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Photo: ElysianEzryn, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The Crusaders put on a good front here, but were ultimately defeated by Saladin in 1190 and then even more definitively by Sultan Baibars in 1268. Ironically, it ended up also becoming a military stronghold and target between the PLO and IDF in more modern times. A great medieval castle to explore. One of the five castles making up the Mount Amel Castles.
Beaufort or Belfort Castle, known locally as Qal'at al-Shaqif or Shaqif Arnun, is a Crusader fortress in Nabatieh Governorate, Southern Lebanon, about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) to the south-south-east of the village of Arnoun. There was a fortification on the site before it was captured by Fulk, King of Jerusalem, in 1139 and construction of the Crusader castle probably began soon after. Saladin captured Beaufort in 1190, but 50 years later Crusaders re-took it. In 1268 Sultan Baibars finally captured the castle for the Islamic forces.
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