Muslim Fortresses in the Levant: Between Crusaders and Mongols (59 page)
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Authors: Kate Raphael
Tags: #Arts & Photography, #Architecture, #Buildings, #History, #Middle East, #Egypt, #Politics & Social Sciences, #Social Sciences, #Human Geography, #Building Types & Styles, #World, #Medieval, #Humanities
In 1268 Baybars conquered
(Beaufort). The women and children were sent to Tyre, while the men were divided among the Mamluk armies that participated in the siege. The new section of the fortress that had been added by the Franks was destroyed. Once the siege ended and Baybars decided to hold on to the site and refortify it, the amir
al-Dīn Qāymāz al-Kāfará was appointed as its
nā’ib
. Twenty-six siege machines were positioned by the Mamluks around the fortress and parts of it may well have needed to be rebuilt. Baybars appointed the amir Sayf al-Dīn Balāban al-Zaynī, who was charged solely with the responsibility for the reconstruction work. The garrison that was set up in the newly acquired fortress was composed of mounted men (
ajnād,
) and infantry (
rajjāla,
).
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During the same year Baybars conquered Antioch, capital of the Crusader principality.
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Antioch’s citadel was given to Bīlīk al-Khaznadār and Badr al-Dīn Baysarī al-Shamsi, who were put in charge of organizing and distributing the booty. Once this was completed Baybars returned and burnt down both the citadel and the city. Antioch’s grim fate prompted nearby strongholds to ask for an
amān
(guarantee of safety).
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The amir Bīlīk al-Ashrafī granted them an
amān
and received the fortresses.
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In order to ensure their loyalty and neutralize their military strength, Bīlīk al-Ashrafī decided to imprison all the men.
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In the spring of 1268 three Frankish fortresses along the southern border of the principality of Antioch were taken by the Mamluks: Dayr Kūsh (Dargous), Dubbīn and Talmīs (Cavea Balmīs). Ibn al-Furāt describes those fortresses in the following manner: “These strongholds were a blockage in the throat and choking in the breast (of Islam).”
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The garrisons in all thee fortresses surrendered, and they passed into Mamluk hands in a good state of preservation. All three are located along the northern section of the Orontes, close to the river bank. They had been taken y Hülegü in the winter of 1260 when he conquered Aleppo and were returned to Bohemond VI, ruler of Antioch, the original owner. Ibn Shaddād gives only a short account of those conquests. He concludes by noting that each of the three fortresses had a small adjacent suburb and a mosque and that the sultan appointed a governor and a judge.
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A comprehensive survey conducted by Major in the northern region of the Orontes has shown the exact nature of the strongholds. The term
shaqīf
indicates that they were in fact cave fortresses.
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(Cursat), a Frankish fortress that belonged to the Catholic Patriarch of Antioch was taken by Baybars only in 1275.
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The soruces do not indicate whether the Mamluks restored this site.
The fortresses of the Military Orders were constructed and run almost like independent islands; in many ways they were self-sufficient. Garrisons at Safad, Marqab and Chastel Pelerin (
) numbered over a thousand men. The Military Orders’ fortresses represent some of the finest contemporary military architecture, a great deal of thought and money having been invested in them, so that they could withstand the advances made by the Ayyubid armies in siege warfare.
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They show a fine understanding of defense: siege machines could be mounted on their towers,
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and large numbers of archers could be stationed along the towers and walls.
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Nevertheless, the fortresses fell one by one to the advancing Mamluk forces. While some were reduced in the course of a successful siege, others fell thanks to clever trickery.
Shaqīf and Baghrās were conquered two years later in 1268.
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La Roche de Roussel (Çalan) and Port Bonnel (
Rūsūs) were taken without battle; their garrisons simply abandoned the sites. In 1271 the Mamluks conquered the Templar fortress Chastle Blanc (
), Crac des Chevaliers (al-Akrād)
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and Gibelacar (
).
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The latter two belonged to the Hospitallers. Within six years (1265–71) the Mamluks had succeeded in destroying the entire infrastructure of the Templars in the East.
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During the summer of 1271 the Teutonic Order lost Montfort (al-Qurayn). Ibn
describes this affair in a few brief sentences, but he gives the Mamluks’ reason for taking this stronghold:
