Echoes from the Past E01: Crusader Castle in Jordan
Echoes from the Past
The Crown Jewel of all the castles built in Jordan during the Crusade times. The Castle has 16 towers, with the biggest being the tower of Baybars. Kerak Castle is an interesting place to visit, but it is far from its greatness. The sieges and ages throughout it stood, heavily damaged it.
Walking through the dusty halls and walls of Kerak Castle, I couldn’t help myself but wonder how did it feel looking at vast Saladin armies during the sieges. These highly religious people were been speaking to God constantly. It was not only a matter of Life & Death but a matter of acting in the way of the only true God. Both sides saw each other as heretics.
Even more interestingly, maybe on this dramatic spot, after a victorious battle against the Israelites, King Mesha rallied his troops:
King of Moab, Mesha:
Listen, today we fought bravely and we liberated our homeland from the sons of Abraham. But never forget that alone we couldn’t do so. We must thank all-mighty Chemosh for he stood with us again and praise him as our Father and Mothers taught us so. Never again we will let the sons of Abraham command unto these lands for they don’t know the power of Chemosh. They haven’t seen it as we did. Never again we will anger Chemosh!
We will not look back, we will not let it repeat! Here on this rock, we’ll set our victory into stone, here on this hill we will build the temple to all-powerful Chemosh. We, the sons of Lot, are the rightful rulers of Moab! Long live Moab! Long live Chemosh! Let He bring us fish as he brought destruction to the sons of Abraham!
Name Meaning of Kerak Castle
The name of the castle comes from the town it was built in, al Karak, Karak is taken from ancient times when Arameans been here, in Aramaic word Kharkha means town. It was often called by the Crusaders and in history books as Karak of Moab.
Israelites knew al-Karak as Kerak. Further on I’ll use the local name from the castle and the settlement.
History of al-Karak
While the history of al-Karak castle itself dates to 1142 AD when the crusaders built it, the point where it stands dates almost to the very edges of known history of the humankind. After all, Jordan is among the countries where the known human history began.
Moabites in al-Karak
Before the al-Karak Castle, this area was controlled by Moabites, people who lived in the Eastern region to the Dead Sea. Karak was mentioned in the Bible several times in various names as Moabites were often in rivalry with their neighbor Israelites to the west of the Dead Sea.
Biblical Origins
According to the Book of Genesis, both Moabites and Ammonites are Lot’s sons born to his daughters after the incest. Though poor Lot had not much to do because his daughters got him really drunk. Apparently, the girls did so because they were afraid that their bloodline will end.
Actual Facts
Based on historical inscriptions, Mesha, the King of Moabites, built a castle as a temple for their God Chemosh in 850 BC. The name translates to either “destroyer”, “subduer” or “fish-god” which could make sense if the Moabites were, in fact, the sons of Lot who witnessed an unearthly powerful destructive force once he fled Sodom and Gomorrah. You don’t want to upset whoever is responsible for that destruction, don’t you?
Anyway, the Temple was built probably after a major victory as a sign of gratitude to Chemosh. The Kingdom of Moab was under the control of Israelites after King David conquered it somewhere in 970–1000 BC. In the same year as al-Karak Temple supposedly was built, King Mesha liberated the Kingdom of Moab from the Israelites.
Kerak Castle under Crusaders
Little is known what happened to the Moabian Temple of Chemosh, but apparently, Franks built an impenetrable castle on it in 1142 AD. It instantly became the center of the region, replacing less fortified Montreal Castle to the South. It was built under Fulk, the King of Jerusalem and Pagan, the Lord of Oultrejordain. With the taxes imposed on passing caravans and the food grown in the region, the newly built castle helped Jerusalem to prosper.
Fall of al-Karak Castle to Ayyubid Dynasty
After marriage with a widow of Humphrey III of Toron, Stephanie of Milly, Reynold of Chatillon became the Lord of Karak Castle in 1176 AD. Lusting for power, he harassed camel caravans and even attempted an attack on Mecca. This, of course, got the attention of Saladin, the Sultan of Syria and Egypt. He besieged the castle in 1183 AD but withdrew once the reinforcements from Jerusalem were close. He did the same in 1184 AD and after 4 weeks of a siege — the results were the same.
Nevertheless, after a few failed attempts, Saladin’s nephew successfully took al-Karak Castle in 1188 AD after Saladin’s forces defeated outnumbered Crusaders army in the Battle of Hattin in 1187 AD. Nobody was there to send the reinforcement to defend the al-Karak Castle anymore. Muslim armies cut off the supplies to the Castle and it surrendered a few months later. After the defeat of al-Karak Castle, Montreal Castle has to surrender as well. Meanwhile, Jerusalem was taken by Saladin forces with relative ease.
Mamluk Warriors
Mamluks were warrior slaves in Arab armies since the 9th century, but they flourished under Ayyabid Dynasty after Saladin replaced Fatimids Sultanate infantry from North Africa to Central Asia’s Kipchak Turks. They were instantly transformed to Sunni Islam and went under a heavy training of Martial Arts and various teachings. Mamluks had higher status than other slaves and regular citizens. After the training, they were freed but had to remain loyal to their master. And so they did. Mamluks were very loyal & powerful troops.
Mamluk Rise to Power
Nevertheless, sooner or later once you get some power, you start to want even more power. It is the destiny of the son to overthrow his father. That is exactly what happened in 1249 AD when Louis IX of France captured the city of Damietta in their attempt to conquest Egypt during the Seventh Crusade. The strategy to withdrew the defending forces from the city did not satisfy Mamluk leaders and this is how the struggle between Ayyabid Dynasty and the Mamluks started.
Later on, it was the Mamluks who stopped the Seventh Crusade by capturing the Louis IX. They seized the total control over a region when they were the only force capable of defending the Muslim world from Mongol invasion.
Mamluk leader, Baybars I gained total control in 1260 AD and established Bahri Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt. Baybars captured al-Karak in 1263 AD and reinforced the Castle further. Mamluk Sultanate remained in power until 1517 AD when the Ottomans conquered the region.
Rediscovery to Western Culture
Ever since little was known until Swiss explorer Jean Louis Burckhardt, the same guy who tricked the Bedouins into the discovery of Petra, passed by the al-Karak Castle, describing it as shattered, but imposed.
Geography of al-Karak
It was built 950m above the sea level, on a strategically important point in the middle between Shoubak Castle and Jerusalem. It is one of the biggest crusader castles in the whole Levant, a territory in Syria and around. Because of its location just to the east of the Dead Sea, whoever ruled the Castle could control the trading routes going from Damascus to Egypt and Mecca.
Originally published at https://ctdots.eu on March 29, 2020.