It is now maintained by French Benedictine monks and is open to the public.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Abu Ghosh, Israel", "latitude": 31.8074, "longitude": 35.1075, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Jerusalem", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Ghosh", "wikidata_id": "Q335023", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%90%D7%91%D7%95_%D7%92%D7%95%D7%A9", "image_filename": "Resurrection_Church_Abu_Ghosh.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=crusader-church-abu-ghosh", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/crusader-church-abu-ghosh/" }, { "id": "site/emmaus-nicopolis", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Emmaus Nicopolis", "alternative_names": [ "Amwas", "Imwas", "Emmaus", "Nicopolis" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Church or religious site", "historical_category": "Religious site", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Emmaus Nicopolis, in the Ayalon Valley near Latrun, was one of the traditional sites for the New Testament Emmaus. The Crusaders built a church here in the twelfth century on the ruins of a large Byzantine basilica, reusing Roman and earlier masonry. The remains of both the Crusader and Byzantine churches are preserved in an open-air archaeological park run by a small community near Canada Park.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Ayalon Valley, near Latrun, Israel", "latitude": 31.83917, "longitude": 34.98944, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Jaffa and Ascalon", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmaus_Nicopolis", "wikidata_id": "Q165887", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A2%D7%9E%D7%95%D7%90%D7%A1", "image_filename": "Emmaus_Nicopolis_basilica.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=emmaus-nicopolis", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/emmaus-nicopolis/" }, { "id": "site/hospitaller-church-of-saint-john-acre", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Hospitaller Church of Saint John, Acre", "alternative_names": [ "Saint-Jean-d'Acre", "Hospitaller Commandery of Acre" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Church or religious site", "historical_category": "Religious site", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "The Knights Hospitaller's principal commandery in Acre — the international headquarters of the order from 1191 until the city's fall in 1291 — included a three-aisled Romanesque church of Saint John the Baptist, a vast vaulted refectory, a knights' hall, infirmary wards, and a hospital that could accommodate more than a thousand beds. Excavations beneath the Ottoman citadel have uncovered six parallel vaulted halls with early-Gothic ribs, the dining hall with its marble columns, the underground sewer network, and the church's foundations. The complex is today an archaeological site within the UNESCO-listed Old City of Acre, accessible to visitors as the Hospitaller Halls.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Old City of Acre, beneath the Citadel", "latitude": 32.923469, "longitude": 35.069336, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Acre", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St_John_the_Baptist_(Hospitaller,_Acre)", "wikidata_id": "Q66759693", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "Israel-05011_-_Crusader_City_(33371670384).jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=hospitaller-church-of-saint-john-acre", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/hospitaller-church-of-saint-john-acre/" }, { "id": "site/st-annes-church-jerusalem", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "St. Anne's Church, Jerusalem", "alternative_names": [ "Church of Saint Anne", "Basilica of Saint Anne", "Kanisat Sitt Hanne" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Church or religious site", "historical_category": "Religious site", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "St. Anne's Church is one of the best-preserved Crusader churches in the entire Holy Land. Built in the 1140s near the Pools of Bethesda and the Lion's Gate, it is a masterpiece of austere Romanesque architecture with superb acoustics. Tradition holds it as the birthplace of the Virgin Mary. After Saladin captured Jerusalem in 1187 he converted the church into a madrasa — the inscription above the door still reads — and it fell into disrepair until the Ottoman sultan gave it to France in 1856. Today it belongs to the White Fathers and is open to visitors.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Near Lion's Gate, Old City of Jerusalem", "latitude": 31.781358, "longitude": 35.236647, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Jerusalem", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Saint_Anne,_Jerusalem", "wikidata_id": "Q1551966", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9B%D7%A0%D7%A1%D7%99%D7%99%D7%AA_%D7%A1%D7%A0%D7%98_%D7%90%D7%A0%D7%94", "image_filename": "JerStAnna.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=st-annes-church-jerusalem", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/st-annes-church-jerusalem/" }, { "id": "site/templum-domini-dome-of-the-rock", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Templum Domini (Dome of the Rock)", "alternative_names": [ "Dome of the Rock", "Qubbat al-Sakhra", "Temple of the Lord" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Church or religious site", "historical_category": "Religious site", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "The seventh-century Umayyad Dome of the Rock was the most spectacular building in Jerusalem when the Crusaders captured the city in 1099. Believing — wrongly — that the structure was a remnant of the Temple of Solomon, the Franks Christianised it without demolishing it. They placed a great gilded cross atop the dome, fixed an altar to St Nicholas on the bare bedrock of the Foundation Stone (1162), and surrounded the rock with a decorative iron grille to prevent pilgrims from chipping it for relics. An Augustinian abbey of canons regular was established to the north to serve the new church, which was known as the Templum Domini. After Saladin retook Jerusalem in 1187 the modifications were undone, the cross was thrown down, and the building was reconsecrated as a mosque, but the iron grille and the Crusader-period mosaics in the drum survived for centuries.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Temple Mount, Old City of Jerusalem", "latitude": 31.778, "longitude": 35.2354, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Jerusalem", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dome_of_the_Rock", "wikidata_id": "Q172077", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9B%D7%99%D7%A4%D7%AA_%D7%94%D7%A1%D7%9C%D7%A2", "image_filename": "Jerusalem-2013(2)-Temple_Mount-Dome_of_the_Rock_(SE_exposure).jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=templum-domini-dome-of-the-rock", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/templum-domini-dome-of-the-rock/" }, { "id": "site/templum-salomonis-templar-headquarters", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Templum Salomonis (Templar Headquarters)", "alternative_names": [ "Templum Salomonis", "Al-Aqsa Mosque (Templar HQ)", "Solomon's Temple" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Church or religious site", "historical_category": "Religious site", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "The Crusaders identified the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the south end of the Temple Mount as the Templum Salomonis — Solomon's royal palace — and used it as the residence of the first two kings of Jerusalem, Baldwin I and Baldwin II. In 1118 Baldwin II moved the royal household to the Citadel by the Tower of David and granted the mosque to a small group of knights who had vowed to protect pilgrims on the road from Jaffa to Jerusalem. The new order took its name — the Knights of the Temple of Solomon, or Templars — from the building, and used it as their international headquarters for the next sixty-nine years. The Templars added houses, refectories, cellars and a new church wing of 'magnificent size and workmanship' along the outer court, and stabled their horses in the great Herodian-era subterranean vaults still known as Solomon's Stables. Saladin reconverted the complex to a mosque in 1187 and dismantled the Frankish additions, reusing some of the masonry for the nearby Dome of the Ascension.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Temple Mount, Old City of Jerusalem", "latitude": 31.77611, "longitude": 35.23583, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Jerusalem", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Aqsa_Mosque", "wikidata_id": "Q12192963", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%A1%D7%92%D7%93_%D7%90%D7%9C-%D7%90%D7%A7%D7%A6%D7%90", "image_filename": "Jerusalem-2013-Temple_Mount-Al-Aqsa_Mosque_(NE_exposure).jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=templum-salomonis-templar-headquarters", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/templum-salomonis-templar-headquarters/" }, { "id": "site/tomb-of-the-virgin-mary", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Tomb of the Virgin Mary", "alternative_names": [ "Church of the Sepulchre of Saint Mary", "Tomb of Mary" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Church or religious site", "historical_category": "Religious site", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Cut partly into the bedrock at the foot of the Mount of Olives, the Crusader Church of the Sepulchre of Saint Mary marks the traditional tomb of the Virgin. The Frankish builders in the twelfth century reshaped a fifth-century Byzantine martyrium into a cruciform church with a wide forty-eight-step descending staircase that survives almost intact today. Queen Melisende of Jerusalem was buried here in 1161 in a side chapel halfway down the stairs, and the church became the principal funerary site for the royal house. Because Mary is revered in Islam as the mother of the prophet Isa, the underground crypt and the Crusader staircase were left largely intact after Saladin's reconquest in 1187, and the building remains in continuous Christian use today, shared between the Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic communities.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Kidron Valley, Mount of Olives, Jerusalem", "latitude": 31.78013, "longitude": 35.2394, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Jerusalem", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_of_the_Virgin_Mary", "wikidata_id": "Q968028", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A7%D7%91%D7%A8_%D7%9E%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%9D", "image_filename": "Mary's_Tomb_Jerusalem.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=tomb-of-the-virgin-mary", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/tomb-of-the-virgin-mary/" }, { "id": "site/battle-of-ain-jalut-1260", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Battle of Ain Jalut (1260)", "alternative_names": [ "Ayn Jalut", "Spring of Goliath" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Battle (open-field engagement)", "historical_category": "Military engagement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "On 3 September 1260, the Mamluk sultan Qutuz and his commander Baybars met the Mongol army of Kitbuqa at the Spring of Goliath (Ayn Jalut) in the Jezreel Valley, a few hours' march from Crusader Acre. The Crusader barons in Acre had declared a calculated neutrality and granted the Mamluks safe passage and a market through their territory — a tacit acknowledgement that the Mongol threat outweighed the Muslim one. Baybars led the Mamluk vanguard in a feigned retreat that drew the Mongols into an ambush; in the brutal hand-to-hand fighting that followed Kitbuqa was killed and the Mongol army of Syria was destroyed as a fighting force. The victory permanently halted the westward expansion of the Mongol empire and made the Mamluk sultanate the uncontested hegemon of the Near East. For the Crusader states it was a death sentence: with no Mongol counterweight, Baybars and his successors would systematically reduce the remaining Frankish fortresses over the next thirty years.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Spring of Harod, Jezreel Valley", "latitude": 32.5506, "longitude": 35.3569, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Principality of Galilee", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ain_Jalut", "wikidata_id": "Q244356", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A7%D7%A8%D7%91_%D7%A2%D7%99%D7%9F_%D7%92%27%D7%90%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%AA", "image_filename": "Campaign_of_the_Battle_of_Ain_Jalut_1260.svg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=battle-of-ain-jalut-1260", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/battle-of-ain-jalut-1260/" }, { "id": "site/battle-of-al-sannabra-1113", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Battle of Al-Sannabra (1113)", "alternative_names": [ "Battle of al-Sinnabra" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Battle (open-field engagement)", "historical_category": "Military engagement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "On 28 June 1113, a Seljuk army from Mosul and Damascus under Mawdud and Toghtekin caught Baldwin I's forces by surprise near the al-Sinnabra bridge at the southern end of the Sea of Galilee. The Seljuks lured the Franks across the bridge with a feigned retreat — a textbook Turkish tactic — and then enveloped them. The Crusaders lost 1,000 to 2,000 men, including 30 knights, and Baldwin barely escaped, leaving his royal banner and tent in Seljuk hands. Recognising that he could not afford a second open battle, Baldwin adopted a Fabian strategy of sheltering behind his fortifications and harassing the invader's foraging parties. After weeks of unproductive raiding the Seljuk army withdrew, establishing a defensive doctrine that would shape Crusader responses to invasion for the next seventy years.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Al-Sinnabra bridge, south of the Sea of Galilee", "latitude": 32.7174, "longitude": 35.5698, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Principality of Galilee", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_al-Sannabra", "wikidata_id": "Q4525673", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=battle-of-al-sannabra-1113", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/battle-of-al-sannabra-1113/" }, { "id": "site/battle-of-arsuf-1191", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Battle of Arsuf (1191)", "alternative_names": [], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Battle (open-field engagement)", "historical_category": "Military engagement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "A masterclass in Crusader battlefield discipline. After recapturing Acre in July 1191, Richard the Lionheart began a cautious march south along the coast toward Jaffa, keeping the sea on his right and his army in tight formation. Saladin shadowed him inland, sending waves of mounted archers to provoke the Crusader cavalry into a premature charge. For days Richard's knights endured a rain of arrows without breaking ranks — an extraordinary feat of discipline. On 7 September, near the ruins of Arsuf, the Hospitallers at the rear could no longer hold and charged on their own initiative. Richard instantly committed the rest of the cavalry, turning the break in discipline into a devastating general charge that shattered Saladin's left wing. The victory did not destroy Saladin's army, but it broke the aura of invincibility he had carried since Hattin and reopened the coastal road to Jaffa.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Near Arsuf, Sharon Plain, Israel", "latitude": 32.2025, "longitude": 34.8125, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Arsuf", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Arsuf", "wikidata_id": "Q940026", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A7%D7%A8%D7%91_%D7%90%D7%A8%D7%A1%D7%95%D7%A3", "image_filename": "battle_Battle_of_Arsuf_1191.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=battle-of-arsuf-1191", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/battle-of-arsuf-1191/" }, { "id": "site/battle-of-ascalon-1099", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Battle of Ascalon (1099)", "alternative_names": [], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Battle (open-field engagement)", "historical_category": "Military engagement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Barely a month after taking Jerusalem, the Crusaders faced their first real counter-attack. The Fatimid vizier al-Afdal had assembled a large Egyptian relief army — chroniclers claim twenty thousand or more — and marched it up the coast to Ascalon to retake the Holy City. The Crusader leadership — Godfrey of Bouillon together with the two Roberts (of Normandy and Flanders) and Raymond of Toulouse — rode south with roughly twelve hundred knights and perhaps nine thousand infantry to meet the threat. On 12 August 1099 the Crusaders caught the Egyptian camp at dawn, scattering the Fatimid forces before they could form battle lines. Al-Afdal fled by sea; his army was destroyed. The victory secured the newborn kingdom's vulnerable southern flank and bought it years of breathing room — though Ascalon itself would not fall to the Crusaders until 1153.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Ashkelon, Israel", "latitude": 31.6619, "longitude": 34.5461, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Jaffa and Ascalon", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ascalon", "wikidata_id": "Q827472", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A7%D7%A8%D7%91_%D7%90%D7%A9%D7%A7%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%9F", "image_filename": "battle_Battle_of_Ascalon_1099.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=battle-of-ascalon-1099", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/battle-of-ascalon-1099/" }, { "id": "site/battle-of-belvoir-castle-1182", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Battle of Belvoir Castle (1182)", "alternative_names": [ "Belvoir 1182", "Battle of Forbelet" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Battle (open-field engagement)", "historical_category": "Military engagement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "On 15 July 1182, Baldwin IV — by now visibly disabled by leprosy and unable to ride without assistance — repulsed a major Saladin invasion at Belvoir Castle, on the bluff above the Jordan Valley. Commanding 700 knights and 9,000 infantry and Turcopoles, the king refused to be drawn into the open and held a tight defensive formation at the foot of the castle. The Ayyubid army inflicted heavy casualties on the Frankish infantry but could not break the knights, and after a day of inconclusive fighting Saladin withdrew. The engagement vindicated the Crusader doctrine of preserving the field army by refusing decisive open battle — the same principle that would be tragically discarded at Hattin five years later.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Belvoir Castle, Lower Galilee", "latitude": 32.5957, "longitude": 35.5191, "coordinate_accuracy": "approximate", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Principality of Galilee", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Belvoir_Castle", "wikidata_id": "Q1836863", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: uncertain; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Location is approximate. Coordinates flagged uncertain in source.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "Belvoir_fortress.JPG", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=battle-of-belvoir-castle-1182", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/battle-of-belvoir-castle-1182/" }, { "id": "site/battle-of-cresson-1187", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Battle of Cresson (1187)", "alternative_names": [ "Springs of Cresson", "Cresson" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Battle (open-field engagement)", "historical_category": "Military engagement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "On 1 May 1187, two months before the catastrophe at Hattin, a small Templar and Hospitaller force led by the Templar grand master Gerard of Ridefort intercepted a far larger Ayyubid raiding column near the Springs of Cresson, just outside Nazareth. Despite repeated warnings that the enemy outnumbered them ten to one, Gerard ordered an immediate charge. The result was a slaughter: the Hospitaller master Roger des Moulins was killed, and only Gerard and three knights escaped. The destruction of nearly a hundred trained military religious in a single afternoon stripped the kingdom of irreplaceable veterans on the very eve of Saladin's main invasion.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Springs of Cresson, near Saffuriya, Lower Galilee", "latitude": 32.7186, "longitude": 35.4017, "coordinate_accuracy": "approximate", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Principality of Galilee", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cresson", "wikidata_id": "Q577190", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: uncertain; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Location is approximate. Coordinates flagged uncertain in source.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A7%D7%A8%D7%91_%D7%A7%D7%A8%D7%A1%D7%95%D7%9F", "image_filename": "Battle_of_Cresson.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=battle-of-cresson-1187", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/battle-of-cresson-1187/" }, { "id": "site/battle-of-hattin-1187", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Battle of Hattin (1187)", "alternative_names": [ "Horns of Hattin" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Battle (open-field engagement)", "historical_category": "Military engagement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "The single most catastrophic day in Crusader history. By mid-1187 Saladin had united Egypt and Syria and assembled the largest Muslim army the Crusaders had ever faced. King Guy of Jerusalem, goaded by aggressive barons, marched his entire field army — some twenty thousand men, virtually every knight in the kingdom — away from the springs of Saffuriya on a waterless July march toward Tiberias. Saladin's cavalry harassed them relentlessly through the scorching heat. On the morning of 4 July the exhausted, parched Crusader army was trapped on the dry plateau near the twin-peaked hill known as the Horns of Hattin. Saladin's troops set fire to the scrub, blinding the Franks with smoke, and attacked from all sides. The relic of the True Cross was captured, King Guy was taken prisoner, and nearly every Crusader knight was killed or enslaved. In the aftermath Saladin received Guy in his tent and offered him a cup of iced water; Guy drank and passed it to Reynald of Châtillon, the lord of Oultrejordain whose attacks on Muslim pilgrim caravans had done more than anything else to trigger the war. Saladin, remarking that he had not given the cup to the traitor and so was not bound by the obligations of hospitality, personally struck Reynald down. Within months he had swept across the kingdom virtually unopposed, taking Jerusalem itself in October. The kingdom that had stood for eighty-eight years was reduced to the single port city of Tyre.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Horns of Hattin, Lower Galilee, Israel", "latitude": 32.8022, "longitude": 35.44, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Principality of Galilee", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hattin", "wikidata_id": "Q233568", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A7%D7%A8%D7%91_%D7%A7%D7%A8%D7%A0%D7%99_%D7%97%D7%99%D7%98%D7%99%D7%9F", "image_filename": "battle_Battle_of_Hattin_1187.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=battle-of-hattin-1187", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/battle-of-hattin-1187/" }, { "id": "site/battle-of-jaffa-1192", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Battle of Jaffa (1192)", "alternative_names": [], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Battle (open-field engagement)", "historical_category": "Military engagement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "The last major clash of the Third Crusade and perhaps Richard the Lionheart's most astonishing personal feat of arms. In late July 1192 Saladin launched a surprise assault on Jaffa while Richard was negotiating at Acre. The city's outer defences fell, and the small garrison retreated into the citadel. Richard raced south by galley with only a handful of knights and a few hundred Italian crossbowmen. He waded ashore and, with barely seventeen mounted knights and a thin line of infantry, counter-attacked Saladin's entire army on the open ground outside the walls. Crusader crossbow volleys devastated the Muslim cavalry charges, and Richard rode along the enemy line unchallenged — Saladin's brother al-Adil, watching from the enemy ranks, is said to have sent Richard two fresh horses during the fight, a chivalric gesture recorded by Saladin's secretary Baha ad-Din ibn Shaddad. The battle convinced both sides that outright victory was impossible, and within weeks they signed the Treaty of Jaffa, ending the Third Crusade.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Jaffa, Israel", "latitude": 32.0544, "longitude": 34.7516, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Jaffa and Ascalon", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Jaffa_(1192)", "wikidata_id": "Q2008448", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "battle_Battle_of_Jaffa_1192.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=battle-of-jaffa-1192", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/battle-of-jaffa-1192/" }, { "id": "site/battle-of-montgisard-1177", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Battle of Montgisard (1177)", "alternative_names": [], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Battle (open-field engagement)", "historical_category": "Military engagement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "One of the most dramatic upsets in Crusader history. In November 1177 Saladin led a large raiding force — perhaps twenty-six thousand men — across the frontier from Egypt, pushing deep into the kingdom while its army was scattered. The sixteen-year-old King Baldwin IV, already suffering from leprosy, gathered what forces he could find: barely 375 knights, a company of Templars from Gaza, and a few thousand infantry. Carrying the relic of the True Cross, this small force intercepted Saladin near Montgisard, south of Ramla, on 25 November. The Crusader heavy cavalry charged directly into Saladin's army, shattering it so completely that Saladin himself barely escaped on a camel. It was the worst defeat of his career, and it made the young leper king a legend in both Christendom and the Muslim world.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Near Ramla, Israel", "latitude": 31.866, "longitude": 34.918, "coordinate_accuracy": "approximate", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Jaffa and Ascalon", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Montgisard", "wikidata_id": "Q847287", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: uncertain; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Location is approximate. Coordinates flagged uncertain in source.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A7%D7%A8%D7%91_%D7%92%D7%96%D7%A8", "image_filename": "battle_Battle_of_Montgisard_1177.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=battle-of-montgisard-1177", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/battle-of-montgisard-1177/" }, { "id": "site/battle-of-yibneh-1123", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Battle of Yibneh (1123)", "alternative_names": [ "Battle of Ibelin", "Battle of Yibna" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Battle (open-field engagement)", "historical_category": "Military engagement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "With Baldwin II in captivity in Aleppo, the regent Eustace Grenier led a Crusader field army of 7,000 men against a Fatimid invasion force of 16,000 sent by the vizier Al-Ma'mun al-Bata'ihi. They met on 29 May 1123 between Ascalon and Jaffa, near Yibna (Yavne). The Frankish charge shattered the Egyptian line, killing some 6,000 Fatimid soldiers. The following day, 30 May, the Venetian fleet under Doge Domenico Michiel destroyed the Fatimid navy off the coast of Jaffa. The twin victories effectively ended Fatimid offensive power against the kingdom and cleared the way for the Frankish siege of Tyre the following year.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Yavne (Yibna), Israel", "latitude": 31.8596, "longitude": 34.7411, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Jaffa and Ascalon", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Yibneh", "wikidata_id": "Q2498197", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=battle-of-yibneh-1123", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/battle-of-yibneh-1123/" }, { "id": "site/battle-of-al-fule-1183", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Battle of al-Fule (1183)", "alternative_names": [ "Al-Fula", "La Feve" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Battle (open-field engagement)", "historical_category": "Military engagement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Between 30 September and 6 October 1183, the regent Guy of Lusignan — newly raised to the regency in place of the ailing Baldwin IV — confronted a major Saladin invasion of the Jezreel Valley. Guy mobilised the entire field army of the kingdom, more than 15,000 infantry and 1,300 to 1,500 knights, and concentrated them at the Templar fortress of La Feve (al-Fule). For a full week the two armies skirmished without joining a decisive battle. Despite the systematic destruction of Frankish farms and villages by Muslim raiders, Guy maintained strict discipline and refused every provocation. Eventually logistical pressure forced Saladin to withdraw. Tactically al-Fule was a model defensive operation that preserved the army intact; politically it was a disaster, because the native barons whose lands had been burned interpreted Guy's caution as cowardice, leading to his temporary removal as regent and to the murderous baronial pressure that would force him into the catastrophic march to Hattin in 1187.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Jezreel Valley, near Kibbutz Merhavia", "latitude": 32.6, "longitude": 35.3, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Principality of Galilee", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_al-Fule", "wikidata_id": "Q2246708", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=battle-of-al-fule-1183", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/battle-of-al-fule-1183/" }, { "id": "site/first-battle-of-ramla-1101", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "First Battle of Ramla (1101)", "alternative_names": [ "Ramla 1101" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Battle (open-field engagement)", "historical_category": "Military engagement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "On 7 September 1101, Baldwin I of Jerusalem met a Fatimid invasion army at Ramla, the strategic crossroads on the Jerusalem–Jaffa road. With only 260 knights and about 900 infantry — a force outnumbered perhaps tenfold — the king nonetheless ordered a ferocious mounted charge after his initial line buckled. Heavy casualties on both sides included some eighty Frankish knights, but the Fatimid commander Saad al-Daulah was killed in the fighting and his army broke and fled south. The victory secured the kingdom's interior for another year and confirmed the lethal shock value of the disciplined Frankish heavy cavalry charge.