The Crusaders - BibleWalks 500+ sites

This page provides an overview of the Crusaders and lists the sites reviewed in BibleWalks.com.

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Etymology
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History

First Crusade (1096-1099)

The crusade to liberate the Holy Land and free Jerusalem was initiated in the great council meeting of Piacenza (March 1095), following an appeal from the Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos to repel the Muslim (Seljuk) Turks conquests in the south Turkey. Pope Urban II (1042-1099) pushed for a military action to the Holy Lands at the council of Clermont (27 November 1095), with the primary goal to assist the Byzantine capitol of Constantinople. His speech at the council had a great influence, resulting in a call for arms throughout Europe to regain the Holy Lands under the name of God.

A large force of volunteers was assembled in France, Germany and Italy, estimated at 30,000-40,000, which included peasants, trained soldiers, knights and nobles. On their way to the east, the unorganized Crusader armies butchered the Jews in Germany and looted the villages along the way.

They fought their way to Constantinople, and finally reached the city a year later.

The campaign against the Seljuks took another year to complete (June 1098), ending with the conquest of the mighty city of Antioch after 8 months of siege (in June 1098 – see illustration below).

Siege of Antioch – Bohemond of Taranto climbs up the walls

– by Gustav Dore (French artist, 1832-1883)

The Crusade now focused on the secondary goal, which is to liberate Jerusalem. In the beginning of 1099 the Crusaders continued from Antioch towards Jerusalem, encountering little resistance along the coastal way. On June 7, 1099, three years after the military expedition started in Europe, the Crusaders finally approached the gates of Jerusalem. By then, their forces were reduced to about 10,000 soldiers.

The Crusaders first arrived to the site of Nebi Samuel, west of the city. Their first assault on the city took place a week later, on June 13. This attempt failed, as they lacked the machinery required to pierce the strong walls.

The Muslim Fatimid defenders chopped all the trees around the city. Therefore, the Crusaders waited until they secured a supply of wood which was required for building siege weapons, in order to breach the strong walls of Jerusalem. The arrival of the ships from Genoa to Jaffa on June 15 brought craftsman, tools and wood which were needed for building the ram and other siege installations.

The assault started on July 14, with the armies attacking the city from the north (headed by Godfrey), west (Tancred) and south (Raymond).

The Muslim defenders initially managed to repel the attacks with their use of catapults, throwing stones and burning pitch. Tancred attempted to capture the strong fortress on the west side of the city, known as the “Goliath” fortress (and later named after him). However, he could not capture it, but managed to breach the city walls at this site.

Attack on Jerusalem – the failed first day of the second assault

– by Gustav Dore (French artist, 1832-1883)

On midday of the second day of the siege (July 15) the Crusader’s ram managed to pierce a hole in the northern eastern wall adjacent to the Jewish quarter. The northern forces, headed by Godfrey de Bouillon, pushed into the breached walls In parallel, the southern forces broke into the city from Mount Zion. The attackers pushed into the city, beheading, burning and piercing with arrows all the inhabitants. Thus started a 3 day killing spree and sacking of the city. All the 40,000 inhabitants of the city – Jews and Muslims – were massacred, including men, women and children. This was a brutal conquest – according to chronicles of the period the Crusader horses “were up to their ankles in enemy blood” !.

The Egyptian Fatimid garrison, which was stationed in the tower of David, negotiated a truce and were allowed to leave the city unharmed, thus ending the campaign. The city was virtually empty from its population, except a few Orthodox Christians.

Following the capture of the city, which was the ultimate goal of the three years of the crusade, the joyful Crusaders celebrated their victory in the Church of Sepulchre, and established the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Godfrey de Bouillon was elected the King of Jerusalem (with the title of the “defender of the Sepulcher) on July 22, but died a year later, succeeded by his brother Baldwin of Boulogne. Raymond left to Jericho, then continued to conquer other cities. Tancred captured the Galilee and was appointed to be the “Prince of Galilee” and received its lands. Tancred later received the regency of Antioch (1100), and remained there until his death at the age of 40 in 1112. Bohemond of Tarento, Tancred’s uncle, was the regent of Antioch before Tancred (1098-1100). The four leaders of the first Crusade are illustrated here.

Leaders of the first Crusade – Godfrey de Bouillon, Raymond de Toulouse,

Bohemond de Tarento and Tancred d’Hauteville.

