Qasr Jalud
Qasr Jalud, also known as Goliath's Castle or Tancred's Tower is the ruins of a large tower at the northwest corner of the Old City of Jerusalem.[1][2][3]
Today, the area of the original structure is beneath the College de Freres of the De La Salle Brothers.
Description[]
The remains are of a large tower, c. 35x35 metres, probably first built in the 11th century during the Fatimid period, that fell to the Franks at the end of the First Crusade in 1099, and was apparently expanded by the Ayyubids after Saladin's reconquest of the city in 1187.[4]
The tower as well as the entire city wall were long destroyed by the time the Ottoman Turks built theirs, possibly since 1219 when Ayyubid ruler Al-Mu'azzam Isa razed most of the city fortifications.[5]
Name[]
The tower is known in Arabic as Qasr al-Jalud (Goliath's Tower), and to the Crusaders as Turris Tancredi (Latin for Tancred's Tower), after Tancred of Hauteville, the commander whose troops breached the Fatimid defenses at this specific point during the 1099 siege.[4][5]
References[]
- ^ S. Weksler-Bdolah, Early Islamic and Medieval City Walls of Jerusalem in Light of New Discoveries
- ^ Katharina Galor; Gideon Avni (21 July 2011). Unearthing Jerusalem: 150 Years of Archaeological Research in the Holy City. Penn State University Press. pp. 429–. ISBN 978-1-57506-659-2.
- ^ Tancred fortress
- ^ a b Boas, Adrian J. (2001). "Physical remains of Crusader Jerusalem". Jerusalem in the Time of the Crusades: Society, Landscape and Art in the Holy City Under Frankish Rule. Routledge. pp. 69–70. ISBN 9781134582723. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
- ^ a b Tancred's Tower / Qasr Jalud (Goliath's Castle), Institute for International Urban Development (I2UD), accessed June 2020
- Buildings and structures in Jerusalem
- Tourist attractions in Jerusalem