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Ramla, Israel", "latitude": 31.9248, "longitude": 34.8727, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Jaffa and Ascalon", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ramla_(1101)", "wikidata_id": "Q13553969", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=first-battle-of-ramla-1101", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/first-battle-of-ramla-1101/" }, { "id": "site/second-battle-of-ramla-1102", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Second Battle of Ramla (1102)", "alternative_names": [ "Ramla 1102" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Battle (open-field engagement)", "historical_category": "Military engagement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "On 17 May 1102, Baldwin I made the worst tactical mistake of his reign. Misjudging an incoming Fatimid army under the vizier's son Sharaf al-Ma'ali as a small raiding force, the king led only 200 knights — with no infantry support at all — directly into roughly 20,000 Egyptian troops at Ramla. The knights were enveloped and annihilated almost to a man. Stephen of Blois, who had returned to the East to atone for deserting the First Crusade, was among the dead; Baldwin himself escaped only by taking refuge in a tower at Ramla and slipping out at night to reach Jaffa. The disaster drove home the lesson that Frankish cavalry could not function without a disciplined infantry line to absorb skirmisher fire — a doctrine the Crusader military rebuilt itself around for the next century.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Ramla, Israel", "latitude": 31.925, "longitude": 34.8733, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Jaffa and Ascalon", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ramla_(1102)", "wikidata_id": "Q13553978", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "Gustave_Doré_-_Two_Hundred_Knights_Attack_Twenty_Thousand_Saracens.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=second-battle-of-ramla-1102", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/second-battle-of-ramla-1102/" }, { "id": "site/third-battle-of-ramla-1105", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Third Battle of Ramla (1105)", "alternative_names": [ "Ramla 1105" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Battle (open-field engagement)", "historical_category": "Military engagement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Three years after the catastrophe of 1102, Baldwin I returned to Ramla on 27 August 1105 with the lessons of combined-arms warfare fully internalised. With 500 knights and 2,000 infantry, he met a joint Fatimid–Damascene army that fielded a substantial corps of 1,300 Turkish horse archers supplied by the Burid dynasty — the first time a major coalition of Egyptian infantry and Syrian light cavalry had operated against the kingdom. The Crusader infantry absorbed the arrow harassment without breaking; when the Frankish knights charged in concentration the coalition collapsed, leaving perhaps 1,200 dead against only 60 to 100 Crusader losses. The victory effectively neutralised any major Fatimid threat to the kingdom's interior for a generation, confining Egyptian aggression thereafter to coastal raids.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Ramla, Israel", "latitude": 31.9248, "longitude": 34.8727, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Jaffa and Ascalon", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ramla_(1105)", "wikidata_id": "Q13553993", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "Ramla1105.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=third-battle-of-ramla-1105", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/third-battle-of-ramla-1105/" }, { "id": "site/battle-of-jacobs-ford-1179", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Battle of Jacob's Ford (1179)", "alternative_names": [ "Vadum Iacob", "Chastellet" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Siege", "historical_category": "Military engagement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "King Baldwin IV had begun, in late 1178, to build a major castle — Chastellet — at Jacob's Ford on the Upper Jordan, in clear violation of an existing truce with Saladin. The site dominated the main crossing on the Damascus–Acre road and threatened to amputate Saladin's communications between Egypt and Syria. Saladin first tried to buy the project off; when Baldwin refused, the Ayyubid army arrived in late August 1179 with the half-finished castle still vulnerable. After five days of mining and assault, the walls were breached on 30 August and the garrison massacred. The destruction of Chastellet eliminated the only Crusader strongpoint on the upper Jordan and is regarded by many historians as a critical step on the road to Hattin.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Jordan River crossing, near Ateret Fortress", "latitude": 33.00472, "longitude": 35.62694, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Principality of Galilee", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Jacob%27s_Ford", "wikidata_id": "Q2236782", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "Ateret-S-164.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=battle-of-jacobs-ford-1179", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/battle-of-jacobs-ford-1179/" }, { "id": "site/siege-of-acre-1189-1191", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Siege of Acre (1189–1191)", "alternative_names": [ "Third Crusade Siege of Acre" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Siege", "historical_category": "Military engagement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Two years after Saladin took Acre in the wake of Hattin, the freshly released King Guy of Lusignan arrived before its walls in August 1189 with a small force and laid siege to the city — only to be encircled in turn by Saladin's relief army. The resulting double siege, with Crusaders and Muslims facing each other across the walls and the surrounding plain, lasted twenty-two months. It was the central military event of the Third Crusade: tens of thousands of Frankish reinforcements arrived by sea, including Frederick Barbarossa's surviving German troops, French forces under Philip II, and finally the English army of Richard the Lionheart. Both sides suffered horrendous casualties from epidemic disease and famine. The city's defenders surrendered on 12 July 1191. Richard's controversial decision to massacre 2,700 Muslim prisoners on 20 August, when negotiations over the agreed ransom stalled, freed his army to march south to Arsuf and Jaffa.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Acre (Akko), Israel", "latitude": 32.92347, "longitude": 35.06934, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Acre", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Acre_(1189%E2%80%931191)", "wikidata_id": "Q815116", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%94%D7%9E%D7%A6%D7%95%D7%A8_%D7%A2%D7%9C_%D7%A2%D7%9B%D7%95_%281189%E2%80%931191%29", "image_filename": "Philippe_Auguste_et_Richard_Acre.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=siege-of-acre-1189-1191", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/siege-of-acre-1189-1191/" }, { "id": "site/siege-of-acre-1291", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Siege of Acre (1291)", "alternative_names": [ "Fall of Acre", "Mamluk siege of Acre" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Siege", "historical_category": "Military engagement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "The Mamluk sultan al-Ashraf Khalil arrived before Acre on 5 April 1291 with the largest siege army the medieval Levant had ever seen — contemporary chronicles claim a hundred and twenty thousand men and dozens of trebuchets, including two enormous machines named 'The Furious' and 'The Victorious'. Inside the walls, perhaps fifteen thousand defenders — Templars, Hospitallers, Teutonic Knights, the militias of the Italian quarters, and the household knights of King Henry II of Cyprus — held a nearly impossible perimeter for six weeks. On 18 May the outer walls were breached at the Accursed Tower; in the days that followed the inner city, the harbour, and finally the Templar quarter at the southern point of the peninsula all fell. The grand master William of Beaujeu was killed at the breach; the last Templars were buried beneath their own collapsing tower on 28 May. With Acre lost, the surviving ports of Tyre, Sidon, Beirut, and Atlit were evacuated within weeks, ending the Crusader states on the Levantine mainland after almost two centuries.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Old City of Acre, Israel", "latitude": 32.92347, "longitude": 35.06934, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Acre", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Acre_(1291)", "wikidata_id": "Q325985", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%94%D7%9E%D7%A6%D7%95%D7%A8_%D7%A2%D7%9C_%D7%A2%D7%9B%D7%95_(1291)", "image_filename": "1291_siège_d'Acre.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=siege-of-acre-1291", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/siege-of-acre-1291/" }, { "id": "site/siege-of-ascalon-1153", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Siege of Ascalon (1153)", "alternative_names": [ "Crusader capture of Ascalon" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Siege", "historical_category": "Military engagement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "For more than half a century after the First Crusade the Fatimid fortress of Ascalon had remained a thorn in the kingdom's side, a permanent garrison from which raiding columns could reach the gates of Jerusalem. From 25 January to 22 August 1153, King Baldwin III mounted the largest siege of the kingdom's history, deploying enormous siege towers against the walls and a fleet of fifteen ships against seventy Fatimid vessels in the harbour. On 16 August the Fatimid garrison set fire to a Crusader siege tower; the wind shifted, blowing the flames back against the city wall, and a section of masonry collapsed. The Templar grand master Bernard de Tremelay rashly led forty Templars into the breach without waiting for the rest of the army; cut off and surrounded, all forty were killed. A larger and better co-ordinated assault three days later forced the garrison to surrender. The capture of Ascalon eliminated the final Fatimid foothold in Palestine and opened the strategic road into Egypt that the kingdom would attempt to walk for the next fifteen years.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Ascalon (Tel Ashkelon), Israel", "latitude": 31.66194, "longitude": 34.54611, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Jaffa and Ascalon", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Ascalon", "wikidata_id": "Q677982", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%94%D7%9E%D7%A6%D7%95%D7%A8_%D7%A2%D7%9C_%D7%90%D7%A9%D7%A7%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%9F_%281153%29", "image_filename": "Siege_of_Ascalon_(1153).jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=siege-of-ascalon-1153", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/siege-of-ascalon-1153/" }, { "id": "site/siege-of-jerusalem-1099", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Siege of Jerusalem (1099)", "alternative_names": [], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Siege", "historical_category": "Military engagement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "The climactic moment of the First Crusade and one of the most consequential sieges in medieval history. After a gruelling two-year march from Constantinople, the surviving Crusader army — perhaps thirteen thousand strong, far from home and desperately short of water — arrived before the walls of Jerusalem in June 1099. The city's Fatimid garrison had poisoned the wells outside the walls and expelled all Christians. A first assault on 13 June failed. Only after Genoese ships landed timber at Jaffa could the Crusaders build two great siege towers. A week before the final assault, following a vision reported by the priest Peter Desiderius, the entire army walked barefoot in procession around the walls, chanting psalms while the defenders jeered from the battlements. On 15 July, Godfrey of Bouillon's men bridged the northern wall near Herod's Gate, and the city fell in a single day of brutal street fighting. The victory established the Kingdom of Jerusalem, a Crusader state that would endure for nearly two centuries.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Jerusalem, Israel", "latitude": 31.7781, "longitude": 35.2298, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Jerusalem", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Jerusalem_(1099)", "wikidata_id": "Q456993", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%94%D7%9E%D7%A6%D7%95%D7%A8_%D7%A2%D7%9C_%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%A9%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9D_(1099)", "image_filename": "battle_Siege_of_Jerusalem_1099.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=siege-of-jerusalem-1099", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/siege-of-jerusalem-1099/" }, { "id": "site/siege-of-jerusalem-1187", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Siege of Jerusalem (1187)", "alternative_names": [ "Saladin's capture of Jerusalem" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Siege", "historical_category": "Military engagement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "After the catastrophic destruction of the Crusader field army at Hattin on 4 July 1187, the cities and castles of the kingdom — stripped of their garrisons to feed the doomed march to Tiberias — fell to Saladin one after another over the summer. By September Saladin stood before the walls of Jerusalem itself. The defence was conducted by Balian of Ibelin, who had been permitted to enter the city under safe conduct to collect his wife. Balian raised every able-bodied man over fourteen and knighted sixty squires and bourgeois on the spot. After two weeks of siege Saladin's sappers brought down a section of the northern wall near the Gate of Jehoshaphat. Balian negotiated the surrender of the city on 2 October 1187 on terms that permitted Christians to ransom themselves at fixed prices; Saladin allowed the Franks to leave the city in three orderly columns over the following weeks. Eighty-eight years of Christian rule over Jerusalem had ended.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Jerusalem, Israel", "latitude": 31.778, "longitude": 35.23, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Jerusalem", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Jerusalem_(1187)", "wikidata_id": "Q815161", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%94%D7%9E%D7%A6%D7%95%D7%A8_%D7%A2%D7%9C_%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%A9%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9D_%281187%29", "image_filename": "ChristiansBeforeSaladin.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=siege-of-jerusalem-1187", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/siege-of-jerusalem-1187/" }, { "id": "site/hebron-castle-of-st-abraham", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Hebron — Castle of St Abraham", "alternative_names": [ "al-Khalil", "St Abraham", "Ebron", "Cariatharba" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Beneath the great Herodian enclosure of the Cave of the Patriarchs, the Crusaders built a fortified annex to serve as the castle of the lords of Hebron, the 'Castle of St Abraham'. The medieval town was one of the southernmost outposts of the kingdom. The Crusader additions are now embedded in the much longer architectural history of the Haram el-Khalil.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Hebron, West Bank", "latitude": 31.52472, "longitude": 35.11083, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Palestinian Territories", "modern_region": "West Bank", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Hebron", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebron", "wikidata_id": "Q168225", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 48)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value. Fortified status not definitive (recorded as 'probable'). Modern sovereignty of the territory is contested.", "fortified_status": "probable", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%97%D7%91%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%9F", "image_filename": "BTS_Hebron_Tour_280215_24.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=hebron-castle-of-st-abraham", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/hebron-castle-of-st-abraham/" }, { "id": "site/jabal-quruntul-mount-of-temptation", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Jabal Quruntul (Mount of Temptation)", "alternative_names": [ "Jabal ad-Duqq", "Tahunat al-Hawa", "Doctis", "castellum Abrahamti" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "A Templar castle established on the summit of Jabal Quruntul, the traditional Mount of Temptation above Jericho, reusing natural caves and cisterns. The site is now best known for the cliff-clinging Greek Orthodox Monastery of the Temptation, which was built centuries later on and around the earlier remains.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Mount of Temptation, Jericho, West Bank", "latitude": 31.87472, "longitude": 35.43056, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Palestinian Territories", "modern_region": "West Bank", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Jerusalem", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_of_Temptation", "wikidata_id": "Q10742877", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 51)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value. Modern sovereignty of the territory is contested.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%94%D7%A8%20%D7%A7%D7%A8%D7%A0%D7%98%D7%9C", "image_filename": "IHM_דיר_אל-קרנטל.jpeg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=jabal-quruntul-mount-of-temptation", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/jabal-quruntul-mount-of-temptation/" }, { "id": "site/khirbet-balama-castellum-beleismum", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Khirbet Bal'ama (Castellum Beleismum)", "alternative_names": [ "Castellum Beleismum", "Chastiau St Job", "Khirbet Balama" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Khirbet Bal'ama — Castellum Beleismum, 'the castle of St Job' — stood at an important crossroads south of Jenin. A two-storey vaulted tower inside a rectangular enclosure protected a long vaulted tunnel leading down to a spring. The tunnel, partly excavated in recent years, is still visible.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Khirbet Bal'ama, West Bank", "latitude": 32.4458, "longitude": 35.2922, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Palestinian Territories", "modern_region": "West Bank", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Principality of Galilee", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibleam", "wikidata_id": "Q7663500", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 27-29)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value. Modern sovereignty of the territory is contested.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "partial", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "Khirbet_Balama.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=khirbet-balama-castellum-beleismum", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/khirbet-balama-castellum-beleismum/" }, { "id": "site/nablus-naples", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Nablus (Naples)", "alternative_names": [ "Naples", "Neapolis" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Nablus — Neapolis to the Romans, Naples to the Crusaders — was a major royal town in the heart of Samaria. The battered base of a large tower, presumed to be part of the town's castle, still stands in the old city alongside other medieval fragments. Crusader Nablus was the scene of a 1120 ecclesiastical council which issued a set of influential legal canons.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Nablus, West Bank", "latitude": 32.2211, "longitude": 35.2544, "coordinate_accuracy": "approximate", "modern_country": "Palestinian Territories", "modern_region": "West Bank", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Nablus", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nablus", "wikidata_id": "Q214178", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 73)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: uncertain; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Location is approximate. Coordinates flagged uncertain in source. Modern sovereignty of the territory is contested.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A9%D7%9B%D7%9D", "image_filename": "Nablous,_The_Ancient_Shechem_MET_DP116336.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=nablus-naples", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/nablus-naples/" }, { "id": "site/qalat-ad-damm-inn-of-the-good-samaritan", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Qal'at ad-Damm — Inn of the Good Samaritan", "alternative_names": [ "Maldoim", "Adumim", "Castrum Dumi", "Cisterna Rubea", "Turris Rubea", "Rouge Cisterne", "Inn of the Good Samaritan" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "On the hill above the traditional Inn of the Good Samaritan, halfway between Jerusalem and Jericho, stand the ruins of a Templar road fortress known as Cisterna Rubea ('the Red Cistern') or Qal'at ad-Damm. It guarded pilgrims on the notoriously dangerous descent to Jericho and the Jordan.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Inn of the Good Samaritan, West Bank", "latitude": 31.816392, "longitude": 35.359429, "coordinate_accuracy": "approximate", "modern_country": "Palestinian Territories", "modern_region": "West Bank", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Jerusalem", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inn_of_the_Good_Samaritan", "wikidata_id": "Q7057090", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 78-79)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: uncertain; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Location is approximate. Coordinates flagged uncertain in source. Modern sovereignty of the territory is contested.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "partial", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%90%D7%9B%D7%A1%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%99%D7%AA%20%D7%94%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%9E%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%A0%D7%99%20%D7%94%D7%98%D7%95%D7%91", "image_filename": "Maldoim-V2-718.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=qalat-ad-damm-inn-of-the-good-samaritan", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/qalat-ad-damm-inn-of-the-good-samaritan/" }, { "id": "site/tel-ayalon-castellum-arnoldi", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Tel Ayalon (Castellum Arnoldi)", "alternative_names": [ "Yalo", "Yalu", "Castellum Arnoldi", "Aijalon" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Castellum Arnoldi, 'Arnold's Castle', stood at the entrance to the Ayalon Valley at Yalu, one of the classic invasion routes up to Jerusalem. It guarded the western flank of the kingdom's heartland. The medieval ruins survive today in the largely abandoned village area near Canada Park.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Yalo, West Bank", "latitude": 31.842667, "longitude": 35.02409, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Palestinian Territories", "modern_region": "West Bank", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Jaffa and Ascalon", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yalo", "wikidata_id": "Q11716708", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 105)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value. Modern sovereignty of the territory is contested.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "partial", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%99%D7%90%D7%9C%D7%95%20%28%D7%9B%D7%A4%D7%A8%29", "image_filename": "Tel_Ayalon.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=tel-ayalon-castellum-arnoldi", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/tel-ayalon-castellum-arnoldi/" }, { "id": "site/al-bira-magna-mahumeria", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "al-Bira (Magna Mahumeria)", "alternative_names": [ "Birra", "Castrum Maome/Mahomaria", "Magna" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Al-Bira, next to Ramallah, was the Crusader 'new town' of Magna Mahumeria, a planned Frankish settlement attached to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. At its lower end stood a small castle or tower with a barrel-vaulted basement. The parish church of Magna Mahumeria is still partially visible beneath later buildings in al-Bira.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Al-Bireh, West Bank", "latitude": 31.9075, "longitude": 35.2189, "coordinate_accuracy": "approximate", "modern_country": "Palestinian Territories", "modern_region": "West Bank", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Jerusalem", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Bireh", "wikidata_id": "Q311326", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 34)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: uncertain; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Location is approximate. Coordinates flagged uncertain in source. Modern sovereignty of the territory is contested.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%90%D7%9C-%D7%91%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%94", "image_filename": "al bireh crusader church.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=al-bira-magna-mahumeria", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/al-bira-magna-mahumeria/" }, { "id": "site/ain-al-haramiya-spring-of-the-templars", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "'Ain al-Haramiya (Spring of the Templars)", "alternative_names": [ "Spring of the Brigands/Templars", "Birkat al-Dawiyya", "Pool of the Templars" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "'The Spring of the Brigands' — called the Pool of the Templars in the sources — was a Templar-controlled water source and small road station on the Jerusalem-Nablus road. A groin-vaulted cistern still survives in the Wadi al-Haramiya area.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Qasr al Haramiyah, West Bank", "latitude": 32.15857, "longitude": 35.13176, "coordinate_accuracy": "approximate", "modern_country": "Palestinian Territories", "modern_region": "West Bank", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Nablus", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "", "wikidata_id": "", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 18)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: uncertain; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Location is approximate. Coordinates flagged uncertain in source. Modern sovereignty of the territory is contested.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=ain-al-haramiya-spring-of-the-templars", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/ain-al-haramiya-spring-of-the-templars/" }, { "id": "site/bayt-ur-al-fauqa-bethoron-superior", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Bayt 'Ur al-Fauqa (Bethoron Superior)", "alternative_names": [ "Bethoron Superior", "Vetus Bethor" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Bayt 'Ur al-Fauqa — biblical Upper Beth Horon — stood on the ancient pass from the coastal plain up to Jerusalem. A Frankish tower known simply as al-Burj ('the tower') marked the Crusader presence there; the village was granted to the Holy Sepulchre in the twelfth century.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Beit Ur al-Fauqa, West Bank", "latitude": 31.88583, "longitude": 35.11417, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Palestinian Territories", "modern_region": "West Bank", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Jerusalem", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beit_Ur_al-Fauqa", "wikidata_id": "Q2905277", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 27)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Modern sovereignty of the territory is contested.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%91%D7%99%D7%AA%20%D7%A2%D7%95%D7%A8%20%D7%90%D7%9C-%D7%A4%D7%95%D7%A7%D7%90", "image_filename": "PikiWiki_Israel_9676_matat_look-out_in_bet-horon.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=bayt-ur-al-fauqa-bethoron-superior", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/bayt-ur-al-fauqa-bethoron-superior/" }, { "id": "site/burj-bardawil", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Burj Bardawil", "alternative_names": [ "Burj el-Bardawil", "al-Baubariya" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Burj Bardawil — 'Baldwin's Tower' — is a small semi-fortified courtyard building in the central West Bank hills, with projecting turrets and barrel-vaulted ranges. Its name links it in popular memory to one of the first Crusader kings of Jerusalem, though the precise building history is uncertain.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Burj Bardawil, West Bank", "latitude": 31.98545, "longitude": 35.24395, "coordinate_accuracy": "approximate", "modern_country": "Palestinian Territories", "modern_region": "West Bank", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Nablus", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "", "wikidata_id": "", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 42-43)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: uncertain; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Location is approximate. Coordinates flagged uncertain in source. Fortified status not definitive (recorded as 'probable'). Modern sovereignty of the territory is contested.", "fortified_status": "probable", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "Burj_Bardawil.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=burj-bardawil", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/burj-bardawil/" }, { "id": "site/burj-beitin-bethel", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Burj Beitin (Bethel)", "alternative_names": [ "Bethel", "al-Burj Beitin" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "A twelfth-century tower at Burj Beitin, identified by some with biblical Bethel. The tower sits inside a rectangular enclosure and was held at various times by ecclesiastical lords of the kingdom. Substantial walls survive on the hill above the modern village of Beitin.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Burj Beitin, West Bank", "latitude": 31.9225, "longitude": 35.24472, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Palestinian Territories", "modern_region": "West Bank", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Jerusalem", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beitin", "wikidata_id": "Q2898916", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 42)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Modern sovereignty of the territory is contested.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%91%D7%99%D7%AA%D7%99%D7%9F", "image_filename": "Burj_Beitin.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=burj-beitin-bethel", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/burj-beitin-bethel/" }, { "id": "site/jericho-russian-compound-tower", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Jericho — Russian Compound Tower", "alternative_names": [ "ay-Riha", "Iericho", "Hiericho", "Jherico" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Jericho in the Crusader period was more of a sugar-producing agricultural centre than a fortified stronghold. A square tower near the Russian compound may preserve a small Frankish presence in the oasis, but its attribution is debated. The wider Crusader footprint in the Jordan Valley was mainly economic.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Jericho, West Bank", "latitude": 31.85819, "longitude": 35.45823, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Palestinian Territories", "modern_region": "West Bank", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Jerusalem", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jericho", "wikidata_id": "Q5687", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 51)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value. Fortified status not definitive (recorded as 'uncertain'). Modern sovereignty of the territory is contested.", "fortified_status": "uncertain", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%97%D7%95", "image_filename": "Tell_es-sultan.