Chastelet was a castle located beside

Jacob's Ford Daughters of Jacob Bridge ( he, גשר בנות יעקב, ''Gesher Bnot Ya'akov''; ar, جسر بنات يعقوب, ''Jisr Benat Ya'kub''). is a bridge that spans the last natural ford of the Jordan at the southern end of the Hula Basin between ...

, a ford of the upper

Jordan River The Jordan River or River Jordan ( ar, نَهْر الْأُرْدُنّ, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn'', he, נְהַר הַיַּרְדֵּן, ''Nəhar hayYardēn''; syc, ܢܗܪܐ ܕܝܘܪܕܢܢ ''Nahrāʾ Yurdnan''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Shariea ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. The castle was built during the

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

by the

Knights Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

and the forces of the

Kingdom of Jerusalem The Kingdom of Jerusalem ( la, Regnum Hierosolymitanum; fro, Roiaume de Jherusalem), officially known as the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem or the Frankish Kingdom of Palestine,Example (title of works): was a Crusader state that was establishe ...

but was destroyed by the army of

Saladin Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadi () ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known by the epithet Saladin,, ; ku, سه‌لاحه‌دین, ; was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from an ethnic Kurdish family, he was the first of both Egypt and ...

in 1179.

Etymology

The name of the castle comes from the French word ''châtelet'', meaning a fortified gatehouse. Jacob's Ford is also known by the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

name of ''Vadum Iacob'' and in

modern Hebrew Modern Hebrew ( he, עברית חדשה, ''ʿivrít ḥadašá ', , '' lit.'' "Modern Hebrew" or "New Hebrew"), also known as Israeli Hebrew or Israeli, and generally referred to by speakers simply as Hebrew ( ), is the standard form of the He ...

as ''Ateret''.

History

The castle was intended to act as a bulwark against Muslim incursions into the Kingdom of Jerusalem and to strength protection for pilgrims and traders through Christian Palestine. Jointly constructed by the Knights Templar and the Kingdom of Jerusalem under orders of Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, construction of the castle began in 1178. By May 1179, the main walls (built of lime, stone and pebbles) and foundations were completed, which included a perimeter wall with five gates, and a tower. Some 1,500 men were camped at the fortress when Saladin began an initial attack that was repulsed in June. In an effort to further reinforce the castle forces and meet the Muslim army, Christian forces were decisively defeated at the

Battle of Marj Ayyun The Battle of Marj Ayyun was a military confrontation fought at Marjayoun, Marj Ayyoun near the Litani River (modern-day Lebanon) in June 1179 between the Kingdom of Jerusalem under Baldwin IV and the Ayyubid armies under the leadership of Saladin ...

. As a result, in August 1179 the forces of

were able to lay siege to the castle during the

Siege of Jacob's Ford The siege of Jacob's Ford was a victory of the Muslim sultan Saladin over the Christian King of Jerusalem, Baldwin IV. It occurred in August 1179, when Saladin conquered and destroyed Chastelet, a new border castle built by the Knights Templar a ...

. A heavy intense siege resulted in the fall of the barbican (gatehouse) but the castle held for several days until miners succeeded digging a tunnel that brought down the main tower. Saladins forces then successfully took the castle. The surviving defenders were executed and the armoury was seized, including some 1,000 coats of armour and the castle was extensively demolished to prevent further use by the Christian forces. Ateret-S-164

In the 20th and early 21st centuries, the castle has been the site of extensive archaeological excavations. These included the discovery of extensive double-chambered baking ovens. Notably, over 160 coins of various types have also been found providing a key source of coins from the Frankish crusading era.

References

{{Coord, 33.0045, 35.6277, type:landmark_region:IL, display=title Castles in Israel Castles and fortifications of the Kingdom of Jerusalem Buildings and structures demolished in the 12th century