– by Gustav Dore (French artist, 1832-1883)

A final decisive battle between the Crusaders and the Egyptian Fatimid forces was held near Ashkelon on the south. The Crusader victory (August 14, 1099), which effectively used their cavalry to surprise the enemy, sealed their possession of the Holy Land for the following 200 years.

The Crusaders were driven out of Jerusalem in 1187 by the Arab forces headed by Saladin. The Crusaders returned to rule the city for a short time (1229-1244) following the sixth Crusade.

The other Crusades will be detailed in a later phase:

Second Crusade (1147–1150)
Third Crusade (1189–1192)
Forth Crusade (1202–1204)
Fifth Crusade (1217–1221)
Sixth Crusade (1228–1229)
Seventh Crusade (1248-1254)
Eight Crusade (1270)
Ninth Crusade (1271–1272)
Tenth Crusade (1387-1392)

Sites of the Crusaders:

The following table lists the sites related to the Crusaders, ordered in alphabetic order. There are dozens of sites, as the Crusaders have made an incredible change to the landscape of the Holy Land in the 200 years of presence.

More than 75 tower castles have been identified in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, most of them dated to the 12th century. Other sites featured in the table are of churches and monasteries and other types of structures. The table lists only the sites that have been reviewed in BibleWalks.com.

Click on the site’s title to see more information on each site. Click on the photos to enlarge them.

