Used with permission
In 1179, the Muslim Sultan Saladin launched an assault on the crusader castle of Jacob's Ford in the Holy Land. As his troops poured through a burning breach in the walls the Christian garrison of elite Templar Knights made a bloody last stand, 800 of the garrison were butchered and a further 700 taken captive.
With the stronghold overrun, Saladin razed it to the ground. The site remained abandoned for eight centuries, until now, when the true significance of Jacob's Ford, about 50 miles north-west of Jerusalem, is becoming apparent. The Crusaders' lost fort explores if the fall of this fort was actually a pivotal moment in the history of the crusades as well as the wider struggle between Islam and the West.
In 1174 two men assumed power in the Near East. Baldwin IV ascended the throne of the kingdom of Jerusalem, while Saladin, ruler of Egypt ,seized possession of Damascus, the seat of Muslim power in Syria. Both leaders fought for dominion over Jerusalem, which the crusaders had held since 1099.
In 1178 Baldwin began constructing a castle which would destablise Saladin's empire and shift the balance of power in his own favour - the fortress of Jacob's Ford. The castle stood in a frontier zone contested by both Baldwin and Saladin, between their respective realms. It was designed to be a defensive tool as well as an offensive weapon, to severely inhibit Saladin's ability to invade the Latin kingdom while simultaneously undermining the Sulatan's security in Damascus.
In 1179 Saladin launched a full-scale attack on Jacob's Ford. As soon as news of the attack reached Baldwin IV he began assembling a relief army, could the Muslims crack the stronghold's defences before the Latin forces arrived?
Piecing together the 12th century records and archaological evidence, a picture emerges of the grim 5 days that followed. Human skeletal remains unearthed within the fortress bear witness to the ferocity of the assault.
Saladin slaughtered more than half the garrison, and plundered 1,000 coats of armour before dismantling the fort and abandoning the site. He would go on to recapture Jerusalem for Islam, which would remain in Muslim hands until the 20th century. Timewatch follows the dramatic story of these two powerful leaders and the fort which became lost in time.
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Crusaders' Lost Fort
I watched the above programme with interest. Tom Ashbridge ascribes the fall of the castle at Jacob's Ford in 1179 to the fact that it was incomplete and in particular that the outer wall, similar to that of the great Krak des Chevaliers, was not yet built. However, the excavator of Krak, Paul Deschamps, dates the construction of that castle's outer wall to the period from 1204 to 1271, thereby making it into one of the earliest "concentric" castles. In this country concentric castles only really commence with the Welsh castles of Edward I in the 1280s and much less certainly with the beginning of Henry II's outer bailey at Dover in the 1180s and in Normandy with Richard I's Chateau Gaillard in the 1190s. Jacob's Ford castle would therefore appear to be one of the earliest, if not the earliest, castles to adopt this design and I wondered whether the excavations have revealed the foundations of this outer wall or whether it is simply an assumption that there would have been one?
Re: Crusaders' Lost Fort
Was it only the fort and knights that Saladin wanted out of the way? It occurs to me that it was a wonderful opportunity to destroy the masons and castle builders too. Were the remains and artefacts examined enough to include these workers who would have taken cover within the walls during the attack, there was nothing mentioned as I recall.
Re: Crusaders' Lost Fort
I've been taping this series of Timewatch, due to shift working, and have only just watched this. A fascinating programme,showing that history is , indeed, written by the victors!
I would have thought that any useful prisoners, such as the masons etc, would have been passed into slavery. The statement that all were slain in the castle would be used to strike fear into Saladins enemies.
Re: Crusaders' Lost Fort
Hi
Does anyone know the names of the two primary sources Timewatch used to piece together the events of the fall of Jacobs Ford?
Re: Crusaders' Lost Fort
Yes I watched it 2...
It was amazing because I'm very passionate about ancient & medieval history...
Timewatch is the best programme about history itself! 4ever!
Re: Crusaders' Lost Fort
I thought the programme coped very well with the main problem of medieval history on tv - trying to make several centuries ago come alive. So much of the 20th Century (my main speciality) is now covered by film and video footage (that introduces fresh problems for the historian but it is an enormous bonus). My question is: how do we analyse history that we don't know very much about? For example, watching this programme, I was given a whole lot of information and explanation that I can't really judge - beyond the fact that I know a little and that I find history endlessly fascinating. I am also a trained historian but not in this field! TV tends to be rather like a take away meal; you devour it and then it is gone. Yes, I know you can video it or DVD it, and then look and analyse at leisure. And you can read up and analyse if you are very interested. But that does not often happen. TV is very powerful a medium and pictures are so compelling. I think it was Ernest Hemmingway who talked about a Bullshit Detector. How do we build one into our watching? Best wishes, John
Re: Crusaders' Lost Fort
Hi John
I think you will find that the crusader castle of Belvior castle in Israel is one of the earlist concentric castles.
Best
Ian