Which crusader fortress in Israel fell to Baibars in 1271?

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Which crusader fortress in Israel fell to Baibars in 1271? Montfort Castle fell to Baibars in 1271.

Montfort Castle stood in the Upper Galilee of modern Israel and served as the headquarters of the Teutonic Order in the Holy Land. The Order developed the site into a fortified administrative and residential center, including facilities for its archives and treasury.

Baibars first sent Mamluk forces against Montfort in 1266, but the defenders resisted. In 1271, after Baibars had captured other major Crusader positions, he personally directed a renewed siege. His troops took the outer settlement, then the outer bailey, and finally forced the German defenders in the keep to surrender after fifteen days.

The garrison was allowed to leave for Acre with its belongings under the terms of surrender, but the Mamluks dismantled the castle over the following twelve days. Safed Castle also fell during Baibars’s campaigns, which makes it the most plausible distractor; Belvoir and Kerak were different fortresses with different histories.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026

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