Crac des Chevaliers - History of a Crusader Castle

The Crac des Chevaliers - in Arabic called Qual'at Salah El-Din - is a Crusader castle in Syria. It is probably one of the most important preserved medieval military architectures in the world and without a doubt the most impressive and best preserved Crusader castle in the Middle East.

The Crac des Chevaliers was the headquarters of the Knights Hospitaller during the Crusades. It was expanded between 1150 and 1250 and eventually housed a garrison of some 2000 soldiers. It controlled the road to the Mediterranean and from it the Hospitallers fought the Muslim armies.

The book is an incredibly detailed book on the history and architecture of the Crac des Chevaliers.  It describes the design, construction and development of the castle, but it also compares them with other Crusader castles in the region. A group of German experts researched the castle from 1999 - 2003 - every wall, tower, gate - every stone!! This is the result of their studies: a MAGNIFICENT book on every architectural aspect of the Crac des Chevaliers you can imagine - it leaves NO question unanswered.

The book is written in German and illustrated with more than 350 illustrations - photos, drawings, plans and maps (dozens of them in full-colour). Summaries in English and French. A TRUELY BREATHTAKING book!