Toron facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lordship of Toron
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Lordship of Toron in 1187
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| Status | Vassal of Kingdom of Jerusalem |
| Capital | Toron |
| Common languages | Latin, Old French, Italian (also Arabic and Greek) |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism, Eastern Catholicism, Greek Orthodoxy, Syriac Orthodoxy, Islam, Judaism |
| Government | Feudal monarchy |
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• c.1100
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Godfrey of Bouillon |
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• 1110
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Hugh I of Jaffa |
| Historical era | High Middle Ages |
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Toron, known today as Tibnin or Tebnine in southern Lebanon, was a very important Crusader castle. It was built high in the Lebanon mountains. The castle was located on the main road that connected Tyre to Damascus.
Toron Castle was the center of the Lordship of Toron. This was a smaller territory within the Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was like a smaller kingdom that answered to the larger Principality of Galilee.
Contents
The Lordship of Toron
The castle was built in 1106 AD by Hugh of Fauquembergues. He was the prince of Galilee. The castle's purpose was to help capture the city of Tyre.
After Hugh died, the area around Tibnin was attacked. A leader named 'Izz al-Mulk raided the area. He killed many people and took valuable items.
Tibnin then became its own independent territory. It was given to Humphrey I before 1109.
Rulers and Changes
After Humphrey I, the castle and the Lordship of Toron passed down to his family. His descendants, Humphrey II and Humphrey IV, became the next lords.
A place called Banias was given to Baldwin II in 1128. This happened after the Assassins gave it to him. Around 1148, Banias became part of Toron. This happened when Humphrey II married the daughter of Renier Brus, who was the lord of Banias.
Humphrey II later sold parts of Banias and another castle, Chastel Neuf, to the Knights Hospitaller in 1157. Banias stayed connected to Toron until it was captured by Nur ad-Din Zangi in 1164. When it was later taken back, it became part of the territory of Joscelin III of Edessa.
Major Events for Toron
Humphrey IV was also a prince of Oultrejourdain. Toron remained under Crusader control until 1187. That year, it was captured by Saladin's army. This happened after the Battle of Hattin, where Saladin almost completely destroyed the Crusader states.
Ten years later, in 1197, Toron was under attack again. German knights from the Crusade of 1197 besieged it. The Muslim soldiers inside the castle, from the El-Seid and Fawaz tribes, fought bravely. They held out until help arrived from Egypt.
In 1219, Sultan al-Mu'azzam secretly ordered the defenses of Toron to be taken down. He also did this for other castles. He did this because the Fifth Crusade army had captured important defenses in Egypt. They were threatening Cairo. The Sultan was willing to trade castles in Palestine for the ones in Egypt. He didn't want to give strong, defended cities to the Crusaders if he could avoid it.
Even though the trade didn't happen, the location of these castles was still very important. The Crusaders wanted to get Jerusalem back from Muslim control.
Toron Changes Hands
Despite their defenses being destroyed, Toron, Safed, and Hunin were recovered. This happened through a peace treaty in 1229. This was just two years after al-Mu'azzam died. Frederick II got them back from Sultan al-Kamil.
Toron had been sold to the Teutonic Knights in 1220. This caused a disagreement between them and Alice of Armenia. Alice was the granddaughter of Humphrey IV and the rightful heir to Toron. Alice successfully argued her case in court. Frederick II then gave the lordship to her.
However, it seems the Crusaders couldn't fully take control of the area. In 1239, when the treaty ended, Toron went back to the Ayyubids. Two years later, in 1241, it was given back to the Crusaders. This was due to a treaty between Richard of Cornwall and Sultan as-Salih of Egypt.
In 1244, the castles, including Toron, defended against the Khwarezmian army. They managed to disrupt the Muslim attack on Jerusalem. However, Jerusalem eventually fell to the large Khwarezmian army. This made the main purpose of the castles less important.
Toron still remained in Crusader hands, but it was often under attack by the Mamluks. Finally, after a short siege, the Mamluk leader Baibars showed mercy. He allowed the small Crusader group to leave the castle safely if they surrendered. They agreed.
Important Lords of Toron
The lords of Toron were often very powerful in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. For example, Humphrey II was the constable of Jerusalem. This was a very high position.
Humphrey IV married Isabella, who was the daughter of King Amalric I. During their marriage, Toron became part of the king's lands. But the title was given back to Humphrey IV after they divorced.
Toron was one of the few territories that stayed in the same family for several generations. The lords of Toron were also connected to the Lordship of Oultrejourdain. This happened through the marriage of Humphrey III and Humphrey IV's inheritance from his mother. Toron later joined with the royal lands of Tyre. This then passed to a branch of the Principality of Antioch and then to their heirs from Montfort.
Lords of Toron
- Humphrey I of Toron (before 1109–after 1136)
- Humphrey II of Toron (before 1137–1179)
- (Humphrey III died before his father)
- Humphrey IV of Toron (1179–1183)
- Royal domain (1183–1187)
- Humphrey IV (restored) (1190 – c. 1192)
- occupied by Muslims until 1229 and the title not used
- Alice of Armenia (1229– after 1236), granddaughter of Humphrey III
- Maria of Antioch-Armenia (after 1236–1239), granddaughter of Alice and great-granddaughter of Isabella of Armenia, daughter of Humphrey III.
- occupied by Muslims from 1239 until 1241
- Philip of Montfort (1241– before 1257)
- John of Montfort (before 1257–1283), Lord of Tyre. It was lost again in 1266
- Humphrey of Montfort (1283–1284), Lord of Beirut, Lord of Tyre
- Amaury of Montfort (1284–1304)
- Rupen of Montfort (1304–1313), Lord of Beirut
- Humphrey of Montfort (d. 1326), constable of Cyprus, titular lord of Beirut
- Eschiva of Montfort (d. bef 1350), wife of Peter I of Cyprus titular lord of Beirut
Toron also had two smaller territories that answered to it. These were the Lordship of Chastel Neuf and the Lordship of Maron. Chastel Neuf was built around 1105. It was later given to the Hospitallers. It fell to Nur ad-Din in 1167. Maron was given to the Teutonic Knights in 1229. This was in exchange for their claims on Toron.
The Castle of Toron
The castle of Toron sits on a very steep hill. This hill is actually an ancient tell, which means it's a mound formed by many layers of human settlement. It is located north of the village of Tibnin. The castle is about 725 meters (2,379 feet) above sea level.
The castle has an oval shape. Its walls follow the natural shape of the hill. It once had twelve rectangular towers. One of these towers, on the south side, was the main tower or "donjon."
The Mamluks destroyed the castle in 1266. But it was rebuilt 500 years later in the mid-1700s. A Shiite sheikh named Nasif al-Nassar rebuilt it. He was fighting against the Ottoman rulers at the time. He used the old medieval walls as a base for his new building. So, today the castle mostly looks like an Ottoman building. The castle was then used as the home and base for the El-Assaad family, which was Nasif's family.
In 1881, people noted that the castle was the home of the local Governor. About twenty Muslim people lived there at that time.
See also
In Spanish: Torón para niños
- Vassals of the Kingdom of Jerusalem
