Shobak (Montreal)

Also known as Krak de Montreal, Mons Regalis, Shawbak

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.

Coordinates: 30.5286°, 35.5533°

Read more on Wikipedia: English article · עברית