Belvoir Fortress
Northern District, Israel · built 1168
Belvoir Castle, also called Coquet by the Crusaders, also Kochav HaYarden (Hebrew: כוכב הירדן, lit. 'Star of the Jordan') and Kawkab al-Hawa (Arabic: كوكب الهوا, lit. 'Star of the Wind'), is a Crusader castle in northern Israel, on a hill on the eastern edge of the Issachar Plateau, on the edge of Lower Galilee 20 kilometres (12 mi) south of the Sea of Galilee. Gilbert of Assailly, Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, began construction of the castle in 1168. The castle ruin is located in Belvoir National Park, officially Kochav HaYarden National Park. It is the best-preserved Crusader castle in Israel.
Standing 500 metres (1,600 ft) above the Jordan River Valley level, the plateau commanded the route from Gilead into the Kingdom of Jerusalem via a nearby river crossing. To the north is the Sea of Galilee, and to the west are hills. The site of the castle dominated the surrounding area, and in the words of Abu Shama, the castle is "set admidst the stars like an eagle's nest and abode of the moon".
The Hebrew name, Kochav Hayarden, meaning 'Star of the Jordan', preserves the name of Kochava – a Jewish village which existed nearby during the Roman and Byzantine periods. In the Crusader church, there is a repurposed basalt stone that bears an Aramaic donation inscription using the Jewish script. It originally adorned a synagogue lintel.
The Knights Hospitaller purchased the site from Velos, a French nobleman, in 1168. As soon as the Knights Hospitaller purchased the land, they began construction of castle. While Gilbert of Assailly was Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, the order gained around thirteen new castles, among which Belvoir was the most important. The castle of Belvoir served as a major obstacle to the Muslim goal of invading the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem from the east. It withstood an attack by 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 Saladin's victory over the Crusaders at the Battle of Hattin, Belvoir was besieged. The siege lasted a year and a half, until the defenders surrendered on 5 January 1189. An Arab governor o
Archaeological site data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).