Castle of Tortose

The castle of Tortose was located at the edge of the sea the Mediterranean in the Comté of Tripoli at the north of Tripoli at Lebanon.

The origin

During the first crusade, the cross made the head office of Tortose (in 1099) which they gained in little time. But carrying on their way on Jerusalem, they did not leave enough protection and the castle was taken again by the troops musulmanes.
It is Raymond IV of Toulouse, count de Tripoli, who reconquers the city and the castle in February 1102 after two weeks of seat.

It was given to the guard of the knights of the Temple towards 1165.
It was several times besieged including one, in June 1180, by the sea, but without effect because it resisted. July 3rd with the July 11th 1188, Saladin also besieged the castle and devastated the low city (which had been emptied before of all its inhabitants) but could not reach the keep defended by several brother-knights and to the Master of the Order itself.

Characteristics

To counter maritime attacks on the city and especially on the port, economic place frankly, the castle is bathed by the sea.

It consists of two walls enclosing great thickness semicircular separated by a ditch, the external wall itself being separated from the sea by a ditch. The access to the castle was done by a single gate served by a way exposed to the blows of the défenseurs.
The keep had a form barlongue and measured approximately thirty five meters on its longest side and had two square turns on its side ouest.
The characteristic of this keep lay in the fact that it was separated from the remainder of the castle by a large ditch but also in its mode of supply. Indeed, this keep had a Poterne which left directly on the sea what made it possible boats to be able to supply with food and weapons during a seat.

The central court of the castle was bordered by a gallery having six large windows and of the columns.

The vault templière is not round with the image of several other monuments Western templiers but entirely square and without Abside. It was lit by windows with lancets.

End

The castle of Tortose was released the August 3rd 1291 by the templiers after the fall of Midsummer's Day d' Acre the May 28th of the same year.

State

Nowadays, it hardly remains of vestiges: the ditches were filled, it remains only some built foundations of the keep.

Voi too

List of the fortresses templières

References

DEMURGER Alain, Templiers. A Christian knighthood with the Middle Ages , the Threshold, 2005
MELVILLE Marion, life of the templiers , Gallimard, 1974

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