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=jericho-russian-compound-tower", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/jericho-russian-compound-tower/" }, { "id": "site/khirbet-al-karmil-carmelus", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Khirbet al-Karmil (Carmelus)", "alternative_names": [ "Carmelus", "Khirbet el Kirmil" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "A Frankish tower incorporating the fabric of an earlier church, on a hilltop in the southern West Bank. The tower had a barrel-vaulted basement and arrow-slits, and formed part of the scattered network of small strongpoints in the hills south of Hebron.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Khirbet al-Karmil, West Bank", "latitude": 31.42361, "longitude": 35.13306, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Palestinian Territories", "modern_region": "West Bank", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Hebron", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Karmil", "wikidata_id": "Q4702667", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 60)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Modern sovereignty of the territory is contested.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%97'%D7%A8%D7%91%D7%AA_%D7%90%D7%9C_%D7%9B%D7%A8%D7%9E%D7%9C_(%D7%97%D7%91%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%9F)", "image_filename": "Al-Karmil0240.JPG", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=khirbet-al-karmil-carmelus", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/khirbet-al-karmil-carmelus/" }, { "id": "site/qarawat-bani-hassan", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Qarawat Bani Hassan", "alternative_names": [ "Burj al-Yaqur" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "A two-storey Frankish tower with a barrel-vaulted basement and associated medieval buildings in the village of Qarawat Bani Hassan in the central West Bank. It represents the kind of small rural stronghold held by secondary vassals of the kingdom.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Qarawat Bani Hassan, West Bank", "latitude": 32.12578, "longitude": 35.09933, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Palestinian Territories", "modern_region": "West Bank", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Nablus", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qarawat_Bani_Hassan", "wikidata_id": "Q2897029", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 84)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Modern sovereignty of the territory is contested.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A7%D7%A8%D7%90%D7%95%D7%95%D7%AA%20%D7%91%D7%A0%D7%99%20%D7%97%D7%A1%D7%90%D7%9F", "image_filename": "جبال_قراوة_بني_حسان_-.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=qarawat-bani-hassan", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/qarawat-bani-hassan/" }, { "id": "site/ramallah-al-burj", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Ramallah (al-Burj)", "alternative_names": [ "Ramalie" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Al-Burj — 'the tower' — in the middle of what is now Ramallah preserves the surviving remains of a small medieval fortified building. The site is a reminder that Ramallah, like many of the hill-country villages, had a Frankish presence in the twelfth century.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Ramallah, West Bank", "latitude": 31.896944, "longitude": 35.201667, "coordinate_accuracy": "approximate", "modern_country": "Palestinian Territories", "modern_region": "West Bank", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Jerusalem", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramallah", "wikidata_id": "Q158119", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 88)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: uncertain; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Location is approximate. Coordinates flagged uncertain in source. Modern sovereignty of the territory is contested.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A8%D7%9E%D7%90%D7%9C%D7%9C%D7%94", "image_filename": "", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=ramallah-al-burj", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/ramallah-al-burj/" }, { "id": "site/sinjil-casale-s-egidii", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Sinjil (Casale S. Egidii)", "alternative_names": [ "Casale S. Egidii" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Sinjil takes its name from the Crusader lord Raymond of Saint-Gilles, count of Toulouse and of Tripoli. A small Frankish tower and the surrounding village were registered as the estate of a named lord in 1175. The surviving base of the tower can still be seen in the village.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Sinjil, West Bank", "latitude": 32.03306, "longitude": 35.26417, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Palestinian Territories", "modern_region": "West Bank", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Nablus", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinjil", "wikidata_id": "Q2909143", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 93)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Modern sovereignty of the territory is contested.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A1%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%92%27%D7%99%D7%9C", "image_filename": "Sinjil4140.JPG", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=sinjil-casale-s-egidii", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/sinjil-casale-s-egidii/" }, { "id": "site/ar-ram", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "ar-Ram", "alternative_names": [ "al-Ram" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Ar-Ram, a village on the old Jerusalem-Nablus road, had a substantial Frankish tower with a barrel-vaulted basement and an internal stair leading up to the upper floor. It belonged to the network of small strongpoints that policed the main north-south route through the central hill country.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Al-Ram, West Bank", "latitude": 31.85361, "longitude": 35.23333, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Palestinian Territories", "modern_region": "West Bank", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Jerusalem", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ar-Ram", "wikidata_id": "Q775087", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 87)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Modern sovereignty of the territory is contested.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "unknown", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%90-%D7%A8%D7%90%D7%9D", "image_filename": "Ar Ram.png", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=ar-ram", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/ar-ram/" }, { "id": "site/an-nasr-mosque-nablus-crusader-church", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "An-Nasr Mosque (Nablus Crusader Church)", "alternative_names": [ "An-Nasr Mosque", "Mosque of Victory", "Masjid an-Nasr" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Church or religious site", "historical_category": "Religious site", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "The An-Nasr (Victory) Mosque in the heart of the Old City of Nablus stands on the site of a Crusader church, itself built over an earlier Byzantine basilica. The Crusaders, who governed the city as Naples in the twelfth century and held it as a royal demesne after King Baldwin II granted it to his daughter Princess Alice, raised the church on the central square of the Frankish quarter. After Saladin's reconquest in 1187 the building was converted into a mosque and given the name 'Victory' to commemorate the Ayyubid triumph at Hattin. The present mosque, with its famous green dome and slender Mamluk-style minaret, preserves substantial twelfth-century Crusader masonry in its lower walls and incorporates Byzantine-era columns as spolia in the prayer hall.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Old City of Nablus", "latitude": 32.2189, "longitude": 35.2614, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Palestinian Territories", "modern_region": "West Bank", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Nablus", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An-Nasr_Mosque", "wikidata_id": "Q2030638", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value. Modern sovereignty of the territory is contested.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "An-Nasr_Mosque3 (1).jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=an-nasr-mosque-nablus-crusader-church", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/an-nasr-mosque-nablus-crusader-church/" }, { "id": "site/cathedral-of-saint-john-sebastia", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Cathedral of Saint John, Sebastia", "alternative_names": [ "Nabi Yahya Mosque", "Sebastiya Cathedral", "St John the Baptist's Cathedral" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Church or religious site", "historical_category": "Religious site", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Tradition placed the burial of John the Baptist, the prophets Elisha and Obadiah, and Empress Helena's relics of the Baptist all at Sebastia, on a hilltop above the road north of Nablus. The Crusaders rebuilt an earlier Byzantine church in the twelfth century into a vast Gothic-influenced basilica, second in size in the entire Holy Land only to the Holy Sepulchre itself. The cathedral served as the seat of a Latin bishop and an important pilgrimage destination. After Saladin's victory in 1187 it was converted into the Nabi Yahya Mosque, which still occupies the building today; the crypt beneath the dome — with its reputed tombs of the prophets, marked by a mixture of Byzantine and Crusader masonry — survives essentially intact, as do substantial portions of the Crusader nave walls.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Sebastia, north of Nablus", "latitude": 32.27667, "longitude": 35.196, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Palestinian Territories", "modern_region": "West Bank", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Nablus", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nabi_Yahya_Mosque", "wikidata_id": "Q2319182", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value. Modern sovereignty of the territory is contested.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "St._John's_crusader_Cathedral_-_panoramio.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=cathedral-of-saint-john-sebastia", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/cathedral-of-saint-john-sebastia/" }, { "id": "site/church-of-the-nativity-bethlehem", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Church of the Nativity (Bethlehem)", "alternative_names": [], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Church or religious site", "historical_category": "Religious site", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "The core of the building is a 4th- and 6th-century Byzantine basilica over the grotto venerated as Christ's birthplace, but the Crusaders restored, decorated and embellished it extensively during their 12th-century rule. Between 1165 and 1169, wealthy pilgrims and the imperial dynasties of Byzantium and the Latin Kingdom jointly funded the addition of lavish wall mosaics and column paintings of saints; much of this Comnenian and Frankish decoration survives and was restored in the 2010s.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Church of the Nativity (Bethlehem)", "latitude": 31.704306, "longitude": 35.207583, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Palestinian Territories", "modern_region": "West Bank", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Jerusalem", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Nativity", "wikidata_id": "Q194504", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Modern sovereignty of the territory is contested.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9B%D7%A0%D7%A1%D7%99%D7%99%D7%AA_%D7%94%D7%9E%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%93", "image_filename": "Mosaics_of_the_Church_of_the_Nativity_(Bethlehem)_01.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=church-of-the-nativity-bethlehem", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/church-of-the-nativity-bethlehem/" }, { "id": "site/great-mosque-of-nablus-crusader-church", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Great Mosque of Nablus (Crusader Church)", "alternative_names": [ "Al-Jami' al-Kabir, Nablus", "Nablus Great Mosque", "Cathedral of the Holy Resurrection (Nablus)", "Church of the Passion (Nablus)" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Church or religious site", "historical_category": "Religious site", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "The Great Mosque of Nablus — al-Jami' al-Kabir, the largest and oldest mosque of the Old City — occupies the shell of the Crusader cathedral of the Holy Resurrection (sometimes identified in twelfth-century sources as the Church of the Passion or the Church of St John). The Franks rebuilt an earlier Byzantine basilica into a major three-aisled Romanesque cathedral on this site in the 1160s, when Nablus served as a royal demesne and an occasional refuge for the court. After the city's fall to Saladin in 1187 the cathedral was converted into the Great Mosque, and the Crusader nave, the side aisle arcades, and the western portal were preserved in the mosque's fabric. The building was badly damaged in the 1927 Jericho earthquake and partially rebuilt, but substantial twelfth-century Frankish masonry — including the apse and two of the cathedral's three original portals — still survives.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Old City of Nablus", "latitude": 32.218006, "longitude": 35.269344, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Palestinian Territories", "modern_region": "West Bank", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Nablus", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Mosque_of_Nablus", "wikidata_id": "Q4022315", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value. Modern sovereignty of the territory is contested.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "Nablus_Great_Mosque.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=great-mosque-of-nablus-crusader-church", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/great-mosque-of-nablus-crusader-church/" }, { "id": "site/nabi-samwil", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Nabi Samwil", "alternative_names": [ "Nebi Samuel", "Montjoie", "Mons Gaudii", "Mount of Joy", "Tomb of Samuel" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Church or religious site", "historical_category": "Religious site", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Nabi Samwil — 'the prophet Samuel' — stands on the highest hilltop north of Jerusalem and is the traditional site of Samuel's tomb. The Crusaders knew it as Montjoie ('Mount of Joy') because it was here, according to tradition, that the knights of the First Crusade first caught sight of Jerusalem in June 1099. A Premonstratensian monastery and a fortified church were built on the summit in the twelfth century. After the loss of Jerusalem in 1187 the Franks briefly held Nabi Samwil as a forward outpost. The Crusader church was later replaced by a mosque, but the lower levels and the rock-cut tomb chamber preserve Crusader and earlier fabric. Today the site is shared by Jewish and Muslim worshippers.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Nabi Samwil, north of Jerusalem", "latitude": 31.832978, "longitude": 35.181633, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Palestinian Territories", "modern_region": "West Bank", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Jerusalem", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nabi_Samwil", "wikidata_id": "Q3532567", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value. Modern sovereignty of the territory is contested.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A0%D7%91%D7%99_%D7%A1%D7%9E%D7%95%D7%90%D7%9C", "image_filename": "NebiSamuel2.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=nabi-samwil", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/nabi-samwil/" }, { "id": "site/ain-al-habis-cave-castle", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Ain al-Habis Cave Castle", "alternative_names": [ "Ayn al-Habis", "Cave de Suet", "Habis Jaldak", "'Ain Habis" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Ain al-Habis — known to the Crusaders as Cave de Suet — is one of the most unusual fortifications of the Latin Kingdom: a true cave castle, cut directly into the cliff face of the Yarmuk gorge in the southern Golan Heights. The complex consists of three storeys of natural and enlarged caves linked by internal staircases, with a spring inside the rock that made it almost impossible to starve out. Built or refortified in the twelfth century to control the rich grain country east of the Sea of Galilee and to tax caravans moving down the Yarmuk corridor toward the Jordan, it changed hands repeatedly between the Franks of the Principality of Galilee and the Damascene atabegs. The Franks briefly recovered it in 1182 in a celebrated siege documented by Muslim chroniclers, before Saladin's armies took it permanently after Hattin in 1187. The remains of the cave system, the cisterns, and the rock-cut stairs survive today and are accessible from the Israeli side of the Yarmuk.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Yarmuk gorge, southern Golan Heights", "latitude": 32.71972, "longitude": 35.83722, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Golan Heights (Israeli-administered; claimed by Syria)", "modern_region": "Golan Heights", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Oultrejordain", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayn_al-Habis", "wikidata_id": "Q65059583", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value. Modern sovereignty of the territory is contested.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "partial", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "Ain al-habis cave castle.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=ain-al-habis-cave-castle", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/ain-al-habis-cave-castle/" }, { "id": "site/nimrod-fortress", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Nimrod Fortress", "alternative_names": [ "Qal'at al-Subeiba", "Qal'at Namrud", "Mivtzar Nimrod", "Subeibe" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Nimrod Fortress is the largest medieval castle in the region, a long, narrow stronghold strung along a rocky ridge at 800 metres elevation on the south-western slopes of Mount Hermon. It was begun in 1229 by al-Aziz 'Uthman, son of the Ayyubid sultan al-Adil, specifically to block a Crusader advance on Damascus through the Banias gap. The Mamluks later expanded it into one of the most elaborate fortresses of the thirteenth century, with huge rectangular towers, secret postern gates, a keep, and long inscriptions carved into its walls. Although it was built by the enemies of the Crusaders rather than by them, it is inseparable from the military history of the late Crusader period and today dominates the view above Banias in the Golan Heights national park system.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Mount Hermon foothills, Golan Heights", "latitude": 33.252778, "longitude": 35.714722, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Golan Heights (Israeli-administered; claimed by Syria)", "modern_region": "Golan Heights", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Maron", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nimrod_Fortress", "wikidata_id": "Q1404704", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Modern sovereignty of the territory is contested.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%91%D7%A6%D7%A8_%D7%A0%D7%9E%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%93", "image_filename": "מבצר_נמרוד_עמק_החולה_והרי_הגליל_העליון_בבוקר_מושלג.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=nimrod-fortress", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/nimrod-fortress/" }, { "id": "site/banias-belinas", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Banias (Belinas)", "alternative_names": [ "Belinas", "Paneas", "Banias" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Walled town / citadel", "historical_category": "Settlement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Banias — Belinas to the Franks — lies at the foot of Mount Hermon where one of the main sources of the Jordan emerges. A strategically vital frontier town, it changed hands several times in the twelfth century between the kingdom and Damascus before being finally lost in 1164. Walls, gates and the base of a small castle survive in the archaeological park, alongside earlier Roman and Hellenistic remains.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Banias, Golan Heights", "latitude": 33.24861, "longitude": 35.69444, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Golan Heights (Israeli-administered; claimed by Syria)", "modern_region": "Golan Heights", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Maron", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banias", "wikidata_id": "Q606295", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 29)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Fortified status not definitive (recorded as 'probable'). Modern sovereignty of the territory is contested.", "fortified_status": "probable", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%91%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%90%D7%A1_%28%D7%90%D7%AA%D7%A8_%D7%90%D7%A8%D7%9B%D7%90%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%92%D7%99%29", "image_filename": "PikiWiki_Israel_78479_the_corner_tower_in_the_banias_reserve.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=banias-belinas", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/banias-belinas/" }, { "id": "site/deir-al-balah-darum", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Deir al-Balah (Darum)", "alternative_names": [ "Darum", "Darom", "al-Darum" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Deir al-Balah — 'the monastery of the date palms' — is the site of the twelfth-century Crusader castle of Darum, built by King Amalric around 1170 on the desert road into Egypt. A four-tower quadrangular castle, it was besieged and rebuilt several times before Saladin finally destroyed it after Hattin. Almost nothing of the castle is visible today in the modern Gaza Strip town.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip", "latitude": 31.4181, "longitude": 34.3511, "coordinate_accuracy": "approximate", "modern_country": "Palestinian Territories", "modern_region": "Gaza Strip", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Darum", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deir_al-Balah", "wikidata_id": "Q557383", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "D. Pringle, archaeological gazetteer of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (page reference(s): 46)", "source_notes": "coordinate status: uncertain; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Location is approximate. Coordinates flagged uncertain in source. Modern sovereignty of the territory is contested.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "partial", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%93%D7%99%D7%A8%20%D7%90%D7%9C-%D7%91%D7%9C%D7%97", "image_filename": "Deir_al-Balah.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=deir-al-balah-darum", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/deir-al-balah-darum/" }, { "id": "site/great-mosque-of-gaza-crusader-church", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Great Mosque of Gaza (Crusader Church)", "alternative_names": [], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Church or religious site", "historical_category": "Religious site", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Originally a Byzantine church of St John converted to a mosque in early Islamic times and re-converted to a Crusader church in 1150 under the Templars. After Saladin's victory in 1187 the building reverted to a mosque — the Great Mosque of Gaza — but the Templars' Romanesque nave, pointed arches and handsome western portal remained intact and are still clearly visible today as an architectural palimpsest at the heart of the old city.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Great Mosque of Gaza (Crusader Church)", "latitude": 31.5042, "longitude": 34.46447, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Palestinian Territories", "modern_region": "Gaza Strip", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Jaffa and Ascalon", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Mosque_of_Gaza", "wikidata_id": "Q739415", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value. Modern sovereignty of the territory is contested.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%94%D7%9E%D7%A1%D7%92%D7%93_%D7%94%D7%92%D7%93%D7%95%D7%9C_%D7%91%D7%A2%D7%96%D7%94", "image_filename": "Great_Mosque_of_Gaza.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=great-mosque-of-gaza-crusader-church", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/great-mosque-of-gaza-crusader-church/" }, { "id": "site/battle-of-la-forbie-1244", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Battle of La Forbie (1244)", "alternative_names": [ "Harbiyya" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Battle (open-field engagement)", "historical_category": "Military engagement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "The forgotten catastrophe that sealed the fate of Crusader Palestine. By the 1240s the Crusader states had regained Jerusalem through diplomacy, but their position was fragile. In 1244 a horde of displaced Khwarezmian Turks — refugees from the Mongol conquests in Central Asia — swept through Syria and sacked Jerusalem, driving out its Christian inhabitants for the last time. The Crusaders allied with their former enemy, the Ayyubid rulers of Damascus and Homs, and together they marched to confront the Khwarezmians and their Egyptian allies near the village of La Forbie (Harbiyya), northeast of Gaza. On 17 October 1244 the allied army was annihilated: over five thousand Crusader troops were killed and eight hundred captured, while the Syrian contingent was routed. It was the worst Christian defeat in the Holy Land since Hattin, and the Crusader states never recovered their interior territories. Jerusalem would not return to Christian control for nearly seven hundred years.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Near Gaza", "latitude": 31.605767, "longitude": 34.546358, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Palestinian Territories", "modern_region": "Gaza Strip", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Jaffa and Ascalon", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Forbie", "wikidata_id": "Q578201", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Modern sovereignty of the territory is contested.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A7%D7%A8%D7%91_%D7%94%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%91%D7%99%D7%94", "image_filename": "battle_Battle_of_La_Forbie_1244.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=battle-of-la-forbie-1244", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/battle-of-la-forbie-1244/" }, { "id": "site/ajloun-castle", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Ajloun Castle", "alternative_names": [ "Qal'at ar-Rabad", "Ajlun Castle", "Castle of 'Izz ad-Din Usama" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Ajloun is the great Ayyubid castle, built specifically as the answer to the Crusader fortresses across the Jordan. Saladin's general 'Izz ad-Din Usama, governor of the Ajloun region, began the work in 1184 to control the iron mines of the surrounding hills, to dominate the northern caravan road from Damascus to Egypt, and — above all — to block the Frankish lords of Belvoir and Kawkab from raiding into the rich agricultural land of the Sawad. A square inner keep with four corner towers was expanded after Hattin into a much larger irregular fortress, the towers rebuilt with the prow-shaped bossed masonry characteristic of late Ayyubid work. Held by the Mamluks after Saladin's dynasty fell, the castle was wrecked by the Mongols in 1260 and then rebuilt yet again. Most of the Ayyubid and Mamluk fabric survives today as one of the best-preserved medieval fortresses in Jordan.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Ajloun, northern Jordan", "latitude": 32.325208, "longitude": 35.727281, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Jordan", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Oultrejordain", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajloun_Castle", "wikidata_id": "Q1480575", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%A6%D7%95%D7%93%D7%AA_%D7%A2%D7%92%27%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%9F", "image_filename": "Ajloun_Castle.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=ajloun-castle", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/ajloun-castle/" }, { "id": "site/kerak-castle", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Kerak Castle", "alternative_names": [ "Al-Karak", "Crac des Moabites", "Karak" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Perched dramatically on a long Jordanian plateau south of the Dead Sea, Kerak is one of the Levant's most formidable surviving medieval fortresses. Pagan the Butler began building it in the 1140s to anchor the Lordship of Oultrejordain and tax caravans on the King's Highway between Damascus and Egypt. The notorious Raynald of Châtillon made Kerak his base for raids on Muslim pilgrimage traffic, provoking Saladin's 1183 siege — interrupted, according to legend, only so that a noble wedding inside the fortress could finish. Kerak fell in 1188 after Hattin, but its glacis, vaulted halls, and concentric walls remain remarkably intact and form the core of the modern town's old quarter.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Al-Karak, Jordan", "latitude": 31.180556, "longitude": 35.701389, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Jordan", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Oultrejordain", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerak_Castle", "wikidata_id": "Q844694", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%A6%D7%95%D7%93%D7%AA_%D7%9B%D7%A8%D7%9B", "image_filename": "Kerak Castle.JPG", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=kerak-castle", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/kerak-castle/" }, { "id": "site/shobak-montreal", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Shobak (Montreal)", "alternative_names": [ "Krak de Montreal", "Mons Regalis", "Shawbak" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Montreal — Mons Regalis, 'the royal mountain' — was founded by King Baldwin I in 1115 on an isolated conical hill in the southern Jordanian highlands. It served as the first seat of the Lordship of Oultrejordain before Kerak was built further north, and from here its lords taxed the caravan and pilgrimage traffic crossing between Syria, Egypt and the Hejaz. The castle withstood Saladin's armies from 1187 onward, finally surrendering in May 1189 after a nearly two-year blockade in which its garrison reportedly went blind from salt deprivation. Frankish walls, a chapel and cisterns survive, layered beneath Ayyubid and Mamluk rebuilding, among the ruins above modern Shobak.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Shobak, Jordan", "latitude": 30.5313, "longitude": 35.56, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Jordan", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Oultrejordain", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_(castle)", "wikidata_id": "Q1362749", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%95%D7%A0%D7%A8%D7%90%D7%9C", "image_filename": "Montreal_Castle.