Chapitre 38: Chapter 37

When in 1187 the Muslims commanded by Salah Al-Din conquered the city of Jerusalem taking it from the Crusaders, the Templars, who had lost their headquarters on the Temple Mount of the holy city, built their new headquarters in Acre, in the southwest sector of the city. There they built the Templar fortress, the most important in the Kingdom and which reached the line of the Mediterranean Sea.

This fortress played an essential role during the Third Crusade. The castle entrance was protected by two mighty 28-foot-thick towers. Two other smaller towers completed the wall, and each tower was crowned by a golden lion. The towers were destroyed when the city of Acre fell also under the Mamluks of Egypt.