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Round towers, sloping walls, knights’ orders

Crusader castles, wall by wall.

How the Crusaders and the military orders built and defended their castles and towns, from Crac des Chevaliers and Acre to Rhodes, Kolossi, Karak and Malta; who the Hospitallers and the Templars were; and what is left today. Every fact is checked against UNESCO and ICOMOS, Heritage Malta, Cyprus, Jordan and Israel heritage and tourism bodies, English Heritage, the Temple Church and the Museum of the Order of St John, and where sources disagree we show each one.

The history The castles and towns

Our own drawing of a stone castle with round towers, battlements and a gate on a rocky hill. Not any one castle and not to scale. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006)
25 m+wide at the base: the sloping glacis at Crac des Chevaliers ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006)
12 mthick: the wall at the Amboise Gate in Rhodes UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Medieval City of Rhodes
4 kmof medieval wall around the city of Rhodes UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Medieval City of Rhodes
69direct hits on Fort St Angelo, Malta, in the Second World War Heritage Malta: Fort St Angelo

The short version

The Crusades began with Pope Urban II’s call to take Jerusalem and the places in the East that were sacred to Christians. Old Akko & Nazareth Development Company: Timeline Thousands of knights and ordinary people across Europe answered the call. Old Akko & Nazareth Development Company: Timeline

In the second half of the 12th century, Crusader lands were handed over to the Knights Hospitaller or the Templars, who then did the castle building. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006)

The Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem built Crac des Chevaliers between 1142 and 1271. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din UNESCO says Crac ranks among the best-preserved Crusader castles. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din

After 1291 the Order moved briefly to Cyprus, then in 1309 to Rhodes. Museum of the Order of St John: History of the Order From Rhodes the Order moved to Malta, and stayed until 1798, when the island was surrendered to Napoleon. Museum of the Order of St John: History of the Order

great round towerinner wallarrow loopsloping glacisouter wallround towergateditch
Our own labelled drawing of a Crusader castle on a ridge, seen from the side. Not any one castle and not to scale. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006) ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006) ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006) ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006) ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006)

Start exploring

The history, from 1080 to todayThe Crusades, the military orders, Acre, 1291, Rhodes, Malta and what happened to the castles later. How they workedRidges, spurs and harbours, two rings of walls, round towers, arrow loops, a sloping glacis and bent ways in. The castles and townsCrac des Chevaliers, the Fortress of Saladin, Acre, Rhodes, Kolossi, Karak, Malta and more. Knights & peopleThe Hospitallers and the Templars, kings and merchants, pilgrims, and Acre’s Crusader toilets. Spotting & placesWhat to look for in a Crusader castle, old or rebuilt, and places in England linked to the orders. The big facts pageEvery fact on the site in one list, each with its source.
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A city under a city

The Crusader city survives almost intact beneath the Ottoman city, and excavation has been revealing it. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Old City of Acre When the city was rebuilt in the 18th century, the Crusader buildings were used as foundations, keeping the Crusader street plan. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Old City of Acre (2001) Below ground are walls, streets, drainage tunnels and hidden passages. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Old City of Acre (2001)

And a fortress on a spur

It sits on a rocky spur at 440 metres, so steep that it can only really be reached from the east. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006) Its plan is a narrow triangle pointing west, 720 metres long and 120 metres wide at the base. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006) A ditch separates the upper court from the lower court, whose walls have four square towers. ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006) More on the castles and towns.

On a high ridgelooking over the landOn a rocky spurcut off by a ditchBy a harboura port town behind walls
Our own drawing of three kinds of site: on a high ridge, on a rocky spur cut by a ditch, and a walled port by a harbour. Not any one castle and not to scale. UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006) ICOMOS evaluation for UNESCO: Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din (2006) UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Old City of Acre
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Crusader castles printables

Fact-checked PDFs in A4 and US Letter, for ages 7 to 11, ages 11 to 14, families, history fans and visitors.

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  • Crusader Castles Timeline & Poster Set

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    Six poster pages: a timeline from 1080 to 2006, a Crusader castle, three kinds of castle site, the way in through the gates, the eight-pointed cross of the Order of St John, and Crusader castles in numbers

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