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=shobak-montreal", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/shobak-montreal/" }, { "id": "site/ahamant-amman-citadel", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Ahamant (Amman Citadel)", "alternative_names": [ "Ahemant", "Hamant", "Philadelphia" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Walled town / citadel", "historical_category": "Settlement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "The ancient acropolis of Rabbath-Ammon — classical Philadelphia — briefly served in the twelfth century as the seat of the small lordship of Ahamant, a sub-fief of Oultrejordain. The Franks are documented as holding the site but apparently reused the Byzantine and Umayyad fortifications on the Citadel Hill rather than building anew; archaeologists have yet to isolate a clearly Crusader-period structure. Ahamant slipped back into Muslim control before Hattin, and the name survives only in the lordship lists of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The hilltop today is an Ammanian archaeological park with Roman, Byzantine and Umayyad monuments.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Amman Citadel, Jordan", "latitude": 31.9547, "longitude": 35.9343, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Jordan", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Oultrejordain", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amman_Citadel", "wikidata_id": "Q3157009", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Fortified status not definitive (recorded as 'probable').", "fortified_status": "probable", "visible_remains": "partial", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%A6%D7%95%D7%93%D7%AA_%D7%A2%D7%9E%D7%90%D7%9F", "image_filename": "Amman_Citadel_140.JPG", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=ahamant-amman-citadel", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/ahamant-amman-citadel/" }, { "id": "site/wuayra-castle", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Wu'ayra Castle", "alternative_names": [ "al-Wu'aira", "al-Wu'ayra", "Castellum Vallis Moysis", "li Vaux Moysi (Valley of Moses)" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "A small spur castle sitting on a narrow ridge about a kilometre north of the entrance to Petra, Wu'ayra — Latin *Castellum Vallis Moysis*, 'Castle of the Valley of Moses' — was founded by Baldwin I as a forward outpost of Montreal, thirty-four kilometres to the north. From its 1,050-metre perch it watched the approaches to Wadi Musa and the trade and pilgrimage roads that skirted the Sharah plateau. More dependent on sheer cliffs than on heavy masonry, its most striking survival is a gatehouse hewn directly into the living rock. Wu'ayra fell to Saladin's forces in 1188, shortly after Kerak, and was thereafter abandoned; a rectangular enclosure, corner towers and a small single-hall church still stand.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Wadi Musa, 1 km north of Petra entrance, Jordan", "latitude": 30.333056, "longitude": 35.465833, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Jordan", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Oultrejordain", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu%27ayra_Castle", "wikidata_id": "Q30314813", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "partial", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "Wu’era_Castle.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=wuayra-castle", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/wuayra-castle/" }, { "id": "site/church-of-st-mary-kerak-castle", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Church of St. Mary (Kerak Castle)", "alternative_names": [], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Church or religious site", "historical_category": "Religious site", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Consecrated in 1118 inside the courts of Kerak Castle, this is the largest surviving Crusader church in modern Jordan. Its architecture shows a striking collaboration between Latin architects and local Arab builders: Frankish ribbed vaults and pointed arches sit over locally-dressed ashlar walls, producing a distinctive hybrid of Occitan and Moabite masonry.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Church of St. Mary (Kerak Castle)", "latitude": 31.180556, "longitude": 35.701389, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Jordan", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Oultrejordain", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerak_Castle", "wikidata_id": "Q844694", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%A6%D7%95%D7%93%D7%AA_%D7%9B%D7%A8%D7%9B", "image_filename": "Jordan_Kerak_Castle_crusader_church_2491.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=church-of-st-mary-kerak-castle", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/church-of-st-mary-kerak-castle/" }, { "id": "site/castle-of-pharaohs-island", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Castle of Pharaoh's Island", "alternative_names": [ "Île de Graye", "Ile de Graye", "Jazirat Fara'un", "Gezirat Faraun", "Coral Island", "Salah El-Din Castle", "Saladin's Castle", "Pharaoh's Island" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "A small granite island at the northern head of the Gulf of Aqaba carries the southernmost outwork associated with the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Tradition — preserved by William of Tyre — credits King Baldwin I with building a fortress here around 1116 to tax and threaten the Red Sea pilgrim traffic; modern scholarship is cautious, since documented Frankish garrison records are thin. In 1170 Saladin's engineers seized the island and dramatically enlarged the defences, giving the castle its modern Arabic name 'Qal'at Salah al-Din'. Raynald of Châtillon used the anchorage in 1182–83 to launch his infamous Red Sea raid, having dismantled prefabricated galleys at Kerak and hauled them across Oultrejordain on camel-back. Today the islet — Jazirat Fara'un — is an Egyptian antiquities park with a curtain wall, archer towers, bath, kitchens and dovecotes surviving above the coral-fringed shore.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Pharaoh's Island (Jazirat Fara'un), Gulf of Aqaba, Egypt", "latitude": 29.463142, "longitude": 34.860092, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Egypt", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "", "lordship_or_fief": "", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_of_Saladin,_Pharaoh%27s_Island", "wikidata_id": "Q4025931", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "Salah_El-Din_castle.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=castle-of-pharaohs-island", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/castle-of-pharaohs-island/" }, { "id": "site/cairo-citadel", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Cairo Citadel", "alternative_names": [ "Citadel of Saladin", "Qal'at al-Jabal", "Salah ad-Din Citadel" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Walled town / citadel", "historical_category": "Settlement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Saladin began the Cairo Citadel in 1176 on a spur of the Mokattam hills overlooking the city. It was a deliberate strategic move: a single fortified enclosure unifying the Fatimid palace city of al-Qahira with the older settlement of al-Fustat, and giving the new Ayyubid sultanate a defensible command centre from which to co-ordinate the wars against the Crusader states. From this citadel Saladin and his heirs directed the campaigns that broke the Kingdom of Jerusalem at Hattin in 1187 and the dynasties that followed — Ayyubid, Mamluk, Ottoman, and Muhammad 'Ali's nineteenth-century modernisers — all expanded it. The medieval walls, the round towers, and the great open cisterns of Saladin's original work still survive alongside the later Ottoman-era Mosque of Muhammad 'Ali, and the complex remains the dominant skyline feature of historic Cairo.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Mokattam Hills, Old Cairo, Egypt", "latitude": 30.02944, "longitude": 31.26139, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Egypt", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "", "lordship_or_fief": "", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citadel_of_Cairo", "wikidata_id": "Q1988240", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: verified; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%A6%D7%95%D7%93%D7%AA_%D7%A7%D7%94%D7%99%D7%A8", "image_filename": "Flickr_-_HuTect_ShOts_-_Citadel_of_Salah_El.Din_and_Masjid_Muhammad_Ali_قلعة_صلاح_الدين_الأيوبي_ومسجد_محمد_علي_-_Cairo_-_Egypt_-_17_04_2010_(4).jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=cairo-citadel", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/cairo-citadel/" }, { "id": "site/battle-of-mansurah-1250", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Battle of Mansurah (1250)", "alternative_names": [ "Al-Mansurah", "Mansoura" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Battle (open-field engagement)", "historical_category": "Military engagement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Louis IX of France's Seventh Crusade had landed at Damietta in June 1249 and then moved up the eastern arm of the Nile delta toward Cairo. On 8 February 1250, the Crusader vanguard under the king's brother Robert d'Artois forded the Bahr el-Saghir branch of the Nile and surprised an Ayyubid camp at Gideila; flushed with success, Robert ignored orders to wait for the main army and pursued the fleeing Egyptians into the narrow streets of the town of al-Mansurah itself. There the elite Bahri Mamluk regiment, commanded by Faris ad-Din Aktai and the future sultan Baybars, trapped the Frankish column from the rooftops and destroyed it. Robert d'Artois and 280 Templars were killed; the Crusader infantry that arrived in the days following held the ground around Mansurah for two months but could not advance. Louis IX's eventual retreat to Damietta in April collapsed into a rout, and the king himself was captured. The defeat triggered the Mamluk coup that would soon overthrow the Ayyubid sultanate.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "al-Mansurah, Nile Delta, Egypt", "latitude": 31.043, "longitude": 31.38, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Egypt", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "", "lordship_or_fief": "", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mansurah_(1250)", "wikidata_id": "Q2528398", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: verified; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A7%D7%A8%D7%91_%D7%90%D7%9C-%D7%9E%D7%A0%D7%A6%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%94_%281250%29", "image_filename": "Mansura.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=battle-of-mansurah-1250", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/battle-of-mansurah-1250/" }, { "id": "site/tyre", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Tyre", "alternative_names": [ "Sur", "Sour", "Ṣūr", "Tyr", "Tyrus", "Seigneury of Tyre" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Capital city", "historical_category": "Settlement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "One of the four great ports of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, usually held as part of the royal domain. Besieged for five and a half months by a combined Crusader–Venetian force in 1124 — the Venetian fleet blockading the harbour — and taken on 7 July that year. After the catastrophe at the Horns of Hattin in 1187, Tyre was the only major port of the kingdom to hold out against Saladin, defended heroically by Conrad of Montferrat, whose two defensive victories gave the Third Crusade its base of operations. Tyre became the de facto Frankish capital until Acre was recovered in 1191, and remained Crusader until its surrender to the Mamluks on 19 May 1291, the day after Acre. The city was also the seat of the single most important Crusader chronicler: William of Tyre, born in Jerusalem around 1130 and educated at the schools of Paris, Orléans and Bologna, who became Archbishop of Tyre in 1175 and composed most of his Historia rerum in partibus transmarinis gestarum from his cathedra there before dying around 1186 — his history breaking off unfinished mid-sentence in book XXIII, in a passage of dark foreboding about the kingdom's prospects. Fragments of the Crusader city walls, the cathedral of the Holy Cross (where tradition says Frederick Barbarossa's bones were buried), and the Venetian quarter survive in the modern town of Sour.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Sour (Tyre), South Governorate, Lebanon", "latitude": 33.2704, "longitude": 35.196, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Lebanon", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Seigneury of Tyre", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyre,_Lebanon", "wikidata_id": "Q82070", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "yes", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A6%D7%95%D7%A8_(%D7%9C%D7%91%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%9F)", "image_filename": "Tyre_1187.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=tyre", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/tyre/" }, { "id": "site/beaufort-castle-lebanon", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Beaufort Castle (Lebanon)", "alternative_names": [ "Qal'at al-Shaqif", "Shaqif Arnun", "Belfort" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "One of the most striking examples of Crusader military architecture in the Levant, perched on a sheer rock over the Litani. Fulk of Jerusalem captured the site in 1139; the Franks built a roughly triangular fortress (150 × 100 m) in two wards with a 12 × 12 m keep — notable for its Syrian-style ground-floor entrance rather than the usual European first-floor door. Saladin took it after a long siege in 1189–90, during which the Frankish lord Reynald of Sidon famously stalled surrender negotiations by pretending to be converting to Islam, buying months of time for relief while feigning theological study — a stratagem recorded with grudging admiration by Saladin's secretaries. The Franks recovered Beaufort fifty years later; Baibars captured it for the Mamluks in 1268. Its strategic value was so great that Beaufort was still an active military post during the 1982 Lebanon War.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Arnoun, Nabatieh Governorate, Lebanon", "latitude": 33.3244, "longitude": 35.532, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Lebanon", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Sidon", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaufort_Castle%2C_Lebanon", "wikidata_id": "Q476801", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%91%D7%95%D7%A4%D7%95%D7%A8", "image_filename": "Beaufort_Castle.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=beaufort-castle-lebanon", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/beaufort-castle-lebanon/" }, { "id": "site/byblos-castle-gibelet", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Byblos Castle (Gibelet)", "alternative_names": [ "Gibelet", "Château de Gibelet" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Seat of the Genoese Embriaco family, who ruled Gibelet as naval magnates from 1100 until the late thirteenth century. A hybrid castrum–turris plan: roughly square curtain walls with four corner towers enclosing a massive central donjon, surrounded by a moat and faced with reused Roman columns. Saladin took it in 1188 after Hattin and partially dismantled it in 1190; the Franks recovered Byblos in 1197 and rebuilt the defences, which repulsed a Cypriot naval assault as late as 1369.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Byblos (Jbail), Mount Lebanon Governorate", "latitude": 34.12139, "longitude": 35.64806, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Lebanon", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "County of Tripoli", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Tripoli", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byblos_Castle", "wikidata_id": "Q1619788", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "yes", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%98%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%AA_%D7%92%D7%91%D7%9C", "image_filename": "Byblos_Castle.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=byblos-castle-gibelet", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/byblos-castle-gibelet/" }, { "id": "site/cave-de-tyron-fortress-of-niha", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Cave de Tyron (Fortress of Niha)", "alternative_names": [ "Chqif Tayroun", "Fortress of Niha", "Qal'at Niha" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Troglodyte fortress carved into a sheer 100-metre cliff over the Bisri and Aray valleys, guarding the road between Sidon and the Beqaa. First mentioned in 975 CE and held by Druze leaders in the early twelfth century, it was integrated into the Lordship of Sidon around 1170. Rock-cut chambers, deep silos, and a spring-fed cistern system allowed it to withstand long sieges. Sold to the Teutonic Knights by Julian of Sidon in 1256; lost in 1261; rebuilt by Baibars in 1270.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Niha, Chouf District, Lebanon", "latitude": 33.57978, "longitude": 35.6089, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Lebanon", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Sidon", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortress_of_Niha", "wikidata_id": "Q824442", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "Cave_de_Tyron.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=cave-de-tyron-fortress-of-niha", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/cave-de-tyron-fortress-of-niha/" }, { "id": "site/citadel-of-raymond-de-saint-gilles-tripoli", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Citadel of Raymond de Saint-Gilles (Tripoli)", "alternative_names": [ "Château du Mont-Pèlerin", "Castellum Montis Peregrini", "Qal'at Sān Jīl", "Citadel of Tripoli" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Headquarters of the County of Tripoli for a century and a half, built from 1102 onward by Raymond IV of Toulouse on Mount Pilgrim two miles from the old city to blockade Tripoli. The city finally fell to the Crusaders in July 1109. Sultan Qalawun captured it in 1289, burning the Mont Pèlerin quarter; the hilltop lay abandoned for eighteen years before the Mamluks regarrisoned it. Very little original Frankish masonry survives — the present citadel is largely a nineteenth-century Ottoman restoration.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Tripoli, North Governorate, Lebanon", "latitude": 34.4334, "longitude": 35.8445, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Lebanon", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "County of Tripoli", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Tripoli", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citadel_of_Raymond_de_Saint-Gilles", "wikidata_id": "Q49977", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "partial", "has_harbor": "yes", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%A6%D7%95%D7%93%D7%AA_%D7%A8%D7%9E%D7%95%D7%9F_%D7%93%D7%94_%D7%A1%D7%9F-%D7%96%27%D7%99%D7%9C", "image_filename": "Citadel_of_Tripoli.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=citadel-of-raymond-de-saint-gilles-tripoli", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/citadel-of-raymond-de-saint-gilles-tripoli/" }, { "id": "site/deir-kifa-castle", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Deir Kifa Castle", "alternative_names": [ "Maron Castle", "Qal'at Deir Kifa" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Sprawling 17,000-m² Crusader castle with 12-metre walls, seven towers, 365 wells, four springs, and extensive subterranean cellars and stables — one of the largest surviving plan castles of southern Lebanon. Tradition associates its renovation with a French commander called Miron, hence the alternate name 'Maron Castle'. Levelled by Sultan Qalawun in 1289 and partially restored in the mid-eighteenth century by Sheikh Abbas al-Nassar al-Waeli.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Deir Kifa, Tyre District, Lebanon", "latitude": 33.26219, "longitude": 35.39901, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Lebanon", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Toron", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deir_Kifa", "wikidata_id": "Q12212399", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "partial", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%93%D7%99%D7%A8_%D7%9B%D7%99%D7%A4%D7%90", "image_filename": "", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=deir-kifa-castle", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/deir-kifa-castle/" }, { "id": "site/gibelacar-akkar-castle", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Gibelacar (Akkar Castle)", "alternative_names": [ "Hisn Ibn Akkar", "Qal'at 'Akkar", "Akkar el-Atika" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Spur castle on a 700-metre ridge between two ravines of the Nahr Akkar, guarding the Homs Gap road 27 km south of Krak des Chevaliers. Ceded by the Burids in 1109, held by the Puylaurens family, then assigned to the Hospitallers by King Amalric I after the 1170 earthquake. Captured by Nur ad-Din in 1167 and recovered; finally taken by Sultan Baibars on 11 May 1271, immediately after the fall of Krak des Chevaliers.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Akkar Governorate, Lebanon", "latitude": 34.525, "longitude": 36.2417, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Lebanon", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "County of Tripoli", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Tripoli", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibelacar", "wikidata_id": "Q202873", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "partial", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%A6%D7%95%D7%93%D7%AA_%D7%A2%D7%9B%D7%90%D7%A8", "image_filename": "", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=gibelacar-akkar-castle", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/gibelacar-akkar-castle/" }, { "id": "site/nephin-anfeh", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Nephin (Anfeh)", "alternative_names": [ "Nephin", "Anfeh", "Enfeh" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Peninsular fief of the Counts of Tripoli, built on a Phoenician site where the Crusaders executed one of the great engineering feats of the Middle Ages: a sea-level moat cut over 100 yards through living rock, severing the citadel from the mainland. The Lords of Nephin became notorious robber barons preying on Jerusalem–Tripoli traffic. Sultan Qalawun demolished the castle so thoroughly in 1289 that only the rock-cut moat survives.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Anfeh, Koura District, Lebanon", "latitude": 34.361004, "longitude": 35.728977, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Lebanon", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "County of Tripoli", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Tripoli", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anfeh", "wikidata_id": "Q4119042", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "fragmentary", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "Nephin_Anfeh.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=nephin-anfeh", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/nephin-anfeh/" }, { "id": "site/sidon-sea-castle", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Sidon Sea Castle", "alternative_names": [ "Qal'at al-Bahr", "Château de la Mer de Sidon" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Marvel of maritime engineering built in 1228 by the Knights Hospitaller on a small rocky island connected to Sidon's port by an 80-metre causeway. The Crusaders deliberately chose an islet that had housed an ancient Phoenician temple to Melqart, reusing the submerged foundations. The lower phase of the east tower is Frankish; the Mamluks partially destroyed and then rebuilt the upper tower and extended the causeway after taking Sidon.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Sidon (Saida), South Governorate, Lebanon", "latitude": 33.56718, "longitude": 35.37097, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Lebanon", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Sidon", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidon_Sea_Castle", "wikidata_id": "Q2918974", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "yes", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%91%D7%A6%D7%A8_%D7%94%D7%99%D7%9D_%D7%91%D7%A6%D7%99%D7%93%D7%95%D7%9F", "image_filename": "Sidon_Sea_Castle.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=sidon-sea-castle", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/sidon-sea-castle/" }, { "id": "site/smar-jbeil-castle", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Smar Jbeil Castle", "alternative_names": [ "Castle of Smar Jbeil" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Twelfth-century Crusader castle above the Batroun district with deep pre-Crusader history — Maronite Patriarch St John Maron took refuge here in 685 CE. Built in three phases over a Roman-period necropolis as a tower-and-bailey fortress: central donjon on a rock podium, curtain walls, four corner towers, a rock-cut ditch and a barbican at the entrance. It later passed to the Khazin family; damaged in the 1630 earthquake and restored the following year.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Smar Jbeil, Batroun District, Lebanon", "latitude": 34.2175, "longitude": 35.688, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Lebanon", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "County of Tripoli", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Tripoli", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_of_Smar_Jbeil", "wikidata_id": "Q139149439", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "Smar_Jbeil.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=smar-jbeil-castle", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/smar-jbeil-castle/" }, { "id": "site/toron-tibnin", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Toron (Tibnin)", "alternative_names": [ "Tibnin", "Tibnine", "Château de Toron" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Spur castle on a steep Bronze Age tell at 725 metres, built in 1106 by Hugh of Fauquembergues, Prince of Galilee, to pressure the still-Muslim port of Tyre. Originally defended by twelve rectangular towers and a massive southern donjon; seat of the Humphrey family, Lords of Toron. Fell to Saladin after Hattin in 1187; the Ayyubid sultan al-Mu'azzam secretly dismantled it in 1219 to deny it to the Fifth Crusade. Frederick II recovered it diplomatically in 1229, and it resisted a Khwarezmian attack in 1244 before Baibars razed it in 1266.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Tibnin, Bint Jbeil District, Lebanon", "latitude": 33.195714, "longitude": 35.412325, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Lebanon", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Toron", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toron", "wikidata_id": "Q681554", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "partial", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "Toron_Tibnin.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=toron-tibnin", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/toron-tibnin/" }, { "id": "site/batroun", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Batroun", "alternative_names": [ "Botrun", "Boutron", "Lordship of Botrun" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Walled town / citadel", "historical_category": "Settlement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Coastal town captured in 1104 and held as the Lordship of Botrun until the Mamluk conquest of 1289, when Sultan Qalawun destroyed the citadel so completely that its exact site has been lost. The lordship produced a long line of counts but left no upstanding Frankish fortifications; the picturesque stretch of Phoenician sea-wall sometimes pointed out in the modern town predates the Crusaders entirely.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Batroun, North Governorate, Lebanon", "latitude": 34.2546, "longitude": 35.6556, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Lebanon", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "County of Tripoli", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Tripoli", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batroun", "wikidata_id": "Q3285145", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value. Fortified status not definitive (recorded as 'probable').", "fortified_status": "probable", "visible_remains": "fragmentary", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%91%D7%AA%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%9F_%28%D7%9C%D7%91%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%9F%29", "image_filename": "Batroun.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=batroun", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/batroun/" }, { "id": "site/beirut-castle", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Beirut Castle", "alternative_names": [ "Château de Beyrouth", "Beyrouth Castle" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Walled town / citadel", "historical_category": "Settlement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Crusader-built coastal fortification guarding the port of Beirut, held by the Ibelin family as the Lordship of Beirut and a crucial defensive node for the central Levant. Demolished in the late nineteenth century during Ottoman urban expansion; only sparse archaeological remains survive beneath the modern city centre.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Beirut, Lebanon (demolished)", "latitude": 33.89944, "longitude": 35.50694, "coordinate_accuracy": "approximate", "modern_country": "Lebanon", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Beirut", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lordship_of_Beirut", "wikidata_id": "Q1609953", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: uncertain; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Location is approximate. Coordinates flagged uncertain in source.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "no", "has_harbor": "yes", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "Beirût_castle_colored.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=beirut-castle", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/beirut-castle/" }, { "id": "site/hasbaya-castle", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Hasbaya Castle", "alternative_names": [ "Château de Hasbaya", "Emir Shahib's Castle" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Walled town / citadel", "historical_category": "Settlement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Frankish square tower guarding the approaches to Mount Hermon, held by a Crusader identified in local tradition as Count Oran. Lost to the Chehab dynasty in 1171 after fierce fighting with the Druze, themselves formidable warriors resisting the Frankish penetration of the mountains. The Chehabs expanded the Crusader tower into a 65-room palatial complex decorated with Renaissance wall paintings, occupying it as a family seat for over eight centuries.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Hasbaya, Nabatieh Governorate, Lebanon", "latitude": 33.3979, "longitude": 35.6856, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Lebanon", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Sidon", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasbaya", "wikidata_id": "Q594026", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Fortified status not definitive (recorded as 'probable').", "fortified_status": "probable", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%97%D7%90%D7%A6%D7%91%D7%99%D7%90", "image_filename": "Hasbaya_Castle.