Talk:List of Crusader castles

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the term 'Crusader Castles' generally limited to the castles built in the Crusader states? For this reason I have removed Castrum Danorum (Estonia), and Malbork (Poland), from the list. I am not sure of the history, but I assume these are associated with the so-called Northern Crusades, but why only include these, and not other eastern european castles? I also arranged the rest of the list by modern country, possibly not the best way but better than nothing. Is this list anything like comprehensive? ::Supergolden:: 13:34, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

Secretlondon, hi. Your question remains unanswered after over 17 years. I guess all the European castles should be included, there have been several seigneurships of the military orders in Europe, in Greece they took over the leftovers of the empire, in Prussia the German Knights had their own state, there were interludes in Transylvania (Teutonic Burzenland and Hospitaller Banate of Sevetin), so more than just a few questionable single castles there. But nobody seems to care much. Cheers, Arminden (talk) 21:22, 2 April 2024 (UTC)

Not me! Secretlondon (talk) 15:08, 4 April 2024 (UTC)

Nobody bothered to deal with those as a category. I mean contemporary, counter-Crusade castles & fortresses - although they always tended to target local tribes and rival Muslim powers as well. Also, the Ayyubids and Mamluks rebuilt many of the Crusader castles to such a degree that whatever is still visible is at least as much Muslim as it is Crusader. I think that's why Denys Pringle speaks of medieval, not Crusader or Muslim castles.

Syria has (had?) plenty. Lebanon also has its share. Jordan has Ajlun and some faint traces at Salt, the Ayyubid tower in Amman, and I think Jarash was used by both, plus the rebuilt ones at Karak and Shaubak. Nimrod Castle in the Golan (Israeli side) is mainly Ayyubid & Mamluk.

Egypt, Iraq and S Turkey I don't know, but there must be many. Arminden (talk) 21:33, 2 April 2024 (UTC)

All Crusader castles from modern-day Turkey listed here are those built by the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (1198–1375) and two Crusader states, the Principality of Antioch (1198–1268) and the County of Edessa (1198–1144). Are there none worth mentioning further west, in the Latin Empire (1204–1261)? Didn't the Crusaders at least rebuild some Byzantine castles there? Arminden (talk) 18:03, 22 April 2026 (UTC)

The short answer for me is I don't know, but they may be somewhat overlooked if there are crusader castles further west. My go to book when it comes to crusader castles is Hugh Kennedy's 1994 book Crusader Castes. It has a map on page xvi that doesn't go west beyond Cilicia. It could be that there are some castles further west but they're not considered as important and so the map was kept with a firm focus on the Levant. And a keyword search on the Internet Archive's scan indicates that the Latin Kingdom isn't mentioned, at least by that name. If there are castles further west, they may literally and figuratively be on the periphery. Richard Nevell (talk) 20:15, 22 April 2026 (UTC)

Thank you ​ Richard. Considering how frequently and how soon after conquest Crusaders have built castles, or have modified and updated existing ones, in the Levant and anywhere else in the Mediterranean, during the existence of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and long after, it would be very surprising if that were not the case also in the kingdom they carved out for themselves around Constantinople. They ruled it for over half a century, dealing with lots of foes, and had to accommodate plenty of noblemen looking for fiefdoms.

It remains for me an open question, and quite an interesting one, too. Arminden (talk) 22:49, 22 April 2026 (UTC)

I really don't know the answer to that question. I live in Western Thrace, within the areas formerly controlled by the Latin Empire. I have seen a couple of medieval fortifications within driving distance from my hometown, but I have seen no written records of their history. The local archaeological service has a reputation of focusing on preserving findings from classical antiquity, while making little to no effort to preserve or restore Byzantine, medieval, and Ottoman buildings. They have been left to decay. Dimadick (talk) 08:17, 23 April 2026 (UTC)

I can't think of any either...the only one that springs to mind (and isn't already listed in the article) is Bodrum Castle, but it's from the 15th century and it wasn't in the Latin Empire. The Frankish Tower on the Acropolis of Athens was from the right period, although technically it wasn't in the Latin Empire either, unless we consider the Duchy of Athens part of the Empire. Adam Bishop (talk) 12:40, 23 April 2026 (UTC)

Andrew Blacker led some research into medieval towers in Chalkida which provided some dating evidence, and suggested that "The ’colonial’ interpretation of their role is thus overturned or, at the least, requires reconsideration". Whether that means they're 'crusader' fortifications or not I'm not entirely clear on. Richard Nevell (talk) 16:05, 25 April 2026 (UTC)