Origins of Margat

Margat, known in Arabic as Qal'at al-Marqab, is a Crusader castle near the Syrian coast, close to Baniyas, built on a basalt hill overlooking the Mediterranean. A Muslim fortress stood there in the eleventh century. The Knights Hospitaller acquired it in the late twelfth century and turned it into one of their major strongholds, with massive walls, towers and a great round keep. It was strong enough to resist several attacks by Saladin and later Muslim leaders. The Mamluk sultan Qalawun besieged it and forced its surrender in 1285, after his engineers undermined the main tower. Today the well-preserved ruins are a major example of medieval military architecture.

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