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=hasbaya-castle", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/hasbaya-castle/" }, { "id": "site/saint-louis-castle-sidon", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Saint Louis Castle (Sidon)", "alternative_names": [ "Qalaat al Muizz", "Sidon Land Castle", "Château Saint-Louis" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Walled town / citadel", "historical_category": "Settlement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Landward counterpart to the Sidon Sea Castle, perched on Sidon's ancient acropolis over a tenth-century Fatimid citadel, itself built on demolished classical structures. The site was devastated by an Ayyubid attack in 1249, and completely reconstructed in 1254 by French Crusaders during Louis IX's occupation of the city. Together with the Sea Castle it made Sidon one of the most imposing Frankish strongholds on the coast until it was sacked by the Mongols under Kitbuqa in 1260.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Sidon (Saida), South Governorate, Lebanon", "latitude": 33.56022, "longitude": 35.37067, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Lebanon", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Sidon", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Louis_Castle", "wikidata_id": "Q2967982", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "yes", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%A6%D7%95%D7%93%D7%AA_%D7%94%D7%99%D7%91%D7%A9%D7%94_%D7%91%D7%A6%D7%99%D7%93%D7%95%D7%9F", "image_filename": "Saint_Louis_Castle.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=saint-louis-castle-sidon", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/saint-louis-castle-sidon/" }, { "id": "site/arqa-archas", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Arqa (Archas)", "alternative_names": [ "Archas", "Arca", "Tell Arqa" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Chokepoint fortress on the roads from Tripoli to Tartus and Homs. Raymond of Toulouse besieged it unsuccessfully for three months in 1099 during the First Crusade; William II Jordan finally took it in 1108 and incorporated it into the County of Tripoli. The castle resisted Nur ad-Din in 1167 and 1171 before falling to Baibars in 1265–66.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Arqa, Akkar District, Lebanon", "latitude": 34.5297, "longitude": 36.04, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Lebanon", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "County of Tripoli", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Tripoli", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arqa", "wikidata_id": "Q675858", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "fragmentary", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A2%D7%A8%D7%A7%D7%90", "image_filename": "Arqa.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=arqa-archas", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/arqa-archas/" }, { "id": "site/belhacem-qalaat-abou-el-hassan", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Belhacem (Qalaat Abou El Hassan)", "alternative_names": [ "Qalaat Abou El Hassan", "Belhasem", "Belhacem Fortress" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "80-metre-high rocky outcrop (100 × 30 m) near Sfariyeh in the Jezzine region, first mentioned in Frankish chronicles in 1128 as a rear-guard defence for Sidon against attacks from the eastern mountains. Its signature survival is a semi-circular two-story tower-gate built with large rusticated bossage blocks — the same masonry signature seen at Beaufort. Fell to Saladin in September 1187 after Hattin and became an Ayyubid frontier post.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Sfariyeh, Jezzine District, Lebanon", "latitude": 33.5219, "longitude": 35.6081, "coordinate_accuracy": "approximate", "modern_country": "Lebanon", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Sidon", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaufort_Castle%2C_Lebanon", "wikidata_id": "Q476801", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: uncertain; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Location is approximate. Coordinates flagged uncertain in source.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "partial", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%91%D7%95%D7%A4%D7%95%D7%A8", "image_filename": "Belhacem.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=belhacem-qalaat-abou-el-hassan", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/belhacem-qalaat-abou-el-hassan/" }, { "id": "site/coliath-qalaat-al-qulayat", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Coliath (Qalaat al-Qulay'at)", "alternative_names": [ "Colée", "Qalaat al-Qulay'at", "Chastel-Rouge" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Square castrum with flanking towers and vaulted halls on a low knoll 2 km from the Akkar coast — architecturally a classic plain- country military-order fortress. Granted to the Knights Hospitaller by Count Pons of Tripoli in 1127. Dismantled by Saladin's brother al-Adil in 1207 and permanently ruined by Baibars in summer 1266 as a prelude to the strangulation of Tripoli. Today only fragmentary remains stand.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "North Governorate, Lebanon", "latitude": 34.5819, "longitude": 36.0158, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Lebanon", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "County of Tripoli", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Tripoli", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coliath", "wikidata_id": "Q1108261", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "fragmentary", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%A6%D7%95%D7%93%D7%AA_%D7%A7%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%A2%D7%90%D7%AA", "image_filename": "", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=coliath-qalaat-al-qulayat", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/coliath-qalaat-al-qulayat/" }, { "id": "site/doubiye-castle", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Doubiye Castle", "alternative_names": [ "Qal'at ad-Dubba", "Doubiyeh" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Twelfth-century watchtower (turris) on the Damascus–Tyre road near Chaqra, likely housing a single knight and his household as a physical marker of lordly authority within the Lordship of Toron. French archaeological missions in 2011–2016 showed the Frankish foundations were radically refortified by Shia lords in the seventeenth century; their additions are unusual in the Near East for including domestic fireplaces but no firearm loopholes.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Chaqra, Bint Jbeil District, Lebanon", "latitude": 33.194028, "longitude": 35.485, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Lebanon", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Maron", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaqra%2C_Lebanon", "wikidata_id": "Q2957566", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "Castle of Chaqra.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=doubiye-castle", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/doubiye-castle/" }, { "id": "site/scandelion-castle-shamaa", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Scandelion Castle (Shamaa)", "alternative_names": [ "Iskandarouna", "Qal'at Shamaa", "Château d'Iskandarounah" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Conical-hill castle in Shamaa built by Baldwin I in 1116 (some sources 1124) to command the coastal approach to Tyre. Its walls and flanking towers gave sweeping views down the littoral as far as Naqoura, allowing early warning of any maritime or overland threat against the greatest of the northern Galilean ports.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Shamaa, Tyre District, Lebanon", "latitude": 33.1558, "longitude": 35.1639, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Lebanon", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Seigneury of Tyre", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scandelion_Castle", "wikidata_id": "Q18355781", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "fragmentary", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "Kalat_Schemma_CharlesWilliamMeredithVanDeVelde1857_p130_illustration39.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=scandelion-castle-shamaa", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/scandelion-castle-shamaa/" }, { "id": "site/cathedral-of-the-holy-cross-tyre", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Cathedral of the Holy Cross (Tyre)", "alternative_names": [], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Church or religious site", "historical_category": "Religious site", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Founded in 1129 as the metropolitan cathedral of Tyre, this was one of the largest and most prestigious churches of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. After the loss of Jerusalem in 1187 it became the principal coronation site of the kings of the 'Second Kingdom', and hosted a number of royal marriages. Tradition — contested among the chronicles — holds that the bones of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, who drowned in the River Saleph on his way to the Third Crusade, were interred here in 1190. Destroyed by the Mamluks in 1291 when they took Tyre; substantial ruins of the nave and apse survive on the Phoenician causeway.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Cathedral of the Holy Cross (Tyre)", "latitude": 33.27036, "longitude": 35.19514, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Lebanon", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Seigneury of Tyre", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_the_Holy_Cross,_Tyre", "wikidata_id": "Q110026434", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A7%D7%AA%D7%93%D7%A8%D7%9C%D7%AA_%D7%A6%D7%95%D7%A8_%D7%94%D7%A6%D7%9C%D7%91%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%AA", "image_filename": "Cathedral_of_the_Holy_Cross_Tyre.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=cathedral-of-the-holy-cross-tyre", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/cathedral-of-the-holy-cross-tyre/" }, { "id": "site/our-lady-of-the-wind-saydet-el-rih-anfeh", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Our Lady of the Wind / Saydet el-Rih (Anfeh)", "alternative_names": [], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Church or religious site", "historical_category": "Religious site", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Small church on the rocky Anfeh peninsula, originally a Byzantine chapel that the Crusaders rebuilt and expanded by adding a western narthex and a northern chamber. It is one of the very few churches in Lebanon to retain medieval frescoes from the Crusader era, depicting saints, angels and biblical scenes including the sacrifice of Isaac.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Our Lady of the Wind / Saydet el-Rih (Anfeh)", "latitude": 34.361004, "longitude": 35.728977, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Lebanon", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "County of Tripoli", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Tripoli", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anfeh", "wikidata_id": "Q4119042", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "Enfeh_église_Sainte-Catherine_au_Liban-Nord.JPG", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=our-lady-of-the-wind-saydet-el-rih-anfeh", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/our-lady-of-the-wind-saydet-el-rih-anfeh/" }, { "id": "site/st-johns-cathedral-byblos", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "St. John's Cathedral (Byblos)", "alternative_names": [], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Church or religious site", "historical_category": "Religious site", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist built by the Crusaders in 1115 in the Romanesque style just inside the walls of Gibelet (modern Byblos). Its most distinctive feature is an open-air domed baptistery on the north side dating to the original 12th-century construction. Earthquakes reduced it to disrepair in later centuries; in 1764 the building was granted to the Lebanese Maronite Order and rededicated to St Jean-Marc.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "St. John's Cathedral (Byblos)", "latitude": 34.12149, "longitude": 35.6452, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Lebanon", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "County of Tripoli", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Tripoli", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._John%27s_Cathedral,_Byblos", "wikidata_id": "Q2319181", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "St_John_Cathedral_Byblos.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=st-johns-cathedral-byblos", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/st-johns-cathedral-byblos/" }, { "id": "site/battle-of-marj-ayyun-1179", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Battle of Marj Ayyun (1179)", "alternative_names": [ "Marjayoun" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Battle (open-field engagement)", "historical_category": "Military engagement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "On 10 June 1179, Baldwin IV intercepted a Saladin-led raiding column returning to Damascus through the Marj Ayyun valley in what is now southern Lebanon. The Crusader vanguard caught the Ayyubid baggage train and inflicted heavy losses, but a concentrated counter-attack by Saladin's reserves caught the Franks scattered across the valley floor. The Crusader force was driven back in disorder; the master of the Templars, Odo of St Amand, was captured along with Hugh of Tiberias and several hundred knights. Marj Ayyun was the prelude to the disaster at Jacob's Ford ten weeks later, and together the two engagements shifted the strategic initiative on the kingdom's northern frontier permanently to Saladin.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Marjayoun, southern Lebanon", "latitude": 33.36, "longitude": 35.59, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Lebanon", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Sidon", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Marj_Ayyun", "wikidata_id": "Q636520", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A7%D7%A8%D7%91_%D7%9E%D7%A8%D7%92%27_%D7%A2%D7%99%D7%95%D7%9F_%281179%29", "image_filename": "Saladin_the_Victorious.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=battle-of-marj-ayyun-1179", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/battle-of-marj-ayyun-1179/" }, { "id": "site/siege-of-sidon-1110", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Siege of Sidon (1110)", "alternative_names": [ "Crusader capture of Sidon" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Siege", "historical_category": "Military engagement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "From 19 October to 5 December 1110, Baldwin I besieged the Fatimid-held coastal city of Sidon with the assistance of the Doge of Venice Ordelafo Faliero and a Norwegian fleet of sixty ships under King Sigurd I, who had taken the cross and travelled by sea via Spain and Sicily to fight in the Holy Land. The combined land-and-sea operation cut the city off completely; the garrison surrendered on terms in early December. The capture of Sidon established the Lordship of Sidon as one of the great fiefs of the kingdom and removed another link in the chain of Fatimid ports along the Levantine coast.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Sidon, Lebanon", "latitude": 33.567, "longitude": 35.3711, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Lebanon", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Sidon", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Sidon", "wikidata_id": "Q3431465", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "Magnussonnenes_saga_3_-_G._Munthe.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=siege-of-sidon-1110", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/siege-of-sidon-1110/" }, { "id": "site/siege-of-tyre-1124", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Siege of Tyre (1124)", "alternative_names": [ "Crusader capture of Tyre" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Siege", "historical_category": "Military engagement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Tyre was the last great Fatimid port on the Levantine coast and the most heavily fortified, jutting out into the Mediterranean on an island linked to the mainland only by a narrow causeway. The siege began in February 1124 under the Patriarch Warmund of Picquigny and the new regent William of Bures — the previous regent, Eustace Grenier, having died in December 1123 — with critical naval support from a Venetian fleet bound by the Pactum Warmundi, a treaty granting Venice extensive trading and territorial privileges in the kingdom in return for sea power. After a five-month land-and-sea blockade the city surrendered on 7 or 8 July 1124. The capture of Tyre completed the conquest of the Levantine coast south of Tripoli and turned the surrounding agricultural region into a major sugar-cane economic base for the kingdom.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Tyre, Lebanon", "latitude": 33.27083, "longitude": 35.19611, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Lebanon", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Seigneury of Tyre", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Tyre_(1124)", "wikidata_id": "Q16830128", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "Tyre_being_blockaded_by_the_Venetian_fleet_and_besieged_by_Crusader_knighthood.PNG", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=siege-of-tyre-1124", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/siege-of-tyre-1124/" }, { "id": "site/krak-des-chevaliers", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Krak des Chevaliers", "alternative_names": [ "Crac des Chevaliers", "Hisn al-Akrad", "Castle of the Kurds", "Qal'at al-Hisn" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "The greatest of the Hospitaller castles and the most complete Crusader fortress to survive anywhere in the world. The Knights Hospitaller received the site in 1142 from Raymond II of Tripoli and rebuilt the earlier Kurdish fort into a colossal concentric stronghold of two circuits of walls, with a sloping talus, vaulted halls, a great Gothic loggia, and quarters for a garrison of perhaps two thousand men. Saladin probed it in 1188 and decided it was not worth besieging. It survived almost every assault for 130 years — including damage from the great earthquakes of 1170 and 1202 — but in March 1271 the Mamluk sultan Baybars finally invested it. After a month of mining and bombardment he forged a letter from the Hospitaller grand master ordering the garrison to surrender; on 8 April the knights marched out under safe conduct, and the castle passed permanently into Mamluk hands. T. E. Lawrence called it 'the best preserved and most wholly admirable castle in the world.'", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Homs Governorate, Syria", "latitude": 34.757, "longitude": 36.2947, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Syria", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "County of Tripoli", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Tripoli", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krak_des_Chevaliers", "wikidata_id": "Q177549", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A7%D7%A8%D7%90%D7%A7_%D7%93%D7%94_%D7%A9%D7%91%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%99%D7%94", "image_filename": "KRAK_DES_CHEVALIERS_-_GAR_-_6-00.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=krak-des-chevaliers", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/krak-des-chevaliers/" }, { "id": "site/margat", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Margat", "alternative_names": [ "Marqab", "Margat Castle", "Qal'at al-Marqab" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Margat — 'the watchtower' — is the second great Hospitaller castle of the Syrian coast, built of black basalt on a 360-metre volcanic spur overlooking the sea between Latakia and Tartus. The Mazoir family fortified the site in 1117 and sold it to the Hospitallers in 1186, who rebuilt it on a vast scale: a massive double curtain wall, a circular keep, a Gothic chapel, and barracks for a thousand-strong garrison with provisions enough for a five-year siege. After the fall of Krak in 1271 it became the chief Hospitaller seat in Syria. Sultan Qalawun finally took it in May 1285 after his sappers brought down one of the great corner towers; the defenders were granted safe passage to Tripoli. Most of the Crusader fabric still stands, and the chapel preserves remarkable thirteenth-century frescoes.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Banias, Tartus Governorate, Syria", "latitude": 35.151111, "longitude": 35.949167, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Syria", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "County of Tripoli", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Tripoli", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margat", "wikidata_id": "Q906516", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "yes", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%A8%D7%A7%D7%91", "image_filename": "Marqab-crusader-castle-donjon.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=margat", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/margat/" }, { "id": "site/saone", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Saone", "alternative_names": [ "Saladin's Castle", "Sahyun", "Qal'at Salah ad-Din", "Castle of Saone" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Saone occupies a long mountain ridge between two deep ravines about thirty kilometres east of Latakia, in territory belonging to the Principality of Antioch. The Crusaders refortified an earlier Byzantine site in the early twelfth century, cutting a spectacular rock-hewn ditch 28 metres deep through the saddle of the spur and leaving a single needle of living rock to support the drawbridge — one of the most dramatic engineering feats of the medieval Mediterranean. Saladin captured the castle in July 1188 after a three-day siege and it remained in Muslim hands thereafter; the Syrian government renamed it Qal'at Salah ad-Din in 1957. The Frankish keep, the chapel, and the Byzantine inner citadel all still stand, and the rock-cut needle remains the most photographed feature of any Crusader castle in Syria.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Latakia Governorate, Syria", "latitude": 35.595833, "longitude": 36.057222, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Syria", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "", "lordship_or_fief": "", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahyun_Castle", "wikidata_id": "Q277531", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: changed; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%A6%D7%95%D7%93%D7%AA_%D7%A6%D7%9C%D7%90%D7%97_%D7%90-%D7%93%D7%99%D7%9F", "image_filename": "Sahyun Castle.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=saone", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/saone/" }, { "id": "site/cathedral-of-our-lady-of-tortosa", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Cathedral of Our Lady of Tortosa", "alternative_names": [ "Tortosa Cathedral", "Notre-Dame de Tortose", "Cathedral of Tartus" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Church or religious site", "historical_category": "Religious site", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Captured by the Franks in 1099, Tortosa (modern Tartus on the Syrian coast) hosted what is widely considered the best-preserved Crusader religious building anywhere in the Levant. The Knights Templar took the city in 1152 and rebuilt the cathedral around an older shrine that pilgrims believed had been consecrated by Saint Peter. Anticipating Mamluk attacks in the 1260s, the Templars added defensive sacristies, machicolated buttresses, and arrow-loops directly into the cathedral fabric — a rare example of a true 'fortress church'. Even after the fall of the city in 1291, the Templars held the offshore fortress of Arwad until 1302, the last Crusader-held territory on the Levantine coast. The cathedral itself was converted into a mosque under the Mamluks and today functions as a national museum, with its three aisles, transept and apse still essentially as the Templars left them.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Tartus, Syrian coast", "latitude": 34.89172, "longitude": 35.87841, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Syria", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "County of Tripoli", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Tripoli", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_Our_Lady_of_Tortosa", "wikidata_id": "Q1749276", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "Notre_dame_de_tortosa.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=cathedral-of-our-lady-of-tortosa", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/cathedral-of-our-lady-of-tortosa/" }, { "id": "site/citadel-of-tartus", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Citadel of Tartus", "alternative_names": [ "Tortosa Citadel", "Crusader Castle of Tartus" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "The largest and most heavily fortified of the County of Tripoli's coastal strongholds. Crusaders first besieged the city in 1099 but lost it shortly after; Raymond IV of Toulouse retook it in February 1102 after a fortnight's siege. Around 1165 the Knights Templar assumed guardianship and rebuilt the castle on a grand scale, with two concentric defensive walls, eleven towers, a lancet-windowed chapel, and a postern gate that allowed the harbour to resupply the garrison directly. The citadel withstood Saladin's assault in July 1188 and Mamluk sieges by Baibars in 1267 and 1271. After the fall of Acre in May 1291, the Templars held on for another three months and finally evacuated to nearby Arwad island on 3 August — the last mainland Crusader garrison to leave the Levant. Today only foundation masonry and fragments of the inner enceinte remain, embedded in the modern town.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Tartus, Syrian coast", "latitude": 34.89361, "longitude": 35.87667, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Syria", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "County of Tripoli", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Tripoli", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citadel_of_Tartus", "wikidata_id": "Q2970826", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "Citadel of Tartus.JPG", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=citadel-of-tartus", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/citadel-of-tartus/" }, { "id": "site/battle-of-azaz-1125", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Battle of Azaz (1125)", "alternative_names": [ "Azaz" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Battle (open-field engagement)", "historical_category": "Military engagement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Following the catastrophic Frankish defeat at the Field of Blood in 1119, the Principality of Antioch was hanging by a thread, and Baldwin II of Jerusalem assumed the regency of the northern Crusader states to prevent their collapse. On 11 June 1125, near the small town of Azaz north of Aleppo, Baldwin assembled a coalition of 1,100 knights and 2,000 infantry drawn from Jerusalem, Antioch, Edessa, and Tripoli. They faced a Seljuk-Artuqid army of perhaps 15,000 under Aq-Sunqur il-Bursuqi and Toghtekin. Using disciplined feigned retreats to draw the Turkish horsemen out of formation, the Crusaders shattered the coalition for the loss of only 20 of their own — 5 of them knights — against between 1,000 and 5,000 Muslim casualties. The victory bought the northern states a decade of breathing room and demonstrated that European massed heavy cavalry could decisively beat Turkish horse-archer tactics when properly supported by infantry.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Azaz, Aleppo Governorate, Syria", "latitude": 36.587, "longitude": 37.041, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Syria", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "", "lordship_or_fief": "", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Azaz_(1125)", "wikidata_id": "Q55504", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: verified; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "Coin_Baldwin2.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=battle-of-azaz-1125", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/battle-of-azaz-1125/" }, { "id": "site/battle-of-harim-1164", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Battle of Harim (1164)", "alternative_names": [ "Battle of Harenc" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Battle (open-field engagement)", "historical_category": "Military engagement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "On 12 August 1164, Nur ad-Din invested the strategic Frankish fortress of Harim (Harenc), which guarded the eastern approaches to Antioch. A combined relief army from the County of Tripoli, the Principality of Antioch, the Byzantine Empire, and Cilician Armenia marched to break the siege but was lured into a trap and annihilated. The casualties read like a roll-call of the Frankish north: Bohemond III of Antioch, Raymond III of Tripoli, Hugh VIII of Lusignan, and the Byzantine governor Constantine Coloman were all captured and held for ransom — Raymond III for almost ten years — while the Armenian prince Thoros II escaped the rout. The defeat at Harim was so catastrophic for the leadership of the entire northern Latin East that it permanently shifted the balance of power in Syria toward Nur ad-Din and made the eventual unification of Egypt and Syria under Saladin politically and militarily inevitable.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Harem, Idlib Governorate, Syria", "latitude": 36.2, "longitude": 36.517, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Syria", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "", "lordship_or_fief": "", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Harim", "wikidata_id": "Q2034912", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: verified; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "Nur_ad-Din_Zangi.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=battle-of-harim-1164", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/battle-of-harim-1164/" }, { "id": "site/battle-of-inab-1149", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Battle of Inab (1149)", "alternative_names": [ "Battle of Ard al-Hatim", "Fons Muratus" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Battle (open-field engagement)", "historical_category": "Military engagement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "On 29 June 1149, Nur ad-Din — the Zengid atabeg whose career would re-unite Muslim Syria — destroyed the field army of the Principality of Antioch at Inab, near the village of Ard al-Hatim. Prince Raymond of Poitiers had ridden out with 4,000 cavalry and 1,000 infantry, accompanied by Ali ibn Wafa and a contingent of Nizari Assassins. Nur ad-Din encircled them with 6,000 men and wiped the army out almost to the last man; Raymond and Ali ibn Wafa were both killed and Raymond's skull was sent in a silver box to the caliph in Baghdad. The Principality of Antioch was permanently reduced in size, losing its eastern frontier, and the Crusader north would never again field an independent army capable of major offensive operations.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Inab, Idlib Governorate, Syria", "latitude": 36.518, "longitude": 36.954, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Syria", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "", "lordship_or_fief": "", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Inab", "wikidata_id": "Q1328380", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: verified; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "BattleOfInab.