| Siege of Sahyun Castle | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of The Crusades | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Ayyubid Sultanate |  Knights Hospitaller | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Saladin Az-Zahir Ghazi | Armengol de Aspa | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 6 mangonels | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
The siege of Sahyun Castle took place in July 1188 between the Ayyubid Sultanate led by Saladin and the Knights Hospitaller, who held Sahyun Castle. After a few days of siege, the castle was captured.
Saladin departed from Latakia after its capture, he marched towards Sahyun Castle on the 29th Jumada al-Awwal (26 July 1188), [1] the castle was held by Knights Hospitallers, [2] [3] Saladin surrounded the place with his army and set up six mangonels to bombard the walls. The castle is an inaccessible fortress built on a steep slope of a mountain protected by wide ravines of fearful depth, but on one side it was only defended by a 60-inch trench. [4]
The fort had three ramparts, and on the summit of the castle, there was a long flag on a turret that fell when the Ayyubid troops were getting near, which was considered a good omen. The castle was attacked from all sides, and Az-Zahir Ghazi lord of Aleppo, brought his mangonel into the siege. He had set it up opposite the stronghold, close to the walls, but on the other side of the ravine, the prince continued to bombard the walls with stones, and the mangonel successfully hit its targets. [5]
A breach was finally made; it was large enough for the soldiers to climb up the rampart. On Friday morning of the second day Jumada al-Thani (29 July), Saladin gave command to assault, ordering the men to keep bombarding the walls without stopping. The Ayyubdis attacked with shouts, and an hour later the Ayyubids scaled the walls and went towards the courtyard. The crusaders in the courtyard fled to the courtyard, leaving everything behind them to be pillaged by the Ayyubids. [6] [7]
The Ayyubids then surrounded the keep, and the Hospitallers, thinking they would be annihilated, asked for a quarter. Saladin promised them safety and allowed them to depart with their properties, but he demanded a ransom of ten pieces of gold from each man, five pieces from each woman, and two pieces from children. Saladin then took possession of the fort. [8] [9]
Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, commonly known as Saladin, was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from a Kurdish family, he was the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria. An important figure of the Third Crusade, he spearheaded the Muslim military effort against the Crusader states in the Levant. At the height of his power, the Ayyubid realm spanned Egypt, Syria, Upper Mesopotamia, the Hejaz, Yemen, and Nubia.
Year 1188 (MCLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar.
The Ayyubid dynasty, also known as the Ayyubid Sultanate, was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. A Sunni Muslim of Kurdish origin, Saladin had originally served Nur ad-Din of Syria, leading Nur ad-Din's army in battle against the Crusaders in Fatimid Egypt, where he was made Vizier. Following Nur ad-Din's death, Saladin was proclaimed as the first Sultan of Egypt by the Abbasid Caliphate, and rapidly expanded the new sultanate beyond the frontiers of Egypt to encompass most of the Levant, in addition to Hijaz, Yemen, northern Nubia, Tarabulus, Cyrenaica, southern Anatolia, and northern Iraq, the homeland of his Kurdish family. By virtue of his sultanate including Hijaz, the location of the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina, he was the first ruler to be hailed as the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, a title that would be held by all subsequent sultans of Egypt until the Ottoman conquest of 1517. Saladin's military campaigns in the first decade of his rule, aimed at uniting the various Arab and Muslim states in the region against the Crusaders, set the general borders and sphere of influence of the sultanate of Egypt for the almost three and a half centuries of its existence. Most of the Crusader states, including the Kingdom of Jerusalem, fell to Saladin after his victory at the Battle of Hattin in 1187. However, the Crusaders reconquered the coast of Palestine in the 1190s.
The Battle of Montgisard was fought between the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Ayyubid Dynasty on 25 November 1177 at Montgisard, in the Levant between Ramla and Yibna. The 16-year-old Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, severely afflicted by leprosy, led outnumbered Christian forces against Saladin's troops in what became one of the most notable engagements of the Crusades. The Muslim Army was quickly routed and pursued for twelve miles. Saladin fled back to Cairo, reaching the city on 8 December, with only a tenth of his army. Muslim historians considered Saladin's defeat to be so severe that it was only redeemed by his victory ten years later at the Battle of Cresson, the Battle of Hattin and the Siege of Jerusalem in 1187, although Saladin defeated Baldwin IV in the Battle of Marj Ayyun and the Siege of Jacob’s Ford in 1179, only to be defeated by Baldwin IV again at the Battle of Belvoir Castle in 1182 and the Siege of Kerak in 1183.
Al-Adil I was the fourth Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and brother of Saladin, who founded both the Sultanate of Egypt, and the Ayyubid dynasty. He was known to the Crusaders as Saphadin, a name by which he is still known in the Western world. A gifted and effective administrator and organizer, Al-Adil provided crucial military and civilian support for the great campaigns of Saladin. He was also a capable general and strategist in his own right, and was instrumental in the transformation of the decayed Fatimid Caliphate of Cairo into the Ayyubid Sultanate of Egypt.
