Crusader castles in Syria
The Crusader castles that rise from the Syrian hilltops and mountain crags remain the clearest legacy of the 200 year struggle for the ‘Holy Land’ between the Christians of Europe and the Muslims of the east. The monumental proportions and intricate craftsmanship still discernible in the enduring fortifications scattered across the countryside are a testimony to the vast scope of this conflict and to the engineering ingenuity of the combatants.
The Europeans who embarked on the First Crusade at the end of the 11th century were predominantly Frankish and the basic traditions of Crusader castle construction can be traced to their homelands. Throughout Western Europe fortification technology had developed from the days of Roman camps and forts, through the Middle Ages and the era of rulers like Charlemagne. However, there was no standard blueprint for Frankish castle construction. The nature of castle construction was dictated more by the topography of a chosen site than by any strict adherence to a building pattern. The greatest skill of the Frankish engineers was the ability to adapt designs to suit the demands of specific terrain, whether it was a precipitous mountain peak or a harbour-side promontory. This was equally true in Syria, where the fortifications in coastal towns like Tartus and the impregnable hilltop castle of Krak des Chevaliers bear the unmistakable stamp of Crusader technology but are fundamentally different in design, appearance and function.
It is likely that the Crusaders learned more about military architecture during the lengthy march to the Holy Land. They must have been amazed by the walls of Constantinople, and they discovered first-hand the effectiveness of ancient Byzantine fortifications during their long sieges of Nicaea (1097) and Antioch (1098). It is also interesting to speculate upon possible Armenian influences on the Crusaders. The path of the Crusaders brought them into contact with Armenian populations in the principality of Antioch and also in Edessa. The Armenians had a tradition of constructing true castles, rather than city defences, on elevated or mountainous locations. Armenian castles were frequently built with an outer wall that closely followed the line of the cliff face, with round towers spaced regularly along it. These features can be seen in the Syrian Crusader castles of Qala’at Salah ad-Din and Qala’at Burzei, and it is likely that the technology or inspiration came, at least in part, from the Armenians.