History of the Crusades

the Crusades Episode 43, crack to Chevalier.

Hello again.

Over the past three episodes, we have been examining the contest between the Latin Christians and the Syrian Muslims over the country of Egypt.

This week we take some time out from the conflict to examine the topic of Crusader castles in the Middle East, and to hone in on

one castle in particular the magnificent Crack de Chevalier. Now around the time that the conflict in Egypt was taking place a bit of a power shift

was occurring in the crusader states. King Amaric's forces were becoming seriously depleted.

There was only a limited pool of knights and foot soldiers available to him to muster as an army. And while the odd team of reinforcements

would arrive every now and again from Europe, they weren't on a scale large

enough to make a significant difference.

To make things worse, while King Amaric and his forces were away in Egypt fighting their numerous campaigns, Nuredin remained in Syria and posed a constant threat to the

Crusader states.

King Amaric desperately needed some more fighting power, both to assist him on his campaigns and, just as

importantly, to defend his lands in his absence.

Deliverance came in the form of the two military orders. absence. Back in episodes 22 and 23 we discussed the establishment of the military orders and over

the years they had become increasingly wealthy and powerful institutions. The military campaigns in Egypt heralded a significant boost in the power of both the orders.

From the year 1167 onwards, King Amalric handed a large number of castles and surrounding lands

over to the military orders for them to operate in the defense of the realm.

These gifts occurred across the crusader states,

but were of primary importance in the county of Tripoli.

This county was, at this stage at least, the most vulnerable of the remaining

crusader states. The count of Tripoli was being held captive.

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