If you have seen the movie Kingdom of Heaven by Ridley Scott will surely remember the scene in which Saladin tries to storm the Crack of the Moabites.
The Crusader Castle, also known as the Kerak , was together with the Crac de los Caballeros, one of the largest Christian fortresses in the Holy Land. Located in al-Karak in present-day Jordan, its construction dates back to 1142 by King Fulk of Jerusalem and his steward Payen, who in 1126 had been named lord of Transjordan.
Its location, between Damascus and the Red Sea, allowed it to control the Bedouin caravans between Egypt, Syria and Mecca, becoming one of the main bastions of protection of the kingdom of Jerusalem. Payen's successors reinforced it with towers and moats on its north and south sides. It is precisely the north side, with its large arches on two levels, the best preserved structure today.
In 1176 the possession of the castle passes to Reinaldo de Chatillon by his marriage with the heiress of Transjordan Estefania de Milly. He was famous for his cruelty and, in fact, he dedicated himself to throwing his enemies from the top of the Crac walls. He also did not respect the agreements between Muslims and Christians, and constantly attacked the Arab caravans that passed through the vicinity of the castle, which led Saladin to demand that King Baldwin IV put an end to such acts, punishing Reinaldo.
Baldwin was not only unable to control Reinaldo, but he launched himself from 1182 on a campaign of attacks against the African coasts of the Red Sea, with a squadron of ships that he had ordered to be built with wood from the Moab forests. From there he passed to the coasts of Arabia, burning the ports of Medina, and could only be stopped by the Egyptian fleet when he was about to enter Mecca.
The following year and in retaliation Saladino went to the Crac with the intention of taking it and giving Reinaldo a lesson. At the head of more than 20,000 men he went to the fortress moving nine catapults, which began the bombardment against the walls and the interior. But what Saladin did not count on was that, while he began the siege of the fortress, inside a wedding was being celebrated .
While the Muslim catapults attacked the imposing defenses, in one of the towers the marriage ceremony of Humphrey IV of Thorn, Reinaldo's stepson and heir, with Elizabeth of Jerusalem (who was 12 years old at the time and 9 years older) was taking place. she would later become queen of Jerusalem). Humphrey would not reign by her side because in 1190 the marriage would be dissolved and she was forced by her mother to marry Conrad of Montferrat, who aspired to the throne.
But returning to the site of the Crac, at one point messengers from inside the fortress manage to send Saladin the news that the link was taking place in one of the towers. Negotiations are established and, finally, honoring his reputation for chivalry, Saldino decides to order his men to continue bombing the walls and the rest of the castle, but to respect the tower in question where the bridal chamber is located.
Meanwhile, the besieged also manage to notify King Baldwin of what was happening, and he sets out with his army commanded by Raymond III of Tripoli, despite the fact that due to his illness (he suffered from leprosy since childhood) he has to be transferred on a stretcher.
Saladin, whose men had already penetrated the first walls, faced with the possibility of being trapped between the defenders of the fortress and Baldwin's army, finally decides to lift the siege and withdraw. He would try again in 1184, with the same result, and will only be able to take the Crac for good in 1189.
In the movie Kingdom of Heaven , the real story, which certainly could have offered a curious and interesting plot without parallel, is left aside. Instead, the siege of Saladin did not come to fruition, first due to the attack of Balián de Ibelin, and later thanks to negotiations with Balduino, Reinaldo being later punished by the king, something that never happened. What is certain, according to the sources, is that Reinaldo had denied refuge in the castle to the surrounding inhabitants.
Reinaldo de Chatillon would be taken prisoner, along with the new king Guido de Lusignan, by Saladin's troops at the Battle of the Horns of Hattin in 1187. This is where the event reflected in the film takes place, when Guido offers Reinaldo the water that Saladino had offered himself, and Saladino takes the opportunity to slit Reinaldo's throat, with the excuse of not having asked permission to drink.