Site	What	Where	Time	Form	Sample Photo
__________	_________________	________	_________	________	_________________
(Click to get to the site) Achziv (Casal Humberti)	An administrative center	West Galilee	~1100 to 1271	Town
Acre Port	The ancient port is located on the south east side of the old city.	Acre	to 1291	Harbour
Atlit	Atlit is a large Crusader fortress, 20KM south of Haifa. It was the last Crusader outpost in the Holy Land	Carmel shore	1218/1219 to 1291	Fortress, Harbour
Ateret	In 1178 King Baldwin IV constructed a fortified outpost south of the pass	Upper Galilee	1178 to 1179	Fortress
Ashdod (Castellum Beroart; Castellum Beroardi)	The Crusaders renovated and reoccupied the Ashdod Maritime fortress	Shefela	1131-1141 to 1290	Fortress
Ashkelon	A Crusader border fortress.	Shefala	1099-1114, 1154-1187, 1191-1247	Fortress
Apollonia	Remains of a Crusader fortress on a cliff.	Sharon	1101-1187, 1241-1265	Fortress
Afek of Galilee (Recordane or Ricordane)	An ancient two-story Crusader flour mill and fortress	West Galilee		Flour Mill, Fortress
Banias	The Crusaders fortified the frontier city of Banias in the 12th century.	Golan heights	1129 to 1260	City, Fortress
Beit Shean	Beit Shean during the Crusaders times was a small town, first claimed by prince Tancred	Yizreel Valley	1075 to 1187	Fortress
Belvoir	Ruins of an impressive Crusaders fortress located on a high cliff above above the northern Jordan valley.	Jordan Valley	1168 -1187, 1243-1263	Fortress
Berniki Hill	Restored Byzantine church on a hilltop over Tiberias.	Tiberias	to 1187	Hilltop monastery
Caesarea Maritima (“by the Sea”)	One of the most important cities in the Roman World, and a Crusader fortress along the road from Acre to Jerusalem.	Sharon	-1189,	Fortress
Castel (Castellum Belveer)	Hilltop stronghold protecting the road to Jerusalem.	Near Jerusalem	to 1187	Fort
Tower of David	Tower of David is Jerusalem’s citadel, located near Jaffa gate on the western side of the old city wall.	Jerusalem	1099 to 1187	Fortress
Dor (Merle)	Fortress on the acropolis, on the south-western side of the city	Carmel	to 1264	Fortress
Dubbah (Digegia)	One of the 3 Crusaders villages on Mt. Carmel	Carmel		Village
Dur (Dere)	Ruins of a small Upper Galilee village, part of the Lands of Godfrey le Tor.	Upper Galilee		Village
Ein Tut (Salvatio)	12th century Crusader village had about 5 residential and farm houses, and a Church. It was managed by monks of the Cistercian order	Judea		Village
Ferasin (Afarsin)	An agriculture town.	Samaria		Town
Gaza	Fortified by King Baldwin III, guarded by knights of the Templars order	Shefela	1149-1187	Fortress
Good samaritan (“Red Castle”, Castellum Rouge)	The fortress was erected by the order of the Knights Templar to protect the pilgrimage road	Judea desert	1169-1172 to 1187	Fortress, Inn
Ha-Bonim (“Cafarlet” or “Capharlet”)	A Crusader fortress	Carmel-coast	to 1291	Fortress
Hannathon	A fortified farm was built on top of the hill. The underground halls of the structure can be visited today.	Lower Galilee		Fortified farmhouse
Horns of Hittim	Best known for the crucial battle between Saladin and the Crusaders	Sea of Galilee	1187	Battlefield
Hunin	Ruins of a Crusaders frontier fortress	Upper Galilee	1106/7 to 1167	Fortress
Knights halls	Crusaders main fortress and headquarters	Acre	110x to 1191	Fortress
Last Supper (Coenaculum)	Traditional site of the the location of the Last Supper	Jerusalem		Sacred Site
Latrun	Located on the side of the road from Jaffa and Ramla to Jerusalem.	Ayalon valley	1137 to 1263	Fortress
Manot (Manueth)	Ruins of a Crusaders fortified farm complex, including a sugar processing factory.	Upper Galilee	1169 to 1260	Village, Factory
Manot (Manueth)	Ruins of a Crusaders fortified farm complex, including a sugar processing factory.	Upper Galilee	1169 to 1260	Village, Factory
Mar Elias	Monastery on the side of the road from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. Built over the ruins of a Byzantine church.	Jerusalem	1160 to date	Monastery
Mary’s Tomb	A church at the traditional place of the tomb of the virgin Mary.	Jerusalem	to 1187	Tomb, Church
Migdal Afek	The fortress of Migdal Afek controlled the narrow pass of Via Maris.	Shefela	11xx to 1191	Fortress
Mi’ilya (King’s castle)	First belonged to the Crusader King Baldwin III, called the “King’s fortress”.	Upper Galilee		Castle
Monastery of the Cross	A large center in the 13-14th century, and hosted a hundreds of Georgian monks, scholars and poets.	Jerusalem		Monastery
Montfort	Ruins of a remote Crusaders castle located in the heart of the nature park of Kziv creek.	Upper Galilee	Mid 12th century to 1271	Castle
Muristan	The site of the Crusaders Hospitallers quarters and hospital	Jerusalem	1099-1187	Hospital
Nebi Samuel	A military fortress, religious site and a hostel for Christian pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem.	Judea	1099 to 1187	Fortress, Church, Inn
Nimrod	One of the largest and most impressive fortresses in Israel.	Golan heights	1129-1132, 1140-1164	Fortress
Pater Nostre	Built on the ruins of the Byzantine Eleona Basilica on Mt Olives	Jerusalem	1152 to 1187	Church
Qaqun (Caco, Chaco)	Remains of a Crusader and Mameluke period fortress	Sharon	~ 1123 to 1265	Fortress
