- Belvoir Fortress (Israel)
-
This article is about the Crusader castle in Israel. For the castle in England, see Belvoir Castle.
Belvoir Fortress (Hebrew: כוכב הירדן, Kohav HaYarden) is a Crusader fortress in northern Israel, on a hill 20 km south of the Sea of Galilee. The restored fortress is located in Belvoir National Park. It is the best preserved Crusader fortress in the country. [1]
Contents
History
Belvoir Fortress was part of the feudal estate of a French nobleman named Velos who lived in Tiberias. In 1168, Velos sold it to the Order of the Hospitallers and a concentric castle was built on the site. [2]
The fortress of Belvoir served as a major obstacle to the Muslim goal of invading the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem from the east. It withstood the attack of the Muslim forces in 1180. During the campaign of 1182, the Battle of Belvoir Castle was fought nearby between King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem and Saladin.
Following the Saladin's victory over the Crusaders at the battle of the Horns of Hittin, Belvoir was besieged. The siege lasted a year and a half, until the defenders surrendered on 5 January 1189. The fortifications of Belvoir were dismantled in 1217–18 by the Muslim rulers who feared the reconquest of the fortress by the Crusaders. In 1240 Belvoir was ceded to the Crusaders by agreement. However, lack of funds did not permit restoration of the fortifications and the fortress returned to Muslim control.
The Hebrew name, Kohav Hayarden, meaning – Star of the Jordan, preserves the name of Kohav – a Jewish village which existed nearby during the Roman and Byzantine periods.[3]
Muslim period
Main article: Kawkab al-HawaDuring the Muslim period the place was known as Kawkab al-Hawa, meaning "Star of the Winds," representing the strong winds on this hill top. An Arab writer described Belvoir as "set amidst the stars like an eagles nest and abode of the moon."[4] The Palestinian village was depopulated after a military assault by Israeli forces in May 1948.
Architecture
After the end of the Second World War, the study of Crusader castles experienced a lull. For instance, Syria declared independence in 1946 and had little money to spare for archaeology. In Israel a school of study of Crusader castles developed under Joshua Prawer. The most significant discovery was at Belvoir. Between 1963 and 1968 the Israel Department of Antiquities carried out excavations at the castle. Before the investigations, it had been assumed that Belvoir was a simple castle, with just a single enclosure; the effect of the discovery of the 1960s was that it demonstrated the complex nature of the early military architecture of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.[5] Belvoir's design bore similarities to that of a Roman fort: the inner enclosure was rectangular with towers at the corners, and large gatehouse in the middle of one wall, in this case the west.[6]
Belvoir is an early example of the concentric castle plan, which was widely used in later crusader castles. The castle was highly symmetric, with a rectangular outer wall, reinforced with square towers at the corners and on each side, surrounding a square inner enclosure with four corner towers and one on the west wall. Vaults on the inner side of both walls provided storage and protection during bombardments. The castle was surrounded by a moat 20 metres (66 ft) wide and 12 metres (39 ft) deep.[7]
See also
- Archaeology of Israel
- Tourism in Israel
- National parks of Israel
References
- Notes
- ^ National Parks Authority of Israel
- ^ Belvoir Castle
- ^ Belvoir-Jordan Valley
- ^ H.J.A. Sire, The Knights of Malta, New Haven, 1994
- ^ Kennedy 1994, p. 8
- ^ Platt 1982, p. 46
- ^ National Parks Authority of Israel
- Bibliography
- Kennedy, Hugh (1994), Crusader Castles, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-42068-7
- Platt, Colin (1982), The Castle in Medieval England and Wales, Secker & Warburg, ISBN 0-436-37555-9
External links
- Cochav Hayarden (Belvoir) at the Israeli Parks Authority site.
- Photos of Belvoir fortress
Coordinates: 32°35′44″N 35°31′17″E / 32.59556°N 35.52139°E
National parks of Israel Jerusalem District Bayt 'Itab · Canada Park · Castel · City of David National Park1 · Ein Hemed · Judaean Mountains · Tomb of Samuel1North District Achziv · Bar'am National Park · Beit Alfa Synagogue · Beit She'an · Beit She'arim · Belvoir Fortress · Capernaum · Chorazin · Gan HaShlosha · Hamat Gader · Hamat Tiberias · Harod Spring · Hermon National Park1 · Hexagons pool · Horns of Hattin · Hurshat Tal · Hurvat Minia · Kursi1 · Montfort Castle · Mount Arbel · Mount Tabor · Nimrod Fortress1 · Rosh HaNikra · Sde Amudim · Sussita · Tel Hazor · Tel Kedesh · Tel Megiddo · Tzalmon Stream · Tzippori · Yehi'am Fortress · Hula ValleyHaifa District Central District Alexander stream · Arsuf · Hof HaSharon · Mazor Mausoleum · Migdal Afek · Palmachim beach · Rubin Stream · Sidna Ali · Tel Afek · Tel Gezer · Tzur Natan park · Yarkon National ParkSouthern District Ashkelon National Park · Avdat · Besor Stream · Beit Guvrin National Park · Ein Avdat · Ein Gedi · Eshkol Park · Mamshit · Masada · Monument to the Negev Brigade · Nitzana · Semekh caves · Shivta · Tel Arad · Tel Be'er Sheva · Tel Lachish · Tel ZafitJudea and Samaria Area 1 Located in the Israeli-occupied territories Crusader sites in Israel State of Israel Abu Ghosh • Achziv • Acre • Arsuf • Ashkelon • Ateret Fortress • Azor • Bayt 'Itab • Beit Guvrin • Beit She'an • Belvoir • Burgata • Caesarea • Cafarlet • Château Pèlerin • Destroit • Givat Titora • Ein Hemed • Jerusalem • Khirbat Rushmiya • Margaliot • Mi'ilya • Migdal Afek • Montfort • Qalansawe • Qaqun • Qastal • Qula • Safed • Taibe • Tel Afek • Tel Hanaton • Tel Tzafit • Tel Tzova • Tel Yavne • Tiberias • Tzippori • Umm Khalid • Yehiam
Categories:- Archaeological sites in Israel
- Crusader castles
- National parks of Israel
- Former fortresses
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.