Belvoir

History

Perched more than 300 metres above the Jordan Valley, the citadel of Belvoir stands on the edge of the Naphtali Plateau, facing the hills of Gilead. Aptly named Belvoir (also known as “Le Coquet”!) by the Crusaders for the magnificent views it offered over the Plain of Esdraelon (today's Jezreel Valley), the original fortress was built by an obscure Frankish lord named Velos, a vassal of the Count of Tiberias, near the ruins of an ancient Jewish village called Kochav, meaning “the Star” (an intriguing coincidence: in Arabic, the citadel bears the poetic name Kawkab al-Hawā, literally “the Star of the Winds”). In 1168, Velos sold his fief to the Hospitaller Order, whose members, recognising the strategic importance of the site, not far from the Bridge of Dudaire (the present-day Allenby Bridge), decided to build an exceptional fortress there.

During the decade following the Hospitallers' acquisition of the citadel, Belvoir remained untouched by the turmoil of war. It was only with Saladin's successive assaults against the Frankish strongholds of Galilee and the Land of Suete that the fortress suddenly found itself at the heart of the fighting.

The first confrontation occurred in the summer of 1182, when Saladin's forces encountered the Frankish army below the fortress, near the village of Forbelet (‘Afrabalâ, an Arab village destroyed during the fighting of 1948). Saladin did not attack the fortress again until five years later, following his resounding victory over the Frankish army at the Horns of Hattin. The ensuing siege, which lasted nearly eighteen months, went entirely unmentioned in the Frankish chronicles (perhaps because of the fortress's isolation from the remaining coastal fragments of the Kingdom of Jerusalem still held by the Franks). Arab chroniclers, however, tell us that the strategy employed was one of blockade, and that the forces left behind by the sultan suffered heavy losses during a night sortie by the garrison, in which the emir commanding the troops was killed. Saladin was therefore compelled to supervise the siege personally in March 1188 and quickly realised that the fortress, well supplied with provisions and defended by determined men, would have to be taken by force. He returned with a larger army the following winter, after the fall of Safed. Amid driving rain and violent winds, the Ayyubid troops, struggling through the mud, eventually succeeded in undermining the outer wall of the castle on its southern front. The garrison surrendered on 5 January and was allowed to withdraw to Tyre without conditions. In 1217–1218, the castle's fortifications were dismantled by the Muslim rulers, who feared its recapture by the Franks. In 1240, Frederick II's skilful diplomacy secured its restitution. However, for lack of funds, the fortress was never rebuilt, and the Muslims regained possession of it a few years later.

Belvoir remained in ruins until excavations began in 1966. Its fortifications, relatively well preserved beneath enormous masses of rubble, were then brought to light.

Description

Like a Russian nesting doll, the fortress consists of two concentric enclosures whose configuration recalls the classical plan of a castrum.

The outer enclosure forms a square measuring 110 × 110 m. On three sides, it is preceded by an artificial ditch some twenty metres wide and approximately fifteen metres deep. The fourth side, to the east, is naturally protected by the hillside and by an imposing tower. These dry moats prevented siege engines from being brought close to the walls, but above all made undermining operations considerably more difficult. The walls were further strengthened by massive foundations rising from the bottom of the ditches and were built of highly resistant basalt blocks, additionally secured together by U-shaped iron cramps.

The main entrance was on the eastern side, through a gateway in the southeastern corner, reached by a ramp built along the slope. This entrance led into a narrow barbican, itself dominated by the imposing tower mentioned above (now largely ruined). A bent entrance passage with a confined intermediate chamber, situated at the beginning of the barbican, provided access to a double fortified gateway leading into the fortress proper. This final gateway, protected by a murder hole above, was closed by wooden doors covered with metal and secured from within by a heavy timber beam engaging with grooves cut into each door leaf. A secondary entrance was provided on the western front of the citadel, accessible by a drawbridge spanning the ditch, which could be destroyed in the presence of an enemy.

At the four corners of the fortress stand four square towers, projecting nearly five metres beyond the curtain walls. To provide complete defensive coverage of the 480 metres of curtain wall, three additional square towers, projecting only slightly, were built at the centre of the remaining sections of the fortress's perimeter. Thus, the entire circuit of walls and ditches could be defended by interlocking fields of fire. Each of these towers contained a narrow staircase leading down to the ditch, with exceptionally high steps designed to make any attempt at enemy penetration difficult. These posterns were used by the garrison during sorties against the besiegers.

Built against the inner face of the outer enceinte were a series of large vaulted chambers serving as stables, storerooms and living quarters, while also providing access to the wall-walk for the garrison. In places, the springing of the vaults that once supported the ceilings can still be seen.

Some parts of these buildings remain well preserved today, particularly a cistern into which rainwater was channelled through a system of conduits built into the roofs. Near this cistern stand the remains of what was once the garrison's bakery, with its large double oven and broad tables used for preparing loaves. Similar arrangements can be found in other major contemporary Hospitaller fortresses, such as Kerak, Crac des Chevaliers and Arsuf. These facilities should, of course, be distinguished from kitchens, which were equipped with smaller, single ovens.

The inner enclosure, separated from the outer one by a courtyard, is an almost exact replica of it. Forming a square measuring 50 × 50 m, this inner castrum contained the refectory, kitchens — one kitchen with its three ovens is clearly identifiable in the left wing — the great hall and, presumably, the knights' living quarters. Access was from the west, through a tower specifically designed to defend the entrance. The passage consists of two successive sets of pointed-arched doorways, protected by murder holes and arranged, once again, at right angles to one another. A carved stone from the ancient synagogue of the Jewish village of Kochav was reused at the base of one of these gateways. A paved courtyard measuring 22 × 22 m formed the heart of the fortress, containing the remains of the castle chapel, built of limestone.