Montreal (Crusader Castle)
| Montreal Castle | ||
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 Montreal castle ruins |
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| Alternative name (s): | ash-shawbak (الشوبك), Mons Regalis, Castrum Saboach | |
| Creation time : | 1115 | |
| Castle type : | Hilltop castle | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Place: | Idumea | |
| Geographical location | 30 ° 31 '53 " N , 35 ° 33' 39" E | |
| Height: | 1390 m | |
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Montreal , also Mons Regalis, Castrum Saboach, Arabic قلعة الشوبك, DMG qalʿat aš-Šawbak , is a former crusader castle in "Idumäa" ( Edom ) southeast of the Dead Sea in today's Jordan .
location
The ruins of the hilltop castle lie on a conical mountain above the Edom plain on the pilgrimage and caravan route from Syria to Arabia . The important trade route at this point led from the Dead Sea to the Arava Depression and from there to Akaba on the Red Sea .
history
The castle was built in 1115 by Baldwin I of Jerusalem as the first castle east of the Jordan and the Dead Sea. The occasion was a campaign in which he captured Akaba in 1116 ; the new fortress was to secure the route from Jerusalem to Aqaba. The favorable location of the castle also allowed Baldwin to control the economy of the area, as pilgrims and traders needed permission to use the road. The castle was surrounded by relatively fertile land, which made it easier to take care of its crew. In addition, two wells were dug and provided with long and steep stairs.
King Baldwin II. The castle in 1118 awarded as the center of rule Oultrejordain as a fief of Roman of Le Puy . When he took part in an uprising against King Fulk of Jerusalem in 1134 , the fief was withdrawn and Pagan was given the cupbearer . After Pagan's death around 1147, he was inherited by his nephew Moritz von Montreal . After Moritz 'death, the rule fell to King Baldwin III. back from Jerusalem . In 1161 he gave the Oultrejordain as a fiefdom to Philipp von Milly , who returned his previous fiefdom, the rule of Nablus . At that time, the center of Oultrejordain rule was moved to Kerak , a stronger fortress built under Pagan north of Montreal, but Montreal also remained important. Like Kerak, the Kingdom of Jerusalem had sixty knights to provide.
After Philip's death, his daughter Stephanie took over from Milly the rule, which was exercised successively by their three spouses. The last of them was Rainald of Chatillon from 1176 onwards . Rainald used Montreal to attack the wealthy caravans that have so far been able to pass the road without being damaged. He also had ships built here, which he had transported overland to the Red Sea in order to attack Mecca . As a result of these provocations, the Ayyubid Sultan Saladin attacked the kingdom in 1187, conquered Jerusalem and had his brother al-Adil besieged Montreal in the same year. The defenders are said to have sold their wives and children for food during the long siege and to have become blind from a lack of salt. Because of the hill, the attackers could not use siege engines , so that the castle fell after two years, in May 1189.
investment
The entire complex is impressive and accommodated a large number of people. The short period of time it took King Baldwin in 1115 to "build" a castle here suggests that older ruins were repaired first - possibly those of the Nabataeans , whose former capital Petra was in the nearby mountains of Edom, where later two outposts from Montreal were built. In this case Baldwin would not have started the actual construction of the great castle until the following years. Details are not known.
Extensive remains of the crusader castle in Montreal have been preserved, although until a few years ago they were largely covered by rubble and recent developments. Particularly noteworthy are the ruins of a three-aisled church (in the east of the core facility) and a smaller, simple chapel (in the south-east at the castle entrance). Written sources and the building findings show that the crusader castle of the 12th century had three wall rings, two of which are now easily recognizable. While there are rectangular towers with loopholes on the outer ring of the wall, there were only projecting wall risalites on the second inner ring of the wall . What the third ring of the wall looked like is currently not entirely clear, it could be the large gate fence in the south or an as yet unknown facility inside the castle.
The Ayyubids built a palace in the north of the nuclear complex, which has largely been preserved and which has been the target of archaeological research. The Mameluks further expanded the castle at the end of the 13th century. In particular, the large rectangular towers on the outer curtain wall originate from this construction phase.
Extensive excavations and restoration measures are currently being carried out in Schaubak. However, the state before the work was only poorly documented.
gallery
East wall
Ruins inside the facility
Ruins inside the facility
View from the castle
literature
- Denys Pringle: Secular Buildings in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem. To Archaeological Gazetteer. Cambridge University Press, 1997, ISBN 0521460107 . (P. 75 f.)
- Alistair Duncan: Castles of Jordan . Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Amman 1975. (p. 30)
Web links
- maxime.goepp.free.fr (French)