Description:
The hill on which Krak des Chevaliers was constructed was originally the site of a small fortress called the "Castle on the slope". It was taken over in 1011 by the Emir of Homs, who garrisoned his Kurdish soldiers there to protect the Syrian interior from the potential threat of invasion from the direction of the Mediterranean coast.
In June 1110 the small fortress was occupied by the Crusaders under Tancred, Prince of Antioch. They housed a garrison of four thousand soldiers and built fortifications throughout their occupation when demanded by circumstances. They also had to restore parts of the castle that were shattered by earthquakes in 1157, 1170, 1201 and 1202.
The castle was attacked in 1163 by Nur ed-Din Sultan of Damascus, whose troops met the Franks in the Buqai'ah valley below the castle. Saladin (Salah ad-Din Yusuf) beseiged it in 1188, but renounced his plans to occupy it and continued on his march northward.
It was during the winter of 1271 that King al-Zaher Baybars, in his endeavour to rout the Franks, "beseiged it for several days (3rd March - 8th April), harassing it with the missles of his mangonels before his troops began to attack and occupy the castle, door by door, and tower by tower."
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