Kh. Qarta (Dustrey)	A small Crusaders post east of the Atlit fortress, built as a police station	Carmel shore	1118 to 1291	Fort
Qula (Kola or Cola)	Ruins of a Crusader fortress	Shefela	1181 to 1187	Fortress
Red Tower (Turris Rubea)	Remains of a small Crusader period keep near Kefar Yonah.	Sharon	1100-1150 to 1265	Keep
St. John Samaria city	Crusaders built on the ruins of the eastern gate. Dedicated to John the Baptist, built over traditional site of his tomb	Samaria		Church
Sepphoris (Le Saphorie)	The Crusaders rebuilt sections of the city and the fortress	Lower Galilee	to 1187	City, Fortress
Holy Sepulchre	One of the most holiest churches, located in Jerusalem at the traditional site of Golgotha	Jerusalem	1099 to 1187	Church
Shefaram (Le Saffran)	The Crusaders built here a fort to protect the road from Acre to Nazareth	West Galilee	to 1187, 1229-1291	Fortress
Siah Brook (St. Brocardus)	Ruins of a small 13th century Carmelite church and monastery in Siah brook	Carmel	1200 to 1291 (?)	Monastery
St. Anna	One of the few surviving large structures from the Crusaders period	Jerusalem	1099 to today	Church
Stella Maris	Crusaders built a fortress over the ruins of the Byzantine church	Carmel	to 1291	Fortress
St. Gabriel	Byzantine Church Rebuilt by the Crusaders in the 12th century	Nazareth	to 1263	Church
St. Gerassimos	Monastery near Jericho, rebuilt by the Crusaders over Byzantine ruin	Jordan Valley		Monastery
St. George (St. Jorge de Lidde)	Church with remains of St. George – most important Christian soldier-saint	Lod (Lydda)	1150-1170 to 1191	Church
St. George Koziba	A cliff hanging Byzantine monastery in the valley of Wadi Qelt, near Jericho.	Judea desert	1179 restored	Monastery
St. John Ba Harim	Built by the Hospitallers over Byzantine ruins	Ein Kerem Jerusalem	1104-1187	Church
St. James, Armenian section	Built over the ruins of the Byzantine church.	Jerusalem		Church
St. Joseph’s House	A Crusaders church was built over the site of the Byzantine church- the church of the Nutrition, or St. Joseph’s House.	Nazareth	to 1263	Church
St. John the Baptist	Center of the Knights Hospitallers , and functioned as a hostel and a hospital to the wounded Crusaders	Jerusalem	1099 to 1187
Sultan’s pool (“Germanus” pool)	Water reservoir west of the old city	Jerusalem		Water reservoir
Synagogue Church, Nazareth	Built by the Crusaders. According to tradition, it is the site of the synagogue of young Jesus	Nazareth		Church
Tabor	On top of Mount Tabor are ruins of the Crusaders fortress, ancient chapels and churches, and other structures.	Yizreel valley		Fortress, Churches, Chapels
Tancred fortress	Ruins of a fortress, dated to the Crusader period, located on the north west corner of the old city.	Jerusalem	to 1187
Taibe in the Galilee (“Le Forbelet”)	Remains of a Crusader fortified farmhouse, in the center of et-Taiyibe in the Jezreel valley.	Yizreel valley	1168 to 1183	Fortified farmhouse
Tel Yizreel (Parvum Gerinum, Le-Petite Gerin)	A small Crusaders village built on the ruins of a major Biblical city	Yizreel valley	to 1187	Village
Tel Tanninim	On top of the hill of Crocodilopolis are remains of the Crusader period tower.	Sharon	to 1263-5	Tower
Temple mount (Templum Domini)	Turned the Dome of the rock to a church, Al-Aksa mosque to Baldwin’s royal palace in 1104, naming it King Solomon’s palace.	Jerusalem	1099-1187	Church, Palace
Templars tunnel	Built by the Crusader Templars to connect their fortress on the south-west side of Acre to the harbor	Acre	~1187 to 1291	Military tunnel
Tiberias	A crusaders fortress was located on the south east side of the old city.	Sea of Galilee	1100? to 1187	Fortress
Tel Tzafit (Blanche Garde – white fortress)	A small castle and village were built on the mound.	Shephela	1142-1187, 1192-1193	Fortress, Village
Tel Tzova (Belmont – pretty mountain)	A castle and village on a hill	Jerusalem hills	1169-1187	Fortress, Village
Visitation church, Ein Kerem	Upper floor of the visitation church shows remains of the Crusaders church, especially on the south wing.	Jerusalem		Church
Yavne (Ibelin)	Fortified town on the side of Via Maris above Sorek valley	Shefela	1099-1187, 1191-1240	Fortress, Church, Town
Yehi’am Fortress	Crusader hilltop fortress	West Galilee	1192 – 1271	Fortress
Yokneam (Cain Mons)	Stands in the entrance of a mountain pass through Mount Carmel	Yizreel Valley		Fortified town, Church
Zefat (Safed)	Huge fortress, on a high hill above the city of Zefat.	Upper Galilee	1157 to 1266	Fortress
Zonem	Farming	Upper Galilee		Village
Zohar	Fortress in the Zohar valley, guarding a mountain pass	Dead Sea		Fortress

Total: 78 sites. More will be added….

Map of sites:

View an interactive map of the Crusaders fortresses in Israel.

Etymology – behind the name:

Crusades – a series of religious campaigns in the 11th thru the 14th centuries, in the objective of liberating Jerusalem and the Holy Land from Islamic rule. The word ‘Crusader’, an 18th century English word, is based on a Medieval term of a crusader (crucesignatus -“one signed by the cross”), which lead to the French word croisade.
Jihad – Islamic religious war against unbelievers.

History

Sites of the Crusaders:

Map of sites:

Etymology – behind the name:

Links: