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{{Short description|Crusader castle in Lebanon}}
{{Infobox country
|native_name = 
|conventional_long_name = Lordship of Toron
|common_name = Toron
|era         = High Middle Ages
|status      = Vassal of [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]]
|image_flag  = 
|image_coat  = 
|image_map   = 1187 Lordship of Toron.svg
|image_map_caption = Lordship of Toron in 1187
|capital           = Toron
|common_languages  = [[Latin]], [[Old French]], [[Italian language|Italian]] (also [[Arabic language|Arabic]] and [[Greek language|Greek]])
|religion          = [[Roman Catholicism]], [[Eastern Catholicism]], [[Greek Orthodoxy]], [[Syriac Orthodoxy]], [[Islam]], [[Judaism]]
|government_type   = [[Feudalism|Feudal monarchy]]
|leader1           = [[Godfrey of Bouillon]]
|year_leader1      = c.1100
|leader2           = [[Hugh I of Jaffa]]
|year_leader2      = 1110
|legislature       = 
}}
[[File:37.Kalat-Tibnin (le chateau Toron des Croises).jpg|thumb|1857 sketch of ''Kalat Tibnin'' by  [[Charles William Meredith van de Velde|van de Velde]]]]
[[Image:Tebnine11.jpg|thumb|Crusader castle in the village of Tebnine]]  
[[Image:View from the Toron castle, Lebanon.jpg|thumb|View from the Toron castle]]

'''Toron''', now [[Tebnine|Tibnin or Tebnine]] in [[southern Lebanon]], was a major [[Crusade]]r [[castle]], built in the [[Lebanon]] mountains on the road from [[Tyre (Lebanon)|Tyre]] to [[Damascus]]. The castle was the centre of the Lordship of Toron, a seigneury within the [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]], actually a [[vavasour|rear-vassalage]] of the [[Principality of Galilee]].

== Lordship of Toron ==
The castle was built by [[Hugh of Fauquembergues]], prince of [[Galilee]], in 1106 AD to assist in capturing Tyre.<ref name="Pringle367">"Tibnin". In ''The Churches of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem: A Corpus: Volume 2'', ed. Denys Pringle, (Cambridge University Press, 1998), 367.</ref> After Hugh's death, the surroundings of Tibnin were raided by 'Izz al-Mulk, who killed the populace and made off with booty.<ref name="Pringle367" /> Tibnin was made an independent seigneury, given to [[Humphrey I of Toron|Humphrey I]] before 1109.{{fact|date=October 2024}}

After Humphrey I of Toron, the castle and [[Vassals of the Kingdom of Jerusalem#Lordship of Banias|lordship of Toron]] successively passed to his descendants [[Humphrey II of Toron|Humphrey II]] and [[Humphrey IV of Toron|Humphrey IV]]. [[Banias]], which had been given to [[Baldwin II of Jerusalem|Baldwin II]] by the [[Hashshashin|Assassins]] in 1128, was inherited by Toron in approximately 1148 when Humphrey II married the daughter of Renier Brus, lord of Banias and Assebebe. Humphrey II sold parts of Banias and [[Chastel Neuf]] to the [[Knights Hospitaller]] in 1157. Banias was merged with Toron until it fell to [[Nur ad-Din Zangi]] on 18 November 1164, and when it was recovered it became part of the Seigneury of [[Joscelin III of Edessa]] (see below).{{fact|date=October 2024}}

Humphrey IV was also the prince of [[Oultrejourdain]]. Toron remained in Crusader possession until 1187, when it fell to the forces of [[Saladin]] after the [[Battle of Hattin]] in which Saladin all but destroyed the [[Crusader states]]. Ten years later, in November, 1197, Toron was besieged by the [[Teutonic Knights|German]] contingent of the [[Crusade of 1197]] and would have fallen. However, the Muslim garrison by the tribesmen of El-Seid and Fawaz held out until relief arrived from [[Egypt]].{{fact|date=October 2024}}

In 1219 Sultan [[Al-Mu'azzam Isa|al-Mu'azzam]] secretly had the defences of Toron, and of other castles, dismantled.<ref name="Robinson1841">{{cite book|author=Edward Robinson |title=Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: a journal of travels in the year 1838 |url= |year=1841 |publisher= Crocker and Brewster |page=[https://archive.org/details/biblicalresearch03robi/page/380/mode/1up 380]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|chapter=Richard of Cornwall’s treaty with Egypt, 1241|last1=Khamisy|first1=Rabei G|last2=Pringle|first2=Denys|title=Crusading and Trading between West and East: Studies in Honour of David Jacoby|editor-last=Menache|editor-last2=Kedar|editor-last3=Balard|date=2018|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-351-39072-9|language=en|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=nfl0DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT101 55]}}</ref> This was done because the forces of the [[Fifth Crusade]] had captured  the more crucial defences at [[Damietta]] on the [[Nile Delta]] and were now threatening [[Cairo]]. Sultan al-Mu'azzam was prepared to exchange the strongholds in Palestine for the ones in Egypt, but  wished not to give strong defendable cities to the Crusaders if he could avoid it. Although the exchange proved unnecessary, the geographical position of the sites remained important for the Crusaders who were interested in recovering Jerusalem from Muslim control.{{fact|date=October 2024}}

Indeed, despite their destruction, Toron, [[Safed]] and [[Hunin]] were recovered through a treaty in 1229, just two years after al-Mu'azzam's death on November 11, 1227, by [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]] from Sultan [[al-Kamil]]. As Toron was sold in 1220 to the Teutonic Knights together with the territories called the ''Seigneury de Joscelin'', it came to a dispute between them and [[Alice of Armenia]], the niece of Humphrey IV and heiress of the lordship of Toron. Alice successfully claimed her rights before the High Court and Frederick II assigned the lordship to her. But it seems the Franks were not able to take possession of the territories,<ref name="Pringle Pilg Sultan">{{Cite book| last=Pringle |first=Denys |title=Pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the Holy Land, 1187-1291|date=2011|publisher=Ashgate|isbn=978-1-4094-3607-2| oclc=785151012 }} pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=SxTtCwAAQBAJ&pg=PP36 36-37], [https://books.google.com/books?id=SxTtCwAAQBAJ&pg=PP183 183-184].</ref><ref name="MMC Jackson 229">{{cite book|last=Jackson |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Jackson (historian)|chapter=The Crusades of 1239–41 and their aftermath |isbn= 978-0-203-64182-8 |editor-first=Gerald R.|editor-last=Hawting |title=Muslims, Mongols and Crusaders: An Anthology of Articles |publisher=Routledge |year=2007}}, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=97xNuTDSy7wC&pg=PA229 229].</ref> In 1239, when the treaty ended, Toron fell back to the [[Ayyubids]]. Two years later, in 1241, it was restored to the Crusaders due to a treaty between [[Richard of Cornwall]] and Sultan [[As-Salih Ayyub|as-Salih]] of Egypt.{{fact|date=October 2024}}

In 1244, the castles held out against the [[Khwarazmian dynasty#Mercenaries|Khwarezmian]] army and accomplished their objective of disrupting the Muslim attack on Jerusalem. Nonetheless, Jerusalem eventually fell to the overwhelming number of the Khwarezmian and the primary mission of the castles became obsolete. However, Toron tenuously remained in Crusader hands and was periodically under siege by the Mamluks until the [[jihad]] of [[Baibars]] further isolated it. Following a brief siege, Baibars in a rare display of mercy allowed the small Crusader contingent to evacuate in exchange for surrender, which they accepted.{{fact|date=October 2024}}

The lords of Toron tended to be very influential in the kingdom; Humphrey II was constable of Jerusalem. Humphrey IV was married to [[Isabella I of Jerusalem|Isabella]], [[Amalric I of Jerusalem|King Amalric I]]'s daughter (Toron passed into the ''royal domain'' during their marriage but its title was returned to Humphrey IV after their divorce). It was also one of the few to have a straight hereditary succession in the male line, at least for a few generations. The lords of Toron were also connected to the Lordship of Oultrejourdain by the marriage of Humphrey III and the maternal inheritance of Humphrey IV. Toron was later merged with the royal domain of Tyre, which went to a branch of [[Principality of Antioch|Antioch]], then their heirs from [[Montfort-l'Amaury|Montfort]].{{fact|date=October 2024}}

