KRAK DES CHEVALIERS

(French-Arabic: Castle of the Knights), greatest fortress built by European crusaders in Syria and Palestine, one of the most notable surviving examples of medieval military architecture. Built at Qal'at al-Hisn, Syria, near the northern border of present-day Lebanon, Krak occupied the site of an earlier Muslim stronghold. It was built by the Knights of St. John (Hospitallers), who held it from 1142 till 1271, when it was captured by the Mamluk sultan Baybars I. It has two concentric towered walls separated by a wide moat and could accommodate a garrison of 2,000 men.