Krak des Chevaliers (
French pronunciation: [kʁak de ʃəvaˈlje];
Arabic:
حصن الفرسان), also
Crac des Chevaliers,
Ḥoṣn al-Akrād (
حصن الأكراد),
Castle Alhsn, formerly
Crac de l'Ospital, is a
Crusader castle in
Syria and one of the most important preserved medieval castles in the world. The site was first inhabited in the 11th century by a settlement of
Kurdish troops garrisoned there by the
Mirdasids; as a result it was known as
Hisn al-Akrad, meaning the "Castle of the Kurds". In 1142 it was given by
Raymond II,
Count of Tripoli, to the
Knights Hospitaller. It remained in their possession until it fell in 1271. It became known as
Crac de l'Ospital; the name
Krak des Chevaliers was coined in the 19th century.
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| Krak des Chevaliers overlooking the surrounding area. |
The Hospitallers began rebuilding the
castle in the 1140s and were finished by 1170 when an
earthquake damaged the castle. The order controlled a number of castles along the border of the
County of Tripoli, a
state founded after the
First Crusade. Krak des Chevaliers was among the most important, and acted as a center of administration as well as a military base. After a second phase of building was undertaken in the 13th century, Krak des Chevaliers became a
concentric castle. This phase created the outer wall and gave the castle its current appearance. The first half of the century has been described as Krak des Chevaliers' "golden age". At its peak, Krak des Chevaliers housed a garrison of around 2,000. Such a large garrison allowed the Hospitallers to
exact tribute from a wide area. From the 1250s the fortunes of the Knights Hospitaller took a turn for the worse and in 1271
Mamluk Sultan
Baibars captured Krak des Chevaliers after a siege lasting 36 days, supposedly by way of a forged letter purportedly from the Hospitallers' Grand Master that caused the Knights to surrender.
Renewed interest in
Crusader castles in the 19th century led to the investigation of Krak des Chevaliers, and architectural plans were drawn up. In the late 19th or early 20th century a settlement had been created within the castle, causing damage to its fabric. The 500 inhabitants were moved in 1933 and the castle was given over to the French state, which carried out a program of clearing and restoration. When Syria declared independence in 1946, it assumed control. Today, a village called
al-Husn exists around the castle and has a population of nearly 9,000. Krak des Chevaliers is located approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) west of the city of
Homs, close to the border of
Lebanon, and is administratively part of the
Homs Governorate. Since
2006, the castles of Krak des Chevaliers and
Qal'at Salah El-Din have been recognized by
UNESCO as a
World Heritage Site. It was partially damaged in the
Syrian civil war from
shelling: the full extent of the damage is unknown, but there have been reports of hasty repairs.
Source: Wikipedia
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Krak des Chevaliers from the southwest
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| The inner court seen from the south |
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| The area between the inner and outer walls is narrow and was not used for accommodation. |
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| The south face of the inner ward with its steep glacis |
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| Hall of the knights, 2009 |
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| Syrian Civil War: Smoke coming from the castle, August 2013 |
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Artist rendering of Krak des Chevaliers seen from the northeast. From Guillaume Rey Étude sur
les monuments de l'architecture militaire des croisés en Syrie et dans l'île de Chypre (1871). |
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Plan of Krak des Chevaliers from Guillaume Rey Étude sur les monuments de l'architecture
militaire des croisés en Syrie et dans l'île de Chypre (1871). North is on the right |
Photo Source: Collected from Internet
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