The siege of Sahyun Castle took place in July 1188 between the

Ayyubid Sultanate The Ayyubid dynasty (), also known as the Ayyubid Sultanate, was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultan of Egypt, Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate of Egyp ...

led by

Saladin Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known as Saladin, was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from a Kurdish family, he was the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria. An important figure of the Third Crusade, h ...

and the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there ...

, who held Sahyun Castle. After a few days of siege, the castle was captured.

Siege

departed from

Latakia Latakia (; ; Syrian Arabic, Syrian pronunciation: ) is the principal port city of Syria and capital city of the Latakia Governorate located on the Mediterranean coast. Historically, it has also been known as Laodicea in Syria or Laodicea ad Mar ...

after its capture, he marched towards Sahyun Castle on the 29th Jumada al-Awwal (26 July 1188), the castle was held by Knights Hospitallers, Saladin surrounded the place with his army and set up six mangonels to bombard the walls. The castle is an inaccessible fortress built on a steep slope of a mountain protected by wide ravines of fearful depth, but on one side it was only defended by a 60-inch trench. The fort had three ramparts, and on the summit of the castle, there was a long flag on a turret that fell when the Ayyubid troops were getting near, which was considered a good omen. The castle was attacked from all sides, and

Az-Zahir Ghazi Al-Malik az-Zahir Ghiyath ud-din Ghazi ibn Yusuf ibn Ayyub (commonly known as az-Zahir Ghazi; 1172 – 8 October 1216) was the Kurdish Ayyubid emir of Aleppo between 1186 and 1216. He was the third son of Saladin and his lands included northern ...

lord of Aleppo, brought his mangonel into the siege. He had set it up opposite the stronghold, close to the walls, but on the other side of the ravine, the prince continued to bombard the walls with stones, and the mangonel successfully hit its targets. A breach was finally made; it was large enough for the soldiers to climb up the rampart. On Friday morning of the second day Jumada al-Thani (29 July), Saladin gave command to assault, ordering the men to keep bombarding the walls without stopping. The Ayyubdis attacked with shouts, and an hour later the Ayyubids scaled the walls and went towards the courtyard. The crusaders in the courtyard fled to the courtyard, leaving everything behind them to be pillaged by the Ayyubids. The Ayyubids then surrounded the keep, and the Hospitallers, thinking they would be annihilated, asked for a quarter. Saladin promised them safety and allowed them to depart with their properties, but he demanded a ransom of ten pieces of gold from each man, five pieces from each woman, and two pieces from children. Saladin then took possession of the fort.Stanley Lane-Poole, p. 246-7

References

{{coord missing, Syria Conflicts in 1188 Battles involving the Principality of Antioch Sieges of the Crusades Battles of Saladin 1180s in the Ayyubid Sultanate Sieges involving the Ayyubid Sultanate Sieges involving the Knights Hospitaller Attacks on castles