===Lords of Toron===
*[[Humphrey I of Toron]] (before 1109&ndash;after 1136)
*[[Humphrey II of Toron]] (before 1137&ndash;1179)
**([[Humphrey III of Toron|Humphrey III]] predeceased his father)
*[[Humphrey IV of Toron]] (1179&ndash;1183)
*''Royal domain'' (1183&ndash;1187)
*Humphrey IV (restored) (1190 &ndash; c. 1192)
**''occupied by Muslims until 1229 and the title not used''
*[[Alice of Armenia]] (1229&ndash; after 1236), granddaughter of Humphrey III 
*[[Maria of Antioch-Armenia]] (after 1236&ndash;1239), granddaughter of Alice and great-granddaughter of [[Isabelle of Toron|Isabella of Armenia]], daughter of Humphrey III.
**''occupied by Muslims from 1239 until 1241''
*''[[Philip of Montfort, Lord of Tyre|Philip of Montfort]]'' (1241&ndash; before 1257)
*''[[Jean de Montfort (died 1283)|John of Montfort]]'' (before 1257&ndash;1283), Lord of Tyre. It was lost again in 1266
*''[[Humphrey of Montfort (died 1284)|Humphrey of Montfort]]'' (1283&ndash;1284), Lord of Beirut, Lord of Tyre
*''Amaury of Montfort'' (1284&ndash;1304)
*''[[Rupen of Montfort]]'' (1304&ndash;1313), Lord of Beirut
*''[[Humphrey of Montfort (died 1326)|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 had two vassals of its own, the Lordship of [[Hunin#Crusader_and_Mamluk_periods|Chastel Neuf]] and the Lordship of [[Meron,_Israel|Maron]]. Chastel Neuf was built by Hugh of Falkenberg around 1105 but was later given to the Hospitallers, until it fell to Nur ad-Din in 1167. Maron was given in 1229 to the [[Teutonic Knights]] in exchange for their claims on Toron.<ref>Jean Richard, ''The Crusades, C.1071-c.1291'', transl. Jean Birrell, (Cambridge University Press, 2001), 310.</ref>

==The castle==
The castle of Toron occupies a steep hill, in fact a Bronze Age [[Tell (archaeology)|tell]], north to the village of Tibnin, at a height of {{convert|725|m|ft}} above sea level. It is oval in shape with its outline following the contours of the tell. It once had twelve rectangular towers with one of them - to the south - having been the donjon. The castle, razed in 1266 by the Mamluks was rebuilt 500 years later in the mid-18th century by the Shiite sheikh [[Nasif al-Nassar]] during his struggle against the Ottoman rule. He used the ruins of the medieval walls as a basis for his rebuilding campaign and thus the castle today mainly appears as an Ottoman construction. The castle was then used as the home and base of the House of [[El Assaad Family|El-Assaad]], the family of Nasif.{{cn|date=July 2021}}

In 1881 it was noted that it was the residence of the local [[Governor]], and that about twenty Muslims lived there.<ref>Conder and  Kitchener, 1881, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp01conduoft#page/95/mode/1up 95]</ref>

The castle was [[Destruction of cultural heritage during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon|damaged during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon]] in late 2024, and one of the medieval walls collapsed.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Frayer |first=Lauren |date=23 December 2024 |title=What the Israel-Hezbollah war did to Lebanon's cultural heritage sites |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/12/23/nx-s1-5213230/lebanon-cultural-heritage-israel-war-hezbollah |access-date=1 January 2025 |work=NPR}}</ref> 

==See also==

* [[List of Crusader castles]]

*[[Vassals of the Kingdom of Jerusalem]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book|last1=Conder|first1=C.R.|author-link1=Claude Reignier Conder|last2=Kitchener|first2=H.H.|author-link2=Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|year=1881|url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp01conduoft|title=The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology|location=London|publisher=[[Palestine Exploration Fund|Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund]]|volume=1}}
{{refend}}
*Mathias Piana, "[https://www.academia.edu/1175865/The_Crusader_Castle_of_Toron_First_Results_of_its_Investigation?email_work_card=view-paper The Crusader Castle of Toron: First Results of its Investigation] ", ''Crusades'' 5, 2006, pp.173–191

== Further reading ==
*{{Cite journal |last=Ünal |first=Elif |date=2022-10-28 |title=Bir Ortaçağ Haçlı Kalesi: Tibnîn (Toron) 1099-1187 |trans-title=A Medieval Crusader Castle: Tibnīn (Toron) 1099-1187 |url=https://iupress.istanbul.edu.tr/tr/journal/jos/article/bir-ortacag-hacli-kalesi-tibnin-toron-1099-1187 |journal=Şarkiyat Mecmuası / Journal of Oriental Studies |language=tr |volume=41 |pages=123–158 |doi=10.26650/jos.1139572 |doi-access=free|url-access=subscription }}

== External links ==
* [http://www.discoverlebanon.com/en/panoramic_views/el_nabatieh/bint_jbeil/tebneen.php Article and panorama images at 360 degrees]

{{Coord|33|11|44.57|N|35|24|44.37|E|type:city|display=title}}

{{Archaeological sites in Lebanon}}
{{Crusader sites}}
{{Castles in Lebanon}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Castles and fortifications of the Kingdom of Jerusalem]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Lebanon]]
[[Category:Medieval history of Lebanon]]
[[Category:Castles in Lebanon]]
[[Category:Lordships of the Crusader states]]
[[Category:Castles and fortifications of the Knights Hospitaller]]
[[Category:Principality of Galilee]]
[[Category:Castles of the Teutonic Knights]]