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=battle-of-inab-1149", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/battle-of-inab-1149/" }, { "id": "site/fall-of-krak-des-chevaliers-1271", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Fall of Krak des Chevaliers (1271)", "alternative_names": [ "Mamluk capture of Krak", "Baybars at Krak" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Siege", "historical_category": "Military engagement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "The Mamluk sultan Baybars arrived before Krak des Chevaliers in late February 1271 with the explicit aim of breaking the back of the Hospitaller presence in northern Syria. After a month of bombardment with trebuchets and the methodical mining of the great southern tower, his sappers broke through the outer wall on 29 March. The garrison, perhaps three hundred knights and sergeants, retreated to the inner enceinte and held out for another five weeks. On 8 April, Baybars produced a forged letter purporting to come from the Hospitaller grand master in Tripoli, ordering the surviving garrison to surrender; the knights marched out under safe conduct. The fall of Krak — together with the surrender of nearby Akkar a month later — effectively ended the Crusader presence in inland Syria and cleared the way for the Mamluk reduction of the remaining coastal cities over the following two decades.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Krak des Chevaliers, Homs Gap, Syria", "latitude": 34.757, "longitude": 36.29467, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Syria", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "County of Tripoli", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Tripoli", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krak_des_Chevaliers#Mamluk_period", "wikidata_id": "Q177549", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: changed; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Coordinates were revised from the original gazetteer value.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A7%D7%A8%D7%90%D7%A7_%D7%93%D7%94_%D7%A9%D7%91%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%99%D7%94", "image_filename": "", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=fall-of-krak-des-chevaliers-1271", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/fall-of-krak-des-chevaliers-1271/" }, { "id": "site/church-of-st-george-deir-al-asad", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Church of St. George, Deir al-Asad", "alternative_names": [ "Saint Jorge Labane", "Abbey Church of St George (Labeyne)" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Church or religious site", "historical_category": "Religious site", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "The remains of a 12th-century Crusader church stand in the shared centre of the twin villages of Deir al-Asad and Bi'ina, the medieval caput of the fief of St George de la Beyne. Denys Pringle identified the building as an abbey church of St George, and Victor Guérin, visiting in 1875, recorded that it had three naves and three apses pierced by narrow windows, consistent with a Carthusian plan. The village took its modern Arabic name — \"the lion's monastery\" — from the conspicuous Frankish ruins at its heart.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Deir al-Asad / Bi'ina, Western Galilee", "latitude": 32.91972, "longitude": 35.27194, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "St George of Labeyne", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deir_al-Asad", "wikidata_id": "Q612599", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%93%D7%99%D7%A8_%D7%90%D7%9C-%D7%90%D7%A1%D7%93", "image_filename": "129452_the_town_of_deir_al-assad_PikiWiki_Israel.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=church-of-st-george-deir-al-asad", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/church-of-st-george-deir-al-asad/" }, { "id": "site/siege-of-damietta-1218-1219", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Siege of Damietta (1218–1219)", "alternative_names": [ "Fifth Crusade siege of Damietta", "Siege of Dumyat" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Siege", "historical_category": "Military engagement", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "In May 1218 the vanguard of the Fifth Crusade sailed into the eastern mouth of the Nile and dropped anchor opposite Damietta — the Ayyubid port that controlled the approach to Cairo. The city was protected by a great chain-tower standing in midstream and a second iron chain anchored to the eastern bank. Frisian pilgrims and John of Brienne's knights spent three months building a floating siege engine — two round ships lashed together into a castle designed by the German chronicler Oliver of Paderborn — and on 24 August 1218 used it to scale and capture the chain-tower. Sultan al-Adil reportedly died of shock on hearing the news; his son al-Kamil inherited the war.\n\nThe siege that followed lasted fifteen more months. Al-Kamil twice offered to return Jerusalem, Bethlehem and the whole Christian coast as far as the Jordan in exchange for a Crusader withdrawal. The papal legate Pelagius Galvani refused both offers over John of Brienne's furious objection, insisting on total victory. Disease, famine and a Nile flood that drowned the Christian camp thinned the besieging army through the winter; another famous visitor, a small Italian friar named Francis of Assisi, crossed the lines in September 1219 and spent several days unmolested in al-Kamil's tent attempting to convert him. On 5 November 1219 the garrison — reduced, by the crusaders' own count, from perhaps seventy thousand to around three thousand starving survivors — opened the gates, and the Franks found the streets lined with the unburied dead.\n\nThe Fifth Crusade held the port for less than two years. An advance on Cairo in the summer of 1221 ended in catastrophe at al-Mansurah when al-Kamil opened the Nile sluices and trapped the Frankish army between the branches of the river; Damietta was surrendered back on 8 September 1221 as the price of Pelagius's release. The siege is remembered in the chronicles as the hinge of the Fifth Crusade — a year of engineering brilliance, two refused peace offers that would have restored Jerusalem without a blow, and the first recorded diplomatic encounter between a sitting sultan of Egypt and a Christian saint.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Damietta (Dumyat), Egypt", "latitude": 31.41667, "longitude": 31.82139, "coordinate_accuracy": "approximate", "modern_country": "Egypt", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "", "lordship_or_fief": "", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Damietta_(1218%E2%80%931219)", "wikidata_id": "Q742693", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: uncertain; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Location is approximate. Coordinates flagged uncertain in source.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "Capturing_Damiate.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=siege-of-damietta-1218-1219", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/siege-of-damietta-1218-1219/" }, { "id": "site/aqaba-fortress", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Aqaba Fortress", "alternative_names": [ "Aqaba Castle", "Mamluk Castle of Aqaba", "Qasr al-Aqaba" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Major castle / fortress", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "The Aqaba Fortress — Qasr al-Aqaba, also called the Mamluk Castle — is a fortified caravanserai on the northern beach of the Gulf of Aqaba. Its present fabric dates mainly to the early sixteenth century, when the Mamluk sultan Qansuh al-Ghuri rebuilt earlier fortifications on the site to guard the hajj road running south from Cairo to Mecca and Medina.\n\nThe Crusaders had briefly dominated this corner of the Red Sea. From about 1116, Baldwin I's island castle of Île de Graye on Pharaoh's Island, a few kilometres off the Aqaba shore, taxed pilgrim shipping and caravans passing between Egypt and the Hejaz until Saladin's forces recovered it in 1170. The Mamluk and later Ottoman fortress reoccupied the same strategic choke-point three centuries later, policing the same pilgrim traffic that the Frankish garrison had once preyed on.\n\nIn the century before the First World War the Ottomans used the caravanserai increasingly as a military stronghold. It was taken by the Arab Revolt forces of Sharif Hussein, Auda abu Tayi and T. E. Lawrence on 6 July 1917 in the famous overland assault from Wadi Rum that opened the southern flank of the Hejaz campaign.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Aqaba, Jordan", "latitude": 29.521756, "longitude": 35.00203, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Jordan", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "", "lordship_or_fief": "", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aqaba_Fortress", "wikidata_id": "Q4782454", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: verified; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "aqaba_fortress.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=aqaba-fortress", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/aqaba-fortress/" }, { "id": "site/church-of-st-anne-khirbet-sandhanna", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Church of St. Anne (Khirbet Sandhanna)", "alternative_names": [ "Khirbet Sandahanna", "Sandhanna church", "Sandahanna", "St. Anne, Maresha" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Church or religious site", "historical_category": "Religious site", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "A Crusader-era basilica rebuilt over a Byzantine predecessor on the southern edge of the Lordship of Bethgibelin, at the site of ancient Maresha. The Arabic toponym 'Khirbet Sandahanna' — the ruin of Saint Anne — preserves the dedication. The freestanding eastern apse with its half-dome vault is the most intact surviving element; the church was abandoned after Saladin's reconquest in 1187 and never restored. Today the ruins lie within Beit Guvrin-Maresha National Park.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Beit Guvrin-Maresha National Park, Israel", "latitude": 31.597, "longitude": 34.9006, "coordinate_accuracy": "approximate", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Jerusalem", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beit_Guvrin-Maresha_National_Park", "wikidata_id": "Q2407530", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate status: uncertain; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Location is approximate. Coordinates flagged uncertain in source.", "fortified_status": "no", "visible_remains": "partial", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%97%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%91%D7%AA_%D7%A1%D7%A0%D7%93%D7%97%D7%A0%D7%94", "image_filename": "Church of St anne Beit Guvrin.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=church-of-st-anne-khirbet-sandhanna", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/church-of-st-anne-khirbet-sandhanna/" }, { "id": "site/akeldama-chaudemar-crusader-charnel-house", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Akeldama / Chaudemar — Crusader Charnel House", "alternative_names": [ "Akeldama", "Hakeldama", "Aceldama", "Haceldama", "Chaudemar", "Field of Blood", "Hakl ed-Damm" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Church or religious site", "historical_category": "Religious site", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "South of Jerusalem, on the slope of the Valley of Hinnom, lies Akeldama, the \"Field of Blood\" traditionally linked to Judas Iscariot and the potter's field. In the 12th century, the Crusaders built here a large vaulted charnel house known as Chaudemar, where the bones of dead pilgrims, knights, and patients from the Hospitaller hospital near the Holy Sepulchre were gathered. The site combined biblical memory, burial practice, and Crusader devotion: to be buried in the holy soil of Jerusalem, close to the city of resurrection and judgment, gave this grim ruin powerful spiritual meaning.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Southern slope of the Valley of Hinnom, Jerusalem", "latitude": 31.76841, "longitude": 35.23288, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Jerusalem", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akeldama", "wikidata_id": "Q886458", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "no", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%97%D7%A7%D7%9C_%D7%93%D7%9E%D7%90", "image_filename": "Akeldama-Chaudemar-Charnel-House.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=akeldama-chaudemar-crusader-charnel-house", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/akeldama-chaudemar-crusader-charnel-house/" }, { "id": "site/st-cleophas-church-al-qubeiba", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "St. Cleophas Church, Al-Qubeiba", "alternative_names": [ "Al-Qubeiba Church", "Sanctuary of Emmaus, El Qubeibeh", "Parva Mahomeria", "Cleopas' House", "Castellum Emmaus" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Church or religious site", "historical_category": "Religious site", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "St. Cleophas Church stands at Al-Qubeiba, a village about 11 km northwest of Jerusalem along an old Roman road. In the 12th century the Crusaders established a Frankish settlement here called Parva Mahomeria (\"the little dome,\" the same meaning as the Arabic name); the village is mentioned in a 1159 charter defining its borders with Beit 'Anan. Excavations beneath and around the present church have uncovered the remains of a Crusader basilica — traditionally identified with the \"house of Cleopas\" — together with a row of medieval village houses lining the old road. The Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land acquired the ruins in 1861 (donated by the Marquise Pauline de Nicolay) and rebuilt the present sanctuary in 1902 with the permission of Sultan Abdul Hamid II, incorporating the exposed 12th-century foundations. Al-Qubeiba is one of the three main candidates traditionally identified with the New Testament Emmaus; the Franciscans adopted it as such from the 14th century. The visible church above ground is the 1902 reconstruction, but the Crusader-era basilica foundations and adjoining village houses excavated at the site are genuine.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Al-Qubeiba, ~11 km northwest of Jerusalem, West Bank", "latitude": 31.8404, "longitude": 35.1352, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Jerusalem", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Cleophas_Church", "wikidata_id": "Q1742712", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "no", "visible_remains": "partial", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9B%D7%A0%D7%A1%D7%99%D7%99%D7%AA_%D7%90%D7%9C-%D7%A7%D7%95%D7%91%D7%99%D7%99%D7%91%D7%94", "image_filename": "Church-of-St-Cleophas.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=st-cleophas-church-al-qubeiba", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/st-cleophas-church-al-qubeiba/" }, { "id": "site/jifna-crusader-site-of-jifna", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Jifna / Crusader Site of Jifna", "alternative_names": [ "Jifna", "Jafenia", "Jafenie", "Jifneh", "Gophna" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Jifna sits about 23 km north of Jerusalem on the old road to Nablus. The Crusaders held it from 1099 onward as the small lordship of Jafenia (the form \"Raymundus de Jafenia\" appears in a 1182 charter). At its centre they built a fortified courtyard manor with a monumental gate guarded by a portcullis, a large vaulted hall, and thick walls of well-cut masonry — substantial remains of which still stand in the village core. They also partially rebuilt the older church of St. George with salvaged Byzantine masonry; it fell into ruin again after Saladin's victory in 1187. Later massive walls in the centre of the village are in an Arab post-Crusader style and should not be conflated with the twelfth-century work. Jifna is one of the better-preserved examples of a Frankish rural manor in the Latin Kingdom.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Jifna, ~23 km north of Jerusalem, West Bank", "latitude": 31.9619, "longitude": 35.2156, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Nablus", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jifna", "wikidata_id": "Q6192257", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "definite", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%92%27%D7%99%D7%A4%D7%A0%D7%94", "image_filename": "Jifna-Crusader-Manor.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=jifna-crusader-site-of-jifna", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/jifna-crusader-site-of-jifna/" }, { "id": "site/khan-as-sawiya-khirbet-berkit", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Khan as-Sawiya (Khirbet Berkit)", "alternative_names": [ "Khan as-Sawiya", "Khan as-Sawiyah", "Khirbet Berkit", "Khirbet Berqit", "As-Sawiya khan", "Borceos" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Khan as-Sawiya, also called Khirbet Berkit, is a small square ruined caravanserai on the edge of the village of As-Sawiya, roughly 15–18 km south of Nablus on the old road to Jerusalem. Its walls still stand to some height and the corners are built with drafted ashlars — a masonry style strongly associated with Frankish secular building in the twelfth century, though the technique was reused by later builders as well. Pottery sherds of Crusader and Ayyubid date have been recovered from the site and the village itself is recorded as Muslim-inhabited during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The Khan is included in Pringle's catalogue of secular buildings in the Latin Kingdom, but no medieval document directly names it; its Crusader-period attribution rests on its architecture and surface finds rather than on written evidence. The 19th-century explorer C. W. Wilson tentatively identified the ruin with Borceos, a town mentioned by Josephus on the border between Samaria and Judea.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Edge of As-Sawiya village, ~15–18 km south of Nablus, West Bank", "latitude": 32.0847, "longitude": 35.2578, "coordinate_accuracy": "approximate", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Nablus", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/As-Sawiya", "wikidata_id": "Q4802836", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikipedia; coordinate status: uncertain; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Location is approximate. Coordinates flagged uncertain in source. Fortified status not definitive (recorded as 'possible').", "fortified_status": "possible", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%90-%D7%A1%D7%90%D7%95%D7%95%D7%99%D7%94", "image_filename": "Khan-as-Sawiya.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=khan-as-sawiya-khirbet-berkit", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/khan-as-sawiya-khirbet-berkit/" }, { "id": "site/house-of-arches-lod-lydda", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "House of Arches (Lod / Lydda)", "alternative_names": [ "בית הקשתות", "Beit HaKashtot" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "The House of Arches (Beit HaKashtot) is a large kurkar-sandstone building in the Old City of Lod — the town the Crusaders knew as Lydda, seat of a Latin bishop and the centre of the cult of Saint George. It is built as three successive ranges of broad arches carrying cross-vaults roofed with shallow domes, each range raised in a different era, so a single structure preserves several centuries of building. Its documented life is industrial: through the Ottoman period and the British Mandate, down to 1948, it worked as an olive-oil press (a bet bad), one of many in Lod, and the stone crushing basins still stand inside. The Crusader link is suggested rather than proven. Local heritage accounts attribute the monumental arches of the northern range to the Crusader period — possibly the substructure of a hall or grand public building — and the smaller central arches to the Mamluk period, with the simpler southern range Ottoman. The published archaeological surveys, however, describe only the oil-press phase and do not confirm a twelfth-century date, so the Crusader attribution is best treated as a local tradition awaiting excavation rather than an established fact. The building survives in sound structural condition and is earmarked for conservation within the regeneration of Lod's Old City.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Old City of Lod (Lydda), Israel", "latitude": 31.95296, "longitude": 34.90115, "coordinate_accuracy": "verified", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Jaffa and Ascalon", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lod", "wikidata_id": "Q207540", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: heritage_survey; coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "", "fortified_status": "no", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%93", "image_filename": "136169_lod_house_of_arches_PikiWiki_Israel.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=house-of-arches-lod-lydda", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/house-of-arches-lod-lydda/" }, { "id": "site/lifta-clepsta", "record_type": "site", "primary_name": "Lifta (Clepsta)", "alternative_names": [ "Clepsta", "Nephtho", "Mei Neftoah", "Mey Naftoah", "ליפתא" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Tower or smaller fortified site", "historical_category": "Fortification", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Lifta — the Clepsta of the Crusaders, and the Nephtho of Roman and Byzantine writers — clings to the steep northwestern edge of Jerusalem above a perennial spring, on the old descent toward the coastal plain. At the centre of the village stand the remains of a Crusader-period courtyard building, recorded by Denys Pringle in his gazetteer of the kingdom's secular buildings (p. 66); the place is traditionally identified with the biblical spring of Nephtoah (Mei Neftoah). Lifta's far more conspicuous ruins are the domed stone houses of the Ottoman-era Arab village, depopulated in 1948 and never resettled — which, with the spring, the pool, and the terraced hillside, have made it one of the best-preserved historic villages around Jerusalem and a candidate for heritage protection.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Lifta, Jerusalem, Israel", "latitude": 31.79444, "longitude": 35.19667, "coordinate_accuracy": "approximate", "modern_country": "Israel", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Jerusalem", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifta", "wikidata_id": "Q2599091", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "coordinate source: wikidata; coordinate status: verified; lordship_or_fief / crusader_state_or_polity derived by point-in-polygon against approximate lordship boundaries; Evidence summary curated by the Crusader Atlas project from cited scholarship (primarily D. Pringle) and Wikipedia.", "uncertainty_notes": "Location is approximate. Fortified status not definitive (recorded as 'uncertain').", "fortified_status": "uncertain", "visible_remains": "yes", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%A4%D7%AA%D7%90", "image_filename": "lifta.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?site=lifta-clepsta", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/sites/lifta-clepsta/" }, { "id": "lordship/lordship-of-arsuf", "record_type": "lordship", "primary_name": "Lordship of Arsuf", "alternative_names": [], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Lordship / fief", "historical_category": "Territorial lordship", "title_or_designation": "Lordship", "description": "Situated north of Jaffa, the Lordship of Arsuf (known contemporaneously as Arsur) was a vital coastal waypoint, heavily forested and strategically challenging to maneuver large armies through. Following its capture in 1101 by Baldwin I, it was maintained directly as a royal domain until approximately 1163, when it was established as an independent lordship under John of Arsuf. The town required a garrison levy of fifty sergeants. Arsuf famously served as the backdrop for the 1191 Battle of Arsuf, a defining engagement of the Third Crusade wherein Richard the Lionheart secured a tactical victory over Saladin.\n\nIn the thirteenth century, the lordship passed to the Ibelin family via the marriage of Melisende of Arsuf to John of Ibelin. Recognizing the acute vulnerability of their position against modernized siege tactics, Balian of Arsuf constructed an expansive new castle, a fortified harbor, and modernized defensive walls in 1241.\n\nHowever, the economic strain of maintaining coastal fortresses against mounting Mamluk pressure proved insurmountable for secular lords. In 1261, the Ibelins sold Arsuf to the Knights Hospitaller. Despite their formidable martial reputation, the Hospitallers could not hold the city; it fell to Baibars in 1265 after a brutal forty-day siege, resulting in its total and permanent destruction.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Capital: Subeibe / Banias", "latitude": 32.145356, "longitude": 34.901019, "coordinate_accuracy": "polygon centroid (approximate)", "modern_country": "", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Arsuf", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "", "wikidata_id": "", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "Centroid computed from the project's approximate lordship polygon; lordship boundaries are schematic, not surveyed.; capital: Subeibe / Banias", "uncertainty_notes": "Lordship borders are approximate / schematic and shifted over time.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?fief=lordship-of-arsuf", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/lordships/lordship-of-arsuf/" }, { "id": "lordship/lordship-of-suhete", "record_type": "lordship", "primary_name": "Lordship of Suhete", "alternative_names": [], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Lordship / fief", "historical_category": "Territorial lordship", "title_or_designation": "Lordship", "description": "The Terre de Suète (al-Sawad) was not a traditional enclosed lordship, but rather a highly volatile, demilitarized frontier region east of the Sea of Galilee, encompassing the fertile Hauran up to Deraa and the Zarqa river. Recognized for its dark basalt soil, the region was the primary corn and grain-producing belt of the Levant. Because neither the Kingdom of Jerusalem nor the Emirate of Damascus could exert absolute military supremacy over the plains, the region operated as a unique economic condominium.\n\nBy treaty, the agricultural output and revenues of the Suhete were divided equally—a third to the Franks, a third to Damascus, and a third to the indigenous peasantry. To enforce their claims and protect their share of the harvest, the Franks maintained the impregnable cave-fortress known as the Cave de Sueth (al-Habis Jaldak), built directly into the cliffs overlooking the Yarmouk River. Initially, the kingdom deployed forty knights to secure this region, reflecting its high strategic value.\n\nThere was no single “Lord of Suhete”; rather, its revenues were managed collectively by the Princes of Galilee, the Abbey of St. Mary of Josaphat, and the military commanders of the cave. The delicate condominium arrangement collapsed entirely following the Battle of Hattin in 1187, after which the region fell permanently under Islamic control.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Capital: Subeibe / Banias", "latitude": 32.950827, "longitude": 35.770269, "coordinate_accuracy": "polygon centroid (approximate)", "modern_country": "", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Suhete", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "", "wikidata_id": "", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "Centroid computed from the project's approximate lordship polygon; lordship boundaries are schematic, not surveyed.; capital: Subeibe / Banias", "uncertainty_notes": "Lordship borders are approximate / schematic and shifted over time. As an economic condominium and frontier zone, the Suhete lacked a hereditary list of titled lords, being managed instead by institutional stakeholders.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?fief=lordship-of-suhete", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/lordships/lordship-of-suhete/" }, { "id": "lordship/lordship-of-nablus", "record_type": "lordship", "primary_name": "Lordship of Nablus", "alternative_names": [], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Lordship / fief", "historical_category": "Territorial lordship", "title_or_designation": "Lordship", "description": "The Lordship of Nablus functioned as a crucial administrative, agricultural, and political hub in the central highlands of Samaria. Captured in 1099, the city and its surrounding environs were technically maintained as royal domain for much of the early twelfth century. Reflecting its royal status, it was heavily governed by a viscount who acted as the monarch’s direct administrative and judicial representative. In 1120, the city hosted the pivotal Council of Nablus, an assembly of secular and ecclesiastical leaders that established the foundational legal canons of the Latin East.\n\nOver time, Nablus transitioned into a distinct, highly productive hereditary lordship. It was briefly held by Pagan the Butler before passing into the hands of the Milly family, most notably Philip of Milly, who held it until formally exchanging it for the Lordship of Oultrejourdain in 1161. Following this, the lordship was bestowed upon Queen Maria Comnena as her dower by her first husband, King Amalric I. Through her subsequent marriage to Balian of Ibelin in 1177, Nablus effectively integrated into the expanding power base of the Ibelin dynasty.\n\nDemographically, the city retained a significant indigenous population, and economically, it was an engine of production, owing a formidable eighty-five knights and three hundred sergeants to the kingdom’s defense. The lordship fell during the catastrophic aftermath of Hattin in 1187.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Capital: Nablus", "latitude": 32.154012, "longitude": 35.301241, "coordinate_accuracy": "polygon centroid (approximate)", "modern_country": "", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Nablus", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "", "wikidata_id": "", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "Centroid computed from the project's approximate lordship polygon; lordship boundaries are schematic, not surveyed.; capital: Nablus", "uncertainty_notes": "Lordship borders are approximate / schematic and shifted over time.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?fief=lordship-of-nablus", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/lordships/lordship-of-nablus/" }, { "id": "lordship/lordship-of-hebron", "record_type": "lordship", "primary_name": "Lordship of Hebron", "alternative_names": [], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Lordship / fief", "historical_category": "Territorial lordship", "title_or_designation": "Lordship", "description": "Hebron, known to the Franks as Castellion Saint Abraham, was one of the earliest seigneuries forged in the southern Judean hills. Governed initially by Geldemar Carpenel and Gerard of Avesnes immediately after the 1099 conquest, the territory vacillated frequently between seigneurial rule and direct royal control during the first half of the twelfth century. It functioned as a critical southern defense node protecting the approaches to Jerusalem and had its own sub-vassal, the Lordship of Beth Gibelin, created in 1149.\n\nTo optimize defensive logistics in a sparsely populated region, Beth Gibelin was swiftly transferred to the Knights Hospitaller, while the broader Lordship of Hebron was merged with the massive Lordship of Oultrejourdain in 1161, tying the defense of the southern hills to the trans-Jordanian frontier.\n\nLike much of the interior, it fell under Ayyubid control following 1187. Despite a brief reversion to royal domain status in 1191 during the Third Crusade, the region was entirely dismantled by the Khwarazmians in 1244, permanently erasing the Frankish presence.