Fall of Krak des Chevaliers
Fall of Krak des Chevaliers | |||||||
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Part of The Crusades | |||||||
The Krak des Chevaliers | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Mamluk Sultanate | Knights Hospitaller | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Baybars | Jean de Villiers | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Unknown | Unknown |
The Crusader fortress of Krak des Chevaliers fell to the Mamluk sultan Baybars in 1271. Baybars went north to deal with Krak des Chevaliers after the death of Louis IX of France on 29 November 1270.
Siege and surrender
After beating back the
Rain interrupted the siege, but on 21 March a triangular
Though the outer ward had fallen, and in the process a handful of the garrison killed, the Crusaders retreated to the more formidable inner ward. After a lull of ten days, the besiegers conveyed a letter to the garrison, supposedly from the Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller in Tripoli which granted permission for them to surrender. Although the letter was a forgery, the garrison capitulated and the Sultan spared their lives.[3] The new owners of the castle undertook repairs, focused mainly on the outer ward.[4] The Hospitaller chapel was converted to a mosque and two mihrabs were added to the interior.[5]
References
Works cited
- ISBN 0-521-42068-7
- King, D. J. Cathcart (1949), "The Taking of Le Krak des Chevaliers in 1271", S2CID 164061795, archived from the originalon 2012-12-23
- JSTOR 1291467