Castles in the Holy Land

Don't we all LOVE CASTLES!  "And it is true that into the 200 years when armies from western Europe were battling for a kingdom in the East, there was breathed a spirit of romantic fervor - religious, social, commercial, and military - that has never ceased to challenge the admiration and wonder of succeeding centuries," ("Crusader Castles of the Near East," William H. Hall, National Geographic Magazine, March, 1931, p. 369).

Mr. Hall's goals in this article include, "We wish to outline the boundaries that divided Crusader from Saracen, to know where and why the castles were built.  We want to see the outer walls and inner moats, to thread the dark and winding passageways.  We wish to place in imagination the banner of the knights Hospitalers to wave over the chatelain's tower of Margab or Kalat-el-Husn" (p. 369).

The Crusades were started by the Europeans in 1097-1098 in response to the terrible treatment of pilgrims by bandits in the Holy Land.  Norman princes first captured the city of Antioch, in Syria.  This was to remain their capital during the entire period of Crusades.

"The year following the fall of Antioch the crusading army, princes and knights, the rank and file of soldiers, together with Italian ships along the coast, moved on to the supreme goal of the expedition, Jerusalem" (p. 370).

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher where Jesus was laid in the tomb after his death on the cross, Jerusalem, Israel, October, 2013.

 This was accomplished and the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem was a reality,  The army wanted to crown the leader, Godfrey de Bouillon, a king.  He refused, stating, "God forbid that I should wear a crown of gold where my Master wore a crown of thorns. . .he ruled for a year as a military leader and after his death, his brother, Baldwin of Edessa, was crowned first King of Jerusalem" (p. 371).

Ceiling depicting Jesus' Crown of Thorns, above the main altar of Church of the Flagellation, Jerusalem, Israel, October, 2013.

 

Stained glass window behind main altar at Church of the Flagellation.

During the next fifty years, castles were erected "all along the seacoast and the boundaries to protect the frontier" (p. 371).

Meanwhile, a Moslem leader, Sala-ud-din (Saladin, the more familiar English name) was gathering power and influence; he allied with Egypt.  In midsummer of 1187, Saladin conquered the European forces on the place today known as the scene of Christ's Sermon on the Mount.  This opened the road to Jerusalem to the Moslems.  It would mostly stay under their control for the next 730 years, until "the World War" (p. 371).

View of the Sea of Galillee from the Mount of Beatitudes, Israel, October, 2013.

 "Jerusalem was as much a "holy city" for Moslems as for Christians and Jews.  Saladin had set his heart on regaining the city from the "iinfidel Christians."  He remarked to King Richard (the Lionhearted), "Jerusalem is as much to us Mohammedans as it can be to you Christians, and more.  It is the place where our Prophet made his night ascent to heaven, and it will be the gathering place of our nation at the Great Judgment" (p 374).

Golden dome of the Moslem Mosque, built in the courtyard of the ruins of the Jewish Temple, as seen from across the valley from the Mount of Olives, Jerusalem, Israel, October, 2013.  This is inside the Old City walls, seen in the foreground.

FYI: In Jerusalem, there are three Sabbaths: Friday is holy for the Moslems, Saturday, for the Jews, and Sunday, for the Christians.  On Fridays, some of the businesses are closed but on Saturdays, all the businesses are closed.  

"The territories occupied by the Crusaders were divided into a series of lordships, under the great feudal princes.  Each lord had his castle, with attached villages and lands . . . It was a feudal system, complete and perfected" (p. 377).

The Crusaders lived very well in the Holy Land.  Sugar cane was discovered growing at the River Jordan.  After 200 years of flourishing, the castles fell to the Saracens, one by one, and the Europeans sailed away.  But the ruins of the castles "remain today as mute reminders of those brave days of chivalry and renown" (p. 391).

Personally, I am pleased that the adherents of the three major religions of the Holy Land today live in tolerance, safety, and relative peace so that we tourists can enjoy the great land!