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Capital: Hebron", "latitude": 30.793663, "longitude": 34.990277, "coordinate_accuracy": "polygon centroid (approximate)", "modern_country": "", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Hebron", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "", "wikidata_id": "", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "Centroid computed from the project's approximate lordship polygon; lordship boundaries are schematic, not surveyed.; capital: Hebron", "uncertainty_notes": "Lordship borders are approximate / schematic and shifted over time.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?fief=lordship-of-hebron", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/lordships/lordship-of-hebron/" }, { "id": "lordship/lordship-of-beirut", "record_type": "lordship", "primary_name": "Lordship of Beirut", "alternative_names": [], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Lordship / fief", "historical_category": "Territorial lordship", "title_or_designation": "Lordship", "description": "The Lordship of Beirut was an extraordinarily vital commercial and maritime asset for the kingdom. Captured in 1110, the territory was initially granted to Fulk of Guînes and subsequently governed by the Brisebarre family throughout the twelfth century. Technically functioning as a vassal to the Principality of Galilee, Beirut’s economic output—driven by robust maritime trade with Europe—afforded its lords disproportionate influence in the High Court. The seigneury commanded twenty-one knights and managed its own sub-vassals, including the inland lordships of Banias and Chastel Neuf.\n\nThe lordship entered its absolute golden age following its acquisition by the House of Ibelin in the late twelfth century. John I of Ibelin (the “Old Lord of Beirut”) constructed a magnificent, highly fortified palace within the city, complete with opulent Byzantine and Islamic architectural influences. This palace served as the operational headquarters of the Ibelin faction during their protracted constitutional and military conflicts against Emperor Frederick II.\n\nThe lordship was notably resilient, surviving the disintegration of the inland territories and remaining a Frankish bastion until the final Mamluk eradication of the Crusader states in 1291, by which point it had been reduced to a narrow coastal strip entirely dependent on sea supply.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Capital: Beirut", "latitude": 33.842647, "longitude": 35.572528, "coordinate_accuracy": "polygon centroid (approximate)", "modern_country": "", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Beirut", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "", "wikidata_id": "", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "Centroid computed from the project's approximate lordship polygon; lordship boundaries are schematic, not surveyed.; capital: Beirut", "uncertainty_notes": "Lordship borders are approximate / schematic and shifted over time.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?fief=lordship-of-beirut", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/lordships/lordship-of-beirut/" }, { "id": "lordship/lordship-of-toron", "record_type": "lordship", "primary_name": "Lordship of Toron", "alternative_names": [], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Lordship / fief", "historical_category": "Territorial lordship", "title_or_designation": "Lordship", "description": "The Lordship of Toron, positioned in the rugged hinterlands near Tyre, originated as a crucial military outpost designed to project power. The primary castle was constructed by Hugh of Fauquembergues in 1107 to assist in the eventual capture of the then-Muslim-held city of Tyre. Functionally, it operated as a sub-vassal to the Lordship of Beirut and owed a service of fifteen knights to the crown. Despite its subordinate feudal status, its rulers were deeply influential in the kingdom’s politics; Humphrey II served as constable of Jerusalem, and his grandson, Humphrey IV, was a pivotal figure in the succession crises leading up to 1187.\n\nToron experienced extreme territorial volatility, reflecting the shifting frontier of the late twelfth century. It was occupied by the Ayyubids from 1187 to 1229, and again from 1239 to 1241. Structurally, it possessed its own sub-vassals, including Castel Neuf and the Lordship of Maron.\n\nBy 1241, recognizing the impossibility of defending fragmented inland fiefs, the territory was officially merged with the royal domain of Tyre. Furthermore, pieces of the lordship, such as Toron-Ahmud, were sold off to the Teutonic Knights in 1261, showcasing the systematic liquidation of secular inland fiefs to the military orders.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Capital: Tibnin", "latitude": 33.140152, "longitude": 35.376415, "coordinate_accuracy": "polygon centroid (approximate)", "modern_country": "", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Toron", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "", "wikidata_id": "", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "Centroid computed from the project's approximate lordship polygon; lordship boundaries are schematic, not surveyed.; capital: Tibnin", "uncertainty_notes": "Lordship borders are approximate / schematic and shifted over time.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?fief=lordship-of-toron", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/lordships/lordship-of-toron/" }, { "id": "lordship/royal-domain-acre", "record_type": "lordship", "primary_name": "Royal Domain - Acre", "alternative_names": [], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Lordship / fief", "historical_category": "Territorial lordship", "title_or_designation": "Royal domain", "description": "Acre emerged as the commercial and administrative epicenter of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, fundamentally eclipsing Jerusalem itself in terms of economic output and international maritime connectivity. Functioning strictly as a royal domain rather than a hereditary vassal lordship, Acre was governed directly by the crown, which installed a royal viscount to oversee daily administration and a bailli who often acted with near-regal authority during the frequent absences of titular monarchs. The city generated immense customs revenues derived from the constant flow of Genoese, Venetian, and Pisan merchants, whose fortified quarters within the city operated as semi-autonomous enclaves.\n\nThese mercantile revenues were frequently parceled out as money fiefs (fié en besans) to compensate knights who had lost their rural estates, illustrating a critical shift in the kingdom’s feudal economy from land-based wealth to liquid capital. Acre’s military obligations reflected its massive population and wealth; while the city provided knights, it was primarily responsible for a staggering levy of five hundred sergeants to garrison its sprawling, multi-layered walls in times of crisis.\n\nFollowing the loss of Jerusalem in 1187, Acre was recaptured in 1191 after a grueling two-year siege that defined the Third Crusade. For the kingdom’s final century, Acre served as the de facto capital, housing the High Court, the Patriarchate, and the headquarters of the major military orders. The city was a hotbed of political factionalism, notably serving as the battleground for the War of Saint Sabas in the 1250s. Acre’s dramatic fall to the Mamluk Sultan Khalil in May 1291 marked the definitive and bloody end of the Crusader states in the Levant.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Capital: Acre", "latitude": 32.87124, "longitude": 35.140588, "coordinate_accuracy": "polygon centroid (approximate)", "modern_country": "", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Acre", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "", "wikidata_id": "", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "Centroid computed from the project's approximate lordship polygon; lordship boundaries are schematic, not surveyed.; capital: Acre", "uncertainty_notes": "Lordship borders are approximate / schematic and shifted over time.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?fief=royal-domain-acre", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/lordships/royal-domain-acre/" }, { "id": "lordship/lordship-of-oultrejordain", "record_type": "lordship", "primary_name": "Lordship of Oultrejordain", "alternative_names": [], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Lordship / fief", "historical_category": "Territorial lordship", "title_or_designation": "Lordship", "description": "The Lordship of Oultrejourdain, or Transjordan, was the kingdom’s vast, arid eastern frontier, stretching south and east of the Dead Sea. Created in 1142 by King Fulk out of territories originally affiliated with Nablus, it was anchored by the formidable castles of Kerak and Montreal. Recent archaeological and historical syntheses confirm that Oultrejourdain possessed profound economic and social complexities, serving not just to block invasions but to exert aggressive hegemony over the lucrative caravan routes connecting Damascus to Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula.\n\nThe lordship generated massive revenues by taxing these trade arteries and was a pivotal staging ground for Frankish raids into the Hijaz. The seigneury owed a collective sixty knights to the crown, with forty sourced from the primary strongholds of Kerak and Montreal, and twenty from the affiliated Lordship of Saint Abraham (Hebron).\n\nThe lordship is perhaps best known for the incendiary tenure of Raynald of Châtillon, who gained control through his marriage to the heiress Stephanie de Milly. Raynald’s aggressive interception of Muslim caravans and his unprecedented naval expedition into the Red Sea directly provoked Saladin’s invasion of the kingdom. This reckless expansionism culminated in Raynald’s personal execution by Saladin at Hattin and the subsequent permanent loss of the entire territory in 1187.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Capital: Kerak", "latitude": 31.31833, "longitude": 35.664142, "coordinate_accuracy": "polygon centroid (approximate)", "modern_country": "", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Oultrejordain", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "", "wikidata_id": "", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "Centroid computed from the project's approximate lordship polygon; lordship boundaries are schematic, not surveyed.; capital: Kerak", "uncertainty_notes": "Lordship borders are approximate / schematic and shifted over time.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?fief=lordship-of-oultrejordain", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/lordships/lordship-of-oultrejordain/" }, { "id": "lordship/lordship-of-caesarea", "record_type": "lordship", "primary_name": "Lordship of Caesarea", "alternative_names": [], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Lordship / fief", "historical_category": "Territorial lordship", "title_or_designation": "Lordship", "description": "Conquered in 1101, the Lordship of Caesarea Maritima was a central coastal seigneury that originated as a sub-vassal to the Lordship of Sidon. Initially given to the Archbishop of Caesarea, secular governance was soon granted to the influential Eustace I Grenier, establishing a dynastic stronghold for the Grenier family. Caesarea was required to furnish twenty-five knights for the royal host, accounting for a quarter of Sidon’s total feudal obligation, supplemented by an urban levy of fifty sergeants.\n\nThe city fell to the Ayyubids in 1187 but was restored to Frankish control in 1191 following the Third Crusade. During this transitional period, the title passed through female lines, notably to Juliana Grenier, whose marriage to Aymar de Lairon integrated new military leadership into the lordship’s defense.\n\nDespite substantial efforts by King Louis IX of France to rebuild and modernize its ramparts in the mid-thirteenth century, the structural integrity of the Crusader position on the coast was failing. Caesarea was permanently lost to the Mamluk Sultan Baibars in 1265, after which the title survived purely as a titular honorific.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Capital: Caesarea", "latitude": 32.423158, "longitude": 34.966958, "coordinate_accuracy": "polygon centroid (approximate)", "modern_country": "", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Caesarea", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "", "wikidata_id": "", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "Centroid computed from the project's approximate lordship polygon; lordship boundaries are schematic, not surveyed.; capital: Caesarea", "uncertainty_notes": "Lordship borders are approximate / schematic and shifted over time.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?fief=lordship-of-caesarea", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/lordships/lordship-of-caesarea/" }, { "id": "lordship/county-of-jaffa-and-ascalon", "record_type": "lordship", "primary_name": "County of Jaffa and Ascalon", "alternative_names": [], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Lordship / fief", "historical_category": "Territorial lordship", "title_or_designation": "County", "description": "The County of Jaffa and Ascalon was one of the four paramount baronies of the kingdom, holding critical strategic value due to its location on the southern Mediterranean coast and its control over the fertile coastal plain. Jaffa was fortified immediately following the First Crusade in 1099 and was initially governed by the Le Puiset family. However, a major rebellion by Hugh II of Le Puiset in 1134 led to the territory’s confiscation by the crown. The territory was significantly expanded and elevated to a double county in 1153 following the successful Crusader siege of Ascalon, a Fatimid stronghold that had long threatened the kingdom’s southern flank.\n\nThe barony was immensely powerful, owing a total of one hundred knights to the crown. This military obligation was strictly subdivided among its constituent lordships: twenty-five knights from Jaffa, twenty-five from Ascalon, forty from the combined inland territory of Ramla and Mirabel, and ten from Ibelin. The county often functioned as an appanage for members of the royal family or close heirs to the throne.\n\nBy the thirteenth century, the county passed into the hands of the increasingly dominant House of Ibelin, specifically under John of Ibelin, Count of Jaffa, who utilized the coastal wealth to position himself as the preeminent legal and political authority in the Levant, famously authoring the definitive legal treatise of the kingdom’s assizes. The county was ultimately dissolved under the relentless pressure of Mamluk advances in the late thirteenth century.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Capital: Jaffa", "latitude": 31.73184, "longitude": 34.713182, "coordinate_accuracy": "polygon centroid (approximate)", "modern_country": "", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Jaffa and Ascalon", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "", "wikidata_id": "", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "Centroid computed from the project's approximate lordship polygon; lordship boundaries are schematic, not surveyed.; capital: Jaffa", "uncertainty_notes": "Lordship borders are approximate / schematic and shifted over time.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?fief=county-of-jaffa-and-ascalon", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/lordships/county-of-jaffa-and-ascalon/" }, { "id": "lordship/lordship-of-maron", "record_type": "lordship", "primary_name": "Lordship of Maron", "alternative_names": [], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Lordship / fief", "historical_category": "Territorial lordship", "title_or_designation": "Lordship", "description": "The Lordship of Maron (Marūn al-Raʿs) was a minor sub-vassal territory structurally attached to the Lordship of Toron in the northern highlands. It was a small fief, responsible for providing a quota of only three knights to the crown’s military forces, contributing to Toron’s overall obligation of fifteen.\n\nThe historical trajectory of Maron underscores the late-Crusader trend of territorial consolidation by the military orders. As the secular lords of Toron struggled to maintain their scattered borders amidst intense Ayyubid pressure, Maron became a geopolitical bargaining chip. In 1229, the lordship was explicitly transferred to the Teutonic Knights to satisfy and settle existing legal and territorial claims the Knights held against the broader Lordship of Toron.\n\nLater, in 1270, the Knights Hospitaller also acquired rights in the village of Maron from the crown in exchange for an agreement to wall up a vulnerable sea gate in Tyre, demonstrating how these minor villages were utilized as feudal currency to secure vital military infrastructure along the shrinking coast.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Capital: Meron", "latitude": 33.172187, "longitude": 35.575852, "coordinate_accuracy": "polygon centroid (approximate)", "modern_country": "", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Maron", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "", "wikidata_id": "", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "Centroid computed from the project's approximate lordship polygon; lordship boundaries are schematic, not surveyed.; capital: Meron", "uncertainty_notes": "Lordship borders are approximate / schematic and shifted over time.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?fief=lordship-of-maron", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/lordships/lordship-of-maron/" }, { "id": "lordship/lordship-of-montfort", "record_type": "lordship", "primary_name": "Lordship of Montfort", "alternative_names": [], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Lordship / fief", "historical_category": "Territorial lordship", "title_or_designation": "Lordship", "description": "Montfort Castle, known in German as Starkenberg (“strong mountain”), provides a paradigmatic example of the late-Crusader transition from secular to institutional landholding. Originally a minor farming estate and fortification owned by the French de Milly family, the site was purchased by the Teutonic Knights in 1220. Seeking to distance themselves from the intense political factionalism and inter-order rivalries dominating the capital of Acre, the Teutonic Knights utilized papal assistance to expand the site into an impregnable spur castle, establishing it as their sovereign headquarters in the Levant by 1229.\n\nFunctioning less as a traditional feudal lordship and more as an autonomous monastic-military state, Montfort allowed the Teutonic Order to consolidate their regional power, securing their communications and agricultural supply lines in the Galilee.\n\nThe fortress proved highly resilient against early Muslim incursions but eventually succumbed to the systematic siege warfare of the Mamluk Sultan Baibars, who besieged it first in 1266 and finally took it in 1271. Upon its surrender, it was thoroughly demolished by the Mamluks to prevent any future reoccupation, and the knights retreated to Acre.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Capital: Montfort", "latitude": 33.059583, "longitude": 35.256276, "coordinate_accuracy": "polygon centroid (approximate)", "modern_country": "", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Montfort", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "", "wikidata_id": "", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "Centroid computed from the project's approximate lordship polygon; lordship boundaries are schematic, not surveyed.; capital: Montfort", "uncertainty_notes": "Lordship borders are approximate / schematic and shifted over time.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?fief=lordship-of-montfort", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/lordships/lordship-of-montfort/" }, { "id": "lordship/principality-of-galilee", "record_type": "lordship", "primary_name": "Principality of Galilee", "alternative_names": [], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Lordship / fief", "historical_category": "Territorial lordship", "title_or_designation": "Principality", "description": "The Principality of Galilee, centered around the strategic inland city of Tiberias, was the primary northern barony of the kingdom and encompassed vast territories extending from the Jordan River to southern Phoenicia. Established in 1099 by Tancred, the principality was designed to anchor the northern frontier against the powerful Emirate of Damascus. However, its geopolitical autonomy was deliberately curtailed early on by the monarchy; King Baldwin I systematically denied Galilee direct access to the Mediterranean Sea by separating the coastal Lordship of Haifa from its jurisdiction, a calculated move to prevent the prince of Galilee from gaining independent maritime power.\n\nDespite this maritime limitation, Galilee remained a military powerhouse, owing one hundred knights to the royal army. This force was geographically split to cover its vast domain, divided between sixty knights from the lands west of the Jordan River and forty from the territories beyond it. The principality was a complex feudal web, containing its own sub-vassal lordships such as Nazareth.\n\nThe region generated immense wealth from its fertile agricultural lands, but its proximity to Damascus made it a highly volatile holding. The physical principality was essentially obliterated during Saladin’s sweeping conquest in 1187, culminating in the disastrous Battle of Hattin, which took place within Galilee’s borders. Although parts of it were briefly recovered via treaty during the Barons’ Crusade in the 1240s, the title of Prince of Galilee largely became a titular honorific claimed by the Lusignan kings of Cyprus after its final loss to Ayyubid forces in 1247.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Capital: Tiberias", "latitude": 32.700619, "longitude": 35.355424, "coordinate_accuracy": "polygon centroid (approximate)", "modern_country": "", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Principality of Galilee", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "", "wikidata_id": "", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "Centroid computed from the project's approximate lordship polygon; lordship boundaries are schematic, not surveyed.; capital: Tiberias", "uncertainty_notes": "Lordship borders are approximate / schematic and shifted over time.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?fief=principality-of-galilee", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/lordships/principality-of-galilee/" }, { "id": "lordship/royal-domain-jerusalem", "record_type": "lordship", "primary_name": "Royal Domain - Jerusalem", "alternative_names": [], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Lordship / fief", "historical_category": "Territorial lordship", "title_or_designation": "Royal domain", "description": "The city of Jerusalem served as the spiritual, ideological, and administrative epicenter of the Latin Kingdom from its violent conquest in 1099 until its devastating loss to Saladin following the Battle of Hattin in 1187. Unlike the peripheral baronies, Jerusalem was not a subinfeudated lordship but the primary royal domain. The early monarchy was notably elective rather than strictly hereditary, reflecting the decentralized nature of the crusading army. Upon the city’s capture, Godfrey of Bouillon refused the title of king, adopting instead the moniker Advocatus Sancti Sepulchri (Defender of the Holy Sepulchre). Upon his death in 1100, the High Court elected his brother, Baldwin of Boulogne, who pragmatically accepted the royal crown, establishing the functional feudal monarchy.\n\nAs a royal domain, Jerusalem was governed locally by a royal viscount and a castellan who managed the impregnable Tower of David, ensuring the crown maintained direct control over the city’s garrison and judicial apparatus. The city’s military obligation to the crown was substantial, owing forty-one knights directly from its urban nobility, while the broader ecclesiastical and burgess institutions owed five hundred sergeants in times of extreme military necessity.\n\nThe geopolitical stability of Jerusalem was shattered in the late twelfth century. The kingdom faced a profound constitutional crisis when King Baldwin IV, an increasingly incapacitated leper, struggled to secure a stable succession. This factionalism fatally weakened the realm, allowing Saladin to conquer the city in 1187. Following the collapse, the capital was effectively relocated to Acre on the coast. Jerusalem was briefly reincorporated into the kingdom through the diplomatic negotiations of Emperor Frederick II during the Sixth Crusade (1229), operating as an undefended open city before being permanently lost to Khwarazmian forces in 1244.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Capital: Jerusalem", "latitude": 31.735456, "longitude": 35.20596, "coordinate_accuracy": "polygon centroid (approximate)", "modern_country": "", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Royal Domain - Jerusalem", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "", "wikidata_id": "", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "Centroid computed from the project's approximate lordship polygon; lordship boundaries are schematic, not surveyed.; capital: Jerusalem", "uncertainty_notes": "Lordship borders are approximate / schematic and shifted over time.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?fief=royal-domain-jerusalem", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/lordships/royal-domain-jerusalem/" }, { "id": "lordship/lordship-of-darum", "record_type": "lordship", "primary_name": "Lordship of Darum", "alternative_names": [], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Lordship / fief", "historical_category": "Territorial lordship", "title_or_designation": "Lordship", "description": "The Lordship of Darum (modern Deir al-Balah) was a highly specialized military enclave situated on the extreme southern coastal approach from Egypt. Built in 1170 by King Amalric I, the fortress was designed explicitly as an advanced watchtower to monitor Fatimid and Ayyubid troop movements across the Sinai. Economically, it sustained itself by extracting customs from merchant caravans traversing the coastal road. The fief was minor in feudal terms, owing a military service of only two knights.\n\nDarum’s history is characterized by a cycle of capture and calculated destruction. It fell to Saladin in 1188, who recognized its strategic value and heavily fortified it, encasing it with a wall featuring seventeen strong towers. During the Third Crusade in 1191, Richard the Lionheart recaptured the fortress after a short siege and granted it to Count Henry I of Champagne.\n\nHowever, recognizing the impossibility of defending such an exposed southern outpost long-term, Richard ordered its demolition in 1193 before retreating. The Ayyubids subsequently rebuilt it, only to demolish it again in 1196 to permanently deny the Crusaders a bridgehead.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Capital: Deir al-Balah", "latitude": 31.10048, "longitude": 34.301399, "coordinate_accuracy": "polygon centroid (approximate)", "modern_country": "", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Darum", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "", "wikidata_id": "", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "Centroid computed from the project's approximate lordship polygon; lordship boundaries are schematic, not surveyed.; capital: Deir al-Balah", "uncertainty_notes": "Lordship borders are approximate / schematic and shifted over time. Prior to 1191, Darum was administered primarily as a royal fortress or managed by military orders rather than a hereditary lord.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?fief=lordship-of-darum", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/lordships/lordship-of-darum/" }, { "id": "lordship/lordship-of-caymont", "record_type": "lordship", "primary_name": "Lordship of Caymont", "alternative_names": [], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Lordship / fief", "historical_category": "Territorial lordship", "title_or_designation": "Lordship", "description": "The Lordship of Caymont, situated near Mount Carmel, was the smallest recognized seigneury within the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Its creation was entirely a product of the geopolitical contractions following the Third Crusade. In 1192, it was carved out as a compensatory grant for Balian of Ibelin, who had lost his vast inland territories, notably Nablus, to Saladin’s conquests.\n\nDue to its diminutive size and limited economic capacity, the Ibelins rarely identified with it, preferring to leverage their political influence to acquire more substantial holdings like Beirut. The lordship was subsequently absorbed back into the royal domain.\n\nIn the mid-thirteenth century, ownership of the territory was fiercely disputed between the Hospitallers and Templars. This dispute was ultimately resolved in 1262 when the Templars were awarded the territory, though it fell to Baibars shortly thereafter.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Capital: Caymont (Tel Yokneam)", "latitude": 32.645948, "longitude": 35.102359, "coordinate_accuracy": "polygon centroid (approximate)", "modern_country": "", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Caymont", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "", "wikidata_id": "", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "Centroid computed from the project's approximate lordship polygon; lordship boundaries are schematic, not surveyed.; capital: Caymont (Tel Yokneam)", "uncertainty_notes": "Lordship borders are approximate / schematic and shifted over time.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?fief=lordship-of-caymont", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/lordships/lordship-of-caymont/" }, { "id": "lordship/lordship-of-haifa", "record_type": "lordship", "primary_name": "Lordship of Haifa", "alternative_names": [], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Lordship / fief", "historical_category": "Territorial lordship", "title_or_designation": "Lordship", "description": "The Lordship of Cayphas, centered on the Mount Carmel region, serves as a prime example of strategic royal manipulation. Originally promised to Tancred of Galilee before its conquest, King Baldwin I intervened and granted it to Geldemar Carpenel to deliberately block the massive Principality of Galilee from obtaining a Mediterranean seaport. This rendered Cayphas a rear-fief to the royal domain of Acre rather than a vassal of Galilee. It owed ten knights to the crown.\n\nEconomically, the lords of Cayphas were highly dependent. While the port was smaller than Acre, it generated significant revenue and served as the principal seaport for Galilee’s exports. However, its lords relied heavily on external landholdings and money fiefs drawn directly from Acre’s treasury. This economic tethering severely limited their political independence.\n\nA new castle was built in 1175, but the lordship ultimately shared the fate of the coastal corridor, falling to Baibars in 1265 and permanently to the Mamluks in 1291.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Capital: Haifa (Cayphas)", "latitude": 32.744851, "longitude": 35.006967, "coordinate_accuracy": "polygon centroid (approximate)", "modern_country": "", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Haifa", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "", "wikidata_id": "", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "Centroid computed from the project's approximate lordship polygon; lordship boundaries are schematic, not surveyed.; capital: Haifa (Cayphas)", "uncertainty_notes": "Lordship borders are approximate / schematic and shifted over time.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?fief=lordship-of-haifa", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/lordships/lordship-of-haifa/" }, { "id": "lordship/st-george-of-labeyne", "record_type": "lordship", "primary_name": "St George of Labeyne", "alternative_names": [], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Lordship / fief", "historical_category": "Territorial lordship", "title_or_designation": "Lordship / fief", "description": "The fief of St George de la Beyne lay in Western Galilee, about twenty kilometres east of Acre. Its caput was the twin village now called Deir al-Asad and Bi'ina — together they formed the single medieval settlement the Franks knew as Saint Jorge Labane, and the fief also drew in the nearby hamlets of Sajur and Buqei'a.