Gibelin
| Gibelin Castle | ||
|---|---|---|
| Alternative name (s): | Ibelin de l'Hospital, Bethgibelin | |
| Creation time : | around 1135 | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Place: | Bet Guwrin | |
| Geographical location | 31 ° 37 ′ 0 ″ N , 34 ° 54 ′ 0 ″ E | |
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Gibelin (Hebrew: בית גוברין; Arabic: بيت جبرين), also Ibelin de l'Hospital , Bethgibelin or Begebelinus , was a crusader castle in Bet Guwrin in today's Israel .
The castle was built at the time of the Crusader King Fulk of Jerusalem around 1135, on a slight hill near the remains of the ancient city of Eleutheropolis , at a crossroads between Jerusalem and Ascalon . The castle was the first of several castles that should protect the land connection between Jerusalem and Jaffa against the Fatimids in Ascalon. The fact that the castle had two wells gave it additional strategic value in the arid landscape. The Patriarch of Jerusalem Wilhelm von Mesen is said to have personally directed the construction work. By reusing the stones from the ruins of Eleutheropolis, a fortified castle was built. Gibelin initially belonged to the Hebron rule , but was removed from this in 1136 and handed over to the Hospitaller Order.
From 1165 the construction of a Franconian settlement around the castle was pushed ahead. Benjamin von Tudela stopped in Gibelin on his journey around 1168 and found only three Jews among the residents.
After the Battle of Hattin , Gibelin was sacked in 1187 by the troops of the Ayyubid sultan Saladin . A little later Saladin had the castle razed. The place was recaptured during the Third Crusade . The new King of Jerusalem, Henry of Champagne, resided here in 1192, while Richard the Lionheart was negotiating a truce with Saladin. After Richard's withdrawal, the place probably fell back to the Muslims.
In 1241 Gibelin was ceded to the Christians by the Ayyubid Sultan al-Salih as part of the barons' crusade , but was recaptured in 1244 under the same sultan.
Individual evidence
- ^ Jean Richard: The Crusaders c1071-c1291 . Cambridge University Press 1921/2001. P. 140
- ↑ Walid Khalidi: All That Remains. Institute for Palestine Studies, Washington 1992. p. 209
- ^ Edward Robinson / Eli Smith: Biblical researches in Palestine, 1838-52. A journal of travels in the year 1838. Crocker and Brewster, Boston 1856. p. 29
- ^ Jean Richard: The Crusaders c1071-c1291 . Cambridge University Press 1921/2001. P. 230