The siege of Jerusalem lasted from 20 September to 2 October 1187, when Balian of Ibelin surrendered the city to Saladin. Earlier that summer, Saladin had defeated the kingdom's army and conquered several cities. Balian was charged with organizing a defense. The city was full of refugees but had few soldiers. Despite this fact the defenders managed to repulse several attempts by Saladin's army to take the city by storm. Balian bargained with Saladin to buy safe passage for many, and the city was peacefully surrendered with limited bloodshed. Though Jerusalem fell, it was not the end of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, as the capital shifted first to Tyre and later to Acre after the Third Crusade. Latin Christians responded in 1189 by launching the Third Crusade led by Richard the Lionheart, Philip Augustus, and Frederick Barbarossa separately. In Jerusalem, Saladin restored Muslim holy sites and generally showed tolerance towards Christians; he allowed Orthodox and Eastern Christian pilgrims to visit the holy sites freely—though Frankish pilgrims were required to pay a fee for entry. The control of Christian affairs in the city was handed over to the patriarch of Constantinople.
Kerak Castle is a large medieval castle located in al-Karak, Jordan. It is one of the largest castles in the Levant. Construction began in the 1140s, under Pagan and Fulk, King of Jerusalem. The Crusaders called it Crac des Moabites or "Karak in Moab", as it is referred to in history books. It was also colloquially referred to as Krak of the Desert.
Sahyun Castle, also known as the Castle of Saladin, is a medieval castle in northwestern Syria. It is located 7 km east of Al-Haffah town and 30 km east of the city of Latakia, in high mountainous terrain on a ridge between two deep ravines and surrounded by forest, the site has been fortified since at least the mid 10th century. In 975 the Byzantine Emperor John I Tzimiskes captured the site and it remained under Byzantine control until around 1108. Early in the 12th century the Franks assumed control of the site and it was part of the newly formed Crusader state of the Principality of Antioch. The Crusaders undertook an extensive building programme, giving the castle much of its current appearance. In 1188 it fell to the forces of Saladin after a three-day siege. The castle was again besieged in 1287, this time both defender and belligerent were Mamluks. In 2006, the castles of Qal'at Salah El-Din and Krak des Chevaliers were recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The site is owned by the Syrian government.
The Citadel of Damascus is a large medieval fortified palace and citadel in Damascus, Syria. It is part of the Ancient City of Damascus, which was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.
Al-Muzaffar Taqi al-Din Umar was the Kurdish Ayyubid prince of Hama from 1179 to 1191 and a general of Saladin. He was the son of Saladin's brother Nur ad-Din Shahanshah, and brother of Farrukh Shah of Baalbek.
The siege of Tyre took place from 12 November 1187 to 1 January 1188. An army commanded by Saladin made an amphibious assault on the city, defended by Conrad of Montferrat. After two months of continuous struggle, Saladin dismissed his army and retreated to Acre.
Al-Mansur I Muhammad was the Ayyubid emir of Hama, son of Al Muzaffar Taqi ad-Din Umar and grandson of Nur ad-Din Shahanshah, brother of Saladin and Al-Adil. He ruled from 1191–1219.
The siege of Safed was part of Saladin's invasion of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Armengol de Aspa, also known as Hermangard d'Asp, was the ninth Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, holding the office from 1188 until his resignation in 1189 or 1190. He succeeded William Borrel who was interim Grand Master. It was under his magistracy that the headquarters of the Order was transferred from Jerusalem to Tyre. It was probably during the winter of 1189 or 1190 that Armengol's magistracy ceased, but this was not due to his death, since he appears again as lord of Amposta from December 1190 to April 1191. We have no information on what this first abdication in the history of the Order was, but he was succeeded by Garnier de Nablus sometime in 1190.
The siege of Loadicea took place in July 1188 between the Ayyubid Sultanate led by Saladin and the Principality of Antioch, who held modern-day Latakia. After a few days of siege, the city was captured.
The siege of Ash-Shughur took place in August 1188 between the Ayyubid Sultanate led by Saladin and the Principality of Antioch, who held modern-day Jisr ash-Shughur. Saladin captured the two forts, Shughr-Bakas, lying there.
In 1188, the Ayyubid Sultanate led by Saladin attacked the castle of Bourzey castle held by the Principality of Antioch, Saladin captured the castle.
In late 1187, the Ayyubids, led by Saladin, besieged the Hospitallers fortress of Belvoir Castle for an entire year before the Ayyubid forces were successful.
The siege of Alexandria in 1174 was a short and unsuccessful attempt by the Normans of Sicily to overthrow Saladin from Egypt.