\n\nThe Latin name is a hybrid. Joshua Prawer suggested \"la Beyne\" came from the Arabic al-Ba'ina, the older Semitic name of the village that survives in Bi'ina today; \"Saint George\", borrowed from the dedication of the village church, may in turn reflect a corruption of the Arabic sajara, \"grove\".\n\nIt was a modest but militarily significant holding — the Assises de Jérusalem record that it owed ten knights to the royal host, a heavy service for a rural fief. Before 1164 it was held by Philip of Milly and then his brother Henry; on Henry's death it passed to Henry's daughter Helvis of Milly. In November 1179 Count Joscelin III of Courtenay — the titular Count of Edessa living out his exile in the Kingdom of Jerusalem — acquired the stewardship, and by February 1182 had consolidated full control of the fief.\n\nSaladin's victory at the Horns of Hattin in July 1187 carried the valley into Muslim hands; a legal transfer to the Pisans in 1188 was never enforced on the ground. The fief returned to Frankish rule with the advance of 1220, and by 1249 had come under the full control of the Teutonic Knights, whose Galilean estates it joined. Prince Edward of England raided the village in 1271 during his brief crusade, destroying it and massacring several of its inhabitants. In 1283 the German pilgrim Burchard of Mount Sion still described it as sitting \"in between the mountains, in a very rich, fertile and pleasant valley\".\n\nAt the centre of the village stand the much-battered remains of a 12th-century Frankish church, identified by Denys Pringle as an abbey church of St George and noted by earlier visitors (Victor Guérin in 1875) as a three-naved, three-apsed building of the Carthusian type. Those walls are the reason the village is today called Deir al-Asad — \"the lion's monastery\" — a name given to the Crusader ruins long after the fief itself had been forgotten.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Capital: Lydda", "latitude": 32.956821, "longitude": 35.26095, "coordinate_accuracy": "polygon centroid (approximate)", "modern_country": "", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "St George of Labeyne", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "", "wikidata_id": "", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "Centroid computed from the project's approximate lordship polygon; lordship boundaries are schematic, not surveyed.; capital: Lydda", "uncertainty_notes": "Lordship borders are approximate / schematic and shifted over time.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?fief=st-george-of-labeyne", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/lordships/st-george-of-labeyne/" }, { "id": "lordship/seigneury-of-tyre", "record_type": "lordship", "primary_name": "Seigneury of Tyre", "alternative_names": [], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Lordship / fief", "historical_category": "Territorial lordship", "title_or_designation": "Seigneury / lordship", "description": "Tyre was arguably the most impregnable coastal fortress in the Latin East, functioning primarily as a royal domain for much of the twelfth century following its capture in 1124. The city’s massive fortifications, situated on a defensible peninsula, allowed it to withstand Saladin’s seemingly unstoppable advance in 1187 when virtually all other strongholds fell. It was during this existential crisis that Conrad of Montferrat arrived by sea, organized the city’s desperate defense, and effectively recreated Tyre as an independent, autonomous lordship. The city subsequently served as the provisional capital and rallying point of the kingdom until the recapture of Acre during the Third Crusade.\n\nThe seigneury owed a modest feudal service of twenty-eight knights, heavily supplemented by one hundred sergeants, highlighting its reliance on infantry and urban militias rather than vast feudal cavalry. Italian mercantile communities, particularly the Venetians, held significant autonomous quarters within the city, reflecting the kingdom’s growing dependence on maritime republics for economic survival and naval defense.\n\nIn the mid-thirteenth century, the lordship was formally conferred upon Philip of Montfort by the King of Cyprus, establishing a brief but powerful dynasty that acted with near-total sovereignty. This independence ended when the crown exercised a legal buy-back clause in 1284, reverting it to a royal domain. The city finally fell to the Mamluks in 1291.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Capital: Tyre", "latitude": 33.223456, "longitude": 35.260152, "coordinate_accuracy": "polygon centroid (approximate)", "modern_country": "", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Seigneury of Tyre", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "", "wikidata_id": "", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "Centroid computed from the project's approximate lordship polygon; lordship boundaries are schematic, not surveyed.; capital: Tyre", "uncertainty_notes": "Lordship borders are approximate / schematic and shifted over time.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?fief=seigneury-of-tyre", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/lordships/seigneury-of-tyre/" }, { "id": "lordship/lordship-of-sidon", "record_type": "lordship", "primary_name": "Lordship of Sidon", "alternative_names": [], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Lordship / fief", "historical_category": "Territorial lordship", "title_or_designation": "Lordship", "description": "The Lordship of Sidon constituted the third major barony of the kingdom and dominated the central Levantine coastline. The city of Sidon (Sagette) was captured in 1110 following a prolonged siege, supported heavily by the naval prowess of the Venetian fleet. King Baldwin I immediately granted the seigneury to Eustace I Grenier, a highly trusted advisor and constable, thereby founding a dynasty that would control the territory for over a century and a half.\n\nThe barony was a powerful military entity, owing one hundred knights to the crown. However, this obligation was geographically fragmented; fifty knights were drawn directly from Sidon and the inland fortress of Beaufort, while the remaining fifty were supplied by its vassal lordships of Caesarea and Bethsan, each contributing twenty-five. Sidon also generated significant urban levies, required to muster fifty sergeants during emergencies.\n\nThe territorial integrity of Sidon was constantly threatened by regional instability. The lordship suffered intermittent occupations by Ayyubid forces between 1187 and 1197, after which Renaud Grenier successfully restored dynastic control. However, the mid-thirteenth century brought catastrophic devastation. The city was sacked by Ayyubid forces in 1249, and its fortifications were thoroughly dismantled by the Mongols during their sweeping raids in 1260. Recognizing the unsustainability of defending the ruins, Julian Grenier pragmatically sold the remnants of the lordship to the Knights Templar in 1260.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Capital: Sidon (Sagette)", "latitude": 33.530272, "longitude": 35.570647, "coordinate_accuracy": "polygon centroid (approximate)", "modern_country": "", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Sidon", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "", "wikidata_id": "", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "Centroid computed from the project's approximate lordship polygon; lordship boundaries are schematic, not surveyed.; capital: Sidon (Sagette)", "uncertainty_notes": "Lordship borders are approximate / schematic and shifted over time.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?fief=lordship-of-sidon", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/lordships/lordship-of-sidon/" }, { "id": "lordship/county-of-tripoli", "record_type": "lordship", "primary_name": "County of Tripoli", "alternative_names": [], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Lordship / fief", "historical_category": "Territorial lordship", "title_or_designation": "County", "description": "The County of Tripoli was the last of the four Crusader states to be founded, emerging from Raymond IV of Toulouse’s long siege of the city in the early twelfth century. Raymond died in 1105 before Tripoli itself was taken, but the city finally fell in 1109, and his heir Bertrand established the new county. It endured until 1289, when it was conquered by the Mamluk sultan Qalawun.\n\nIn its early years, Tripoli stood under the suzerainty of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Baldwin I played a major role in the final conquest, and Bertrand acknowledged him as overlord, making Tripoli at first effectively a vassal of Jerusalem rather than a fully detached northern principality. Over the course of the twelfth century, however, the county developed a wider political life of its own, sometimes aligning more closely with Antioch and acting with considerable independence.\n\nThe county’s strength rested on both trade and fortification. Its coast linked the Latin states of the south with those of the north, while inland routes through the Homs Gap gave it commercial and strategic value. Its defenses were anchored by some of the most formidable strongholds in the Latin East, including Crac des Chevaliers, Chastel Blanc, and Tortosa. After the death of Raymond III in 1187, Tripoli passed into the orbit of the princes of Antioch, and in its final century it survived as an increasingly fragile frontier state until its fall to the Mamluks.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Capital: Tripoli (Tripolis)", "latitude": 34.479408, "longitude": 36.06652, "coordinate_accuracy": "polygon centroid (approximate)", "modern_country": "", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "County of Tripoli", "lordship_or_fief": "County of Tripoli", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "", "wikidata_id": "", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "Centroid computed from the project's approximate lordship polygon; lordship boundaries are schematic, not surveyed.; capital: Tripoli (Tripolis)", "uncertainty_notes": "Lordship borders are approximate / schematic and shifted over time. The County of Tripoli was independent of the Kingdom of Jerusalem but allied to it; its final decades were spent under the Antiochene Princes of Tripoli. Tripoli fell to the Mamluk sultan Qalawun on 27 April 1289, two years before the loss of Acre.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?fief=county-of-tripoli", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/lordships/county-of-tripoli/" }, { "id": "lordship/lordship-of-bethsan", "record_type": "lordship", "primary_name": "Lordship of Bethsan", "alternative_names": [], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Lordship / fief", "historical_category": "Territorial lordship", "title_or_designation": "Lordship", "description": "The Lordship of Bethsan (Baysan) occupied a strategically anomalous position. Geographically situated near the Jordan River Valley, it was captured by Tancred in 1099 but was intentionally kept separate from the Principality of Galilee by the crown. Instead, it functioned as a royal domain until around 1120, after which it was formally established as a lordship, technically affiliated as a sub-vassal to the Lordship of Sidon. It was responsible for supplying twenty-five knights to Sidon’s overall military quota.\n\nEconomically, Bethsan was highly productive. The area had suffered a catastrophic earthquake in 749, but the Crusaders built their castle directly upon the ancient ruins on the southern hill. It was noted by Arab geographers, such as al-Muqaddasi, for its lucrative cultivation of indigo, rice, and dates, making it a valuable agricultural asset.\n\nThe lordship was granted to Adam of Bethune, a younger son of a prominent Flemish family, whose descendants adopted the surname ‘de Bessan’. Because of its exposed inland position, it was highly vulnerable to incursions and was ultimately overrun during the collapse of the inland crusader defenses in 1187.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "Capital: Beit She'an (Bessan)", "latitude": 32.446423, "longitude": 35.474144, "coordinate_accuracy": "polygon centroid (approximate)", "modern_country": "", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "Kingdom of Jerusalem", "lordship_or_fief": "Lordship of Bethsan", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "", "wikidata_id": "", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "Centroid computed from the project's approximate lordship polygon; lordship boundaries are schematic, not surveyed.; capital: Beit She'an (Bessan)", "uncertainty_notes": "Lordship borders are approximate / schematic and shifted over time.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "", "crusaderatlas_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/?fief=lordship-of-bethsan", "landing_page_url": "https://crusaderatlas.com/lordships/lordship-of-bethsan/" }, { "id": "route/acre-lydda-ramla-jerusalem-pilgrim-road", "record_type": "route", "primary_name": "Acre — Lydda — Ramla — Jerusalem (pilgrim road)", "alternative_names": [ "Acre → Jerusalem" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Pilgrim road", "historical_category": "Communication route", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "The principal pilgrim road for travellers arriving at Acre after 1191, when the city became the capital of the rump Kingdom of Jerusalem.\n\nAfter Acre replaced Jerusalem as the political capital of the kingdom in 1191, this route became the spine of pilgrim traffic for travellers arriving from northern Europe, the Italian republics, and Constantinople. Most ships made landfall at Acre's sheltered harbour rather than risking the open beach at Jaffa. From the city the road ran south along the coastal plain, picking up the older Jaffa pilgrim road at Lydda and Ramla, then climbing into the Judean hills via Latrun and Abu Ghosh to reach Jerusalem.\n\nThe route passed close to a string of Crusader castles whose primary job was to protect it: Atlit and Caesarea on the coast, Latrun in the foothills, Belmont (Suba) above the Jerusalem corridor. Pilgrim chronicles such as Theodericus (c.1170) and the Holy Land guide of Wilbrand of Oldenburg (1211) describe the journey as a roughly five-day walk with established hostels along the way, many of them maintained by the Hospitallers.\n\nThe road's vulnerability to ambush — particularly in the wooded approaches to Jerusalem — was the founding pretext for the Knights Templar in 1118, who took their oath specifically to keep the pilgrim roads safe.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "", "latitude": "", "longitude": "", "coordinate_accuracy": "linear route (no single point)", "modern_country": "", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "", "lordship_or_fief": "", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "", "wikidata_id": "", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "Approximate medieval route; route geometry is an approximate reconstruction of the medieval line.", "uncertainty_notes": "Route is an approximate reconstruction; exact medieval alignment is not surveyed.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "Judaean_mountains.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "", "landing_page_url": "" }, { "id": "route/jaffa-ramla-jerusalem-pilgrim-road", "record_type": "route", "primary_name": "Jaffa — Ramla — Jerusalem (pilgrim road)", "alternative_names": [ "Jaffa → Jerusalem" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Pilgrim road", "historical_category": "Communication route", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "The classic short pilgrim road, used since late antiquity, from the small port of Jaffa up through the Judean foothills to the Holy Sepulchre.\n\nThe road from Jaffa to Jerusalem was the shortest and oldest pilgrim route to the Holy Sepulchre, in continuous use since Roman and Byzantine times. The road is roughly 60 km and was typically walked in two or three days. From Jaffa it ran inland to Lydda, where pilgrims venerated the tomb of Saint George; thence to Ramla, the Frankish administrative centre of the coastal plain; up the steep Bab al-Wad gorge past Latrun; through the village of Abu Ghosh, identified by the Crusaders as the New Testament Emmaus; and finally over the last ridge into Jerusalem.\n\nMost pilgrims and crusading reinforcements arriving by sea before 1187 landed at Jaffa rather than at the better-fortified Acre — Jaffa was closer to Jerusalem and the harbour was small and easily controlled. The Crusader presence on the road was thick: a Templar tower at Latrun, the Hospitaller foundation at Aqua Bella, the fortified manor at Beit 'Itab, and the great Hospitaller castle of Belmont (Suba) all clustered within a day's march of one another along this corridor.\n\nThe road remained the principal pilgrim route into the city even after Saladin's reconquest, and was walked by the German pilgrim Theodericus (c.1170), the Spanish-Jewish traveller Benjamin of Tudela (c.1170), and the Russian abbot Daniel (1106), among many others whose itineraries survive.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "", "latitude": "", "longitude": "", "coordinate_accuracy": "linear route (no single point)", "modern_country": "", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "", "lordship_or_fief": "", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "", "wikidata_id": "", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "Approximate medieval route; route geometry is an approximate reconstruction of the medieval line.", "uncertainty_notes": "Route is an approximate reconstruction; exact medieval alignment is not surveyed.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "Jaffator_mit_dem_Davidsturm.JPG", "crusaderatlas_url": "", "landing_page_url": "" }, { "id": "route/damascus-banias-jordan-crossing-tiberias-beit-shean-nablus-jerusalem-caravan-road", "record_type": "route", "primary_name": "Damascus — Banias — Jordan crossing — Tiberias — Beit She'an — Nablus — Jerusalem (caravan road)", "alternative_names": [ "Damascus → Jerusalem" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Caravan road", "historical_category": "Communication route", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "The principal Damascus–Jerusalem inland road, also used by Muslim and Jewish pilgrims; ran through the strategic bottleneck at Jacob's Ford and joined the King's Highway at points.\n\nLong predating the Crusades, this was one of the great inland routes between Damascus and southern Palestine, carrying caravans of textiles, spices, and grain in both directions. Crusader control of its western branch through Tiberias, Beit She'an, and Nablus was always partial: Frankish lords taxed it where they could, Muslim raiders harassed it where they could not, and the road's seasonal alignment shifted depending on which crossings of the Jordan were held by which side at any given time.\n\nThe road's single most contested point was Jacob's Ford (Vadum Iacob) on the Upper Jordan — the only year-round crossing between the Sea of Galilee and Lake Huleh. King Baldwin IV's attempt to fortify the ford with the Templar castle of Chastellet in 1178–79 was specifically intended to interdict this caravan road, and the destruction of that castle by Saladin in August 1179 reopened the route to the Ayyubid sultanate.\n\nMuslim and Jewish pilgrims travelling from the eastern Mediterranean to Jerusalem also used this road, especially during the periods when the city was under Muslim rule (1187–1229, 1244 onwards). The medieval traveller Ibn Jubayr describes the Damascus–Jerusalem journey in detail in his 1183–85 itinerary.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "", "latitude": "", "longitude": "", "coordinate_accuracy": "linear route (no single point)", "modern_country": "", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "", "lordship_or_fief": "", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "", "wikidata_id": "", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "Approximate medieval route; route geometry is an approximate reconstruction of the medieval line.", "uncertainty_notes": "Route is an approximate reconstruction; exact medieval alignment is not surveyed.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "Damascus Gate.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "", "landing_page_url": "" }, { "id": "route/damascus-bosra-amman-kerak-shobak-aqaba-sinai-cairo-kings-highway", "record_type": "route", "primary_name": "Damascus — Bosra — Amman — Kerak — Shobak — Aqaba — Sinai — Cairo (King's Highway)", "alternative_names": [ "King's Highway" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Caravan road", "historical_category": "Communication route", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "The Tariq al-Sultani — the great inland caravan road from Damascus through the Lordship of Outrejourdain to Egypt, taxed by the Crusader fortresses of Kerak and Montréal.\n\nThe King's Highway — Tariq al-Sultani in Arabic, Via Regia to the Latin chroniclers — was the great inland caravan road of the Levant, in continuous use since the Iron Age. From Damascus it ran south through Bosra and Adra'at into the basalt plateau of the Hauran, then down the western escarpment of the Transjordan plateau through Amman, Madaba, and the great Wadi al-Mujib gorge to Kerak. From Kerak the road continued via Shobak and the Petra basin to Aqaba at the head of the Red Sea, then crossed northern Sinai by the inland desert track to Suez and the Egyptian capital at Cairo.\n\nThe Kingdom of Jerusalem deliberately created the Lordship of Outrejourdain in 1115 to control and tax this caravan road. Baldwin I built Shobak (Mons Regalis / Montréal) on its conical hill in 1115 as the first Frankish stronghold east of the Jordan, and Pagan the Butler began the great fortress of Kerak (Crac des Moabites) in the 1140s. From these strongholds, the lords of Outrejourdain — most notoriously Raynald of Châtillon — could intercept caravans bound for Egypt or for the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. Raynald's repeated attacks on this traffic in violation of truce, including his 1183 raid into the Red Sea aimed at Mecca itself, were the immediate provocation for Saladin's 1187 invasion of the kingdom.\n\nAfter Hattin and the fall of Kerak (1188) and Shobak (1189), Saladin reopened the road for the duration of the Ayyubid sultanate. The Mamluks formalised the route as the official Egypt–Damascus military road in the thirteenth century, fortifying it with khans (caravanserais) at one-day intervals; many of those Mamluk khans survive today as substantial archaeological sites along the modern Desert Highway in Jordan.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "", "latitude": "", "longitude": "", "coordinate_accuracy": "linear route (no single point)", "modern_country": "", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "", "lordship_or_fief": "", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "", "wikidata_id": "", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "Approximate medieval route — the Outrejourdain spine; route geometry is an approximate reconstruction of the medieval line.", "uncertainty_notes": "Route is an approximate reconstruction; exact medieval alignment is not surveyed.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "Kings Caravan Route.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "", "landing_page_url": "" }, { "id": "route/ascalon-gaza-darum-al-arish-pelusium-bilbeis-cairo-way-of-the-sea", "record_type": "route", "primary_name": "Ascalon — Gaza — Darum — al-Arish — Pelusium — Bilbeis — Cairo (Way of the Sea)", "alternative_names": [ "Coastal road to Egypt" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Caravan road", "historical_category": "Communication route", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "The Sinai coastal road — the biblical 'Way of the Land of the Philistines' — running from the southern coastal cities of the kingdom along the Mediterranean shore to the Egyptian Delta and Cairo.\n\nThis was the ancient and most direct land route between Palestine and Egypt, in continuous use since the Bronze Age. From the southern coastal cities of the kingdom — Ascalon, Gaza, and the Templar fortress of Darum (Deir al-Balah) — the road ran south along the Mediterranean coast through Rafah and al-Arish, crossed the Sinai isthmus near ancient Pelusium, and climbed northwest through Bilbeis to the Egyptian capital of Fustat / Cairo.\n\nThe road was the principal axis of Crusader military operations against Egypt: King Baldwin I's Egyptian expeditions of 1117–18, which cost him his life; King Amalric I's five major campaigns of the 1160s, which came within a hair's breadth of installing a Frankish puppet on the throne of the Fatimid caliphate; the Crusader contribution to the Damietta crusade of 1218; and Louis IX's Seventh Crusade of 1248–50 all marched along this corridor, supplied by sea from Acre, Jaffa, and the Italian merchant fleets. The two southernmost Frankish castles — Darum and Pharaoh's Island in the Gulf of Aqaba — were built specifically to extend control along the Egyptian frontier.\n\nAfter 1291 the Mamluks made this the principal courier and military road of their sultanate, with relay stations and pigeon-post towers every few hours' ride; Cairo could exchange messages with Damascus in less than three days. The modern Egyptian and Israeli highways through Sinai follow essentially the same alignment that Frankish armies marched a thousand years ago.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "", "latitude": "", "longitude": "", "coordinate_accuracy": "linear route (no single point)", "modern_country": "", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "", "lordship_or_fief": "", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "", "wikidata_id": "", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "Approximate medieval route — the principal Crusader invasion road into Egypt; route geometry is an approximate reconstruction of the medieval line.", "uncertainty_notes": "Route is an approximate reconstruction; exact medieval alignment is not surveyed.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "Gustave_dore_crusades_the_syrian_army_by_a_sand_storm.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "", "landing_page_url": "" }, { "id": "route/western-mediterranean-cyprus-acre-post-1191-pilgrim-sea-route", "record_type": "route", "primary_name": "Western Mediterranean — Cyprus — Acre (post-1191 pilgrim sea route)", "alternative_names": [ "Italy / Cyprus → Acre (sea)" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Pilgrim sea route", "historical_category": "Communication route", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "The principal sea route for pilgrims and crusaders to the Levant after 1191, with the Lusignan Kingdom of Cyprus as the indispensable staging point.\n\nAfter Acre replaced Jerusalem as the Crusader capital in 1191, the city's sheltered northern harbour became the main landing point for pilgrim and crusading traffic from western Europe. Italian merchant fleets — Venetian, Genoese, and Pisan — sailed in seasonal convoys (the spring 'passage' from March, the autumn 'passage' from August) from Venice, Genoa, Pisa, Marseille, and Barcelona across the southern Aegean and around Cyprus to Acre.\n\nThe Lusignan Kingdom of Cyprus, founded in 1192 from Richard I's conquest of the island during the Third Crusade, was the indispensable staging point. Ships took on fresh water, provisions, and Cypriot wine at Famagusta and Limassol, and travellers often spent days or weeks in the Cypriot ports waiting for favourable winds for the final 200km crossing to Acre. The complete journey from Venice took roughly four to six weeks depending on weather.\n\nAfter the fall of Acre in 1291, this route shifted to the Lusignan ports of Cyprus, which remained the closest Christian stronghold to the Holy Land for the next two centuries. Pilgrims continued to sail this approximate course, but disembarked at Famagusta or Larnaca for boat trips to the now-Mamluk Levantine coast under safe-conducts.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "", "latitude": "", "longitude": "", "coordinate_accuracy": "linear route (no single point)", "modern_country": "", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "", "lordship_or_fief": "", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "", "wikidata_id": "", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "Approximate medieval shipping lane; route geometry is an approximate reconstruction of the medieval line.", "uncertainty_notes": "Route is an approximate reconstruction; exact medieval alignment is not surveyed.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "Pizani_harbour.jpg", "crusaderatlas_url": "", "landing_page_url": "" }, { "id": "route/marseille-sicily-crete-sinai-coast-jaffa-pre-1187-southern-pilgrim-sea-route", "record_type": "route", "primary_name": "Marseille — Sicily — Crete — Sinai coast — Jaffa (pre-1187 southern pilgrim sea route)", "alternative_names": [ "Marseille → Jaffa (sea)" ], "medieval_names": [], "modern_names": [], "site_type": "Pilgrim sea route", "historical_category": "Communication route", "title_or_designation": "", "description": "Before 1187, most pilgrims aimed for Jaffa rather than Acre because it was closer to Jerusalem. Provençal, Catalan and Sicilian ships took the southern shipping lane, hugging the North African and Sinai coasts on their final approach.\n\nBefore Saladin's reconquest in 1187, Jaffa rather than Acre was the principal pilgrim port of the kingdom, simply because it was closer to Jerusalem — a two-day walk via Lydda and Ramla, against a five-day march through harder country from Acre. As a result, most pilgrim ships from Provence (Marseille), Catalonia, southern Italy, and Norman Sicily aimed at Jaffa. The route shown here is the southern of the two principal medieval shipping lanes: from Marseille down past Corsica and Sardinia, around Sicily at Palermo or Messina, across the Ionian to a refit stop south of Crete, then along the North African coast and up the Sinai shore to Jaffa.\n\nThe southern route was longer than the deep-sea passage via Cyprus but offered two crucial advantages — fresh water and provisions could be taken on at coastal stops in Cyrenaica or the Egyptian Delta, and ships hugging land could navigate by landmark and run for shelter in storms. The northern route via the Aegean and Cyprus was preferred by the great Italian merchant fleets (Venetian, Genoese, Pisan); the western Mediterranean pilgrim traffic generally took this southern coastal lane.\n\nThe harbour at Jaffa itself was small, exposed, and undefended on its seaward side — there was no breakwater. Vessels typically anchored offshore in the open roadstead and lightered passengers and cargo to the beach in small boats, an operation that became impossible in winter storms and repeatedly led to ships being driven aground. The Russian abbot Daniel (1106), the German pilgrim Theodericus (c.1170), and the Spanish-Jewish traveller Benjamin of Tudela (c.1170) all describe their approach to Jaffa from the sea. After 1191 most pilgrim traffic shifted north to Acre's better harbour, but Jaffa remained an important secondary landing point throughout the thirteenth century.", "historical_significance": "", "modern_location": "", "latitude": "", "longitude": "", "coordinate_accuracy": "linear route (no single point)", "modern_country": "", "modern_region": "", "crusader_state_or_polity": "", "lordship_or_fief": "", "accessibility": "", "wikipedia_url": "", "wikidata_id": "", "primary_sources": "", "secondary_sources": "", "source_notes": "Approximate medieval shipping lane — southern coastal route; route geometry is an approximate reconstruction of the medieval line.", "uncertainty_notes": "Route is an approximate reconstruction; exact medieval alignment is not surveyed.", "fortified_status": "", "visible_remains": "", "has_harbor": "", "wikipedia_he_url": "", "image_filename": "Crusaders-Disembarking.webp", "crusaderatlas_url": "", "landing_page_url": "" } ] }